British vs. American English

[Andalublue]

There are quantities of site offering BE vs AmE glossaries.

What would an non-British think if I said my grandmother made me a big nice joint last night ?

Brit for Americans is quite fun but clearly written by quite a posh person. It's also got quite a few mistakes in it e.g. Saying the word "Ta" is short for "Thank you", when it is a quite separate word, coming from Old Norse. Norwegians still say "Tak" for thank you, I believe.

That's being picky though, I know. It's fun.

 

[Mycernius]

It's easier to speak American English than British English, they have that weird accent

Which weird accent, we have several in the UK? Welsh, Yorkshire, Geordie, Brummie, Cockney, Scouse are just a few.

there are a lot of difference even between UK , England, Scotland, Ireland and Weals.

I'm studying English literature RP , but I like the American Accent .

As above, which American accent? Deep southern is very distinctive drawl, or the nasal New York. America also has a variety of accents, as do Canadians.

 

[Andalublue]

No your not getting confused, it's cockney rhyming slang.
And I think your thinking about old rural yorkshire, they have several words you won't find in the english dictionary. I have no idea what they are tho.

Yorkshire is the biggest county in England and as such has not one but many different accents. It also used to have a number of related dialects. My favourite example of these old dialects is the counting system used by sheep farmers.

In Swaledale, one of the most remote corners of Yorkshire, they would count thus:

1. Yan
2. Tan
3. Tether
4. Mether
5. Mimph
6. Hither
7. Lither
8. Anver
9. Danver
10. Dick
11. Yan dick
12. Tan dick
13. Tether-a-dick
14. Mether-a-dick
15. Mimphit
16. Yan-a-mimphit
17. Tan-a-mimphit
18. Tether-a-mimphit
19. Mether-a-mimphit
20. Jiggit

There are still many dialect words still used today although very few people use dialect as their main mode of communication. Some Yorkshire dialect words have found their way into mainstream English, such as cadge (to ask to borrow), ta (thank you), mardy (moody, bad tempered), skint (penniless).

You can find some lovely examples of Yorkshire dialect on the internet, much of it in verse, it really does lend itself well to humour.

Here's a short example, something my dialect-speaking grandfather always liked to recite...

Hear all, see all say nowt
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt
An if tha ivver dus owt fer nowt
Do it fo thi'sen

Owt = something
Nowt = nothing
Ivver = ever
Tha = you
Thi'sen = yourself

 

[Gwyllgi]

there are a lot of difference even between UK , England, Scotland, Ireland and Weals.

I'm studying English literature RP , but I like the American Accent .

Weals?

WEALS?


Iesu Grist man! Even in English (spit) it’s spelt Wales, and in yr iaith Gymraeg, (the PROPER language) it’s Cymru!

Actually the Welsh language is closer to the true language of these Islands. Very close to the Scottish Galic, Irish, Manx, and Cornish it is.

 

[Niroa]

Hey,

I just find the Scottish accent funny - because they roll sometimes the R and drop letters while they pronunce words, it isn't that weird but it sounds "different" compared to other variants of English.

By the way, is it the truth that Britons don't pronunce the final "R" as in "war" not that strong as US Americans do it? I've never noticed a difference.

 

[bcrich67]

There are actually a pretty large number of different accents and dialects in america.
You have what I call the foghorn accent: "pahk the cah by the hahbah so we can go see the red sawx at fenway pahk" (park the car by the harbor so we can go see the red socks at fenway park) The new yorker: "I'm goin to woyk on thoity thoid street" (I'm going to work on thirty third street) The southerner: "aww hail! gee'it yer car out the road!" (ah hell! get your car out of the road) The louisianna: "nuu'allins" (new orleans) "ebonics" or AAvE: "we scrate man" (we're straight man) and etc. There are plenty more, I'm just too lazy and/or ignorant of them to post them

 

[Aristander]

A few of the British spellings always catch me by surprise when I read them in print.
Gaol or the American spelling Jail and Kerb or the American spelling Curb.

 

[Antigone]

Many US English words are carry overs from old English via early immigrants. The word fall was once commonly used in Britain but was gradually replaced with the word autumn, whereas in the US fall remained in use. Diaper is another word that has remained in use in the US but in Britain was replaced with the word nappy.

It is the different spellings that I find difficult, check instead of cheque. Two different words with two different meanings in British English but in the US mean the same. And US keyboards are a pain after using British ones for a lifetime!

