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The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

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THE BOOK OF TELLS<br />

usually with less bloody consequences. Europeans <strong>of</strong>ten<br />

have difficulty telling Canadians and Americans apart. But<br />

there are some giveaway pronunciations that enable them<br />

to spot a Canadian. Canadians, for example, tend to pronounce<br />

words like 'shout' and 'about' as 'shoot' and<br />

'aboot', while Americans are inclined to pronounce<br />

'house' as 'hayouse'. 1 Americans are likely to greet you<br />

with 'It's a great day'. Canadians, on the other hand, are<br />

more likely to say, 'It's a great day, eh?' While the<br />

Americans opt for an upbeat, declarative form, the<br />

Canadians prefer to phrase their statements as questions.<br />

Although Australians and New Zealanders have no<br />

trouble telling each other apart, outsiders <strong>of</strong>ten find it very<br />

difficult to distinguish them because they sound so similar.<br />

However there are differences between Australian and<br />

New Zealand English. Some <strong>of</strong> the differences are in<br />

vocabulary - New Zealand English, for example, has<br />

borrowed many more words from the indigenous Maori<br />

people than Australian English has from the Aborigines.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are also differences in the pronunciation <strong>of</strong> certain<br />

vowels. Australians pronounce words such as 'air' and 'ear'<br />

differently, whereas New Zealanders pronounce both as<br />

'ear'. <strong>The</strong>re are also instances where the New Zealanders<br />

make distinctions but the Australians don't -Australians, for<br />

example, pronounce 'moan' and 'mown' the same, whereas<br />

New Zealanders distinguish the two by pronouncing 'mown'<br />

as 'mow-an'. But the big difference is in the way they pronounce<br />

'i'. New Zealanders pronounce 'bat' as 'bet', 'bet' as<br />

'bit', and 'bit' as 'but'. <strong>The</strong> English talk <strong>of</strong> 'fish and chips'. <strong>The</strong><br />

Australians, on the other hand, elongate the vowel and talk<br />

about 'feesh and cheeps', while the New Zealanders, who<br />

like to turn 'i' into 'u', talk about 'fush and chups'. 2<br />

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