Cultural Anecdotes, Similarities & Differences

Re: British vs. American English

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:23 GMT

LOL: just so long as you dont start inviting me to coffees and singing at me like the bucket woman. " THE BOUGUET RESIDENCE LADY OF THE HOUSE SPEAKING!"

Re: British vs American English

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:23 GMT

Hello, I am an American .And I have found that the Amercan english has deteriorated. even Among professional telivision personalities. IE:News casters have even began to become rather loose in pronunciation. back in the day, newscasters spoke very eloquently. I was under the impression that American professional anouncers and newscasters were required to have taken elocution lessons. PS: It is my opinion that the British Speak english as is was meant to be spoken.more American people should watch the BBC News. and perhaps we could develop a better form of the english language.

Re: British vs American English (potaytoe, potaatoe)

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:23 GMT

I agree with what cloud wrote, thats exactly how i say those words and i am too american. Though, the english/british accent is my all time favorite accent and i just love listening to them say different things so please tell me how u guys say the words terror, school, and terrorist. It would be greatly appreciated. That was just my input. -massachusetts girl

Re: British vs American English

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:23 GMT

I personally don't think there's a "better" English between British and American English. They're just different, and I don't say that to be politically correct or unneccesarily diplomatic. Generally speaking, British-English sounds more posh, whereas American-English sounds more natural, at least to my ear. Both have their good points... and bad. Damien

Re: British vs American English

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

I'm american so I would know. Sucks means something you hate, it's sort of like the word stinks. Freakin is used a lot where I live, and it actually is the equivalent to bloody but it's not profanity unless you use it as a cover up for f###ing. Cool just means you are a popular person or you like the thing you are talking about. Oh and the accent thing, i don't care about that because i have to live with southern (my own accent), northern, and asian accents. It drives you crazy(mad)!!!!!! just like the fact that people here are muts. im part british, irish, scotish, french, native american, italian, portueges( crap I spelled it wrong), appalachian, ducth, slovenian, and the list just goes on (except i'm not asian). this...

Re: British vs American English

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

america rules from mystery man

Re: British vs American English

Lusia — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Haha, thank you MrP. Now, before I let people discuss the British v. American case I'd like to state that: I haven't changed my mind. I don't walk topless around either French or Polish beach. I don't have French accent, I have my own, I was occasionally mistaken for French in England for inexplicable reasons by people who hadn't got a clue I was unable to pronounce a single French word. Tullulah Tam, many thanks, that's what I thought, too. A twin bed for a single, that's weird! Isn't a twin bed in UK, a one that you can unzip and make two singles from it? Greetings to all. L.

Re: British vs American English

MrPedantic — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Before you decide to discard your accent entirely, Lusia, consider the contents of this thread: Post:103549 MrP

Re: British vs American English

Tallulah Tam — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

"I have another piece of trivia for you: the TICKETS TYPES. As most of you know there's a general difference between BrE and AmE (single/return and one-way/round-trip). Can someone be so wise, and explain to me and others, why while most of the tickets across UK are called 'singles' (coach, bus, tube/underground, tram, railway), the airlines tickets are always 'one-way'?" Lusia, I think the answer may be that “coach, bus, tube/underground, tram, railway” are national means of transport, (except for the Eurostar) and “single” meaning one way, is the name we have always given to those tickets. “One Way” is a better term, and “Both Ways” would be a better term than either “Round Trip” or “Return”. In America a single bed is called...

Re: British vs American English

Lusia — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Hello Tallulah Tam, Thank you for your answer! Indeed I did not mention my nationality (and haven't got it in my personal description - that's because I'm not so site-acquainted and simply have not got a clue how i should enter it, but surely will work it out soon). I just wanted to get a general idea. (I'm Polish by the way). I have lived in England for one year and I know exactly how helpful and tolerant you people are!! You have my sympathy till my last breath! As I wrote on my first post, I've really wanted to take over the way of speaking from the British (though at the very beginning I tried to stick to the Irish cente r , potte r , rollercoaste r r -stress). I've picked up all the cente (r) (of course it's spelled...

Re: British vs American English

MrPedantic — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Tallulah Tam wrote: Can someone explain why a British a r s e means an American ass ? I was blown away to discover that one time. 4) I thought it was just their pronunciation of the same word until I looked it up, but you are right, it is actually in the American dictionary! " ass n. (vulgar) 1. the buttocks 2. the rectum. If you don't mind my saying so, you seem to be unduly concerned with the baser aspects of the language. "Fundamental" aspects, surely...

Re: British vs American English

Tallulah Tam — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Hello Lusia, You do not state your native language. It would be helpful to know which country you are from. As you can see I am British living in America so I will try to answer your questions, I will be corrected if I am wrong, (I hope) Generally it is fairly easy to guess a person's background from their accent. The English, Scots, Welsh, Irish, Canadians, Americans, Australians, New Zealanders etc., etc., all speak English with their own distinct accent, and different parts of England and America have different accents too. We are very tolerant of people trying to speak our language, (unlike the French). If we understand that yowk means joke we let it pass. Obviously in a language school it would not pass but in everyday...

