courgette

yarb Of course, but it's funny because they're typically trying to imitate an accent that has all but disappeared from common use (received pronunciation or BBC English), rather than simply doing a bad job of it.

Am I alone in finding Hugh Lawrie's pseudo-American accent on "House" rather strange to listen to? Jul 4, 2008

pterodactyl I agree with chained_bear -- it's wonderful to hear people with British accents try to pronounce an American R. I once heard a guy on the BBC try to do a George Bush impression, and boy, that was downright hilarious.

And how about the opposite situation? When an American tries to do a British accent, is it amusing to British ears? Jul 4, 2008

reesetee That's an hilarious, Asativum. Jul 3, 2008

asativum There's an hairy guy named Herb just down the street. He's an hoot. Jul 3, 2008

chained_bear I say "an urrb." I don't really do that crazy RRRRR thing. But I love to hear people with British accents try to do an American R. It always makes me laugh till I cry. :) Especially the word "dork." Jul 3, 2008

reesetee How about "an harmonica"? ;-> Jul 3, 2008

yarb But do you pronounce it "anurrrrrb"? Jul 3, 2008

bilby An herb sounds ugly to me, like a fake Cockney affectation. Gives me an hissy fit. Jul 3, 2008

chained_bear Yes, I say "an herb." I do NOT say "an historian." Jul 3, 2008

yarb Yes, but I'm half-Brit and grew up there. Canada seems to be split on this as on other Brit / Yank linguistic divides. Some people drop the h, but I think a majority pronounce it. Jul 2, 2008

pterodactyl Hey yarb, aren't you in Vancouver? I thought they pronounced it "erb" in Canada, just like we do in the States. Jul 2, 2008

yarb In the UK we just call the seeds "coriander seeds"...

I notice you say "an herb" - does this mean that you pronounce it "urrrrrb"? I LOVE that. Jul 2, 2008

chained_bear Coriander in the U.S. is actually a spice (not an herb) from the seeds of the cilantro plant. The herb (leaves) is cilantro.

That's odd, though, yarb. I know scallions are called spring onions, because that's the phrase I grew up with. I only learned they were called scallions or green onions later on. Jul 2, 2008

dontcry Here corgi, corgi. Jul 2, 2008

yarb I had blank looks asking for spring onions (scallions or green onions) and coriander (cilantro) soon after leaving the UK.

*Imagining dontcry stalking young female corgis*. Jul 2, 2008

chained_bear Yeah, I had a similar experience using an Australian cookbook that calls for capsicum. But I figured it out pretty quick. Jul 2, 2008

dontcry I remember when I first was reading a cookbook from England and the recipe called for courgettes. The only thing I could come up with, in my mind, were the dogs those royal people keep around all the time! Still makes me laugh -- 'cause it was a vegetarian cookbook! Jul 1, 2008

bilby And they're both vegetables!

Itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny
don't forget courgette's zucchini Jul 1, 2008

pterodactyl Hey! It's a mnemonic device! Eggplant and Elton John both begin with E!!!

*very excited about this* Jul 1, 2008

pterodactyl Zucchini. But I only know that because of the recent conversation on eggplant, and because Elton John is still playing in my head.

"Goodbye aubergine, though I never knew you at all..." Jul 1, 2008

bilby Alright ptero, what is it? No WordNET cheating now! Jun 30, 2008