English converted to English

[DM-Rocco]

Somewhat extensive notes here on the subject.

http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html

Ah, a topic of endless discussion in TEFL teaching rooms.


I have a theory that runs like this--British and American English are the most different in areas of vocabulary that developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when geography separated the countries a bit more than it does in the modern world. At that time a lot of new technology appeared (particularly household items and other various consumer goods) and words needed to be invented to describe them. And often different words were used on either side of the ocean. For example, much of hte common vocabulary that describes a car is diffenerent. Also, most vocabulary describing sports is rather different (most popular sports became organized around the world in the late 1800s spurred by urbanization). E.g. 'pitch' rather than 'field'; Football 'kit' rather than 'uniform', etc.

Vocabulary from before this period tends to be more similar, since most of it was created before the colonists arrived in the Americas. And since WWII, increasing globalization and in particular the global mass media/entertainment (especially the worldwide popularlity of American film, and perhaps more important, TV) and now the internet are making the languages more similar again, and thus we're seeing fewer different words (outside of slang, perhaps).

That link was incredibly useful, thanks

 

[DM-Rocco]

Yeah, Peanuts always used to confuse the hell out of me for that very reason when I was a kid.

I could never figure out how Charlie Brown's mum was able to slice jelly (i.e. jello) into thin enough strips that you could put it in a sandwich.

(Nor could I understand why the hell you'd want to eat it).

I always thought Jam was just some fancy east coast American upper crest way of saying jelly

 

[DM-Rocco]

Sodomy has a different meaning over here (I've been confused in the past when reading US news articles in which oral sex is described as "sodemy").

In the UK I believe they are both very specific legal definitions (someone please correct me if I'm wrong):

* Sodomy is anal sex between a man and a woman.

* Buggery is anal sex between two men.

I could be wrong on the legal definition, but as far as I know, buggery in the US doesn't exist, it is a Brit term, and Sodomy is man on man anal sex, although most states in the US define any anal sex as Sondomy and I think one US state considers any non-missionary sex Sodomy, although general, speaking, Sodomy is mainly used in papers and court rooms, slang words are more common, like ass pirate, rump ranger, hole of glory, riding the brown eye, etc. Um, that is what I hear anyway

 

[DM-Rocco]

We call it gas too, although it's sometimes called "Natural Gas" to differentiate it from the stuff you power your cars with.

The English language, both of them I think, have many words that are spelled the same but have different meaning, great job on that ya fricken nit wits *refering to the original creators of the words*

Anyway, I think the Brits call gas (the stuff they put in cars) petrol, short for petrolium, right?

 

[Nareau]

This reminds me of one of my favorite Net games. Basically, you take an English phrase, translate it to some random language, then back again. Repeat until it stops changing or becomes funny.

For example:
"Kiss my grits" becomes "embrace my granulations"
"what you talking about willis" becomes "which willis, which speak with you"
"I love playing Dungeons and Dragons" becomes "I appreciate to play the Dungeon and the flying red deer"

Spider

 

[glass]

Anyway, I think the Brits call gas (the stuff they put in cars) petrol, short for petrolium, right?

Yep. Petroleum spirit, to be exact.


glass.

 

[glass]

manual gearbox = stickshift

And the thing you actually grab hold of to change gear (which I believe is also called the stick shift, or possibly just stick) is the gear lever.

geezer = ?person?
old geezer = geezer (i.e. "geezer" doesn't imply old for us)

True, although I think it used to, before the Chavs adopted the term.
EDIT: Actually, it was the probably late 80s/early 90s ravers who first adopted the term (along with 'sorted').


glass.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

True, although I think it used to, before the Chavs adopted the term.
EDIT: Actually, it was the probably late 80s/early 90s ravers who first adopted the term (along with 'sorted').

There's a nice example of a US-UK Usenet flame war here which erupted due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "geezer" as used by a British poster. (This was where I first learned that the word has a subtly different meaning in the US).

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Sodomy is mainly used in papers and court rooms, slang words are more common,

Ya forgot:

Dwavern Delving

Halfling Hidey-Hole,

Half-Orc Hole of Holding,

Gnomish Exhaust Examination,

Draconic Any Port in a Storm,

And "Elfie Style"

 

[sniffles]

Didn't Wesley once tell Angel to "stop being such a wanker!"

(For the benefit of non-Brits, wanker = someone who masturbates).

I always wondered whether that would have been allowed on American TV if it were a native phrase.



Did you ever hear about the continuum spanning roleplaying game where you got to play a "Spanner"?

(Again for the benefit of non-Brits, a "spanner" is a very stupid person, as in: "Oh you complete spanner!")

I thought a spanner was what Americans call a wrench? A tool for tightening nuts?

The "wanker" bit reminds me of my amusement on watching "Four Weddings and a Funeral" one day on network television. When it got to the scene where Hugh Grant goes off into a side chapel prior to his wedding and has a meltdown, pacing the chapel and repeating, "Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!", my fiance and I burst out laughing in disbelief that the network censors had allowed that term to remain in the film. That would be like an American programme allowing a character to say the F-word repeatedly on network television. Either the censor didn't know what it meant or assumed that no one in the audience would know.

I recall a trip to London, staying with a family in Wembley Park a number of years ago. I pride myself on knowing quite a bit of British English, but my hostess lost me when she asked her children what they would like for pudding one night, then proceeded to offer them the choice of peaches or ice cream. I had been waiting for her to ask if they wanted chocolate or butterscotch. That was when I learned that what we call pudding the Brits would probably call custard. Other fun things I learned on that trip: in the UK you have to go upstairs to reach the first floor of a building, and sandwiches come with nothing on them but the meat and maybe some butter. Oh, and don't eat pizza with your hands (although this was 15 years ago so that may have changed).

Other "Britishisms" I enjoy (British on the left, American on the right):
Biscuit = cookie
Cracker = a thing you open at Christmas that makes a loud noise and has a prize inside.
Pram = baby stroller
Stockings = pantyhose
Knickers = underwear
Crisp = chips
Chips = french fries

Oh, and try watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail sometime with the Japanese-to-English translations on:
"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" becomes "I can tell what kind of people your parents were by looking at you".