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american english
- Thread starter glosterseagul
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As an American in Britain (when I was a kid, for three years), I remember calling Warwick WARwick and not, as the British say it, WARick (no W in the second syllable). That is, until we learned better. Any Brit visiting the States who wants a good laugh should ask young people (because most older people get it reasonably correct, since they've heard of it) to read the name of the brown sauce in a bottle used in some sauces: Worcestershire.
The same sound, not really a word, is spelled "uh" in America and "er" in Britain. Because of course the "r" isn't silent in America. Actually it's nearly silent in New England, New York City, and Southern accents, but we don't actually put it into the spelling of words where it doesn't belong.
Americans have a tendency to refer to the whole of the UK as "England" and anyone from the UK as "English" when of course there are Scots, Welsh, and people from Northern Ireland (what is the shorthand name for them? Ulsters?) who also comprise the people of Great Britain.
And even when we get the name right, our forms tend to be a little different. You will rarely if ever hear an American refer to the people of the UK as "Britons" but this term is used frequently over there. When we're not erroneously calling them English, we usually use the adjectival form, British (as in, "the British") and occasionally the shortened form, "Brits."
Also, a lot of Americans wrongly call things that are Scottish (including people from Scotland) "Scotch." But Brits don't seem to use the adjectival form "Scottish" nearly as much as the adjectival form "Scots" as in, say, "a Scots brigade." But you're as likely to hear an American use "Scots" as an adjective as you are to hear them say "Britons" to refer to contemporary residents of the British Isles (the ancient tribe is another matter--we do get that right).
Likewise, we never refer to ourselves as "Yanks." When an American speaks of "Yankees" he is either referring to the baseball team or people from the Northeast.
Americans call a long, thin, cucmber-like squash "zucchini." Brits call it "corgettes" (my spelling may be off). We've called it zucchini because the first such vegetables were shipped to America from Italy by an exporter named Zucchini.
On the other hand, we don't call vaccum cleaners "Hoovers." We call them vacuum cleaners (of course). But Brits typically refer to them by the brand name of the original manufacturer, W.H. Hoover. He's an American, by the way.
Also, Flowbee excepted, we don't use single quote marks: and to mark words and direct quotations like the British do. We always use double quote marks.
Different nouns require use of the definite article, "the," before them. Brits "go to hospital" but Americans always "go to the hospital" even if they aren't referring to a specific hospital. And the reverse is true for other nouns. I can't think of any examples though. I think school might one though. An American can legally say that he is going to "go to school" when he has a specific school in mind, but a Brit must say he is "going to the school" when a specific school is in mind. Feel free to correct me if this is a bad example.
That's all I've got for now.
The same sound, not really a word, is spelled "uh" in America and "er" in Britain. Because of course the "r" isn't silent in America. Actually it's nearly silent in New England, New York City, and Southern accents, but we don't actually put it into the spelling of words where it doesn't belong.
Americans have a tendency to refer to the whole of the UK as "England" and anyone from the UK as "English" when of course there are Scots, Welsh, and people from Northern Ireland (what is the shorthand name for them? Ulsters?) who also comprise the people of Great Britain.
And even when we get the name right, our forms tend to be a little different. You will rarely if ever hear an American refer to the people of the UK as "Britons" but this term is used frequently over there. When we're not erroneously calling them English, we usually use the adjectival form, British (as in, "the British") and occasionally the shortened form, "Brits."
Also, a lot of Americans wrongly call things that are Scottish (including people from Scotland) "Scotch." But Brits don't seem to use the adjectival form "Scottish" nearly as much as the adjectival form "Scots" as in, say, "a Scots brigade." But you're as likely to hear an American use "Scots" as an adjective as you are to hear them say "Britons" to refer to contemporary residents of the British Isles (the ancient tribe is another matter--we do get that right).
Likewise, we never refer to ourselves as "Yanks." When an American speaks of "Yankees" he is either referring to the baseball team or people from the Northeast.
Americans call a long, thin, cucmber-like squash "zucchini." Brits call it "corgettes" (my spelling may be off). We've called it zucchini because the first such vegetables were shipped to America from Italy by an exporter named Zucchini.
On the other hand, we don't call vaccum cleaners "Hoovers." We call them vacuum cleaners (of course). But Brits typically refer to them by the brand name of the original manufacturer, W.H. Hoover. He's an American, by the way.
Also, Flowbee excepted, we don't use single quote marks: and to mark words and direct quotations like the British do. We always use double quote marks.
Different nouns require use of the definite article, "the," before them. Brits "go to hospital" but Americans always "go to the hospital" even if they aren't referring to a specific hospital. And the reverse is true for other nouns. I can't think of any examples though. I think school might one though. An American can legally say that he is going to "go to school" when he has a specific school in mind, but a Brit must say he is "going to the school" when a specific school is in mind. Feel free to correct me if this is a bad example.
That's all I've got for now.
One more: When playing games, kids in America, use "turn" where British kids use "go," as in: "Let me have a turn" vs. "Let me have a go" and "it's my turn" vs. "it's my go."
whocares said:I like how the Americans pronounce cities in New England:
Nore-wich (US) = 'Norich' (UK)
Green-wich = 'Grennich' (UK)
How would you say Gloucesteshire in the US?
