This is funny 😀
www.youtube.com/v/yA4aRrbKsH0
I cant believe the teacher didnt no who he waz!! (Must have been a sub)
www.youtube.com/v/yA4aRrbKsH0
I cant believe the teacher didnt no who he waz!! (Must have been a sub)
Could have been a special test only some people take in a city. I took my SAT test in a high school different from my normal district high school. The teacher giving the tests never saw most of the students before.
In many universities (at least in the U.S.) there are courses taken by a large number of students, but separated into several sections meeting at different times and days. One instructor may even teach all sections. (Think of Freshman Chemistry, Introductory Economics, American Government, etc.) To maintain exam integrity, all students enrolled in the course take the exam at the same time but in several locations. Faculty members other than the actual instructor, or teaching assistants, may be assigned as Exam Proctors at the various locations. They perform (as shown in the video clip) administrative functions - distributing and collecting exam materials, keeping time, monitoring behavior, etc. In such a situation the Exam Proctor may not know the identity of students being tested.
Dale
You must have gone to a very large university. I went to a medium size college and transferred to a smaller one and I must admit I have not come across what you said. But I went to a medium size college then transferred to a smaller one.
Also this scene took place in England, (or maybe Australia, I can't tell the accents apart that easily), and I think they have some kind of national test for college there. I don't know if they hold them in the local high schools or if the students come down to some large central school to take them.
Also this scene took place in England, (or maybe Australia, I can't tell the accents apart that easily), and I think they have some kind of national test for college there. I don't know if they hold them in the local high schools or if the students come down to some large central school to take them.
The ad is from New Zealand. High School exams for University entrance held at the same time across the country for a particular subject. As dchisholm said, exam supervisors are often not from the local school.
"(or maybe Australia, I can't tell the accents apart that easily)"
I am being a little tongue in cheek here but you should be careful: I understand its as offensive to say we think you all sound like Canadians as it is to confuse the Pommy (ie English) and AUS/NZ accents...
And of course the Australians and New Zealanders are equally parochial.
😀
I am being a little tongue in cheek here but you should be careful: I understand its as offensive to say we think you all sound like Canadians as it is to confuse the Pommy (ie English) and AUS/NZ accents...
And of course the Australians and New Zealanders are equally parochial.
😀
😀
Yeah! I seriously doubt that I would have had the guts - or the quick thinking - to attempt something like that in a really serious environment, such as a national exam for university admission. But it does bring to mind a couple of High School pranks where I was at least a co-conspirator.
Dale
I recall experiencing it at least once as an undergrad, though I can't tell you what course(s). At that age I wouldn't have taken much notice since I had nothing to compare to - however they chose to do things seemed "normal" because I didn't know anything else. My school was a public university of about 5000 students. Nearly 40% of us were first-year (freshmen), and the great majority of those were in science or engineering majors, so the technical core courses (chemistry and calculus; to a lesser extent economics) had huge enrollments and they tried to keep the content and grading as uniform as possible for all students because these were pre-requisites for a lot of what followed regardless of major.
My first attempt at grad school was a big-10 university - I think there were around 25,000 undergrad students. I know there were some proctored tests because I, as a T.A., signed up to be a proctor. As I recall, it was an easy way to pick up money for pizza and beer - but accordingly, the supply of volunteer proctors outstripped the needs and I was never called.
I CAN verify that the system was used in one of my graduate departmental core courses. There were only about a couple dozen of us enrolled in the course, but it was conducted via television on the main campus as well as several satellite campuses simultaneously, and video-recorded as well for later viewing or re-viewing. The administration wanted all students to have a uniform class experience, and uniform exams, because grades in core-courses determined admission to PhD candidacy. Toward that end, even on the main campus I watched the lectures on TV and had to call the instructor by phone for assistance during his office hours - as if I was enrolled at a satellite campus a hundred miles away - even though the instructor was giving the lecture in a tele-studio a few yards from where I watched it on TV, and his office was just down the hall from my own office. When exam time came around, the test was proctored by a different faculty member, though there was at least some familiarity - and in many cases, name-face recognition - since we were all in the same department.
