On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:53:51 -0800, David Nebenzahl wrote:
MN, huh? I was there a couple of months ago, visiting family. I tried to
annoy my sister as much as possible by trying out my Minnesota accent
(dontcha know, etc.). My favorite phrase: "What a guy would want to do
is ...". That Minnesota accent really is quite a prominent thing, isn't it?

Now that's the strange thing - I really haven't noticed. Maybe that's from
growing up in a crowded island where folk are always bumping into a huge
variety of strong accents, much more so than people typically do in the US
due to the size.

I'm finding it harder to differentiate between a 'mild' US accent and a
'mild' UK one these days. My wife (who was born in the US) sometimes
points out that someone's from 'my side of the Pond' and I really hadn't
noticed :-)

There ya go--we'd *never* say "amongst", unless we're a) trying to
impress our high-school English teacher, or b) trying to impress someone
else. (And don't even get me started on "whilst". I think you have to
whistle while you speak to make that one come out right ...)

Heh I really cannot shake using 'whilst'. I try, but it's one of
those words that just won't go away; I'll be typing something or saying
something and kinda think "I should use while here" - but it just sounds
wrong somehow. There are times when 'while' is right and times when
'whilst' is right, but I couldn't tell you for sure what sets the rules...
it's a subtle thing, I guess.

Perhaps similar to the distinction in the UK between "taxi" and "cab",
where over here they're two words for the same thing (or sometimes, just
to make things more confusing, "taxicab").

I'm not sure there - I think I've heard all three in England. Certainly
those old black taxis seen in quaint old British movies set in London
would have been referred to as "black cabs" and "London taxis" in equal
measure when I was a kid. The use of "cab" has probably died out a bit
over there now, though.

cheers

Jules