I must be slow this morning, but I got there in the end. You are not the only one, even I did not get it straight away. As John seems to have noticed, in day to day life I am John Lawler. But when I first started posting to this group and

Hello. I've heard (say, in some British songs) the following pronunciation: the vowel in "got" was pronounced in a sort ... where a similar thing could happen, say "pot", "stop", etc. I mean I didn't notice it

Hello. I've heard (say, in some British songs) the following pronunciation: the vowel in "got" was pronounced in a sort ... was Blur, by the way. The sound was not even short, it lasted for some time (because it's a song).

I've heard (say, in some British songs) the following pronunciation: the vowel in "got" was pronounced in a sort of ... where a similar thing could happen, say "pot", "stop", etc. I mean I didn't notice it in

Hello. I've heard (say, in some British songs) the following pronunciation: the vowel in "got" was pronounced in a sort of American manner, more like in "but", for example. That was Blur, by the way. The sound was not even

As someone living in Northern Ireland, the most accurate comment ... over the centuries by migrants from England, Scotland, and Wales. However, there are identifiable features which are common in speech across Northern Ireland. Those of us with

I read somewhere that if you want to hear Shakespeare's ... should see a performance by a Northern Irish/Belfast theatre company. As someone living in Northern Ireland, the most accurate comment I can make on the correctness of this assertion

Indeed. When English was first written, it was spelt phonetically. ... English represents how English was spoken in the 16th century. It's more complicated than that. Spelling standardised (thanks to printing) shortly *after* Shakespeare's

I've never heard Shakespeare being performed with original pronunciation, so ... and spelling was much closer then than it is now. Indeed. When English was first written, it was spelt phonetically. However, by Shakepeare's time

I've seen Coop stores on the continent but haven't yet noticed them in Britain. In Cambridge, Massachusetts it's the habit to refer to a certain local store as the "Harvard Coop". I think they're joking when they use that