Forums > Social Discussion > Two nations seperated by a common language

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KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
Well, I'm still recuperating a bit from my trip, but it was loads of fun! But this isn't really about that, so much as my amusement at occasional inabilities of americans and brits to communicate.

Hardest word for me to change back now that I'm here: Trainers
Hardest word for me to change to when i was there: Trousers
Most fun word: Fancy
Hardest word for me to understand in conversation: Bins
Hardest phrase: Have a go


And no, I don't know why i tripped over have a(nother) go so often. I realize it makes perfect logical sense.

So what do people like better/worse about british/american english?

And does anyone have any good communication stories?

I think my favourite was when i asked drew "Can all pants be called trousers?"

-Kbug

PS I promise to be a lot less shy next time!

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere


Posted:
yes, you do.
just less than the rest of the country.

has anybody here heard of the doric? its the dialect where i grew up in the north east of scotland.
harder to understand than a geordie and a weegie having an argument after 15 pints....

Holistic Spinner (I hope)


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
Wow, where did that arashi quote come from??? Clearly I missed something... altho i did get to hear the storyabout him driving...

On another slightly freaky note, i stopped being able to hear most accents partway through my trip. Arashi, Bluecat, and Durbs all sounded exactly alike to me. And with the exception of the word can't, FNF sounded exactly like all of them. For everyone else's record, they are an american, a scot (if not a thick one at all!), something random mid-englandish and a south englander. They should *not* sound alike.

Btw, the randy story is wonderful!

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


DurbsBRONZE Member
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England


Posted:
Written by: Kyrian


Arashi, Bluecat, and Durbs all sounded exactly alike to me. And with the exception of the word can't, FNF sounded exactly like all of them. For everyone else's record, they are an american, a scot (if not a thick one at all!), something random mid-englandish and a south englander.




"Random mid-englandish"?! Me?!
I'm about as typically South-Eastern, Queens English as you can get.
*mutters about being called mid-englandish*
wink

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude


Sporkyaddict
663 posts
Location: Glasgow


Posted:
lolsign I like to say that I can speak 3 languages... English, Finnish... and Weegie.

Have faith in what you can do and respect for what you can't


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
sorry lol. i couldn't remember where you were from. was there anyone from london or north england there that i talked to reguarly? ah, the people from manchester... yeah, they all sounded like everyone else too. it was really quite ridiculous

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


SethisBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,762 posts
Location: York University, United Kingdom


Posted:
Phae'Xorl? "Me either"??????

It's "Me neither"! Me either doesn't make sense! Nevermind that it sounds weird that you've got two e's next to eachother.

Sorry... biggrin

After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.


ImmortalAngelSILVER Member
Scientist!
578 posts
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada


Posted:
Written by: onefinalstep


Oh, and I'm Canadian so I get to laugh at you all!!!




Amen eh!
And besides, Canadians have no accent, except for the french, we just speak normally. It's our lack of accent that makes us unique cool That and we put in extra words into our sentances, most commonly like, you know, and the ever so popular Eh.

Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> STAY SAFE! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug.gif" alt="" />


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Written by: ImmortalAngel


Amen eh!
And besides, Canadians have no accent, except for the french, we just speak normally. It's our lack of accent that makes us unique cool That and we put in extra words into our sentances, most commonly like, you know, and the ever so popular Eh.




It's true. Canadians have no accent...

...85% of the time.

And the other 15% of the time, it's just aboot impawsible to miss it. ubblol

It's sorta how Kiwis and Ozzies can't tell each-other apart for a few minutes, and suddenly the nationality declares itself quite loudly.l

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


Sporkyaddict
663 posts
Location: Glasgow


Posted:
True. Even in St Andrews, where there are more Americans than in America, if I use my Cannadian accent most people spot it. After that the conversation usually folows this patern with Americans...

American: "Wow, so you grew up in Canada, thats so cool"
Me: "Yep"
American: "What was it like?"
Me: "I dunno, normal I guess, I grew up in Toronto so I guess just like any other city"
American: "Must have been cold though"

It never fails. To think, these are the smart ones, the ones who made it to the UK. My reply is usually "Yeah, it was and really hard work too. The polar bears needed milking twice a day and beaver eggs are really difficult to find in the winter and we had to go out every day in temperatures of -90c six hours before we got up and etc. etc."

