Language: Dialects of North America

From the drawl of a Texan to the dry delivery of a Bostonian, from a Newfoundlander through to a person living on the west coast, we know there are differences in the way we speak across North America. But just how many dialects and variations are there? How many dialects are out there?

If you want to explore the regional flavours of English across North America I can suggest no better place than North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns on Aschmann.net. Not only is there a map of all the regional dialects (with the appropriate details and differences listed) but for almost every region there is a link to a speaker of that dialect. Thanks to youtube and the rest of the web it's possible to get good samples of what the differences are. Most of the clips were recorded for other reasons and not as samples of dialects. Which makes them perfect for hearing people just talking as they normally would.

What's most impressive of all is that the entire page is a hobby. It's a sideline. But what a sideline. Computers and the internet allow anyone with a passion and an interest to collect, write, catalog, and then share their interest with everyone else. This is another incredible piece of the Longer Web.

People Used to Think War Was Noble?

We consider ourselves progressive. We're so much more moral than those who came before us. They were misguided and naive. Only we, the current generation, are able to see through the lies and deceit to unveil what is really going on.

Yeah right. Give me a break. Just as now there are those who think war is good and noble and those who see the other sides of war.

After all wasn't it Eisenhower who coined the term the Military Industrial Complex in a very prescient speech in 1961?

Or better yet... give War is a Racket by Major General Smedley Butler a read. It started as a speech he gave across the US and it became a book that was published in 1935. And in case you think the Major is unqualified to talk about the realities of war please note that he is one of the few people to be awarded two Medal of Honors.

It turns out people were as conscientious and knowledgeable then as we think we are now.