If your words come out naturally it will be OK but if you have to try and sound brittish then it will sound bad. But don't worry you will pick it up quickly and not have to think about it. If you re thingking about it you are going about it wrong.
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Would an American trying to speak British English be rude?
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And Canadian provinces.skunk said:
Every place has a history. It's just that though.....history. My tip still stands.
"I come from Pennsylvania" just makes you sound so American.I sometimes do it myself. More of the sentences and the way the words are used such as "I am different to you" than "I am different than you." I do occasionally spell the british way, though.
What about "different from you"? After all, you differ from someone else, not to or than them...iMacZealot said:
Abstract said:And Canadian provinces.
My tip still stands.
"I come from Ontario" makes you sound Canadian.
In Japanese, I usually recite my location until the street address and then "but I'm originally from..."
However, I don't know the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates, so I can never give those.skunk said:
That was an example, and "differ from you" is not the same as "different to you". They are two different forms of the word and can not be used in place of each other. That's your fault for making that mistake.
dpaanlka said:
Say what you will, I'm just telling you how my family is. Farthest we ever ventured out was Logan Square.
Jschultz said:
I can hardly believe it.
Naperville is pretty far out from Chicago, though. Where was your family originally from?
All you have to do is watch the news and you'll see everyone in Chicago says "kah" instead of "kau"
dpaanlka said:
You can hardly believe it? I'm just about 24 and have only been out of Chicago for roughly 10 years. Like I said,we're all from Chicago(at least since my great-grandparents) but I'm actually the first one to leave Chicago. I'll be back shortly (moving to Bridgeport soon).
We're from Near-west side though. My grandparents were born in raised what is now Bucktown, and they raised my mother in Logan Square, which is in turn where I'm from.
I've noticed a few slight syntax and phonic differences depending which part of chicago you're from though. Have you? I will say though, for being a west-sider, I do notice a difference in saying chicago then other north, or west siders. They're more likely to say "Shi-cah-go".
Jschultz said:
Well right now I'm attending school a little down state in Peoria and everyone that lives here does say "kau"... but "kah" is what I hear near my home(s).
Maybe it's totally isolated to the area immediately around Chicago. I grew up near Midway airport, and also lived around various parts but about the same distance from the loop.
I think the most funny word Englishmen say is "Advertisement"
"Proper" English - Ad-VER-tis-mant
American - AD-ver-TIZE-ment
And going way back in this thread. Would people from England know about Kentucky? Everytime I go to Spain and locals ask me where I'm from, I say Kentucky and they at least know one thing about the place. Chicken or Derby.
"Proper" English - Ad-VER-tis-mant
American - AD-ver-TIZE-ment
And going way back in this thread. Would people from England know about Kentucky? Everytime I go to Spain and locals ask me where I'm from, I say Kentucky and they at least know one thing about the place. Chicken or Derby.
displaced said:
How would this normally be pronounced? Here in New Jersey we have a Gloucester, pronounced "Glosster" by all, but I can see how one might get tripped up seeing the "shire" in the end.
A lot of this stuff is regional, too. I remember a site, possibly still around, by an English person that attempted to catalogue all the differences between American and British English. But a lot of the words and phrases he pegged as being "unfamiliar" to Americans were entirely familiar to me and would be to people in my area. We're not all Texans, y'know (thank god)..
Regarding New Orleans, it's pronounced Nuorlins where I live, sometimes coming out almost as "Nwor-lins". How do Brits say it? One thing I've noticed watching BBC News is that anchors (sorry, "presenters"
) tend to pronounce certain French-derived English words according to English spelling rules, for example pronouncing the "t" at the end of a word where in American it would be silent.displaced said:
Correct on both counts. I'm trying to think of other good ones, but I'm drawing a blank on Long Island. Places up in Massachusetts maybe.
As for New Orleans, it's 'lins when you're talking about the city but 'leens when its the parish. N.O. is pretty odd, language-wise though, since you have the French/Spanish names whose pronunciation hasn't become "americanized" but isn't French; a lot of southern Louisiana is like that.
or heard vitamin, or schedule, or garage, or aluminum... oh the list goes on.bousozoku said:
It's strange to hear sometimes but by all rights the difference is american, the english have had the language a lot longer. iBlue said:or heard vitamin, or schedule, or garage, or aluminum... oh the list goes on.
