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Can I use UK English/US English interchangeably?

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Don't you english native speakers have a unified system that acknolewdges all variations of words and phrases across countries?

the spanish world has "the Real Academia Española" and they clearly state differences in writing and pronounciation but everything is correct, they don't go saying "yeah those guys over there spell it like that but they are wrong"

for example, Peanut is written "cacahuate" in latinamerica and "cacahuete" in Spain.

both are correct, so of course they can be used interchangeably.

it's about how you learned, not about how the majority speaks
 
Don't you english native speakers have a unified system that acknolewdges all variations of words and phrases across countries?

the spanish world has "the Real Academia Española" and they clearly state differences in writing and pronounciation but everything is correct, they don't go saying "yeah those guys over there spell it like that but they are wrong"

for example, Peanut is written "cacahuate" in latinamerica and "cacahuete" in Spain.

both are correct, so of course they can be used interchangeably.

it's about how you learned, not about how the majority speaks
And in other places we know it as maní :P My country, Peru, for example.
 
The big differences to me:

Kerb vs. curb. A k? Really?

Biscuit vs. cookie. "Biscuit Monster" sounds ridiculous.

Boot vs. cleat. Boot is confusing. What do you guys call American Western boots? Do you even have those?

Field vs. pitch. Pitch is a verb. Come on.

But I can see the pros of bin vs. garbage can.

But the one that really gets me: why in the hell do you guys call eggplant "aubergine?"
 
Don't you english native speakers have a unified system that acknolewdges all variations of words and phrases across countries?

Why would we do that?

We fought a war over tea.

You think we're going to agree on how to spell a few words?
 
Don't you english native speakers have a unified system that acknolewdges all variations of words and phrases across countries?

the spanish world has "the Real Academia Española" and they clearly state differences in writing and pronounciation but everything is correct, they don't go saying "yeah those guys over there spell it like that but they are wrong"

for example, Peanut is written "cacahuate" in latinamerica and "cacahuete" in Spain.

both are correct, so of course they can be used interchangeably.

it's about how you learned, not about how the majority speaks

I dont think so , I Know my Highschool and College just doesn't care but some elementary teachers did as I remember one of my friends was called Greyson and his homeroom teacher kept marking his name wrong and kept trying to make him spell it Grayson or did until his mother who was the highschool English teacher at the same school got onto to her for it.


Edit: Im pretty sure though most dictionaries acknowledges a variety of different spellings though.
 
Boot vs. cleat. Boot is confusing. What do you guys call American Western boots? Do you even have those?

yes, and they're called boots, it's what we call the bit of a car that you put your luggage in too

like you call it a trunk

but trunk is confusing because what do you call an elephant's nose? derpy derpy derp
 
I know it should be "Zeddo", but still, why would Japanese people pronounce it "Zetto" anyway, where did that pronunciation come from?
Its the Japanse pronunciation of the character which came from the british pronunciation. Remember japanese has essentially a dictionaries worth of english words in it but all of them are pronounced using the sounds of the Japanese syllabary.
 
Its the Japanse pronunciation of the character which came from the british pronunciation. Remember japanese has essentially a dictionaries worth of english words in it but all of them are pronounced using the sounds of the Japanese syllabary.

I think these days Japanese people are taught to say Zee. Though I am talking entirely out of my arse, but I've heard one* say it that way haha
 
Oh, and don't get into a kettle vs microwave debate. Remember, in America, the microwave is the only way to heat up water. *nods*

I literally didn't know this was a thing until a few years ago when I saw my grandmother (who is originally from the Philippines) use a microwave to heat up her tea.

I use harbour, colour, asymmetric instead of uneven...
Americans know what asymmetric and symmetric are lol.
 
I think these days Japanese people are taught to say Zee. Though I am talking entirely out of my arse, but I've heard one* say it that way haha

Its entirely possible, to my knowledge their isnt an organization which overlooks the Japanese language(Its technically the government job iirc but they don't care.)and so the Japanese youth is adding more and more foreign words and phrases on a daily basis to the apparent ire of some of the elderly who struggles to understand what is being said on television and especially music which in some cases can have songs that are 80% english words.
 
Don't you english native speakers have a unified system that acknolewdges all variations of words and phrases across countries?

the spanish world has "the Real Academia Española" and they clearly state differences in writing and pronounciation but everything is correct, they don't go saying "yeah those guys over there spell it like that but they are wrong"

for example, Peanut is written "cacahuate" in latinamerica and "cacahuete" in Spain.

both are correct, so of course they can be used interchangeably.

it's about how you learned, not about how the majority speaks

Good god, no. What do you think we are, French or German?

There's the OED or Collins for English English (which is the root tongue); Meriam-Webster for the rebellious colony; Macquarie & Heinemann for the antipodeans. Canadians, typically, have several :P

The big differences to me:

Kerb vs. curb. A k? Really?

Biscuit vs. cookie. "Biscuit Monster" sounds ridiculous.

Boot vs. cleat. Boot is confusing. What do you guys call American Western boots? Do you even have those?

Field vs. pitch. Pitch is a verb. Come on.

But I can see the pros of bin vs. garbage can.

But the one that really gets me: why in the hell do you guys call eggplant "aubergine?"

Because about 1/3 or our language comes from Norman French. There's a whole sub-strata of language studies that look at how the use of French in English was historically a class issue in the UK. Most of those additonal 'u's and many of the silent letters are also linguistically related to Norman.
 
