Americanisms and British...isms?

[Milney]

Americans: 'Soda'

British: 'Fizzy Drinks' though some regions in England say 'Pop' like Canadians.

"Soft Drink" is the general term in the UK, though some regions do give other names. Soft Drinks have also been extended to cover other non-alcoholic drinks aswell.

The one which I liked teasing people in the States about when I lived there was them reffering to cents as pennies (admittedly it's only in certain cirumstances) but I had lots of fun pulling out actual pennies and confusing them

 

[Milney]

Still, I can't think of any examples right now, but I know everyday, conotative speech is VASTLY different. I've hung out with someone from Scotland once, and it was like I could make out everything they were saying, but almost every word was different than American.

I think in many ways American and English are like Spanish and Italian - when we speak to eachother we can understand one another, but the subtle differences in spelling, accent, expression, and structure/words means they're different languages.

Oh, fun fact: who has the most "pure form" of English: America or England?

The answer: America. The reason is because America's english is more strictly based off of older 1600-1700 english. It hasn't changed much accept for minor spelling changes and the addition of the letter J (or I, I don't remember). In England, during the early 1800's, there was a very strong movement to look "proper"; birthed from a desire to have a strong culture. Where did England get their cultural inspiration from? Why France of course! the English began dressing like the french, talking with a more french accent, and even spelling like the french. As an example, this is why America and England spell certain words like "color" (vs. colour) differently. America has what you might call the "Standard English" version, while England has the "Franco-English" version.

Interesting, huh?

Massive over-simplification. For a start, it wasn't a concerted effort to create a "strong" culture through maintenance of the original English that led to the development of "American" English but rather the isolation of being where the America's are in relation to the rest of the world. As for "British" English, isn't Franco-English, but European-English as many words and phrases from all over the continent were absorbed into the language to make it what it is today. Which is hardly surprising considering the roots of English as a language.

OT: Just remembered a great one;

"lieutenant"

UK & Ireland: lef-tenant
USA: lieu-tenant

 

[Milney]

Oh, another one... in the US, lieutenant is pronounced 'lootenant', whereas in the UK the correct pronunciation is 'leftenant'.

This one really bugs me. Where the hell did we get the "lef" from? Lieu is pronounced "loo", not "lef"!

Having no experience with the American military and if they regularly use the term "Sarge", I'm not sure if this one counts. But we don't use the word "Sarge", it's the full Sergeant. I believe the phrase goes "There are only three types of sarge; sau-sarge, mas-sarge, and pa-sarge. Now, if you call me sarge again, I'll mas-sarge my sau-sarge in your rear pa-sarge!"

The "British" pronunciation is from the Middle English pronunciation, where the American pronunciation is from the Modern French pronunciation of the words involved. There's also "le-tenant" but that's dropped out of common usage.

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

What annoys me about these is that people in Britain are increasingly using Americanisms. I blame Nickelodeon and Friends.

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

Excuse me my friend, does my fanny look big in these pants?

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

Sidewalk = Pavement
Highway = Motorway.

Hm. Can't think of anymore right now either. There are a hell of a lot more, though, I'm sure.

British fanny = vagina
American fanny = arse.

That one can lead to some horrible misunderstandings.

'Excuse me my friend, does my fanny look big in these pants?'

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Right, took me around 20 minutes to skim the whole thread and I think these few haven't been brought up:

American term - British term
Go for Chinese food - Go for a Chinese
To go - Take away
Arugula - Rocket

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

'Excuse me my friend, does my fanny look big in these pants?'

Yes, that is quite the camel toe you've got.

 

[kampori]

Yeah they aren't called Walkers in the USA, they're called Lays.

They're only called Walkers in the UK for some reason. Like Opel cars are Vauxhall. And German Shepherd dogs are Alsatians, though that comes from the anti-German policy of the World Wars, like our royal family going from Sax-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.

Alsation isn't an English word anymore. If Stephen Fry (& QI is a realiable {it is} source to go off), then the world Alsation was only used during the war, as any word with relation to 'the Germans' was taboo n' all that. But yes, German Shepherd is correct. We're just stubborn.

Edit- just realised we're 9 pages in, so if I was ninja'd or proven wrong, I can't be bothered to go through every page, so apologies in advance!

 

[kampori]

'British English' was 'influenced' heavily by Europe, NOT France (irony aside).
On top of that, most of Enlgish is German for a start, seeing as we both veered off the same language branch not too long ago, German going to Mittelhochdeutsch.