Re: British vs American English

Lusia — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Hiya, It's just amazing how the language evolves acr oss the world in time. There's always something nice in most accents (except for a few ) Being a non-English speaker, I have always longed for an impeccable accent; First the American one (because of TV), then the Irish one (because of my amazing teacher) and finally when I got to UK and emmersed myself in the culture the British one (the Queen's English, but not only). I adore the Aussie one as well. Anyway, what I'd love to hear from you (kind of aside the main thread) is how you feel about the foreigners speaking your lovely mother tangue and their accents (which are typical for some nations, like the Spanish ( yowk instead of joke ), French, etc.). Do you find...

Re: British vs American English

Ajan Eric — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

YoungCalifornian wrote: Think about where the phrase "that thing sucks" came from. What do you think it is that the aforementioned subject sucks? Without being profane think about something that only males have. Not necessarily! When I was young we used to say, "Go suck an egg" and this evolved into "Suck eggs." We all agree that sucking an egg would be disgusting, so "sucks" may have derived from this. A older friend told me that "Go suck a lemon" was common. However, this man reports: " I was born in the 1930s. When I was in high school and college, my friends and I used to say, 'This sucks' meaning that we disliked the situation intensely. It was slang, but there was no sexual reference involved." 11...

Re: British vs American English (potaytoe, potaatoe)

Lazarus — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Hey there, petpefriend6: I'm from the North, and you're right about "y'all" not being used up here. All of the other phrases you list, though, are said up here, too, with the exception perhaps of "there you go."

Re: British vs American English (potaytoe, potaatoe)

ALex Frey Maroto — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

ok, Im Mexican, my native language is not english. but let me say first that my accent is, for obvious geographical reasons very american alike. Second, I love british accent, i 've heard american english everyday for so many years, thats why i prefer british accent, and not only me, but most of people outside US or Britain say that they prefer to listen to british E. Why? it sounds more elegant by far. When it comes to this discution, most of people I know, say they like, understand, and would rather learn british english. Well, of course, part of this is a myth. British accent is seductive, elegant but is not easier to understand, specially for latin people who happen to live right next to americans. American is so much easier....

Re: British vs American English (potaytoe, potaatoe)

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Re: British vs American English (potaytoe, potaatoe)

Petpefriend6 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

*** goodness... erm... well, American English. Why? I live in the U.S... so I speak it already. Umm.. but I think a point we need to bring up is- which part of America? Because even the english here changes when you pass from North to South. I live in the south, and so am found saying "ya'll, Sight for sore eyes. (looks great) Sitting pretty. (got it made) That takes the cake. (surprised) There you go (means to agree with)" and things like that alot. You won't, I'm pretty sure, ever find a northerner saying anything of that sort. ^^

Re: British vs American English

David — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Learn English. This is spoken by most people with slight variations. The problem becomes acute when the individual hs not bothered to learn the basics for one reason or another and when the accent is too pronounced.You have Australians Canadians and the vast majority in the world speaking English with variations.

Re: British vs American English

YoungCalifornian — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

I don't think you can go wrong with either. No matter which dialect of English you learn, you will still be able to communicate with anyone who speaks the language fluently. When deciding which variant is better for you, consider with whom you are more likely to be speaking. If you'll be communicating with persons more familiar with British English then it's probably best to learn British English, for example.

Re: British vs American English

adomi — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Hi Everybody, I know I'm late...but help me catch up the train...I'm now all confused..I'm neither British, nor Ameriacan, but I'd like to learn ENGLISH...which one do you suggest me to learn then, as it appears there are some differences between them.

Re: British vs American English

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

how about counseling ?

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Yes, I knew that, I was just making sure:)

Re: British vs American English

abbie1948 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

We don't say "butt" either. We refer to 'bottom' or 'backside'.

Re: British vs American English

YoungCalifornian — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Fanny = butt in the United States Fanny = as abbie said, err... an "intimate part of the female anatomy" in the United Kingdom

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

fnany liking ... butt? or something else ....

Re: British vs American English

abbie1948 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

You don't know what it is? It is a highly intimate part of the female anatomy. Try not to say "fanny" in polite company if you are ever in UK

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Huh?!

Re: British vs American English

abbie1948 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

BrE 'fanny' - too rude to mention!

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Y'all have this States accent stuff down, L.O.L:-p

Re: British vs American English

cloud — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

Ya, what about the people in the south western?? We don't speak the 'common southern' accent, nor the slight british ish Illinois or those states, nor New york. I think the people in the south western ish area have the more 'neutral' american: some softened consinences(sp!!) and vowels, flowed, etc etc. But I don't know!!! so don't fuss! Anyway, about the 'schewpid' 'stoopid' thing. Americans say 'stoopid' might/might not be because (like the bold sterio type) americans r lazy but i think its more because of the evolution thing. For example, way back when, when the first immigrants came and blah blah blah, they were far from the british and their speaking habits so when they were speaking and writing english they might've just...