I pronounced z zed in my writing class in the united States and everyone in class didn't know what I meant lol. Also Americans pronounce coupé as "coop" for getting the e sound. It's annoying.
 
Other than Z vs "zed" and the pronunciation of "aluminum/aluminium" either is fine for communication between human beings who are aware that other cultures exist.

When I moved from Florida to London, for example, nothing about proper English affected me adversely. I doubt most Brits feel differently when speaking to or corresponding with Americans.

I found the colloquialisms to be far more different than the language itself. "Bob's your uncle?" Um what??
 
I hear brits use

Yeah
Hey
Hi
Yay
Dude
Douche
Little but pronounced liddle (that's something recent)
Awesome
Great (as a common word to describe something good)
No problem
Saccharin words for loved ones like sweetie, honey etc

And a bunch of other Americanisms that I'm forgetting at the moment
 
I literally didn't know this was a thing until a few years ago when I saw my grandmother (who is originally from the Philippines) use a microwave to heat up her tea.


Yeah, it seems really dumb that someone would use a device designed to warm water molecules to warm up water.

Like who even thought of that?
 
I work with software that's largely developed in the US, so I have to interchange between spellings, where VisualiZation is part of a proper noun, or I have to spell licence licenSe in order for environment variables and code to work properly.

Outside of that, I'm anal about switching back to the UK spelling where there is no technical or marketing reason not to.
 
With the internet and recipes online I'm half way Americanised in a lot of things to do with food.

sticks of butter
cup measurements,
Aubergine is eggplant
Coriander Is cilantro
 
You can use them interchangeably and most people will understand what you mean. People in the US have been exposed to British pop culture for decades and are aware of a lot of the differences.
 
With the internet and recipes online I'm half way Americanised in a lot of things to do with food.

sticks of butter
cup measurements,
Aubergine is eggplant
Coriander Is cilantro

It blew my mind to learn that eggplant was properly aubergine. For the first month of living in England I thought that people were talking about some food I had never eaten. In retrospect it makes sense because why eggplant?
 
I think it's fine but you'd probably confused some people. I was once deducted points on a paper because I didn't spell some words in American English.
 
As a British web developer "colour" just looks weird to me now.

I remember making a website in the old Geocities days and it took me ages to realise why my "colour" tags weren't working.

To the OP, you can stick to British, but adapt a few things that Americans won't understand (e.g. courgette, aubergine).
But British pride means always using the correct aluminium, and always pronouncing the h in herbs.

Do switch toilet/loo to bathroom/restroom though. Americans are really weird about avoiding any possibile hint at what the room is really for. Seriously, there had better be a fucking bath in a bathroom or I just can't even...
 
I do it all the time, with the pronunciation in spoken English as well. I get away with it because I'm not a native speaker.
 
Everyone will just assume you're Canadian.
No they won't. A fool yes, a true Canadian no. 350 Zed, colour and neighbour spelt properly with an U. English speaking Canada needs to adopt Quebec's language laws and come down hard on businesses that can't be bothered to use proper spelling.

"Nail, Hair, and Color on Oliver Square"

That's a fine!

"Hey bro, I just a BRZEE. Want to check it out?"

I suggest you check your pronounciation of the letter Z first.
 
It blew my mind to learn that eggplant was properly aubergine. For the first month of living in England I thought that people were talking about some food I had never eaten. In retrospect it makes sense because why eggplant?

Cuz it looks like an egg early on
 
english-traditional-simplified.jpg
 
I use harbour, colour, asymmetric instead of uneven, and say zed instead of Z. I imagine different spellings would be marked as spelling errors on anything official in the USA but in day to day conversation is it weird for me to say Zed X Spectrum instead of ZX Spectrum?

I love you for having to say ZX Spectrum in day to day conversation. Also I'm French so Zede-eexe spectrum it is :)
 
If you say Zed Zed Top we're going to have a problem.

I pronounced z zed in my writing class in the united States and everyone in class didn't know what I meant lol. Also Americans pronounce coupé as "coop" for getting the e sound. It's annoying.
You pronounce the e in coupé? This is is surprising.
 
That's not the old school British way, the old way was a million million. 1000 million is the modern way.

no you're right, old school billion is a million million. not sure what happened to my brain there. I have billions of brains cells, just fewer than i used to. what a metaphor!
 
I hear brits use

Yeah
Hey
Hi
Yay
Dude
Douche
Little but pronounced liddle (that's something recent)
Awesome
Great (as a common word to describe something good)
No problem
Saccharin words for loved ones like sweetie, honey etc

And a bunch of other Americanisms that I'm forgetting at the moment

I hear Americans use:

English
 
I sure hope so. My English is the bastard child of German British English education and American English pop culture consumption.

other way around for me. Our english teacher in school always said "AE is more important for your future, they rule the world"..
Started reading Terry Pratchett and other books in BE, prefer colour over color and my spoken english is a mix of BE and AE pronunciation...I'm so sorry for that, but oh well..
 
Asymmetric and odd do not mean the same thing. Three is odd, Two-Face has an asymmetric face. Well, his face is also odd because it is asymmetric, but it could still be symmetric and odd.
 
I called it Dragonball Zed for years (me being British obviously). It was only when I finally saw it on Cartoon Network in the early 2000s when I realised it was Zee. Zed still sounds better to me. :p

i'm team zed. In german I call it DragonBall Zett..so I like the BE version more :D
 
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