You say potato : a field guide to the accents of English

Some people say sconn, while others say schown. He says bath, while she says bahth. You say potayto. I say potahto And--wait a second, no one says potahto. No one's ever said potahto. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of Received Pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father David travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English. Everyone has an accent, though many of us think we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes about the way other people speak, and everyone has something to say about "correct" pronunciation. But how did all these accents come about, and why do people feel so strongly about them? Are regional accents dying out as English becomes a global language? And most importantly of all: what went wrong in Birmingham? Witty, authoritative, and jam-packed full of fascinating facts, You Say Potato is a celebration of the myriad ways in which the English language is spoken--and how our accents, in so many ways, speak louder than words. Some people say scohn , while others say schown . He says bath , while she says bahth . You say potayto . I say potahto And- -wait a second, no one says potahto . No one's ever said potahto . Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of Received Pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father David travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English. Everyone has an accent, though many of us think we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes about the way other people speak, and everyone has something to say about 'correct' pronunciation. But how did all these accents come about, and why do people feel so strongly about them? Are regional accents dying out as English becomes a global language? And most importantly of all: what went wrong in Birmingham? Witty, authoritative and jam-packed full of fascinating facts, You Say Potato is a celebration of the myriad ways in which the English language is spoken - and how our accents, in so many ways, speak louder than words. Some people say __scohn__, while others say __schown__. He says __bath__, while she says __bahth__. You say __potayto__. I say __potahto__ And- -wait a second, no one says __potahto__. No one's __ever__ said __potahto__. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of Received Pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father David travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English. Everyone has an accent, though many of us think we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes about the way other people speak, and everyone has something to say about 'correct' pronunciation. But how did all these accents come about, and why do people feel so strongly about them? Are regional accents dying out as English becomes a global language? And most importantly of all: what went wrong in Birmingham? Witty,... Machine generated contents note: pt. ONE ACCENT PASSIONS Accent Buddies What Went Wrong in Birmingham? The Rough and the Smooth Why Do the Bad Guys Talk Posh? pt. TWO ACCENTS PRESENT Mapping Accents Accent Detectives Casting for Accents The BBC and the `Posh' RP Can you tell in England? A Scottish Player Can you tell in the Celtic fringe? Scones, Biscuits, and Star Wars Can you tell abroad? pt. THREE ACCENTS PAST Where It All Began The Shakespeare Sound The Shibboleth of Staunton pt. FOUR ACCENTS FUTURE What Went Wrong in Betelgeuse? Accents Living Accents Dying Ben's Ep-ee-log David's Ep-i-log.