Welcome to British.

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Anyone else see the problem with the title?
Yeah, it's Britain, not British (when used in that context)
So my question is... Why are so many people saying' Oh, Go to British, it's fantastic!' and 'He speaks British'!?

An increasing amount of people are using 'British' in the wrong context, or perhaps it's just me.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I've never used it in that context and yes the title irked me. And I'm a filthy foreigner too!

 

[woodsymoments]

It's because they are very good at england.

 

[DEAD34345]

I have never heard of anyone using the word "British" like that, but please smack anyone who does so once over the head from me.
(Preferably with a dictionary)

 

[Phlakes]

It's because they are very good at england.

You win lots and lots of internets. Like, lots. And lots.

OT: Never heard that before. Although I have heard of British accents, in the same way people talk about American accents.

 

[Broady Brio]

Probably because Britain accounts for all of the land we stand on, so people feel they can't be wrong if they say British.

Why yes, I am English.

 

[teqrevisited]

I've never seen that word misused like that. Unless of course we're talking about Muslamic ray guns.

 

[SckizoBoy]

It's because they are very good at england.

Surely you mean 'good at englanding'?

OT: Never heard it used in that context... *shrug* However, I will be sure to seek out and purge all those guilty of such abuse of said word.

 

[scw55]

Because everyone in the world except for people living in Ireland, Scotland and Wales assumes British = English?

I'm sorry dear, I do not consider London to be my capital city.

 

[Woodsey]

Are you sure you're not just hanging around with complete morons?

If English was a person's second language then its forgivable, but I get the feeling that's not who you're referring too.

 

[Emissary Laito]

So my question is... Why are so many people saying' Oh, Go to British, it's fantastic!' and 'He speaks British'!?

I say old bean, are you implying that you are uninformed as to the differences between the British and the English languages? Because if so I shall be forced to drop my monocle in shock.

OT: Nah, doesn't bother me as long as I can understand it. People are way too uptight about that stuff.

 

[New Frontiersman]

I might have heard "He speaks British" before probably as a satire, and I could even understand from a linguistic sense, even if it is fairly ignorant. But "go to British"? That makes no goddamn sense!

OT: Never heard that before. Although I have heard of British accents, in the same way people talk about American accents.

Not really. America is a single, unified country. Britain is actually composed of four separate countries, each with their own governments. Therefore, there is no single British accent, because there is no single country of Britain. America, at least, is unified under one President and one constitution.

But even within each of the four separate countries, aren't there regional accents? I know I've heard of Cockney and Cornwall accents, and I think there's also accents for London and Dublin too. Even in America (or more specifically the United States) there are regional differences which lead to different accents based on area.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English#Regional
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno-English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English_regional_phonology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English#Regional_differences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_English

 

[tunderball]

It's because they are very good at england.

You win lots and lots of internets. Like, lots. And lots.

OT: Never heard that before. Although I have heard of British accents, in the same way people talk about American accents.

Not really. America is a single, unified country. Britain is actually composed of four separate countries, each with their own governments. Therefore, there is no single British accent, because there is no single country of Britain. America, at least, is unified under one President and one constitution.

I hate to be the one to point this out but America isn't a single unified county, the part you are reffering to is called the USA situated between Canada and Mexico which when combined make the North part of America.

Infact what you've done is very similar to what the OP is talking about, but its gotten so late I can't decide whether you've used a witty form of sarcasm or not. Probably the latter.

As for your post itself under your definition of Britain not being a country would you agree that England is then? Because there are dozens of different accents in England alone to the point where you only need to visit a different city 50 miles down the road to find a different regional dialect.

 

[Hoplon]

It's very possible it's a moronism.

Given I very much doubt the scots/northan irish/welsh would appreciate that.

 

[Eumersian]

1. Who says "British" like it's a place?

2. Who thinks "British" is a language?

I'm not saying that this has never happened, but I've just never seen it happen. If you see that again, please ask them what they mean, because I certainly haven't the faintest idea.

 

[Magicmad5511]

I've never seen it used like that.
Mainly because it's wrong. Just grammatically wrong.
You don't go to British. You go to Britain.
You also don't speak British. You speak English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh.

Whoever is using it incorrectly please hit them for me and correct them.

 

[JasonKaotic]

I've never seen the first used, but I've seen the latter.
Why can't we just call it England/English, Scotland/Scottish, Wales/Welsh or Northern Ireland/Irish like it's supposed to be?