[jcdoss]

I can't decide if I want to drink some pop or a soda!

[deus ursus]

Being from Norway shouldn't you be using a Nokia phone?

Nokia is finnish, so I think we as norwegians are free to use any other brand. :-) We had a norwegian mobile phone company many years ago, Simonsen, but I guess they went down when the GSM system went up.

[Racer X 69]

Nokia is finnish, so I think we as norwegians are free to use any other brand. :-) We had a norwegian mobile phone company many years ago, Simonsen, but I guess they went down when the GSM system went up.

Oops! My mistake.

But the Finnish, Norwegians, Laplanders, Danish, Swiss, etc, aren't they all pretty much alike? Way up there where it snows about 9 or 10 months out of the year, right?



Mrs. Racer's father's side of the family is from Norway. They came over on a boat, through Ellis Island, then made their way to Edmonds, WA, just North of Seattle. She says her grandparents often spoke to each other in Norwegian, and she still recalls bits of the language, even after so many years.

Me?

My lineage is largely Scottish. All I have is haggis and whiskey. And family members that sound like Sean Connery when they talk.

[Heie]

And family members that sound like Sean Connery when they talk.

Is there a need for anything else? Several years ago I had the habit of pretending I was from Shhcotland and on exchange in the U.S. when visiting bars, and even got some friends to play along and act as alibis. The impostered accent worked absolute wonders with the (American) ladies . I remember one night I was talking to a girl and she says: "YOU'RE ALEX?! THE ALEX FROM SCOTLAND?! I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU IN THE GIRLS ROOM!" I had been there at that bar with friends maybe 30 minutes

I stopped doing that though after I was playing the act with someone who coincidentally also spent time in Scotland and she asked me where in Scotland I was from. The idea of having to be able to develop my cover beyond just the accent and a country never even occurred to me, so I stumbled. When she asked again, as I pretended I didn't hear her to buy myself some time, I said the only thing that did: "Oh, I'm from Scotland Yard!"

Needless to say, I was unsuccessful in that attempt. Additionally, I learned that Scotland Yard is not, in fact, the capital of Scotland. Or even in the entire country for that matter

-Heie

---

Last edited by Heie; 05-09-2013 at 02:20 AM. Reason: typo

[tclausen]

Oops! My mistake.

But the Finnish, Norwegians, Laplanders, Danish, Swiss, etc, aren't they all pretty much alike? Way up there where it snows about 9 or 10 months out of the year, right?

You be careful....people have had their Limited lenses broken for less that what you just wrote above.....

The Scandinavian countries & Finland have various kind of contentions history...as a dane, for example, I still hold a grudge against the Swedes for not having returned Skaane, Halland and Blekinge to us yet.....

Also, how the heck can you confuse Switzerland into this? That's a little bit like including France when talking about the USA: entirely different geographical location, language, culture, climate, .....

[Digitalis]

The idea of having to be able to develop my cover beyond just the accent and a country never even occurred to me

Nice try,

I'm have Scottish/German ancestry - I do visit Scotland from time to time, and I pick up the local accent with ease, and when a family member picks me up at the airport at the end of a trip they always ask me to say certain words because of the way I say them...grrr

Most of the time when people speak to me they think i'm British, I have had englishmen ask me which area i'm from. As a Scotsman I find that particular line of inquiry rather irksome.

But it has been very useful when spending a late night at the bar...

But the Finnish, Norwegians, Laplanders, Danish, Swiss, etc, aren't they all pretty much alike?

Ouch, I cannot even begin to come up with the words to describe all that is wrong with that statement.

[ronnies]

My lineage is largely Scottish. All I have is haggis and whiskey. And family members that sound like Sean Connery when they talk.

Whisky, please. "whiskey" is Irish or American. :-)

Ronnie

[the swede]

But the Finnish, Norwegians, Laplanders, Danish, Swiss, etc, aren't they all pretty much alike? Way up there where it snows about 9 or 10 months out of the year, right?

Wow, amazing..

You hurt my feelings...

[glanglois]

It is interesting how we all speak "English" yet sometimes the various national and regional colloquialisms and variations of uses of words can make it almost impossible to communicate, even understand each other.

Even different areas of the US present challenges to clear communication and understanding.

I see you are from Wisconsin. Do you enjoy a "pasty" (or two or three) at the state fair each year? I know I would.

No, the fair looks to crowded for me. We have pasties available here in Madison and I do like them. Bless the Cornish!

[Racer X 69]

Is there a need for anything else? Several years ago I had the habit of pretending I was from Shhcotland and on exchange in the U.S. when visiting bars, and even got some friends to play along and act as alibis. The impostered accent worked absolute wonders with the (American) ladies . I remember one night I was talking to a girl and she says: "YOU'RE ALEX?! THE ALEX FROM SCOTLAND?! I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU IN THE GIRLS ROOM!" I had been there at that bar with friends maybe 30 minutes

I stopped doing that though after I was playing the act with someone who coincidentally also spent time in Scotland and she asked me where in Scotland I was from. The idea of having to be able to develop my cover beyond just the accent and a country never even occurred to me, so I stumbled. When she asked again, as I pretended I didn't hear her to buy myself some time, I said the only thing that did: "Oh, I'm from Scotland Yard!"

Needless to say, I was unsuccessful in that attempt. Additionally, I learned that Scotland Yard is not, in fact, the capital of Scotland. Or even in the entire country for that matter

-Heie

That's pretty funny.

You really didn't know that Scotland Yard was not in Scotland?

Whisky, please. "whiskey" is Irish or American. :-)

Ronnie

Actually, Scotch Whisky might be the better term, eh?

Single or double malt?

[Racer X 69]

You be careful....people have had their Limited lenses broken for less that what you just wrote above.....

The Scandinavian countries & Finland have various kind of contentions history...as a dane, for example, I still hold a grudge against the Swedes for not having returned Skaane, Halland and Blekinge to us yet.....

Also, how the heck can you confuse Switzerland into this? That's a little bit like including France when talking about the USA: entirely different geographical location, language, culture, climate, .....

Ouch, I cannot even begin to come up with the words to describe all that is wrong with that statement.

Wow, amazing..

You hurt my feelings...

Wow.

Looks like my ignorance of the various people and cultures in the Northern European regions has ruffled some feathers. For that I humbly apologize.

Guess I need to go back to school and bone up on history and social studies.

And if y'all like, I will submit for a vigorous horse whipping.

[RonakG]

It is interesting how we all speak "English" yet sometimes the various national and regional colloquialisms and variations of uses of words can make it almost impossible to communicate, even understand each other.

Even different areas of the US present challenges to clear communication and understanding.

Consider yourself lucky to have to deal with dialects of only one language. Where I come from, there are 1652 recognized languages (not counting variations of same language). 30 languages are spoken by more than a million native speakers. I myself can fluently speak, read, write 3 different languages.

Go figure .

For curios folks, more reading here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India

[Heie]

That's pretty funny. You really didn't know that Scotland Yard was not in Scotland?

I really don't have an excuse other than I was 19-20 and I didn't know it wasn't even a town

-Heie

[bxf]

....

Also, how the heck can you confuse Switzerland into this? That's a little bit like including France when talking about the USA: entirely different geographical location, language, culture, climate, .....

I'd say he simply confused Swiss with Swedes.

[Racer X 69]

I'd say he simply confused Swiss with Swedes.

Well that would be easy to do!