The Language Barrier

[Umma]

There are a lot of differences between British English and American English, and I dont just mean spelling. Definitions also fluctuate quite a lot so here's some help

US 2 UK English

[Meehowski]

Good one Umma!!

Thanks....be well.............

[wingnut2600]

All that I can say is, UK English is lame :P

These words are mainly synonyms with regional usage. Colloquial speech is variant in all languages, even in different portions of the US. My wife's family is from the Mid West, and she loves to throw in an odd word occasionally that she learned as a child.

Formal English is rather similar between nations. Personally, I use Autumn and Fall interchangably, and many of the other idiomatic expressions are due to marketing and people using trademarked items that are dissimilar in the countries causing divergence.

I would consider American English to be a less stuffy and more vibrant (albeit "slangy") version of the proper English spoken by those in the UK. The UK English is less flexible; having less linguistic plasticity to adapt to future and current social and technological change. If a word is used to refer to the current state of the world, it is derived from American English... Eventually the Brits will be speaking American English as their language is less and less able to refer to the world in which they inhabit.

:P

What do you think Grab?

[Umma]

Can you repeat that in English please! :P

nice post wingnut....

but I for one will NEVER speak american english.... :duck hunt:

A guide to Britain for Americans

[MikeHunt]

umma ...excellent.... bravo ...cheers. !! good job

[slum_goddess]

thank you Umma--the second link is a riot. for the past year or so, we've been the objects of good natured ridicule by our brit friends due to spoken english cultural differences. i have trouble especially w/the phrase 'taking the piss' as i amerikanedly focus on the 'taking' part so frequently shorten it to 'pissing on (whomever)' when i'm ripped and can't be arsed. hilarity ensues, of course.

and then there's that word 'fanny' which means either entrance depending upon which side of the atlantic one's on.

[Umma]

slum goddess..... you've first hand experience in the babel... and the British so love to take the piss!!

there's an expression (though not used so much now) that has caused past problems too...

"Keep your pecker up"..... which in Britain is a phrase of encouragement.... the pecker being the nose

:rotfl:

[slum_goddess]

oh yes they do, Umma and i love it. :P (soon to be living in bristol, yay!)

a few months back, i was told to keep my pecker up by a very close girlfriend...i'm all WTF? we laughed and laughed when she explained.

btw, love the avatar--reminds me of maxfield parrish art.

[jipper]

having less linguistic plasticity to adapt to future and current social and technological change

:rotfl: ...whatever..!

some of those definitions are wack (thats means bad for you american people)

"Fag (in the USA a fag is slang for some one who is gay!)"

god, we must sound soooo dupid...then agian, you asses fannies...:gigglin:

Edited March 24, 2004 by mr.jip

[Umma]

jippy... you realy need to use those uber 1337 5k1lz to do better editing :P

Slum Goddess.... hope you enjoy living in Bristol... just think.... you'll be close enough to meet the jipper and cube !!!!! :D

[jipper]

because im so creative and so energised i have no time to do proper editing....im to lazy..

[slum_goddess]

hope you enjoy living in Bristol... just think.... you'll be close enough to meet the jipper and cube !!!!! :D

last weekend was a pisser, i fell totally in love w/bristol as we climbed all those hills. the weather sucks though--same as bonn (maritime climate). but the resulting clouds and sky colors really blew us away.

the fact there's a thriving music scene really turns us on but being like a couple of hours from london is the best (near to a lot of our friends). also 'sir eddie real' the conga player from the alabama 3 lives there and captain paranoid & the delusions live in cardiff, like a half hour drive away. i'm getting very stoked...another dream come true, to live in england.

yo, you guys--beware the amerikan accents & the overpowering stench of patchouli that follows me everywhere. B)

[Umma]

The whole world should smell like patchouli

[jipper]

yea totally...whats patchoulli

[Umma]

The patchouli plant is a fragrant herb, native to tropical Asia and is cultivated in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. It grows from 2 to 3 feet in height, and bears egg-shaped leaves , along with whitish flowers, tinged with purple. Harvested two or three times a year, the leaves are then dried in peperation of distillation.

