british words v. american words

[Bubba136]

hmmmm, it would appear that one would have to be intimately familiar with the local dialect (how these words are used in a particular place/community) in order to capture the "true" meaning that the speaker was implying. However, the similarity in the use of these two words is great enough for any English speaker to discern the exact meaning with just a moments thought.

[Jen J]

British please note.

It would never do to be seen in public in the US with a fag butt in ones mouth.

Amanda, Thank you, it has been a rough week so far and that comment made me laugh, not once but every time I read it.

What a visual, it has me laughing again....

Cheers, Jen J.

[Puffer]

hmmmm, it would appear that one would have to be intimately familiar with the local dialect (how these words are used in a particular place/community) in order to capture the "true" meaning that the speaker was implying. However, the similarity in the use of these two words is great enough for any English speaker to discern the exact meaning with just a moments thought.

You are right, Bubba. Local (mis)usage or idiom can reveal an emphasis or shade of meaning that diverges from what is usually regarded as the norm. Usually, the difference is either obvious or of no significance but sometimes there might be confusion or even apparent conradiction. A couple of examples will suffice - I have no idea whether they translate into US-speak!

1. If a Scotsman asks: 'What's happening just now?', he wants to know the current position, i.e. 'right now'. In England, however, 'just now' is usually interpreted (somewhat illogically) as relating to the immediate past and the answer will reflect the recent rather than current situation. A cause of confusion when a situation is changing rapidly and the two parties have a different background.

2. The two words 'road' and 'way' are not exact synonyms; the latter has a wider meaning even in the sense of a route or thoroughfare. (The term 'railroad', which is of course the norm in the US, was originally common in the UK but has given way completely to 'railway', although a railwayman will invariably speak of learning or knowing 'the road' - i.e. the route and its characteristics.) In the north of England, many if not most people tend to use the dialect derivative 'anyroad' instead of the usual 'anyway'. No real confusion as the meaning is obvious from the context.

Anyway/anyroad, enough of this!

[AndyMany]

rubbish = trash And I may be wrong but the number of holes punched in paper for a binder Us is 3 and Im guessing Brits have 4. Not absolutely positive but I work on a ship and we have British influence through electronics/controls and proffesional organization we belong to and they all sent us these manual and publications with 4 holes punched and then the sheet size is also larger. Let me tell you it is a pain to redo all those folders into newer ones when all I am able to get are 3 ring binders and of course they are designed for the smaller format page. And its like putting my feet into a size 9 (US size of course, don't even want to get into the arguemnet of why so many countries have to use so many different size charts). Anyway I am thankfull for PDF print on demand files for my above troubles. No differences, lets talk about electrical plugs and outlets.......

[quidam]

Dunno whether the pronunciation of the word(s) I'm gonna ask is british or gringosian, but I have kept this doubt with me: How do you say: EE-ther, or AYE-ther?

[at9]

And I may be wrong but the number of holes punched in paper for a binder Us is 3 and Im guessing Brits have 4.

British/European standard is actually 2 holes. 4 holes are often used (the middle pair are the same as the 2 holes) because 2 holes are not really enough. The British/Europe paper sizes (A4 etc) are a rational set of sizes which replaced a huge range of older ones.

How do you say: EE-ther, or AYE-ther?

Both are widely used in the UK.

[Bubba136]

British/European standard is actually 2 holes. 4 holes are often used (the middle pair are the same as the 2 holes) because 2 holes are not really enough. The British/Europe paper sizes (A4 etc) are a rational set of sizes which replaced a huge range of older ones.

Both are widely used in the UK.

The way you pronounce that word really depends upon whether or not you wear a blue blazer with brass buttons, an ascot around your neck, have a mustache and glasses sitting on the end of your raised nose as you speak it.

[Dr. Shoe]

Not so. I have heard all classes of people use either pronounciation. In fact I change the pronunciation to suit the context. For example I might say "Eether way" but then "I can't decide ayether." I think if it's at the start of the phrase it's "eether" and at the end or in the middle it's "Ayether".

[AndyMany]

I have used both and I don't even own an ascot. Scarf yes ascot nope. Sometimes words like that aslo change from different regions. Like were I work, Most people speak southern and I'm listening in northern. Yup same word different way to speak.

[Puffer]

Not so.

I have heard all classes of people use either pronounciation. In fact I change the pronunciation to suit the context. For example I might say "Eether way" but then "I can't decide ayether." I think if it's at the start of the phrase it's "eether" and at the end or in the middle it's "Ayether".

Yes, both pronounciations are heard in the UK but I cannot say that I have noticed many people changing from one to the other, according to word position. On balance, 'ayether' would be considered by an educated person to be the more correct and the use of 'eether' can attract criticism. Neither I nor anyone close to me ever uses 'eether'. However, historically, I believe that 'eether' has a good UK pedigree but is usually regarded as the US pronounciation and therefore not the preferred one. But to convince anyone much under 50 that they should ignore transatlantic influences is something of a lost cause!

That said, what on earth is an 'ascot'? Not in my UK dictionary but I'm guessing that it is a cravat or something similar. If so, the typical Englishman in such garb (a dying breed, fortunately) would definitely be an 'ayether' user, don't-yer-know.