Have faith in what you can do and respect for what you can't


DarthMeauxThe artist formerly known as Phae'xorl.
145 posts
Location: South-East Ohio (the foothills of the Appalacian M...


Posted:
Written by: Sethis


Phae'Xorl? "Me either"??????

It's "Me neither"! Me either doesn't make sense! Nevermind that it sounds weird that you've got two e's next to eachother.

Sorry... biggrin




I stand corrected Master Jedi.........apology accepted biggrin wink

"...heaven is ordering a six piece chicken nugget and getting seven...and a switchblade."


VampyricAcidSILVER Member
veteran
1,286 posts
Location: My House, United Kingdom


Posted:
wanna know how to annoy a lot of americans, tell em this joke

What do you get if you cross a Mexican and a Canadian?

AN AMERICAN!!!

well it works on my mate, he hates it!!

Proudly Owned By The BMVC

Are You Sniffing My Mitten?


Josie-PosieBRONZE Member
member
82 posts
Location: Clapham, London, United Kingdom


Posted:
Weeel moi lover it be lookin loik you ignored us whom be Cornish. For example "back along" meaning any time in the past where the other person in the conversation should know when it happened.. for example you remember back along at Clapham when blah blah blah. And "dreckly" or directly which can be any time in the near future for example a builder might say "i'll get to fixing your roof dreckly maid" translated i will fix your roof in the near future but i'm not going to tell you when missy. Oh and we always go up at the end of sentence so incomers think we are always asking questions. And even if you pronounce the name of my town the same as me you will still be wrong (especially if your American). And it's not Fowey!!! Its Foi.

bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere


Posted:
fit ye daein the morns nicht min?
(what are you doing tomorrow night, my man?)

aaah i love language.

everybody shuold read bill brysons best books:
'the mother tongue' and 'Made in america' for real insight into this problem. bryson was a linguist before becoming a travel writer, but he makes language as funny as anny story he ever recounted after.

R

ps lightning you haven't answered my q at the top of this page spank

Holistic Spinner (I hope)


Sporkyaddict
663 posts
Location: Glasgow


Posted:
"See yoos, ya poofcakes wi yer flags oan ah strung, yoor aw pure fandangs. Gerit up yees."

Ah, the greater Glaswegian Ned, scum of the universe but you have to love them. Only they could think of cutting holes in the bottom of their trousers and then tucking the legs into their socks so that when they get their shoplift and pockets searched there's nothing in them. And only they could think of such stupid things as "poofcakes". I had an American friend ask me what that meant and to be honest I have no idea. Common language? My arse. not here in Glasgow

Have faith in what you can do and respect for what you can't


CarobananasGOLD Member
april fool
36 posts
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands


Posted:
funniest british/american language confusion I ever witnessed:

British guy to American guy: "Mind if I pinch a fag?"

biggrin

GelflingBRONZE Member
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: Doc Lightning


Wait... I'm not done.

You limeys have the craziest notions about spelling.






That's because our way of spelling is derived from the origin of the word as well as the phonetics of the word where as the American way is a phonetic approach.

Now the Kiwis and Ausies have some cool slang – my favourite being toe-ee (how do you spell that word?) from Aus and choice from NZ

>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
right. now that would be amusing.

go on has given me trouble lately. i mean, sometimes it makes sense.
but "go on i'll get the picture for you" just didn't sound like feckin' english to me!

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


DominoSILVER Member
UnNatural Scientist - Currently working on a Breville-legged monkey
757 posts
Location: Bath Uni or Shrewsbury, UK


Posted:
About a week a go I was having a conversation with an AQmerican girl about "School" - I did actually have to stop and ask if we were speaking English-English or American-English.

School, highschool, college, university, secondary school...

Couldn't cope

Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can beat the world into submission.


roarfireSILVER Member
comfortably numb
2,676 posts
Location: The countryside, Australia


Posted:
Us aussies say 'mall' sounding like the name 'Mel'



You americans say 'mall' like 'maul' (rhyming with Paul)



Crazy.



And Gelfing I think we spell it like 'toey'...it's usually expressed when you're feeling horny or 'randy' as americans say! It's also used to talk about when someone is agressive/on edge/ready for a fight.

.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
er, randy as brits say, you mean!

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


roarfireSILVER Member
comfortably numb
2,676 posts
Location: The countryside, Australia


Posted:
Yeah..that's what I mean. Lol *blushes*

.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.


