got/gotten
We use got, well at least in my circle. Ever since I was little gotten was frowned upon.
carer/caregiver
Always the latter up here.
Math/Maths
My Nana ,who is English, always uses Maths and it always sounded wrong to me, even though I found myself using that word from time to time.
Pissed....
Well I think of pissed as meaning drunk and ticked off. Pissed off to me means ticked off too. Well I'm a bit odd. Canadian but grew up in an English household.
I'd use "She lost her purse." "I just received..."
"Have you got your pencil?"
My Nana would never let me say it that way. She considered it incredibly so far from proper. Do you have your pencil sounds better to me by far. Got sounds so blah to me.
Foods - never for me. Hairs sounds gross to me. I like strand of hair.
Is it more accurate to say:
UK Version: Clark had got angry when Lois laughed at his reindeer sweater.
vs.
US Version: Clark had gotten angry when Lois laughed at his reindeer sweater.
I wouldn't say it either way.
Clark got angry - I'd say. I never use gotten. That just sounds wrong to me. LOL.
Knocked up/knock her up - all about babies and chicks to me.
Biro - I have not heard that since I was 8 or something! I heard it a few times when I went over the pond and my Nana and Gingin used it, but I guess they dropped it b/c of the blank stares they received!!!!!
I find myself using more of the UK slang/version of stuff when I'm in public and CDN at home! LOL.
quote:
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Your story was quite good
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To my UK-English ears, that sounds like faint praise. The story was okay. It wasn't bad - but not exceptionally good either. If I were marking out of ten, a 'quite good' would get around 5.
I understand that, to an American, 'quite good' actually means 'very good' - am I right? So, to an American, telling someone that their story was quite good is actually high praise.
I am confused with myself now. I saw that a lot. Now I don't even know what I mean b/c I just realized that my meaning changes! ACK. To me I guess it depends on the inflection I project! I'd lean towards the American usage I guess. Quite does sounds very British to me!
UK: We're quits. US: we're even
UK: She's been taken to hospital; US: She's been taken to the hospital.
UK: "Can I top up your glass?" US: "Can I top off your glass?"
Totally interchangeable to me for the second one. The first well...I'd understand if my family said the first, as I've heard many times but out of my mouth I'd say we're even!
Momentarily - I always translated that as meaning soon.
How about 'present' and 'gift'? I think we all understand that they both mean the same thing, but I've noticed that, in the US, 'gift' appears to be used more often than 'present' whereas the opposite is true over here.
I was taught that they mean different things, but I find I used them interchangeably.
Brillant - I use it for smart and that was cool.
Though, for both instances, I cannot say that word with my CDN 'accent'. I say it with an English one. HA! Some words I find I cannot say 'normally'. I'd such an oddball.
One thing I noticed during my brief time as a GE is that UK english involves a lot more commas than US english.
I agree.
I was taught in grade school that, as far as commas go, "when in doubt, leave it out!"
I was taugh all the comma uages. Do I remember them? No. I only remember "use them! They're free!"
UK behaviour vs. US behavior, UK theatre vs. US theater UK travelling vs. US traveling and so on.
UK is used up here in these circumstances. I think here we like to try and be different from Americans as much as possbible and well you all know we CDNs where closer to the UK gang for a longer time than the US. I never get ??? for most of the usage I use like the line/queue stuff.
Me and others here - Dr.
I remember when I was 9/10 when I went over and boy did I have trouble understanding my cousin (my mum's first cousin - same age) who is from Nottingham. Ugh, I didn't have trouble with the others, but her! It was
. When she came over here when I was 18 boy did I realize how much of the slang I was clueless with.
Cool Places:
UK-US dictionary! Cornerstone\'s CDN English Page The whole million/billion thing sends my head whrilling.
Grammar! Ugh. I could never get it right. Here is just a site. I like the first paragraph here. Old discussions:
one Now if where just talking about slang or language differences I always though this one was hillarious:
BELL n. 1. Telephone call, as in, "Give us a BELL when you get there." TINKLE may also be used, as in, "Give us a TINKLE".
From - http://www.hps.com/~tpg/ukdict/index.php?file=ukdict-2
Tinkle to me means pee! To me "give me a ring when you get home" is so Nanaish/UK. "give me a call" is so CDN and American.
My friend Laura hates using .... favour. She likes favor and so on b/c it is faster to write.
She just goes with what is easier and what comes to her head first. Or how she thinks it should be spelled. Even if it is wrong.
French has issues as well. Sorry if I use the wrong words. People from France poke fun at those who speak Frech who are from Quebec. Quebecers make fun of those who speak French from the rest of Canada.
It\'s all very different!! Interintelligibility of formally and informally spoken Quebec French with France French is a matter of warm debates between linguists. If a comparison can be made, the differences between both dialects are probably larger than those between American, British, and Australian English, but not as large as those between High and Swiss German.
I have such a difficult time trying to learn 'our' French.
