Re: mostly language explanation
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: mostly language explanation
- From: A* R* <a*@magic.mpd.tandem.com>
- Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 14:50:02 -0500 (CDT)
> Can you understand each other all over the US? Are there some very
> special dialects that are hard to understand?
We can understand each other pretty well, but there are many regional
dialects, with slang (informal speech) and pronunciation often changed.
In Texas, the state in which I live, we often mix in Spanish because we
are so close to Mexico, and get "Spanglish." Perhaps the defining
American term is "y'all" pronounced "yawl." It is a contraction of you
all and is a second person plural, which English lacks. It is
restricted to the Southern U. S. though everyone knows it. The
Northeastern U. S. uses "you guys" or "youse guys" for a second person
plural.
Regarding previous conversations, I asked someone on the Gardens List
and they said:
> adjoniska tensider (close) as an ingredient in
> a cleanser ?
I think you mean anjoniska tensider which would be anionic surfactants.
In the fifties soaps in detergents and cleansing agents were replaced by
synthetic surfactants. A surfactant is a surface active agent, useful
for its cleansing, wetting, dispersing, or similar powers. A surface
active anion is an emulsifying agent. An anionic detergent is any of a
class of synthetic detergents... The chlorine (Clorox) is all but
banned because of what it does to surface water, etc.
Sources: Norstedts Svensk Engelsk, alta vista search, Webster's Third.
--
Amy Moseley Rupp
amyr@mpd.tandem.com, Austin, TX, zone 8b
Jill O. *Trades
Mistress O. {}
