andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Show a picture of your shoes and teeth and we can discuss. I'm guessing you won't reach god tier.
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[BBC News Magazine] Britishisms and the Britishisation of American English
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Show a picture of your shoes and teeth and we can discuss. I'm guessing you won't reach god tier.
I find it amusing when a Brit (or anyone from another English speaking country) gets all riled up about Americanisms in the English language, since by and large most Americans don't give a shit about stuff like that. For the most part though the people I've met just like to joke about each other's goofy slang words. It makes for great bar conversations.
I will say after traveling Europe for 3 weeks I've adopted a few terms into my lexicon. The most prominent of which is referring to flip flops as 'thongs' which I think is absolutely brilliant. I can't wait to confuse people back home with that!
I will say after traveling Europe for 3 weeks I've adopted a few terms into my lexicon. The most prominent of which is referring to flip flops as 'thongs' which I think is absolutely brilliant. I can't wait to confuse people back home with that!
Shoes?
Whats that about? .... I get the tooth stereotype although it is absurd for anyone to have bad teeth these days as we have free access to dentists / subsidised for workers.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
I dont say any of those words.
I think "folk lore" concerning red heads has faded with time within the US.
"..beat you like a red-headed step-child." was a very common saying amoungst my elders when/where I grew up.
I've never really understood what it meant.
Gee that can lead to some awkward conversations, especially considering Australians are the only ones that use it.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
Well you bloody well should
No thank you.
Keeping English American. Good for you.
Dude.. I've been an Anglophile for almost 20 years but come on, you're embarrassing yourself with that stuff (herbs, garage, schedule, mum, etc.).
I did say I do some if it just to be a dick. Although I always thought herbs was acceptable since I was young, and I picked up 'Mum' from my English ex-girlfriend when I was living abroad.
The Albatross
Member
I say "Spot On," "Cheers," and whatever else.
I will say one thing, I work for a company who sells software internationally, and when we have to convert our editorial to Queen's English, I want to choke myself. Most of the changes come down to small spelling differences that our Indian and Aussie clients pick up instantly, but they're both technically spelled right. Localisation. Localization. Modeling. Modelling.
Damn the queen.
I will say one thing, I work for a company who sells software internationally, and when we have to convert our editorial to Queen's English, I want to choke myself. Most of the changes come down to small spelling differences that our Indian and Aussie clients pick up instantly, but they're both technically spelled right. Localisation. Localization. Modeling. Modelling.
Damn the queen.
The "sell by date" thing is because our food packages started using "sell by" instead of "expiration", probably because expiration date makes it sound like the food goes bad, rather than "sell by" which just means it needs to be out of the store at that point.
There was this weird thing for a while when every television show or news outlet had to have one British person on it.
Just the one. Whether or not ours is equivalent to your sell or use by, I'm not sure. Most people think milk is okay a few days after the date on the carton, but not me. I ditch everything that is past the date on the packaging (except medicine which is just a ploy IMO).
travisbickle
Member
frankie_baby
Member
What about non perishable foods (tins jars packets etc.)? They are usually fine months or even years after the date
Johnlenham
Member
Yeah it is. I think thats an odd one myself. Cant say I know one person that would say "spot on" though.
I do this with my lady friends, they all think it's funny. It took years of conditioning to get to this point.
Just FYI, the expiration date on medicine is when it has degraded down to 90% of it's original active component. That's typically not a big deal, but in some cases it can be dangerous. Certain antibiotics can break down into toxic substances which can cause serious problems. I think tetracycline does this, but I'd have to look into it. That's okay though, because you shouldn't have any antibiotics left over anyway.
I do, and every other imaginable version of English. My office houses like a dozen different nationalities. It is amazing how easy it is to communicate, all things considered.
So no I do not feel annoyed at all by language variations and do not feel at all annoyed by people picking up a different "-isms", especially if they get it by osmosis since it is normal social behaviour copy the group
Spot on, keen on, and ginger I didn't even know were specifically British. I can definitely remember that there was a point in my childhood when the term shifted from redhead to ginger, but I didn't realize it was due to Harry Potter influence. Also, will do. Will do in particular I use a ton.
Also, bit and part are sort of different things to me. A bit is more a standalone, one-off (another British term I didn't realize!) scene that's tangential to the main plot. A part is a bigger scene that's integral to the story. Maybe that's just me though.
Also, bit and part are sort of different things to me. A bit is more a standalone, one-off (another British term I didn't realize!) scene that's tangential to the main plot. A part is a bigger scene that's integral to the story. Maybe that's just me though.
If nothing else take pride in this.
Americans always sound fucking stupid when they say erbs.
I swear the silent h thing, as a rule, is new to American English. As a child I regularly heard people say herbs all the time. It wasn't until I got to high school that people would try to correct you.
Smh. Brits mangle their own language much more effectively than americans ever could, so sorry if we say a few words in a manner unpalatable to your delicate ears.
I assure you my ears are many things. Delicate is not one of them.
Hairy, large, flappy, red. Certainly.
Stop throwing away perfectly eatable food and just use your nose and eyes like a normal person.
Being Scottish the use of the word cunt between men who are friendly toward one another is a sacred and well honoured tradition.
I wouldn't know it if people hadnt said it to me.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
youngwerther
Banned
That's somewhere between Benedict Cumberbatch and Gyles Brandreth on the scale of British-sounding names.
I'm English. The first time I travelled over to the US, was for a holiday to New York. While there, I up with an ex-colleague. We went to a bar she normally frequents and she introduces me to this friend-of-a-friend guy who she said was also from England.
Except he wasn't. He was just an American putting on a terrible fake accent and kept trying to use Britishisms. He sounded like Shrek. As soon as he spoke to me, he realised I'd clocked him for being a big fibber and barely said a word for the rest of the evening.
It's odd to my mind that English accents could ever be though of exotic enough to try and fake for attention.
I work with Aussies, Kiwis and Americans, so yeah, I get this daily.
The American bastardisation of the English language is a mere drop in the ocean compared to New Zealanders arbitrary rejection of correct vowel pronunciation. Kiwi-English might be very close to English-English, but their pronunciation of it is full-on retarded.
Yeah, I just though of the dude from Police Academy who pretended to be European to pick up women.
youngwerther
Banned
I always thought the "bastardization of English" is a really absurd concept considering that the English language is essentially a bastard language in origin anyways.
fizzelopeguss
Banned
The people has spoken.
Gondola.
I say sked-yule and gah-ridge.
Picking up British sayings and words is one thing, but there is no such thing as a British accent. Regional accents changes over comparability tiny distances compared to other English speaking countries. Accents change noticeably every 50 miles or so, and that's before you throw regional dialects into the mix.
I'd imagine that most Americans haven't ever been subjected to many of the stronger British accents. Just the two generic 'posh' and 'Cockney' than you get in films and TV.
Synth_floyd
Banned
I love saying vit-amin (rhymes with fit) rather than VYTE-amin (rhymes with fight).
People who get worked up over language and pronunciation variations need to get a hobby.
There is a very annoying McDonald's radio ad that does this. I SMH every time I hear it, because the dude is putting on a (very bad) cockney accent in order to "sound smart."
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