ROll up.... n get yer patchouli here

[jipper]

ah, am i correct in thinking that in distillation it produces a thick oil, amber to dark orange in colour, with a powerful, earthy sweet, somewhat musty, unmistakable fragrance - that improves as it ages..?

[Umma]

yes you would be correct in that assumption though that particular description may apply to more than one subtance when distilled....

[jipper]

yes....you are correct in thiking such a ..thingy!

[grab_grab_the_haddock]

originally posted by wingnut2600

I would consider American English to be a less stuffy and more vibrant (albeit "slangy") version of the proper English spoken by those in the UK.

This is a pretty common misconception perpetuated by ignorant Americans such as yourself. You seem to believe that all British people talk like Prince Charles. Most probably you imagine that Britain is populated by tall thin people in pin stripe suits who walk with a superior air of aristocracy, who sport bowler hats and carry a broadsheet newspaper under their arm, and say things like "I say old boy, would you care for a jolly spiffing cup of tea"

originally posted by wingnut2600The UK English is less flexible; having less linguistic plasticity to adapt to future and current social and technological change. If a word is used to refer to the current state of the world, it is derived from American English... Eventually the Brits will be speaking American English as their language is less and less able to refer to the world in which they inhabit.

Once again, another stereotype. The truth is that UK English, which grew up over many centuries has far more local variety, expressiveness and adaptibility than US English which is spoken exactly the same way from Connecticut to California. The only slight exceptions being New Yorkers, who all sound like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, and rednecks, who talk with a semi-retarded drawl.

[Kooperman]

The truth is that UK English, which grew up over many centuries has far more local variety, expressiveness and adaptibility than US English which is spoken exactly the same way from Connecticut to California. The only slight exceptions being New Yorkers, who all sound like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, and rednecks, who talk with a semi-retarded drawl.

Sterotypes by you this time grabber...come to the US, visit your close friends in the White House and put your ears on straight....lots of different sounds in New York and redneck territory ( they don't ALL sound like James Carville....)

[grab_grab_the_haddock]

The truth is that UK English, which grew up over many centuries has far more local variety, expressiveness and adaptibility than US English which is spoken exactly the same way from Connecticut to California.  The only slight exceptions being New Yorkers, who all sound like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, and rednecks, who talk with a semi-retarded drawl.

Sterotypes by you this time grabber...come to the US, visit your close friends in the White House and put your ears on straight....lots of different sounds in New York and redneck territory ( they don't ALL sound like James Carville....)

lol. I know, I am just screwing with wingnut.

[DudeAsInCool]

You almost got it right, old chap

The boston folk and southerners have distinctive accents, too. And California--it manages somehow to blend all the accents together into one homogenous tone, whether you are caucasian, hispanic or black.

[Kooperman]

lol. I know, I am just screwing with wingnut.

Isn't there an old Chinese proverb about man who screws with wingnut? :read this:

[method77]

LOL

[wingnut2600]

This is a pretty common misconception perpetuated by ignorant Americans such as yourself. You seem to believe that all British people talk like Prince Charles. Most probably you imagine that Britain is populated by tall thin people in pin stripe suits who walk with a superior air of aristocracy, who sport bowler hats and carry a broadsheet newspaper under their arm, and say things like "I say old boy, would you care for a jolly spiffing cup of tea"

You mean this isn't the case? I have been educated quite well by the television and know that it does not lie. I have seen the numbers regarding bowler hats, and they lead me to believe that, on average, each British citizen owns 2.8 of this type of hat.

I have seen you in chat on many occasions tell me and others, in a pompous chat manner, that you, "would care for a jolly spiffing cup of tea," and to be excused from the verbal interchange that you were participating in previously (in a stereotypically stuffy British manner). You have also told me of the exorbitant sums of money that you have paid for a new bowler to "one-up the Joneses."

The next time you talk about stereotypes fish-grabber, you show me that you are the exception, not a reinforcement of the rule.