I'm from Connecticut, and the only time I've ever heard someone call the town Greenwich "Green-wich" was when I was about 10 and reading it off a map "Green witch? sounds scary". It is pronounced "Grennich" here too.
And as for Norwich, yeah, we say it as "Nore-wich".
Lets hear it for inconsistency!
These always grate when i listen to my American colleagues:
Saying gotten instead of got
A: It has gotten much better
B: It has got much better
Using the verb to write with a direct rather than indirect object
A: Ill write you
B: Ill write to you
But then we say Ill email you and Ill ring you so no consistency
Also
A: on a team
B: in a team
Americans also use regular past participles where we use irregular forms (coz they sound better, i dunno )
eg.
American British
spell spelled spelt
learn learned learnt
Then of course there is the American pronunciation of the word herbs as erbs, whereas we say herbs, coz theres an h in it!
Though we have through for the American thru. Actually im with the Americans on this one Coz we really need that silent gh at the end, for support you understand
This list could just go on for ever
Saying gotten instead of got
A: It has gotten much better
B: It has got much better
Using the verb to write with a direct rather than indirect object
A: Ill write you
B: Ill write to you
But then we say Ill email you and Ill ring you so no consistency
Also
A: on a team
B: in a team
Americans also use regular past participles where we use irregular forms (coz they sound better, i dunno
)eg.
American British
spell spelled spelt
learn learned learnt
Then of course there is the American pronunciation of the word herbs as erbs, whereas we say herbs, coz theres an h in it!
Though we have through for the American thru. Actually im with the Americans on this one
Coz we really need that silent gh at the end, for support you understand This list could just go on for ever
I was wondering if people in other countries can imitate an american accent? I know Kate Beckinsale did a very good accent in Pearl Harbor, and other movies she's been in. However, I myself can imitate a french accent, a British accent, a russian accent, a spanish accent, a russian etc... but do people of other nationalities do an american accent? And if they do, which accent do they do? There are so many, like up mid-north where they say Min-ee-soo-ta, or Northeast, where it's Ba-stin (Boston), or the slower Southern accent, or the Texan accent, or the traditional "TV speak", I mean there are so many different accents all througout the country. Even in New York, there are different accents depending on where you go.
There are even different words used, like people outside the East Coast use the word "pop" to refer to a soft drink, while people where I come from the Washington DC. area use the word "soda".
So I was just curious as to which accent you imitate when you're trying to imitate an American... and please don't say you speak like Bush...
one more thing, sorry about the misspellings..
There are even different words used, like people outside the East Coast use the word "pop" to refer to a soft drink, while people where I come from the Washington DC. area use the word "soda".
So I was just curious as to which accent you imitate when you're trying to imitate an American... and please don't say you speak like Bush...
one more thing, sorry about the misspellings..
well if somebody imitates a american languege i guess it is most of the time texan accent which people try to put an accent in it
and yeah including words like "howdy"
accents exist in every language
norther germans having problems with understanding swiss german,or austrian accents on the opposite people from bavaria have no problem with eastern austria accents but still have problems with swiss german (which is still very similiar to old german from the pre lutherian time) and western austria (where ilive...we still use our allemanic influenced accent...similiar to swiss one...)
most people from vienna etc. have problems with understanding those western dialekts of german language .... which are of course different from town to town there
and yeah including words like "howdy"
accents exist in every language
norther germans having problems with understanding swiss german,or austrian accents on the opposite people from bavaria have no problem with eastern austria accents but still have problems with swiss german (which is still very similiar to old german from the pre lutherian time) and western austria (where ilive...we still use our allemanic influenced accent...similiar to swiss one...)
most people from vienna etc. have problems with understanding those western dialekts of german language .... which are of course different from town to town there
takao said:
Definitely. I remember a conversation I had with my cousin when I visited her in Chicago. If you recall the "Superfans" on SNL then you know what I'm talking about. Daaaaa Bearssss. The whole time we were talking I was thinking to myself, "she has a funny accent."
Then I realized (or realised) that I probably sound just as funny to her with my California accent. And I'm sure I said "dude" or "sweet" at least once each.
The figure of speech that I've picked up on most recently is that Brits will say they're beginning to do something "in anger", e.g.glosterseagul said:
"I've just started studying the violin in anger."
whereas Americans would instead say something like:"I've just started studying the violin seriously."
I love that languages constantly evolve and change, including dialects and accents. So much fun. I dont think the "British" accent or Australian accent are annoying. I hate it when people judge based on accent or language.
I love King of the Hill's Boomhauer accent. "Dang 'ol talkaboutit runaroundit behind the thing dang ol man." Awesome.
I'm from the Midwest, so I have the typical "TV talk" accent, without much of a distinction. But I like the "Hey 'dare I'm from MineeeSOOta don't ya know" accent the best. So funny.
I love King of the Hill's Boomhauer accent. "Dang 'ol talkaboutit runaroundit behind the thing dang ol man." Awesome.
