Kababbs and Paastuh
In Praise of the English Tongue
I watch and listen to an inordinate amount of British films, TV shows, and podcasts. I find the English accent, or rather the breadth and variety thereof, infinitely fascinating. I can actually achieve a certain level of zen by listening to it.
There is so much to appreciate about how the British speak. After years of “research,” I have gleaned what I consider the main difference between how they talk versus the American tongue. My non-scientific finding is that the English tend to form words at the front of their mouths, including some who literally speak through their teeth. In contrast, Americans tend to vocalize from the back of their throats. The result is that British speech is softer, more rounded, while that of the colonists sounds literally more guttural, harsh. These are, of course, generalizations, but I do believe there is a fair amount of truth to them.
One of the language’s most interesting aspects for me is how foreign words are incorporated into the national vocabulary and in the process how the pronunciation is modified for the English tongue. Two of my absolute favorite word revisions are kabob and pasta.
The former, as used by the British, sounds more like a nickname for an aging debutante than a middle eastern culinary treat. In English hands, the word “ku-bob” becomes “ka-Babb” or rather “Ka-Babbs” in my mind.
As for the latter, the English turn the Italian word for the ubiquitous meal basic into what you’d use to describe the substance that adheres decorative paper to one’s walls.
I know that we Yanks mangle many a foreign word ourselves, it’s just that I enjoy the Brits’ particular spin on doing so.
Whilst I listen to whichever podcast or episode of Midsomer Murders or Inspector Lewis, I play a game with myself: Identify that accent. I am now adept at recognizing that of someone educated at Oxford. But, beyond that, I am still trying to familiarize myself with the many, many variations of British speech. It’s probably time to conduct some authentic research in order to become more successful with my endeavor.
For that pursuit I shall require proper sustenance…perhaps some kababbs and passtuh.
