'and seeing as we english were the ones to invent this language, i would have to say our version is better, not to mention the fact that Americans are obviously not as clever as the average Britain, as spelling, for example, sulphur or colour is too complicated, therefore they have changed it to sulfur and color.'
heh, indeed :).
'sorceror
philosopher '
ACTUALLY NO. We use sorceror as well, you're obviously referring to the title change in Harry Potter, it's simply because Americans don't know what 'philosopher' means.
'I was born in Kent, but now I live in the Pennsylvania. But, in my English courses, I write in British English... and my professors also get angry!!'
Tell them to shut the *beep* up, and that you have every right to speak real english.
' I really think that's a bit harsh towards Americans. But we use our words different because they're spelled more the way they sound.
Such as centre. Center is definitely spelled more the way it sounds. Same with colour. It's not because the words are complicated, or that we're lazy, it's because we like to spell them that way (and they seem to be spelled right to us).'
Then why didn't you change everything? Hardly any words in the english language are spelt phonetically, and that includes in american english, so no offence (yes, we use a c), shut up.
'Brits say all of these loads!:
row - so so
can - yes
elevator - no, we nearly always say lift...
eraser - nearly always rubber
fries (although it refers to a specific type of chip here) - yeah
guy - yeah
lawyer - yeah
line - use queue more, but yeah
mail - use post a lot more, but mail a lot too
movie theater - cinema; always.
truck - yeah'
'also a cigarette in english is called a fag isn't it?'
only in slang...
'nevermind the bullocks - (?) '
haha, bullocks is the testicles ;), but it's used in different contexts.
'US: First floor
GB: Ground floor
US: This is posted on 12/15 2005
Rest of the world: This is posted on 15/12 2005
And why on earth can't you use the international standard paper sizes in the US? '
Indeed.
'U.S.: "What?"
British: "Pardon?" '
No, we say what but it is considered rude, pardon is considered far more polite.
'U.S.: sick
British: ill '
we use both equally.
'I think I should point out that American English became standardised in practice before British English – and that it was an American (Noah Webster) who compiled the first English Dictionary to achieve mass distribution! '
I don't think that's a valid point at all, the fact is the english language in originally from ENGLAND so you cannot possibly say that the american way of spelling something is correct more than an english way, but of course it can easily be argued that the english way is correct.
'Also if it’s any help, there is a maxim: Good modern American English is essentially Good eighteenth century English English '
Not at all, that's complete rubbish.
'I went to an american school, but I'm english and I thought it was great how the Americans pronounced the last letter of the alphabet "zee" and British people pronounced it "zed."'
That REALLY pisses me off actually, especially as so many people are starting to use it over here.
'Also, I still can't get the hang of people's weight when they say they are 200 pounds. I have to convert it to stones and pounds to understand it.'
Same here.
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little-miss-chocolate
19 years ago
Hkmastergaming, I completely agree.
There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate!
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tschelmetic
19 years ago
Goodness...a few hundred words different in a language comprised of one million words. That makes them as different as Norwegian and Swahili, doesn't it? Actually, it's remarkable how similar British English and American English are today considering the populaces have been split since the 17th century. It's ironic that by watching each other's movies and television programs, we're actually beginning to use one another's expressions and slang more often. Perhaps modern media will help the two verisons of the language reunite.
[pause]
Am I allowed to post sense here, or is it mandatory I make insulting, puerile comments of a generalizing nature about the "other" team?
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19 years ago
[deleted]
little-miss-chocolate
19 years ago
In England, small children say 'wee', but older people (ie teenagers) tend to say 'pee'.
When I was little, I thought that guys 'peed', but girls 'weed'.
There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate!
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dan88
19 years ago
Hkmastergaming, I completly agree with every part of your agrument!
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Arseweb
15 years ago
Just one clarification... in the UK we have both trucks AND lorries, but
they're not the same thing.
The larger the vehicle, the more likely it is to be a lorry. Something
like a pick-up would never be a lorry (it's a truck or a van). Something
that's big enough to be articulated would always be a lorry, never a
truck (and it seems to me that that's the key difference between UK and
US usages).
We also use "truck" for fork-lift trucks and hand-trucks.
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