Where we get words like hound (dog)- like the German: Hund.
To eat- Essen
To drink- Trinken
House- Haus

etc etc

Which is why for me, a Brit, I became fluent in German in 3 years (fluent at a stretch, just v. confident). It's just so easy for a Brit to pick up German (and vice-versa for the Germans)

Edit- this was a quote but pressed wrong button. DOn't know how to correct.

 

[Wulfhramn]

Being Canadian, its interesting too look at the American/British divide, and see where we fall in the middle.

Of course just like the Americans and British, we have quite a bit of linguistic diversity within our country. Here's a few examples of Maritime English http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimer_English, which is similar in some way to other types in English, while in other ways unique:

Boston States = New England, During the 19th Century many Maritimers went to the greater Boston area to work, some decided to stay. The term is falling out of use, but you still see it used frequently.

Upper Canadian = Someone who is actually from Upper Canada (Ontario), or someone who is extremely arrogant and rude (i.e. Damned Upper Canadian). Term itself is likely a couple centuries old, though it seems to have died out elsewhere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada

Come from away = Essentially someone who's not from around here. Usually anyone from outside the Maritimes counts as a 'come from away,' And even someone who was born here and then moved away for a decade can sometimes be called a come from away, though the meaning in that case is derogatory.

Chesterfield = Couch, Sofa, usually only the old folks use this one, most people having switched Couch . . . and only come from aways seem to use the word sofa

Right Good/Right Some Good = i.e. That pie was right some good. Gaelic prof told me that it comes from a Gaelic turn of phrase that transferred to English. Makes sense as you usually only hear it in Cape Breton, Eastern Nova Scotia and parts of Prince Edward Island, areas that were predominantly Gaelic a century and a half ago.

The Island = Prince Edward Island. A few people rarely use it to refer to Cape Breton, but with the causeway . . .

The Valley = The Annapolis Valley. Valley Girl has an entirely different meaning.

Also the Cape Breton (Caper) Accent is incredibly awesome. Similar in some ways to the Newfoundland accent.

I believe this Kate Beaton comic sums it up perfectly: http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/512/scottishimmigrationtoca.jpg

/Disclaimer: Ancestors were Scottish Gaels, and though I don't have a Cape Breton accent, let's just say I do have a few linguistic particularities.

 

[Doitpow]

British-American

braces-suspenders
often-often times
bonnet-hood
intelligence-volume (hurr hurr)

 

[Kandon Arc]

I know that what we call a cigarette you would call a term I can not type because it is considered a slur.

Edit: Imagine my surprise when I was asked if I wanted one while stationed overseas.

It was a favourite joke of one of my teachers to say: 'I like a fag in one hand, and a cigarette in the other.'

Only he found that funny.

 

[Kandon Arc]

Oh, another one... in the US, lieutenant is pronounced 'lootenant', whereas in the UK the correct pronunciation is 'leftenant'.

This one really bugs me. Where the hell did we get the "lef" from? Lieu is pronounced "loo", not "lef"!

You say that but look at the way both Americans and British pronouce Colonel. Phonetic pronounciation has never been a keystone of the English language.

 

[direkiller]

I believe that Jelly is something different in America then it is here in the UK, I think what we know as Jelly they know as Gelatin, or something. Their Jelly is more like our Jam. I think...

In the US
Jam/Marmalade- has parts of the fruit still in it like strabary jam still has skins in it
dont know if im right on this but marmalade is used for tropical fruits(oranges)
Jelly-complexity dissolved into it no skins no seeds most of the time its grape

Americans: 'Soda'

British: 'Fizzy Drinks' though some regions in England say 'Pop' like Canadians.

Pop is used by everyone in PA, Easter Ohio, Southern New York.

 

[kawaiiamethist]

Sidewalk = Pavement
Highway = Motorway.

Hm. Can't think of anymore right now either. There are a hell of a lot more, though, I'm sure.

British fanny = vagina
American fanny = arse.

That one can lead to some horrible misunderstandings.

For that reason, I remain amused by The Nanny's theme song

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

wow must get so confused at the concept of crisps called french fries...or are they chips argh confusion

 

[Terramax]

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but asking for a rubber will have a different has different connotations.

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Consider this: McDonald's is considering renaming the Big Mac in their French restaurants. Because it means "Big Pimp" in French slang. Isn't cultural studies fun kiddies?