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Whitehall: Scots can't speak English

 
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arioch36



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:24 pm    Post subject: Whitehall: Scots can't speak English Reply with quote

from the Scotsman today (wed Jan 14) from their Heroes and Villains section

Quote:
Villains: Faceless "Whitehall officials" who denied a Russian girl a visa to come and study English in Scotland - because she wouldn't be able to understand the Scots accent.

Here, of course - much like John Swinney, captain of the SNP - I am wilfully ignoring the sensible reasons given, which were: she had made no attempt to learn English in Russia; had no way of supporting herself financially when she got here; and the course did not meet the standards for a student visa anyway. None of that matters. Let's crack on with the fantasy outrage version:

Who the bloody hell do these unaccountable London penpushers think they are? Try learning English in Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham - or any other filthy ex-industrial northern English cesspool for that matter - and see how much you understand.

Ahem.

Obviously, Mr Swinney is right; anyone wishing to come and learn English in Scotland will be faced with plenty of reputable institutions offering courses - all approved by the British Council - in Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow or Aberdeen.

And, if they do choose to come and learn here, they may end up with an accent that is good for business - or just good in bed.
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leeroy



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 777
Location: London UK

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a bizarre article...

So the russian girl wasn't refused a visa because of the Scots accent at all - she was refused it for other reasons, right?
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I' m from Edinburgh but I had problems understanding the locals in Dundee, where I went to University
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FGT



Joined: 14 Sep 2003
Posts: 762
Location: Turkey

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm from London but was brought up to believe that the Edinburgh accent is the "best" English accent!
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Edinburgh is an English city in Scotland. The university is %90 English Oxbridge rejects who end up staying in Edinburgh.
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Dr.J



Joined: 09 May 2003
Posts: 304
Location: usually Japan

PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Edinburgh is an English city in Scotland. The university is %90 English Oxbridge rejects who end up staying in Edinburgh.


I went to Edinburgh uni...that's absolutely correct!
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grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 11:13 am    Post subject: Edinburgh Reply with quote

From what I've read and heard, St Andrews is the worst. I avoided the problem by doing all my studying in England! The fact that my grades weren't good enough for university was merely coincidental (Hem! Hem!).
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Frater



Joined: 17 Apr 2003
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Edinburgh is an English city in Scotland


I don't know about this - I've been there and it was crawling with Scots, scowling at me peevishly as soon as I opened my English mouth. Something as simple as asking a boy working behind a bar to draw you a pint of ale results in a glare of such hatred and envy ...

I think it's a bad habit of Scottish people to behave in this way. They should have more dignity.
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M.



Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 65
Location: Moskva

PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:06 pm    Post subject: Scottish Can speak English Reply with quote

And the best Part is they arn't ENGLISH...
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