>>>>>>
>>>>>>Our monarchy is always an import.
>>>>>>Before the Germans it was the French with William the conqueror.
>>>>>
>>>>>Oh well at least half of your vocabulary is French import.
>>>>
>>>>They seem to take some satisfaction from mispronouncing a lot of the words. For instance, saying filet as "FILL-it."
>>>
>>>I have a theory that the vowel shifts came from the British nobles trying to imitate French pronunciation, and then common folks imitating them.
>>
>>Common or poor? There seems to be a difference in the pronunciation of some words (and accent) among the "common" folk as well...
>>
>>Here, education does have an effect on language to some degree, but more often than not, it's simply a different accent which is caused by geographic location and not education.
>>
>>I just find the whole common versus royalty difference interesting (especially since we don't have it) :o)
>
>I find the denial of a class system in the US always amusing.
>
>Your child has exactly the same opportunities and connections in life as an Ivy League student from one of the older families. I'm sure . Not. :-)

I think it's actually a different kind of class system, generally based on money and success rather than heredity. There is no doubt the offspring start with a great advantage in life. (As Ann Richards famously said of the first President Bush, "He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple").