American-British Q&A

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

i have a question: are american schools similar to how they're portrayed in movies and TV?
i mean, do they have such separated 'cliques' and do cheerleaders real spend their whole lives in their uniform?

Not...exactly. I mean, the cliques and the cheerleaders exist, but maybe to the extent that they do on TV. It's exaggerated.

 

[Dr Snakeman]

i have a question for America,
Why do you do your dates backwards? as in MM/DD/YY opposed to the way the rest of the world with the DD/MM/YY, smallest unit FIRST so today is 21/05/11 in most of the world but Americans have it as 05/21/11.
i just had a minor rant on another thread about this and felt i should probably get some enlightenment.

I have no idea. It's just the way it's done. I agree that day/month/year does logically make more sense, but that's just not how we roll.

Oh, and it's April, not May. 21/04/2011

 

[JDKJ]

How are you guys for Pool in America?

Good. It's skittles you'll never find. Unless you're looking for bite-sized candies. And what you won't find, if you are, is "Smarties." They have "M&Ms."

What is "Pool"? I can gather it's some type of candy.

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

 

[3AM]

An old accent, Cockney's been around for a while, likely you'll encounter it if you watch old english comedy like Fools and Horses.

I have a question for American's, how many of you have visited the UK?

I have, twice. Thinking about a third visit soon.

 

[MarkyJ]

...

I'm a Brit who lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a while, so I know most of the things I would ask questions about. Here's the main one-how ready are you for when oil and petrol run out???


(oh, and that stuff you put in cars, y'know "gas" isn't a gas. It's a liquid, called petrol. And don't give me no crap about "gasoline" either!!)

Nationally, a fair ammount of our Electricity is produced via renewable energy and nuclear power. There would certainly be large-scale blackouts both scheduled and unscheduled but there wouldn't be mass death because there isn't enough power to pump water into peoples homes either. Transport-wise, a fair amount of people have bicycles. Everyone in my family does and my friends do so short-distance transport would still be possible.
Most people are reliant on their cars though and electric cars aren't all that common over here even if enough power could be spared to run them.

Personally, I live out in the countryside surrounded by farms so food isn't a major issue issue and if my place of work could somehow remain open then it's within cycling distance or even walking distance if I don't mind losing most of my working day.

 

[Agayek]

An old accent, Cockney's been around for a while, likely you'll encounter it if you watch old english comedy like Fools and Horses.

I have a question for American's, how many of you have visited the UK?

It's definitely not a majority, but there's a not-insignificant portion of the population that's at least gone on vacation to the UK. Obviously, I can't speak for everyone in the States, but myself and about a third of my friends/family have been there at one point or another.

 

[MisterM2402]

Well, alright, you've got me there, but what about this:

Why do you spell (for example) the word "Doctor" when you are clearly mispronouncing it as "Doctah"?

I'm not English but I know what you are talking about. *You* wouldn't pronounce the 'o' as 'o' (nobody would); you'd probably say it more like 'uh' (Doctuhr). Some English accents omit/soften the Rs in words, especially if they come at the end, so that leads to "Doctuh"

 

[lolmynamewastaken]

Oh, and it's April, not May. 21/04/2011

Bah, april's no fun, i like may, call it wishful thinking rather than a mistake

 

[Fangv2]

How are you guys for Pool in America?

Good. It's skittles you'll never find. Unless you're looking for bite-sized candies. And what you won't find, if you are, is "Smarties." They have "M&Ms."

What is "Pool"? I can gather it's some type of candy.

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

Oh? Then why'd you just start talking about candy? Wait a second. Googling has shown me that there is a game named "skittles". Never mind then.

 

[DrVonTrap]

my mother (has a boring Phd in english literature) constantly tells me that americans speak far more similarly to "ye olde english" people would have. Things like the use of the word hog are far more "old english" than the english i speak.

 

[JDKJ]

American question for the Brits.

