I think we're all forgetting that, whilst Yanks and Limeys have differing accents, South Africans have the most amusing accents of all.
[QUOTE=Coffee;28234345]If you think American and British English is bad, you should come to Manchester, we make new words every week.
"ee ar" - here you are my good fellow
"Yorite" - are you okay my good chum?
"ar kid" - very good acquaintance
"ya buzzin?" - are you having a good time old chap?
"gaff" - humble abode
"sack it" - stop[/QUOTE]
When my dad was at Uni he had a very thick Janner accent, and one of the lecturers was a Brumie. They couldn't understand a thing that the other was saying, so they had to get a Manc to translate between the two of them.
[QUOTE=QwertySecond;28296629]I think we're all forgetting that, whilst Yanks and Limeys have differing accents, South Africans have the most amusing accents of all.[/QUOTE]
Click click.
One thing I've never gotten is the whole English Football= Soccer, American Football= American Football thing. Where did the 'soccer' word come from (instead of just calling it English football), and more importantly why didn't Americans just call their game a different name?
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;28296734]One thing I've never gotten is the whole English Football= Soccer, American Football= American Football thing. Where did the 'soccer' word come from (instead of just calling it English football), and more importantly why didn't Americans just call their game a different name?[/QUOTE]
Oh god, please don't bring [I]that[/I] shit up.
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;28296734]One thing I've never gotten is the whole English Football= Soccer, American Football= American Football thing. Where did the 'soccer' word come from (instead of just calling it English football), and more importantly why didn't Americans just call their game a different name?[/QUOTE]
Well we got to page 10, may as well close the thread now.
Soccer comes from 'Association Football'. It was abbreviated as 'Assoc' and soon derived in soccer. However, football is the correct term for the sport in which you predominantly use your feet, and is the term used by the whole word for that sport apart from America.
Association Football > Assoc > Socca > Socker > Soccer
[b]Now change the subject before it all goes off.[/b]
[QUOTE=BISCUIT_TINS;28297003]Soccer comes from 'Association Football'. It was abbreviated as 'Assoc' and soon derived in soccer. However, football is the correct term for the sport in which you predominantly use your feet, and is the term used by the whole word for that sport apart from America.
Association Football > Assoc > Socca > Socker > Soccer
[b]Now change the subject before it all goes off.[/b][/QUOTE]
No, America is not the only country who says soccer.
Also we call American Football "football" because our ball is exactly 1 foot long.
[QUOTE=GetBent;28297052]No, America is not the only country who says soccer.[/QUOTE]
hush now
[QUOTE=AlienFanatic;28296553]whatever you do, dont have a southern accent
it makes you sound like a retarded slave owner[/QUOTE]
[img]http://gyazo.com/b427f2f1c5f3ac5fcd4f3d63108f82ed.png[/img]
[QUOTE=ACupXOfXNoodles;28296644]Click click.[/QUOTE]
I...hm? What does this translate to?
[QUOTE=Xenoyia v2;28233535]Americans stole british english and ruined some pronunciations.[/QUOTE]
Actually the southern accent is considered probably the oldest pronunciation still around in English.
If you objectively listen, you can hear a lot of similarities between Southern accents and British accents. But the southern one is actually the more proper of the two.
In general the north west of the United States actually sticks to the rules of English the best in terms of pronunciation. They are very clear spoken.
The lower population density of the United States causes accents to, as a whole, change very slowly. This is in contrast to the relatively density of the United Kingdom, where minor changes can ripple very quickly throughout the majority of the population.
EDIT:
Note that when I say southern accent, I mean the southern accent that you think of when you imagine a wealthy southerner. The "southern bell" type accent.
I was under the impression that American accent was closer to the original British accent, and that the British accent we have today started as a trend and a status symbol, so to speak, among the aristocracy that later caught on through out the rest of the UK?
So America in a way has the original British accent that hasnt changed much, while the British accent has evolved from an American-like accent to what it is today?
[QUOTE=MrChips;28250721]That's extremely interesting as i'm from Grimsby and have been mistaken for a Manc many times yet we're acres apart. The only difference being 'Yorite' is changed to a more exaggerated 'Yarright' but not quite as far as pirate, but the rest are common words here.[/QUOTE]
Now then, NE Lincs represent
[img]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=388079&dateline=1297031571[/img]:hf:[img]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=320836&dateline=1291160291[/img]
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Jessbinx;28262299]When I was a kid, my mom always pretty vehemently defended the British English pronunciations, which really bothered me. I couldn't even say "kid" or "you guys" without getting pulled up on it. I couldn't understand why I had to say "film" instead of "movie" or "cinemuh" instead of "cinemarr". American TV shows are so present now in the UK that various pronunciations and word substitutions are mixed and matched now anyway.