I look at it from a Japanese standpoint mostly--either can be correct.
The U.S.A. is big but more people are taught something other than American English yet Americans assume that everyone should know it.
I'm sure that people here are confused by my usage of English because I don't fit either side. Listening to me is even more confusing because I don't have a certain accent that people would expect.I'm always at odds with someone doing a fake accent because they rarely get it right. Mostly people use the same words in the same style with a different accent. If you use certain slang terms, it usually adds to how silly you look.
I think one American actor has actually pulled it off. He portrayed Higgins on Magnum P.I. He used to receive fan mail from Britons saying how he put such a proper face on the British. Mostly though, I just cringe or laugh at the accents, like Brian Tochi(hara) trying to sound like a Japanese exchange student. Uggggh.
There are certain things I find wrong with British English. Most linguists will agree that the u's in words such as colour should be omitted as that sort of spelling is reminiscent of the French and the u does little in pronunciation. Some spelling differences, however, are considered to be correct, I just can't think of any at the moment.
As for the phrasiology, I don't care. Car Park. Parking Lot. To-may-to, to-mot-o.
As for the phrasiology, I don't care. Car Park. Parking Lot. To-may-to, to-mot-o.
iMacZealot said:
Well, yes. Different from is the only correct version. Different "to" or gofforbid "than" is what illiterates come out with. See also: 'That big OF a deal' with the redundant and totally meaningless 'of' interjected which is cropping up more and more on the net these days. :totally smug smiley:
weckart said:
One of my pet peeves is redundant "got"s, for example "I have got a computer" when "I have a computer" would suffice.
Nermal said:
There is usually a subtle difference implied between have and have got. Consider this exchange for example.
Customer: Do you have XYZ (do you normally stock XYZ?)
Shopkeeper: Yes
Customer: Have you got XYZ (is it currently in stock?)
Shopkeeper: Delivery next Tuesday.
Perfectly standard conversation. Got emphasizes right now, whereas have stresses habitual possession. Then again, this is the UK; other English-speaking countries may be more logical about this sort of thing.
brianus said:
Exactly the same: 'Glosstersheer' (with my south-east England accent, replace 'sheer' with 'shire' for many other areas of the UK).
Absolutely - there seems to be a huge range of accents within the US, just as there are within the UK (and pretty much everywhere, I'd imagine). The one that springs to mind is some areas of the US seem to pronounce 'route' the same as we do here: 'root'. Others pronounce it 'raut'. I wonder how that particular difference maps to areas of the US?
'New Or-leens' for me
One thing I've noticed watching BBC News is that anchors (sorry, "presenters"
... or like 'herb' (the plant). Some US accents drop the h ('erb'), as the French would do. Here we pretty much universally pronounce the h.
Funny how the French origin was erased for words such as colour/color, but others are followed that aren't in British English.
As for color/colour, I reckon the spelling's different to more accurately reflect pronunciation. Without the 'u', I'd feel like the o's would have to be a harder 'o' sound than we actually pronounce it. I pronounce it (pretty much) 'culler' The 'u' sorta modifies the second syllable to be a less hard 'o'.
I'd also go for 'learnt' and 'spelt', not 'learned' and 'spelled'. Sounds nicer, and quicker to type
In my neck of the woods, it's 'shuh'. I'm with you on the 'Glosster', though.displaced said:
I wouldn't say it's universally done over here a lot of us northern types drop our aitches, a curious thing if, like me, you live in a place whose name begins with one.displaced said:
Jaffa Cake said:In my neck of the woods, it's 'shuh'. I'm with you on the 'Glosster', though.
I wouldn't say it's universally done over here a lot of us northern types drop our aitches, a curious thing if, like me, you live in a place whose name begins with one.
Yeah, but the dropped "h" is still implied. The Americans say it as though the word is in fact "Erb."
Jaffa Cake said:In my neck of the woods, it's 'shuh'. I'm with you on the 'Glosster', though.
I wouldn't say it's universally done over here a lot of us northern types drop our aitches, a curious thing if, like me, you live in a place whose name begins with one.
Ahhh.... good point! I've got no excuse for not realising that either, I was up in 'ull not too long ago. Dropping leading aitches is pretty common really! I think what I had on my mind is that it really grates with me when a southerner who would normally say 'herb' says 'erb'.