Questions for our American friends

[Mal Hombre]

I heard a reference on a TV programme about fast food in chicago to "Pulled Pork",just what is that?

[LeroyLargeCar]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

I heard a reference on a TV programme about fast food in chicago to "Pulled Pork",just what is that?

One of my favorite subjects, Mal. This refers to a sandwich made from a slow cooked pork shoulder where, after cooking, the meat is shredded or 'pulled' from the bone. Some people then add barbeque sauce and slow cook it some more, or the meat is placed on a nice roll or bun and sauce is added to taste. Usually served with coleslaw, potatoe salad, baked beans, etc. It's a great summertime favorite here in 'The Windy' but I enjoy it all year long. Here's a pic of what it looks like, courtesy of one of my favorite places, Honky Tonks.



http://honkytonkbbqchicago.com/about/

[Mal Hombre]

Thanks for the info,Sounds great,pity You can't get it here.

[rotobott]

I think we would be arrested just for requesting it, over here.

[Night Haunter]

Britain has a diversity of accents for such a small nation, there are the easily recognisible such as Scouse from Liverpool (which most Americans associate with John Lennon and The Beatles) Geordie from Newcastle-U-Tyne and Cockney from London plus a whole range of local twangs and dialects from Cornish to Brummie from the Midlands, but do you Americans find it easy to recognise different accents in the US, for example would a person from Miami know a person from Chicago or Seattle by their voice and vice versa, I know the New York accent is very distinguishable from watching US TV shows and movies but would a New Yorker know somebody from Denver or Minneapolis from their speech.....I find this very interesting.

PS People say the American accent as a whole comes from a variety of English dialects such as Lancashire, Yorkshire and many southern English counties, I would be interested to know what Americans themselves think of their own dialect. Cheers Guys.

[TexMadrid]

Originally Posted by Night Haunter

Britain has a diversity of accents for such a small nation...would a person from Miami know a person from Chicago or Seattle by their voice and vice versa, I know the New York accent is very distinguishable

Hell New York might as well be it's own country with regard to accents. I don't live in New York, and am not an expert, but I can tell the difference between someone from Queens and someone from Brooklyn. I'll bet people that live in New York can distinguish all the borough's of New York.

I think a lot of America, with movement of people are losing accents. There are people in my city with awful accents and then friends of mine with no accent. You might think that everyone in the south talks like a hillbilly, not anymore.

I have lived in DC and Philly and no one had any idea I grew up in the south.

[theequestrian]

I realize that this answer comes long after the question was asked, but I can at least answer it for you.
On U.S. transit systems the buses all come equiped with a device that takes both the exact fare in cash and a card reader-very similar to the device used for credit cards. Most large American cities sell paper cards with magnetic strips in them to be used by the card reader. These cards can be programmed either for a set number of rides or for a specific period of time (usually 1 week or 1 month). The cards are purchased for a flat fee. One thing our European friends need to bear in mind is that in the history of mankind there has been nothing more divorced from reality than american television programs. In reality if you climbed on a New York City bus and sat down without paying the driver would pick you up and throw you out the door into the nearest trash can

[keefriff]

Originally Posted by Night Haunter

Britain has a diversity of accents for such a small nation, there are the easily recognisible such as Scouse from Liverpool (which most Americans associate with John Lennon and The Beatles) Geordie from Newcastle-U-Tyne and Cockney from London plus a whole range of local twangs and dialects from Cornish to Brummie from the Midlands, but do you Americans find it easy to recognise different accents in the US, for example would a person from Miami know a person from Chicago or Seattle by their voice and vice versa, I know the New York accent is very distinguishable from watching US TV shows and movies but would a New Yorker know somebody from Denver or Minneapolis from their speech.....I find this very interesting.

PS People say the American accent as a whole comes from a variety of English dialects such as Lancashire, Yorkshire and many southern English counties, I would be interested to know what Americans themselves think of their own dialect. Cheers Guys.

I think that there are distinct accents for many regions in the US. But like Tex Madrid said, not everyone that lives in a specific area has that regions accent. There is a distinct difference between NYC areas as Tex stated. The Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia area have their own accents and phrases. Similar to the NYC area but yet different. Boston and New England have a very distinct accent that is quite different than NYC or Phladelphia. The South has it's drawls for sure but they change from region to region. A Louisiana accent is alot different than a typical Southern drawl. The South, including Texas, has many different accents and phrases. As a Midwesterner, I can say that Chicago has a very distinct accent but very few people who live there actually have it. Same is true in Minneapolis. The typical Upper Midwest accent that you may have heard in the movie Fargo certainly exists but very few people, especially in the cities, actually talk that way. Southern California also has a strong accent among some of their citizens. The so called surfer dude and Valley speak is very real. Mountain States and Pacific Northwest are pretty clean in terms of accents and most newcasters try and emulate that kind of speaking.

So to answer your question, yes you can sometimes tell where a person is from based on their accent. It is not true with all people who live there but certain regions certainly have distinct accents that are recognizable to the ear. Also keep in mind that the US is a very fluid society, people are moving from area to area all the time. The South, especially Florida, and Southwest contains many transplanted Northerners who keep their accents. Not uncomman at all to hear someone who lives in Miami speak with a heavy NY accent. Or someone in Arizona to have a heavy Upper Midwest accent.

[theequestrian]

In response to a question asked 8 months ago (I'm a new member);Why is the American Football (NFL) season so short? A great variety of answers have been given for this. Here's my take. The officiating in the NFL is the most incompetant and arbitrary of any professional sport anywhere on earth. Unlike in all other american pro sports, NFL officials ARE NOT professionals. They are investment bankers and stock brokers who are working a second job.
There is no real vetting procedure for them. As the use of instant replay has revealed NFL officials actually make the correct call less than 50% of the time. It is not helped by the fact that many NFL rules are changed from season to season and a good portion of the rules are thoroughly subjective and open to interpretation (or in the NFL case, mis-interpretation) You can only make shitty calls-which change the outcome of a game-for a finite period of time before the fans stop paying both money and attention to you and your product. That finite period of time is 16 games.

[TexMadrid]

Originally Posted by keefriff

...Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia area have their own accents and phrases...

Phrases, that is the "kicker" to use a unique term. Phrases, words and unique expressions really differentiate regions. Well put Keefriff, you reminded me of my expriences in "the north". When I came back from living in Philadelphia for a few years I said "Yo" constantly as a way to get someone's attention. Yo Johnny. My southern friends did notice that.