 

[Glückspilz]

A a native German speaker this is really nervwrecking sometimes. Even some verbs have a different spellinge.g. BE-dreamt, AE-dreamed) If I remember right, Noah Webster modified the American English how it is nowadays. He literally erased the french influence in the English language (cheque - check, centre - center, theatre - theater)

 

[Regulus]

Many US English words are carry overs from old English via early immigrants. The word fall was once commonly used in Britain but was gradually replaced with the word autumn, whereas in the US fall remained in use. Diaper is another word that has remained in use in the US but in Britain was replaced with the word nappy.

It is the different spellings that I find difficult, check instead of cheque. Two different words with two different meanings in British English but in the US mean the same. And US keyboards are a pain after using British ones for a lifetime!

A very interesting point. Languages do have a tendency to conservatism and less changes at the outer fringes of where they are spoken.

 

[Regulus]

A a native German speaker this is really nervwrecking sometimes. Even some verbs have a different spellinge.g. BE-dreamt, AE-dreamed) If I remember right, Noah Webster modified the American English how it is nowadays. He literally erased the french influence in the English language (cheque - check, centre - center, theatre - theater)

You did bring up a good point, but Webster seems to have been more focused on standardizing and modernizing the spelling of the words more than anything else. He did the same thing with words that had a Germanic origin like changing waggon into wagon. American English in Webster's time was a kaleidoscope of various forms of spelling, even among reasonably educated people. There was a movement among some Americans at the time that held that our English would at one point become completely different from the King's. Modern communications that began shortly after in the same century put a stop to that idea.

 

[Glückspilz]

You did bring up a good point, but Webster seems to have been more focused on standardizing and modernizing the spelling of the words more than anything else. He did the same thing with words that had a Germanic origin like changing waggon into wagon. American English in Webster's time was a kaleidoscope of various forms of spelling, even among reasonably educated people. There was a movement among some Americans at the time that held that our English would at one point become completely different from the King's. Modern communications that began shortly after in the same century put a stop to that idea.

Thanks for clearing that up Regulus. As for the german words, I noticed there are a lot of used by Americans lately like kindergarden, auto, uebermensch, zeitgeist...ect. at least what I read on the internet.

 

[Regulus]

That is correct, even more so today. A point that gets brought up quite a bit here is that if we don't have a word for something, the Germans probably do.

Much of these words have come into the vernacular here.

 

[Antigone]

A very interesting point. Languages do have a tendency to conservatism and less changes at the outer fringes of where they are spoken.

Yes, I also think that languages are subject to outside influences and evolve accordingly. What influences English in Britain is not the same as what would influence the language in the US, Australian and New Zealand English is another that is evolving differently due to its own set of circumstances.

In the US you now use the word stoop instead of the British porch (or is that change only regional?). Stoop or stoep was a word bought with Dutch immigrants and adopted into US English but people in Britain and Australia would still use porch.

If any of that would make any sense? It is an interesting topic anyway.

 

[Regulus]

Yes, I also think that languages are subject to outside influences and evolve accordingly. What influences English in Britain is not the same as what would influence the language in the US, Australian and New Zealand English is another that is evolving differently due to its own set of circumstances.

In the US you now use the word stoop instead of the British porch (or is that change only regional?). Stoop or stoep was a word bought with Dutch immigrants and adopted into US English but people in Britain and Australia would still use porch.

If any of that would make any sense? It is an interesting topic anyway.

Agreed about the outside influences. Interesting point about stoops. Stoop is commonly used in Brooklyn NY. That area had a strong Dutch presence for quite a along time. Most of the US uses 'porch' instead.

When I was a kid, I thought that stoop meant the sort of wall where the porch or front patio met the sidewalk. I guess that from growing up in a small town in NJ where we used 'porch' I never quite figured out what was meant by 'stoop'. That is surprising since my town is full of street names, family names, etc. that are clearly Dutch.

 

[Reinaert]

The right word is ... Stoep.

Dutch for the stone path near a house.
In French they call it trottoir.

The "stoep" is an old word for a gangway that is made with stones.
So it means an area around the house, where you won't get your boots sucked in by mud.

 

[Joosepinpoika]

Being Canadian gives us some opportunity to get a taste of both AmE and BE...however, that does not prevent us from having trouble understanding both..I believe we have it right though. A little British, and a little American and all Canadian, eh.