I have the feeling that pop-culture is to blame for a lot of misconceptions about the US (rather like how if you live in a city and are black, you speak ebonics...I don't know about NY or LA, but I've been to both Detroit and Chicago - the 'bad' parts of town - I've never once heard ebonics used. Sure, the slang was a little different, but not to the point that movies would lead you to believe).
As to just why linguistics in the US is so very different than other English-speaking countries, well... It has more to do with the following than anything else:
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
We - the US - have always willingly accepted the refugees from all around the world, and those people brought with them their languages, food, and customs that over the years slowly got absorbed into what we know today.
The US in a nutshell: A Lebanese man selling a traditional waffle-like confection had his vending-stall next to a US teen selling ice cream during the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It was a hot day, and the ice cream kid was selling more product than the warm Lebanese confection. The kid ran out of paper cups for his ice cream, and the Lebanese man approached the kid with an idea that would line both their pockets - and thus, the waffle-cone for ice cream was invented.
I've seen some snarky comments from folks from countries that have a long history of, well...history wondering just what it is that keeps the US together as a nation, because we're less than 250 years old and our population is basically rejects from every other country in the world. Most of the time, I just ignore them - they don't get it, and no amount of explaining could possibly make them understand. But I think I finally figured out how to word it: You may be from a country that has the weight of history behind it, but the US is a country with the dreams of the future in front of us.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-09-23 06:49 am (UTC)As to just why linguistics in the US is so very different than other English-speaking countries, well... It has more to do with the following than anything else:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
We - the US - have always willingly accepted the refugees from all around the world, and those people brought with them their languages, food, and customs that over the years slowly got absorbed into what we know today.
The US in a nutshell: A Lebanese man selling a traditional waffle-like confection had his vending-stall next to a US teen selling ice cream during the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It was a hot day, and the ice cream kid was selling more product than the warm Lebanese confection. The kid ran out of paper cups for his ice cream, and the Lebanese man approached the kid with an idea that would line both their pockets - and thus, the waffle-cone for ice cream was invented.
I've seen some snarky comments from folks from countries that have a long history of, well...history wondering just what it is that keeps the US together as a nation, because we're less than 250 years old and our population is basically rejects from every other country in the world. Most of the time, I just ignore them - they don't get it, and no amount of explaining could possibly make them understand. But I think I finally figured out how to word it: You may be from a country that has the weight of history behind it, but the US is a country with the dreams of the future in front of us.
*rereads post*
Damn...I'm getting really thinky tonight, ain't I?