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

yeah, I speak canadian, lol, I'm from illinois so I do have that slight British thing going too. Wow, you sure got this whole dialect thing down:) very cool !

Re: British vs American English

Guest — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

I have never claimed to an expert in British dialects yet everyone thinks they're an American one. In Ohio, people say learnt and burnt but in writing it's considered poor grammer, so we don't do it. The northern midwest, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, pronucation is closer to England then the rest of the U.S. Most of you are referring to southern dialect which is completely different or California "valley girl" dialect. I think you watch too many American movies because there are vast diffences. There is a excellent documentary on it called "Do Speak American?" which closely examines this.

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Very well put

Re: British vs American English

Guest — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Firstly, it's nothing like shtewpid at all, it's much more like Nona said, s-chew-pid; schew'pid. However, it isn't exactly that either, but that's as close as it is possible to get in writing. Secondly, the only reason I say that is because I'm a stupid commoner with terrible diction (and as such, I probably speak too quickly/lazily), consequently, I slur the "stu" part of the word. If I was speaking more slowly and deliberately, such as if I thought the other person was a little dim/foriegn , or if I was doing it for intimidation, whilst prodding them in the chest and putting on my angry face, I would obviously be enunciating more clearly and I would say stupid. Of course, people with decent educations say stupid at all times. ...

Stupid ... ;)

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

I say "shtew-pid", and I find myself saying many words that "SH" way ...

Re: British vs American English

Clive Woodward — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

I say 'stew-pid', and I am a man of the world

Re: British vs American English

YoungCalifornian — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

To my mind, the word "sucks" definitely has a worse connotation than "stinks" when used in slang. As a young child my parents would have been upset with me for using the term 'sucks', but not 'stinks'. Think about where the phrase "that thing sucks" came from. What do you think it is that the aforementioned subject sucks? Without being profane think about something that only males have.

Re: British vs American English

nona the brit — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

I was going to deny it but trying it out I think we actually tend to say s-chew-pid.

Re: British vs American English

Guest — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

British people talk funny. They say thy're S-T's like it's S-H-T. For example Americans say stupid. Britiains say Shtewpid. I know first hand my GF is British.

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:07:24 GMT

eh, Idk possibly ... someone I know doesn't like it when people use the word "suck" but doesn't mind "stink", so to somepeople it might

Re: British vs American English

Guest — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Don't you think "suck" is stronger than "stink"?

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

lol, no problem, any other ones you can't find an equivelant to? I'd love to help Claire<3

Re: British vs American English

cloud — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

whoa.... ur smart! i never thought of that..weird thank u

Re: British vs American English

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Actually, I find sucks to be the equivelant to stinks ...

Re: British vs American English

cloud — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:07:24 GMT

wait... what about asking for a ride/lift thing? Dont u think 'ride' makes more sense? The definition of lift is: "raise or remove to a higher position. 2 intr. go up; be raised. 3 tr. elevate to a higher plane of thought or feeling {...}" the rest of it said something like raising/moving to higher place etc etc. In contrast to the definition of ride: "travel or be carried on (a bicycle, etc.) or in (a vehicle). 2 tr. & intr. sit on and control or be carried by (a horse, etc.) 3 tr. be carried or supported by. 4 tr. traverse {...}" the rest said something like going or procede. i have some idea of what the unmentionable is....right Anyway, what about "freakin' " (friggin'?)? Maybe that could be the american version of...

By Our Lady

Pea33 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:07:24 GMT

That's weird, I've never that before cool!

Re: British vs. American English

David — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Bloody came about because a common profanity in the past was By our Lady. now corrupted to bloody without most people realizing its origins.

Re: British vs. American English

Guest — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:07:24 GMT

British accents of any kind definitely sound prettier (with the possible exception of Cockney.......) I think there are much more unattractive British accents. Take a Liverpool accent for example...ugh!

Re: British vs American English

nona the brit — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:07:24 GMT

Hi French fry, you made some interesting comments there. To answer your questions: Does the Cockney accent really sound like it does in My Fair Lady?. - Absolutely NOT. Is "bloody" considered to be BrE profanity, or just a somewhat impolite word (like suck)? - It is not really a profanity, it is an impolite word that crops up quite a lot as an adjective. Bloody car wouldn't start this morning, I wish it would stop bloody raining. Some people won't say it though, usually older people still think it is a bit 'naughty' - my mum would say 'bloomin' as a euphamism for bloody. When it is combined with hell 'Bloody Hell!' it is an exclamation of amazement/surprise/annoyance and that is something a lot of people consider more of a...