Is Dr. Who, like, "mainstream" over there?

Because here, almost no one's even heard of it, and that's really a shame.

It's huge, which is odd. I thought it was pretty big over there though?

I'm a Brit who lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a while, so I know most of the things I would ask questions about. Here's the main one-how ready are you for when oil and petrol run out???


(oh, and that stuff you put in cars, y'know "gas" isn't a gas. It's a liquid, called petrol. And don't give me no crap about "gasoline" either!!)

1. But that's why we call it that! It's short for "gasoline"!

2. In answer to your question: We aren't. Not at all. We are pretty much fucked.

But since it's derived from petroleum and not natural gas, "petrol" just makes so much more sense.

Well, alright, you've got me there, but what about this:

Why do you spell (for example) the word "Doctor" when you are clearly mispronouncing it as "Doctah"?

Do you realize that British accents and ways of pronunciation run the full range? From "cockney" to "BBC news announcer?" Just like they do in the States. Do people from New York pronounce words the same way people from Alabama do?

 

[strobe]

Alright so my question is this? What is a Chav? I've been called this on occasion and I don't think it's anything good, would someone care to explain?

Have you ever seen the people on the Jersey Shore? Now imagine the English equivalent of that basically.

Just gotta post that this isn't really a good attempt at providing a parallel at all. In fact it's really inaccurate. After all "The only way is Essex" does exist. For some reason.

I'm gutted that I got super ninja'd (even on the local knowledge...) on this question so I'l leave you with the best (in my opinion) description already present.

A chav is a stereotype of certain people in the United Kingdom. Also known as a charver in Yorkshire and North East England "chavs" are said to be aggressive teenagers, of working class background, who repeatedly engage in anti-social behaviour such as street drinking, drug abuse and rowdiness, or other forms of juvenile delinquency.

Props to you though Scoopmeister for the mention of charver.

 

[Dr Snakeman]

Oh, and it's April, not May. 21/04/2011

Bah, april's no fun, i like may, call it wishful thinking rather than a mistake

*sigh* I know the feeling. These last few weeks of the semester are taking forever. If only it were May already, and I didn't have to worry about finals...

 

[Danny Ocean]

Well, alright, you've got me there, but what about this:

Why do you spell (for example) the word "Doctor" when you are clearly mispronouncing it as "Doctah"?

I'm not English but I know what you are talking about. *You* wouldn't pronounce the 'o' as 'o' (nobody would); you'd probably say it more like 'uh' (Doctuhr). Some English accents omit/soften the Rs in words, especially if they come at the end, so that leads to "Doctuh"

It's derived from the Arabic, I think.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

American question for the Brits.

Is Dr. Who, like, "mainstream" over there?

Because here, almost no one's even heard of it, and that's really a shame.

It's huge, which is odd. I thought it was pretty big over there though?

I'm a Brit who lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a while, so I know most of the things I would ask questions about. Here's the main one-how ready are you for when oil and petrol run out???


(oh, and that stuff you put in cars, y'know "gas" isn't a gas. It's a liquid, called petrol. And don't give me no crap about "gasoline" either!!)

1. But that's why we call it that! It's short for "gasoline"!

2. In answer to your question: We aren't. Not at all. We are pretty much fucked.

But since it's derived from petroleum and not natural gas, "petrol" just makes so much more sense.

Well, alright, you've got me there, but what about this:

Why do you spell (for example) the word "Doctor" when you are clearly mispronouncing it as "Doctah"?

Do you realize that British accents and ways of pronunciation run the full range? From "cockney" to "BBC news announcer?" Just like they do in the States. Do people from New York pronounce words the same way people from Alabama do?

Yeah, I know. I was talking about the one's that DO pronounce it that way. But, anyway, it's been answered and it now makes sense to me.

 

[El Poncho]

What, exactly, is the difference between a "biscuit" and a cookie? Do y'all even use the word "cookie"?