[AndyMany]

Ascot, basically have you ever seen "Scooby Doo" the cartoon? Well Freddie wears one. like a small scarf. Cravat I guess but that is one Im not totally familiar with, heard of yes but that is it.

[Puffer]

Thank you, AndyMany. As I couldn't quite recall the detail of Fred, I Googled 'ascot' and all became clearer. An 'ascot tie' is a type of cravat, shaped and tied inside or outside the shirt. Although still seen in the UK, apart from use in very formal 'aristocratic' (royal court) dress they are rarely worn casually by anyone under 60 or so. Despite being less formal than an ordinary tie, they always seem to me to be stuffy - an open-necked shirt without any tie is much more usual as casual wear. From the pics I have seen, Fred is wearing a plain neckerchief rather than a true ascot, either loosely knotted or possibly threaded thru a ring. That was a fashion popular with young men in the early 70s but rarely seen now.

[luxxyheels]

"Are you alright?" = "How are you?" Just came from Nottingham last month. Some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Funny, just there a week, and while with my mates' mates, I started using the word "mate" quite a lot. Bits and bobs = knick knacks.

[luxxyheels]

Lincolnshire sausage is better than any American sausage. Veg in the UK is much better than it is here in the states. Food in the UK isn't processed as much as food in the US. I ate less, and felt much more satisfied. Full English breakfast is the best I've had. Who would have thought baked beans, egg, sausage, tomato, mushroom, and toast would be so good together. It's "brilliant" . But this is about words. Carry on.

[SF]

I only wish that those Britts would speak English by goodness !!!!! ha ha ha... OK, OK, settle down, it was a joke.....

[karen]

It's not just the words it's culture too and the way that they're used. In the UK, a fag is a slang name for a cigarette and "to bum" means "to ask for". So if you hear an Englishman asking to bum a fag, he might mean something entirely different to what an American might!

The term, "fag" is american slang for being gay or homosexual. To "bum" someone can mean multiple things depending on the context of what someone's actually talking about. "To bum a fag", at least to me, sounds like to have sex with a homosexual or to interact with him in either a negative or positive way.

Here in the US, it sounds hateful so I'm sorry if I offended anyone in advance.

[Dr. Shoe]

Exactly.

[Womer_uk]

Probably the best way of picking up how British people talk is to use this slang dictionary

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/a.htm

[Puffer]

Probably the best way of picking up how British people talk is to use this slang dictionary

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/a.htm

A good find! An invaluable guide to speaking proper; should be compulsory reading for all furriners (including all Brits north of the Trent).

[Dr. Shoe]

Indeed!

[chris100575]

Lincolnshire sausage is better than any American sausage.

Cumberland sausage is the best of all, but you can't get it outside of Cumbria. You can get stuff *called* Cumberland, but it's not.

[Womer_uk]

One here for our American friends,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDK2uSeNJQo&feature=related

This is the famous film, Kes made in Barnsley in 1969, about 30 miles from where I live.

I'ts an accurate portrait of life in South Yorkshire from the period.

I bet you'll need subtitles for it !!!!

There's also this .....

http://www.doncasterpct.nhs.uk/documents/GlossaryofYorkshireMedicalTerms-2.pdf

Issued to non "dee dahs" (slang term for someone from South Yorkshire) doctors to help them understand the locals

[Kittyinboots]

shopping cart (US) = trolley (UK)

[Puffer]

One here for our American friends,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDK2uSeNJQo&feature=related

This is the famous film, Kes made in Barnsley in 1969, about 30 miles from where I live.

I'ts an accurate portrait of life in South Yorkshire from the period.

I bet you'll need subtitles for it !!!!

There's also this .....

http://www.doncasterpct.nhs.uk/documents/GlossaryofYorkshireMedicalTerms-2.pdf

Issued to non "dee dahs" (slang term for someone from South Yorkshire) doctors to help them understand the locals

Nice finds, Womer. But I would suggest that it won't only be our transatlantic friends who will need subtitles for Kes! By contrast, very few of the 'medical' terms are not familiar to those in the south - although I have to say that the concept of Barnsley/Rotherham [playing] at home is not one I have heard before - laydees here tend to refer to being 'indisposed'.

[HappyinHeels]

Let's reach for our beer, which needs NO subtitles, while we ponder these regional differences!! HappyinHeels or (Ecstatic When Elevated)

[oldheels]

I used to live and work in Worksop ( near Sheffield for those who don't know). I knew a lady who worked at the local college and for some strange reason at that time they had a lot of students from Singapore. One day one of these students said to her, "Mrs Scott, can you help me please?" "Every morning when I meet somebody they say, " Ayoop dook", and I can't find Ayoop in the dictionary anywhere." To translate... "Ayoop" is the local pronunciation of "Hey up" and means, effectively, "Hallo". Similarly..."dook" = "duck" and is used fairly indiscriminately by both sexes, to both sexes, to imply friendliness. To return to the subject of individual words, one which got me trouble once was the use of the word 'bomb'. Aside from the military hardware, I believe in the US to say something has bombed means it is a disaster, but if we say something 'went a bomb', we mean it was a great success.