US V UK

In honour of Ellen Hawley of Notes from the U.K. and also to acknowledge the diverse multicultural soup here on WP, I couldn’t resist posting this!

Its interesting (well to me) that good Ol’ Australian seems to take some lingo from the Brits, some from the yanks. Go figure.

Enjoy!

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50 thoughts on “US V UK”

  2. Didn’t realise zucchini were courgettes! Also in American films they’re ‘washing up’ before dinner. When we Brits finish eating and wash the dishes we say we are ‘washing up’. Confusing!

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      1. I find this cultural mix amazing. Had no idea “washing up” meant “doing the dishes”. Most of the English I’ve been learning and using derives from the American, but I worked at a place where the focus was on British English, so I had the chance to learn (then teach) many words that are in your pictures.

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  3. Hey, thanks for that. My only quibble is that runner beans really aren’t the same as string (or green) beans–they’re big honkin’ things by comparison. What I learned to call string beans they call French beans, or fine beans.

    I just couldn’t resist complicating the picture. Sorry.

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      1. Snow peas are lovely little things. Instead of popping the peas out of the pod, you eat the pod. The peas themselves tend to be tiny and are sort of beside the point. I associate them with stir-fries.

        But you’re right. It’s hard to put yourself into the mindset of a vegetable. And they never do explain much.

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    2. Language is something so powerful that it is considered a sin at times. And not only the much used “bad language”. Is there any variety of English where you live that is not well-seen in certain environments/situations? I’ll give you an example: language spoken here in Brazil by inhabitants of “favelas” and the countryside is regularly made fun of, besides other consequences.

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      3. It’s really sad but it all needs to start by ourselves.
        We should appreciate each other regardless of our differences. And once that is achieved​, the world will be a better place to dwell in.

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      1. Ha ha. In Scotland, Jock is a common boy’s name. In England, Jock is a usually (mild) derogatory word for a Scotsman – as I quickly discovered when I moved down here!. So many countries divided by one language.

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    3. This makes me laugh. I am an American who did a semester in college (or term of uni as my British friends would say) and I was pointing to my some stains on my jeans and told my friend Simon that I had stains on my pants. He said he didn’t need to know that. I ask why the fuss. He said to me “THOSE are not pants. THOSE are trousers.” One of my most favorite conversations ever.

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      1. My favourite culture conversation was when on holidays to NYC and I asked a waiter for a lemon squash. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “you want me to squash a lemon?” I quickly realised that lemon squash is not well-known over in the States!

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  7. “Divided by a common language”. There others, some Americans wonder why they get funny looks in the UK when talking about their fannies!

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  8. Wow, that’s quite a list. I love things like this and will be sharing your post on Story Empire’s Curated Content this Friday. A lot of these I knew but a good many were surprises.

    With Americans things also get changed up depending on the part of the country. Example: “pavement” in my area would be a “sidewalk.” “Asphalt” or “macadam” would refer to the road surface. I thoroughly love how words translate differently depending on country and region.

    Not too long ago I had to ask one of my British friends what she meant when she referred to “bin” in comments we exchanged on a blog post. I had to smile when I saw it in this infographic. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I am an American who did a semester of college (or term of uni) in the UK and I loved reading this. I came back to the States saying everything was brilliant instead of cool. My American friends didn’t know what to think.

    I do think with technology the world is getting smaller and we are more aware of our differences. I see it on a different scale in the US. I remember reading a book by an author that took place in the Deep South and there was a Q & A by teh author adn she was saying that her kids were “less Southern” than she was because they were exposed to the other parts of the US through technology. It will be interesting to see how the world continues to change.

    You should totally do a post on Australian slang. I would be fascinated.

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  10. Pingback: Curated Content for Writers, May 19, 2017 | Story Empire
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