Dale
Attitudes toward accents and speech patterns are interesting.
I grew up in the upper Great Lakes region, and lived for 4 years in upper Michigan (locally regarded as "Superior", the 51st of the 50 U.S. states). My mother made an effort to soften some of the speech and language distinctives as she raised us, but by the time I was young adult I was aware that I spoke a "North Central" dialect - rather similar, I've been told (and confirmed by my limited observation) to the residents of Ontario and Manitoba, even though they are from a "foreign country". (I wouldn't be surprised if sociologically and culturally, as well as linguistically, I have more in common with those "foreigners" than I do with the St Louisians around me who are of the same nationality. Cal Weldon and I could probably have a discussion over which of us is the "foreigner".)
At any rate, when I briefly played with broadcast radio I made a conscious effort to train my accent into a more common Midwest/Western dialect. I now regret that. In addition, I've almost certainly acquired characteristics common to the places where I subsequently lived . A decade, and four regions, after leaving the upper Lakes I lived in suburban Washington, D.C. That region is very much a mixture of linguistics and culture from all over the world, as well as the U.S. Many people play a social game of trying to identify one's heritage from speech and dress. On more than one occasion I was labeled as "Canadian". It never bothered me. At the very least it was amusing, and if time and circumstances allowed I liked to find out what led to that conclusion.
One occasion in particular is still memorable. I was going through the checkout at a retail store. I think it was K-Mart, but may have been Sears or one of the home-center chains. I chatted with my son as we waited in line. The cashier was a friendly and attractive 30-ish woman, probably with some non-U.S. lineage within the last generation or two that I couldn't identify. When she handed me the change there was a bright, shiny, Canadian penny on top, showing the maple leaves. (I truly believe this was quite by chance.) Pointing to the coin, she smiled at me and said, "That's quite pretty! It must remind you of home.". I caught the implication but gave only a brief reply, something like, "That's close - Michigan." since there were customers in line behind me. On the way home I had to explain the event to my son.
Dale
"Attitudes toward accents and speech patterns are interesting."
Very true for me also Dale.
It also fascinates me why certain english speaking accents are pleasant to listen to and easy to understand while other accents can make my toes curl.
Similarly, there is a habit at least in Australia where young people, young ladies in particular, speak with a forced and nasally high pitch. Even news readers and the like... Its like listening to a fingernail on a chalk board.
Could it be the grumpy-old-man syndrome...
Very true for me also Dale.
It also fascinates me why certain english speaking accents are pleasant to listen to and easy to understand while other accents can make my toes curl.
Similarly, there is a habit at least in Australia where young people, young ladies in particular, speak with a forced and nasally high pitch. Even news readers and the like... Its like listening to a fingernail on a chalk board.
Could it be the grumpy-old-man syndrome...
I don't think it's due to intelligibility, but the U.S. seems to have a perpetual attraction to British accents. One of the commercial ads aired during our recent "Superbowl" poked a little fun at this - I believe Jaguar was the sponsor.
I haven't noticed this in my area. Is it a relatively recent development, or long-standing? It could be one of those things that pop culture suddenly decides is "cool", or "in", and it hangs on anywhere from a few months to several years. Some (U.S.) examples that come to mind:
- Adding the purposeless delimiter phrase, "You know?" to the beginning or end of every other sentence. Or every sentence. Or both the beginning and end of every sentence. I think this persisted from the late 1970's through the 80's. I recall sitting in one presentation where the senior attendee became annoyed to the point of interrupting the presenter with, "No, I DON'T know! So I asked you to prepare this presentation, to inform me. If that wasn't clear, you should have asked before now!".