I'm from the Midwest, so I have the typical "TV talk" accent, without much of a distinction. But I like the "Hey 'dare I'm from MineeeSOOta don't ya know" accent the best. So funny.
Actually it is fairly likely that to those people groups your accent imitation is way off and is just representative of how the American media portrays those accents.mgargan1 said:
Being Australian I can only speak for us, but I always get a good laugh when hearing 'Australian' characters in American movies and TV! Such a stupid sounding accent!
The really weird thing though is that many American producers think they know the accent so well that when Australian actors play Australian characters in American movies they force them to put on the strange accents!
When my family went over to the US for a holiday (vacation) we only had trouble having two words understood. The first suprisingly was 'Coke', whenever we asked for it we'd be answered with the question 'You want cake?'. The second was even more confusing. We have five in our family so several times we had to ask for five of something. Several of those times people thought we were saying 'four'! I really don't understand that one! We had to put on a really thick US accent when saying it. Because of that trouble I get to say I snuck into the White House illegally!
mrdeep said:
Tell me about it. Newark, New Jersey and Newark, Delaware pronounce their city names differently. The latter is more like New ark.
macka: Your rockmelon is also a muskmelon here. Also, while we don't use lolly for candy, lollypop, also known as a sucker, is a type of candy.
Zaid: We used spelt and learnt in the northeastern U.S and pavement instead of sidewalk, which the rest of the U.S. uses.
Accents definitely differ a lot in various regions. When I was young, we lived in Vaginia, which is spelt Virginia. (Read that carefully!
) My cousins lived in Luzianna, which is spelt Louisianna.
Lyle said:
Sorry mate, never heard that one.
My favourites have to be the placenames:
I say Wustershir
You say War cester shire
I say Gloster
You say Glow cester shire
I say Edinbura
You say Edin burrowg
....or one of you yanks did anyway. I was working as a waiter in Gloucester and got asked if they could drive there this afternoon.
PS: What is Black pudding in America? Do you get it? What about Yorkshire pudding?
A little correction
The UK (United Kingdom) corresponds to Great Britain (GB) & Northern Iraland. GB refers to England, Wales ans Scotland which are all on the same island.
------------
And to continue with pronunciation,
its vit*a*mins, not *VI*-tamins.
'Gotten' is actually the old way of saying it, just like 'I have forgotten'. It just evolve in the UK from its 'original' form. IMHO, 'I have gotten' sounds better than 'I have got' which feels like it's had its end truncated (which it has). BTW, I will use both.
Last and not least: greatings!
What's with 'How are you doin' today?' - would you really care to know how I was doing yesterday or how I will be doing tomorrow?
'Have a good one' - this one really cracks me up. Have a good what?
Awimoway said:
The UK (United Kingdom) corresponds to Great Britain (GB) & Northern Iraland. GB refers to England, Wales ans Scotland which are all on the same island.
------------
And to continue with pronunciation,
its vit*a*mins, not *VI*-tamins.
'Gotten' is actually the old way of saying it, just like 'I have forgotten'. It just evolve in the UK from its 'original' form. IMHO, 'I have gotten' sounds better than 'I have got' which feels like it's had its end truncated (which it has). BTW, I will use both.
Last and not least: greatings!
What's with 'How are you doin' today?' - would you really care to know how I was doing yesterday or how I will be doing tomorrow?
'Have a good one' - this one really cracks me up. Have a good what?
The thing that messed me up more than anything in Britain was buying train tickets:
Me: Two tickets for Cambridge, please
Clerk: Will that be a single or a return?
Me: No, there are two of us.
Clerk: Yes, single?
Me: No, two--me and my wife.
Clerk: Yes, two tickets, but will that be single or return?
Me: (light bulb flashes over my head) Oh! Single must be one way? So return is round trip?
Clerk: (stares at me in confusion)
Me: Oh, yes, I mean, two *return* tickets to Cambridge
Clerk: Very well, then--why didn't you just say that in the first place?
Me: Two tickets for Cambridge, please
Clerk: Will that be a single or a return?
Me: No, there are two of us.
Clerk: Yes, single?
Me: No, two--me and my wife.
Clerk: Yes, two tickets, but will that be single or return?
Me: (light bulb flashes over my head) Oh! Single must be one way? So return is round trip?
Clerk: (stares at me in confusion)
Me: Oh, yes, I mean, two *return* tickets to Cambridge
Clerk: Very well, then--why didn't you just say that in the first place?
powerbook4me said:I think British speak is annoying....
Flame away
we created the language (well stole a bit from the french and romans and then the ameriican's ruined it a bit more! though i do suppose you spell things a bit more logically e.g.
colour = color
i think missing out the u is a bit more sensible
wordmunger said:
you weren't going from peterborough (said peterbra) were you? the guy who works at the train station is an arse...
one thing that thay got right in america is 'thay'. in the UK its spelt 'they' but I just can't work out how you say it with an 'e' rather than 'a' sound...
'thru' is horrid, admitedly 'through' is a bit silly, but 'thru' is just an ugly looking little word