VampyricAcidSILVER Member
veteran
1,286 posts
Location: My House, United Kingdom


Posted:
or it could mean toe-like biggrin we should write an Anglo-American dictionary!!



so

English->American

Randy -> Horny

Bin -> Trash Can

Aluminium -> Aluminum

Pavement->Sidewalk

Road -> Pavement (not sure about that one)

Cenral Reservation -> Median

Roundabout -> Crazy English Invention We Just Dont Get

Biscuit -> Cookie (what is a biscuit in america?)

????? -> Biscuit

Crisps -> Chips

Chips -> Fries

Colour-> Color

Honour->Honor



add more as you wish (should we start a new topic on this? The Great HoP Anglo-American Dictionary)



English words of interest

Chav

Pikie

Fish Slice

Peugeot



(lets leave loughbourough out of this and knowing my luck ive spelt it wrong)

Proudly Owned By The BMVC

Are You Sniffing My Mitten?


MiGGOLD Member
Self-Flagellation Expert
3,414 posts
Location: Bogged at CG, Australia


Posted:
why dont we compress all languages into unispeak?

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie


GelflingBRONZE Member
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
If we did that MiG we would loose a part of our identities.

I personally like variety especially within UK - English for instance if you were to say that it’s a bit cold you could describe the weather as parky; nippy; brass monkeys etc and someone who feels the cold may be described as nesh. If you were to informally greet a person you may call them duck; chicken; chick; cock; bird (all bird style greetings are especially popular in Derbyshire and surrounding counties); love; lover (pronounced as lubber in Bristol - where they have an accent like the pirates from old swashbuckling films); petal; flower; mate; matey; c#@t (used in parts of South Sheffield); and the list goes on. With the exception of lubber all of these informal greetings are used within a 15 mile radius – how cool is that?!

>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
tarmac -> asphalt

you eat biscuits with gravy. and don't forget all the muffin and cracker strangeness.
and roads are really just roads. we have roundabouts, we just havn't igured out how to drive on them it seems. and we have too many stop signs but we still get places faster in cars. which reminds me:

bonnet -> hood
?? -> windsheild
petrol -> gas
large car -> small car
car -> stick/ manual (as i'm led to belive there are no automatics in britain)
boot -> trunk

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


roarfireSILVER Member
comfortably numb
2,676 posts
Location: The countryside, Australia


Posted:
Written by: MiG



why dont we compress all languages into unispeak?






Sorry to say but that's already been tried. tongue



Back in the 60s, romanicists thought...'there would be no wars if we all stopped misunderstanding each other' so they made up a language called 'Esperanto' which is based mainly on Latin that the whole world could learn. It worked for a while but then something happened but I can't remember what



Apparently approx 2 million people in the world still speak it today.



So there you go. I learnt this because we're studying the movie Gattaca and the speak it over the P.A system in the opening scene. Off topic I know. Anyway...carry on.

.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.


GelflingBRONZE Member
Watcher of 80s cartoons
665 posts
Location: Chepstow & Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
GATTACA - loved that film

windscreen -> windshield

we do have automatics in the UK but most of us don't like giving up control to the car and so manual is the norm.

>What do you think about the state of the Earth?
>I'm optimistic.
>So why do you look so sad?
>I'm not sure that my optimism is justified.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
In america sub can mean sandwhich (grinder, hoagie, whatever). and it can also mean sub-woofer. Do both of those translate?

(We had an - expirience- mixing the two up today)

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


LemonkeyStalking amidst the desert, carrying an oversized scalpel...
1,019 posts
Location: Huddersfield + Hull Uni... UK.


Posted:
Written by: Vampyricacid

Roundabout -> Crazy English Invention We Just Dont Get




Go to the *beautiful* city of Hull, mainly Cottingham, and you'll see more roundabouts in ten minutes than you have in your entire life.

(https://www.hull.ac.uk/05/aboutus/howtofindus/campusmapA3.pdf) scroll down, you'll see what I mean.

Written by: MiG


why dont we compress all languages into unispeak?




Or Newspeak.

Willy - is bad for your health...


.:star:.SILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
1,785 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: Vampyricacid


English words of interest
...
Peugeot





Peugeot isn't an english word, Its french!

Written by: Vampyricacid


Road -> Pavement (not sure about that one)




confused
a road is, well its a road! ???


I think swindon has to be the worst place for roundabouts ever!!
https://www.somethingunderstood.org/img/Roundabout%20Swindon%20UK.html

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