- Using a rising inflection at the end of a declarative sentence, so that it sounds like a question. Then, e.g., the simple statement "We're having pork chops for dinner." comes out as "We're having pork chops for dinner?". To the first version I might reply, "Sounds good - shall I set the table?", while the second version seems to call for a response more like, "I certainly don't know - you planned the meals and did the grocery shopping.". This seemed to be common in the mid 1990's.
Their legacy lives on: Lake Superior State University :: Banished Words List :: The List
Use of the term "old" requires further study and deliberation. The woman I live with (and have for nearly 40 years) recently observed her natal anniversary. It seems only fitting and appropriate that I should call her "my old lady" from now until May, when I will have a birthday and then we will be the same age once again. She, however, doesn't see it that way and sternly advises me that her NEXT husband will not do such a thing.
Dale
Ahh, the Unicorn Hunters, totally, like awesome, you know: with the rising inflection at the end.
Just reading the LSSU word lists and as a former IBMer I see a considerable part of my/our former power point vocabulary has been banished. Thank you Mr Rabe. In hindsight it is acutely embarrassing to think that we took ourselves so seriously at the time.
Are you aware that Grumpy Old Men and Grumpy Old Women are British TV shows from a few years ago? Its now a welcome status to have reached the grumpy old stage, with many benefits stemming from the tolerance that tends to be shown. I think your 'old' lady should reconsider and, while she has it, to flaunt it.
Just reading the LSSU word lists and as a former IBMer I see a considerable part of my/our former power point vocabulary has been banished. Thank you Mr Rabe. In hindsight it is acutely embarrassing to think that we took ourselves so seriously at the time.
Are you aware that Grumpy Old Men and Grumpy Old Women are British TV shows from a few years ago? Its now a welcome status to have reached the grumpy old stage, with many benefits stemming from the tolerance that tends to be shown. I think your 'old' lady should reconsider and, while she has it, to flaunt it.
It's possible to confuse American and Canadian accents. There are differences, but they don't leap out at you and you might well ignore them if you're not paying close attention.
Some years ago a local, (non-network), TV station started running some TV series. Since the networks at the time were the only ones with the resources to produce dramatic or comedy shows, I did wonder where these shows were coming from. I became a fan of one of them.
Only in the 10th episode I watched, when the protaganist was extremely worked up at something Parliament had done, did it suddenly hit me the show was Canadian. I had no reason to think it wasn't American before then.
Does he sound like he just came out of a Bááh, then it's an Aussie.
If the bloke sounds like his nose is totally clogged by cotton balls, it's a Kiwi.
Likely, all Kiwies have their ancestral roots in Wales.
(regional South-African accents are much more fun to guess, or whether someone is from Rhodesia or Angola)
That's a new term to me. I guess I'm not as sensitive as many, or maybe just too easy-going due to superannuation. I checked out a couple of videos that demonstrated the characteristic before I caught on to what it is.
It's interesting that it seems to be overwhelmingly associated to young women. Could be an opportunity for doing some intensive research there, but I don't know if my wife would let me spend most of the time chatting with college-age girls.
Dale
Well sure. Northwestern American sound the same as southwestern Canadians. In all, I believe there are more accents you can pick out in the US than in Canada. From BC to Ontario is pretty much the same. In Quebec there is a good chance you'll have a French kinda accent and in the Maritimes and Newfoundland, well, they tend to sound like Newfies. That's about it up here. In the states, I've found you can have an accent that is particular to a much smaller geographical area.
IBM certainly behaved as a monopoly in some ways, but they did NOT have a monopoly on the practice of burying their fundamental ignorance of a topic under a pile of meaningless cliches and buzz-words.
I wasn't aware of those RV shows, or the pop culture associated with them. (For that matter, aside from a handful of sporting events like Daytona 500 this weekend, my viewing of U.S. television is probably about a dozen hours per year.) I definitely agree that in a few (too few) situations, the gray hair carries benefits.
I'll pass that advice on to my wife. She is still looking for ways to get even for my exploiting the situation during the 4 months after she turned 60 - and was, therefore, culturally and legally "elderly" - but I was still only in my 50's.
Dale
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