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I don't know how many times in the last week I've said to myself, "Isn't that interesting: I'll have to ask the fellas in the Agora about that." However, by the time I get to a terminal, it's gone: all those interesting factoids and questions have evaporated. What can I do? Please help me!

-- Befuddled in Wiltshire.

Hard physical shocs, such as booting, kicking, spanking and slapping are known to be the ultimate cure for malfunctioning electronic devices. The shock either works or breaks the machine. My boots are ready to serve you.

If you prefer milder cure, take an hour or so to look back your activities last week. What articles in the newspaper, people you met, phone calls, weather, etc. drew your interest most? Ask yourself. As Mozart said in the movie Amadeus, it's all in here [= head].

Flam

BTW, welcome back. Before you plan your comeback as illustrious as possible, do come back.

I think I should say thank-you, Flam, but I'm not entirely sure what kind of service you're offering!

However, your Where did you see it last? did make me remember that many things that I had heard on the radio whilst driving to and from work had been at the root of my tongue-tipping exasperation.

I've just recovered the reminder to mention about the Beeb's Voices season and, especially, the Word4Word programme (yes, I did mean all those letters on the end of that word!). It goes into social dialect, regional dialect and prescriptivism. Once they're broadcast, I think you can hear the programmes online.

The website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/) has lots of fun things about accents. You might like to try out the Language Lab's test on regional British accents.

I'm constantly amazed with things like that language lab, that prove that we don't speak the same language at all...

-Tim

Hard physical shocs, such as booting, kicking, spanking and slapping are known to be the ultimate cure for malfunctioning electronic devices. The shock either works or breaks the machine.

oddly enough NASA recommends a good Fonzie to whatever machinery that is malfunctioning.

Katy

I don't know how many times in the last week I've said to myself, "Isn't that interesting: I'll have to ask the fellas in the Agora about that." However, by the time I get to a terminal, it's gone: all those interesting factoids and questions have evaporated.

You're getting older. Face it.

Sometimes, it helps to go back to the place where the thought occurred, to get into the right mood again. Somteimes just relaxing does the trick.

To really be on the safe side, I have placed several sets of paper + pencil around my apartment, the most important one of course being the bedside setup. I'm getting better at immediately jotting such ideas down, realizing that I won't remember them.

Now what was I going to add? Heck, TTFN.

I'm constantly amazed with things like that language lab, that prove that we don't speak the same language at all...

-Tim

I managed to score 10/10 on the language lab accents and languages quiz, but that was pretty hard going. My sister managed 8/10, but she didn't tell me which ones she had got wrong. I would be interested to know how non-Brits do, as I'd imagine it would be quite difficult to distinguish different British accents. By the way, Cockney is not the answer to any of the questions!

-- Garzo.

I dislike registering, so I did'nt try. I suppose I might get 1/10 if I managed to spot some kind of Midlands (if there is such a thing), no more. I couldn't distinguish Aussie or SA English from anything, including US versions.

Anders, you don't have to register to try. Click this link to get in to the test without registering:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/languagelab ... ents.shtml?

Forget the above, anders... It does require registration; I just forgot I had already registered... *doh*

Garzo, I only got London and Glasgow correct. I knew I wouldn't get many, though.

I had no idea Turkish sounded so much like Scots Gaelic to my ear. And like Brummies, evidently, "singer" does rhyme with "finger", to me.

-Tim

Oh dear, Turkish sounds like Scots Gaelic! I think those languages have very distinctive phonetic palettes, but that's just me.

The registering thing is not such a bind: they just want you to tell them where you come from, so they can see how people from different places hear accents. I don't imagine results from non-Brits will be all that useful to them anyway, but it's worth registering if only to hear the clips of different accents.

-- Garzo.

I definitely agree about the registration being worth it.

And I didn't mean to say so much that the Turkish sounded like the Scots Gaelic, as rather the rhythm of vowels eliding into high palette consonants seemed similar. Maybe that means the same thing. I'll have to think about it.

-Tim
...not as if I hear Scots Gaelic and Turkish every day.

Two days ago, I heard two girls discussing. When they used Swedish, I noticed that one of them had a distinct non-Swedish accent. Normaly, I can make a fair guess on accents, and it sure was close to several university classmates from Arab countries (including her use of profane language). But they didn't look at all like Mid-Easterners. I was quite certain that they used a Slavonic language, Polish or Croat or something. They were Albanians.

Several years ago, I heard people discussing in a café in Copenhagen. I had absolutely no idea from which part of the world the language was. After some five to ten minutes, I began to suspect that they used Icelandic. After adjusting my ears for Germanic languages, I just barely identified a few words that confirmed my suspicion.

. . . After adjusting my ears for Germanic languages, I just barely identified a few words that confirmed my suspicion.

(Stargzer imagines the sight of Anders tweaking internal trim-pots by means of a small screwdriver inserted into his ears . . .)