[sub][sub]Huh. I guess that makes two.[/sub][/sub]

A cookie is a specific type of biscuit to us: http://americansfortruth.com/uploads/2010/10/cookie-small.gif

 

[JDKJ]

American question for the Brits.

Is Dr. Who, like, "mainstream" over there?

Because here, almost no one's even heard of it, and that's really a shame.

It's huge, which is odd. I thought it was pretty big over there though?

I'm a Brit who lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a while, so I know most of the things I would ask questions about. Here's the main one-how ready are you for when oil and petrol run out???


(oh, and that stuff you put in cars, y'know "gas" isn't a gas. It's a liquid, called petrol. And don't give me no crap about "gasoline" either!!)

1. But that's why we call it that! It's short for "gasoline"!

2. In answer to your question: We aren't. Not at all. We are pretty much fucked.

But since it's derived from petroleum and not natural gas, "petrol" just makes so much more sense.

Well, alright, you've got me there, but what about this:

Why do you spell (for example) the word "Doctor" when you are clearly mispronouncing it as "Doctah"?

Do you realize that British accents and ways of pronunciation run the full range? From "cockney" to "BBC news announcer?" Just like they do in the States. Do people from New York pronounce words the same way people from Alabama do?

Yeah, I know. I was talking about the one's that DO pronounce it that way. But, anyway, it's been answered and it now makes sense to me.

You might as well ask why it's pronounced "dawk-ter" in Alabama.

 

[MisterM2402]

American question for the Brits.

Is Dr. Who, like, "mainstream" over there?

Because here, almost no one's even heard of it, and that's really a shame.

EDIT: Hookay, I am literally getting a new message every minute since I posted this, so I'm taking the opportunity to say: Thank you. The question has been answered.

My brother's flat-mate is a Youtube-based David Tennant "lookalike" (only when he dresses up, really) and he is in a band that compose and perform Dr.-Who-themed songs. Not sure what the band is called but there might be something about it on his Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/littleradge?feature=chclk

So yeah, I'd say it's popular (though everyone has told you that already, it seems).

 

[ScoopMeister]

The wonders of wikipedia are numerous, my friend.
With regards to chav definitions.

 

[Agayek]

Why do some American (90% of those I've met) either assume I'm either extreamly posh or some kind of anti-social, chavish dick? Is it how us Brits are depicted on Tv or is it just something Americans tend to assume unless they get to know someone from England?

It's pretty much the first one. In almost all our entertainment, if someone speaks with a British accent, they're almost certainly one of the following: stuck-up their own ass so far they can see daylight, blatantly evil, secretly evil, or snarky comic relief.

We've been conditioned to associate the accent with those personality traits.

Also, a question for you americans, do you acknowledge that we are your ancestors?

God no. We sprouted from the Earth as a result of that freak natural occurrence that sent the natives scrambling onto those reservations they made for themselves.

How are you guys for Pool in America?

Assuming you mean billiards, pool is not a "big thing", but it is almost everywhere. I have never met someone over the age of 21 who has never played a game. There's a table in just about every bar in the country.

i have a question for America,
Why do you do your dates backwards? as in MM/DD/YY opposed to the way the rest of the world with the DD/MM/YY, smallest unit FIRST so today is 21/05/11 in most of the world but Americans have it as 05/21/11.
i just had a minor rant on another thread about this and felt i should probably get some enlightenment.

For the same reason we still use the Imperial metric system: we're far too stubborn and contrary to change just because everyone else is doing it.

i have a question: are american schools similar to how they're portrayed in movies and TV?
i mean, do they have such separated 'cliques' and do cheerleaders real spend their whole lives in their uniform?

Kinda sorta. American schools most definitely have cliques/social groups that form, especially high school (grades 9-12), and anyone not considered "popular" is demeaned regularly.

As my school did not have cheerleaders, I can't make an honest answer to the second question. It would astound me if that were true, but I have not had firsthand experience with it either way.