What logic? Both 'pavilion' and 'canceled' follow normal spelling rules; a double L would be unnecessary in the first case, and wrong in the second. What spelling rules? In fact, why is it "spelling" why isn't this

What spelling rules? In fact, why is it "spelling" why isn't ... English, and words like these just add to her confusion. Don't worry about it and tell your German friend not to worry about it either. All of us anglophones are

This is the American "cot" vs. "caught" distinction in which you are our esteemed guide. I might just be able to distinguish an American southerner from a northerner, but I wouldn't put my shirt even on that judgement.

I've never met a newly-arrived American in Bournemouth who ... my person, but not when applied to my home town). You sure they used A (or (A) if that's what we should be using)? That would suggest that they're all from Utah, where

Enrico C wrote on 21 Nov 2004: I would like better ears. Funnily enough, I reckon most ... Italian, for instance, have troubles saying Italian Rs and Es. And the GL soft sound as well, as in "gli", "gliene", etc. I've

Frankly speaking, I am not convinced. It's easy to prove it to yourself by experimenation. Just let the sound continue as your mouth closes without changing shape. But you don't "close your mouth" after every vowel. And it's

Thanks for that. Very interesting. A very clear rebuttal of Jenkins' proposals. I've read that Jenkins and an Austrian colleague ... those aspects of the different Englishes that cause the sorts of problems you describe above (when

Okay, does anyone know whether "dog" is /dOg/ in Britain, ... or were they pronounced with /O/? They are for me. dog /dOg/ cloth /klOT/ or /klO:T/ long /lON/ strong /strON/ (from memory, and confirmed from by dictionary). Nothing

For the record, I would transcribe 'earl' (or 'URL' for ... the American transcription to be the same, or perhaps /V:rl/. The OED 3rd edition uses /@:/ for the "nurse" vowel, so I'd expect their "British"

Great! Am I right to believe that people from Asia ... Chinese or Japanese or Mongolian I would be completely lost! Actually, I believe both Chinese and Japanese (I don't know about Mongolian) are much easier languages than English. Especially