I went to YouBoob and watched a rather unpleasnat and ancient debate between
Buckley and Gore Vidal to get a feel of this. Both had a significant drawl
overlaying a well educated voice. I retreated to watching Garrison Keilor who I
think has a wonderful self-deprecating humour which is strangely English in
character, a remarkable charm and who is possibly one of the funniest people on
the planet. I once actually fell off a chair laughing while listening to him
and I'm reading one of his novels at present - slowly to savour it. It's a
delightful counterpoint that he is both urbane and educated, while drawing his
content for the rural. Unfortunately, while very well spoken indeed, he did use
the word 'gotten' at one point. I must write to him about that. I'm sure that
he will mend his ways.
And, heavens, he really understands irony. Is he actually American?
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 27/05/2011, at 8:34 PM, Bob Whitmire wrote:
> PS: Don't tell the others, but I rather enjoy hearing English spoken as, say,
> the BBC used to do it. But then I also enjoyed listening to William Buckley
> speak, though I didn't agree with much of what he said. I also once refused
> to miss William Safire's On Language column in the New York Times, as well as
> James j. Kilpatrick's essays on the subject. E.B. White was a pleasure to
> read, and, of course, for many years I had Strunk & White by my typewriter,
> later, keyboard. Hell, I even read a good bit of what Eric Blair wrote, never
> mind that whole 1984 thing. (Thanks, by the way, for that tea essay. I passed
> it along to my cousin, who has a taste for Indian tea.)
--
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