I thought it wouldn't bother me. But having a sister that persists in saying stuff like "datta" for data, instead of "dayta" grates on you pretty quickly.[/QUOTE]
My sister speaks this weird American/local/RP/cockney thing. It's absolutely awful (or as she would say, "It's aaaarbsolu'ely oooorfyul, buttmunch"
Allot Americans DO say I could care less, and I am an American (but don't say it)
[url]http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/10/24/i_could_care_less/[/url]
[QUOTE=Uberman77883;28297072]Also we call American Football "football" because our ball is exactly 1 foot long.[/QUOTE]
[I]Very[/I] informative.
Though it makes more sense for the game that is played with feet and balls to be called football. I just think our "football" is just dumb.
Why not call it "tackle ball" or "run ball" or "carry ball"
Or something cool, like Rugby. Rugby's got a good name. It's a fun word to say.
Rugby.
[QUOTE=Z Overlord;28312259]Allot Americans DO say I could care less, and I am an American (but don't say it)
[url]http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/10/24/i_could_care_less/[/url][/QUOTE]
Seriously? Because I've never heard anyone say it.
[QUOTE=Pvt. Banana;28234965]Throughout the majority of this thread I have been reciting words to myself, in the darkness of my bedroom. American English and British English are just variations of The English Language. Languages develop differently over time. The language simply developed in different ways, in different locations.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, just look at how the Japanese speak English.
"Kon'nichiwa"
What the fuck bitch? You talking poop about me?
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;28296734]One thing I've never gotten is the whole English Football= Soccer, American Football= American Football thing. Where did the 'soccer' word come from (instead of just calling it English football), and more importantly why didn't Americans just call their game a different name?[/QUOTE]
Soccer was a short-lived nickname given to the sport a long time ago and I guess we stuck with it. Football is football because you don't use a horse to play the game. Technically rugby is a type of "football' and so is every other sport where you use your feet to run. The ball is there because you use a ball. So hockey would be footpuck.
Seattle-fag reporting in,
English spelling as a whole is completely retarded; just think about all the words that end in "ough," think about "whistle" and "soften" or any word ending in "tion"; any word ending in a silent e.
Therefore, the point of [I]realise[/I] versus [I]realize[/I] or [I]neighbour[/I] versus [I]neighbor[/I] (oh look, a silent "gh") is rendered moot. Spelling is absolutely atrocious and in need of reform on both sides of the pond.
Furthermore, no educated USAer would use those dumb phrases attributed to Americans because they are, indeed, dumb, and we are not incapable of seeing that. For example, one major difference between the two dialects is the apparent tendency of Americans to change the present perfect to the simple past: Americans who don't stop and think might say "I just ate," "I got an apple" or "Did you go yet?" but these would be better rendered as "I've just eaten," "I've got an apple" and "Have you gone yet?" I try to avoid these inferior constructions whenever possible, as they do indeed sound wrong to my ears. In this regard, the American English label seems to be a stereotype gathered up from all of the weak aspects of the casual speech of young people. Sometimes I identify more with British English.
[B]Afterthought:[/B]
More examples of awful spelling: Realize with a Z accurately represents the word phonetically, because it's pronounced with a "z" sound instead of an "s." However, following this logic, why don't we write "ov" rather than "of"? Why not "iz" instead of "is"? Why not "waz" in place of "was"? Why not "chree" instead of "tree"? It never stops. If people want to change the -ise suffix into -ize, we need to revamp the entire language or we will only end up with more inconsistency.
[QUOTE=flyboy463;28262608]I use both because of this damn forum. I get marked wrong on essays and shit. (USA)
:psyduck:[/QUOTE]
My teacher deducted points from my essay because I put my punctuation marks [i]outside[/i] of my quotation marks, because that's apparently not how Americans do it. But that just looks unnatural to me.
I tend to use the British English spellings and my professors mark me wrong. I am in the US if you didn't catch that.
I'm a Scouser and I say chicken without that horrible pronunciation :smug:
[QUOTE=Z Overlord;28312259]Allot Americans DO say I could care less, and I am an American (but don't say it)
[url]http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/10/24/i_could_care_less/[/url][/QUOTE]
I hear it all the time also and I remember thinking "If you really don't care why would you say you COULD care less?!"
check the periodic table bitches, there's no second "i" in 'aluminum'
[QUOTE=Capitulazyguy;28302676]Now then, NE Lincs represent
[img_thumb]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=388079&dateline=1297031571[/img_thumb]:hf:[img_thumb]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=320836&dateline=1291160291[/img_thumb]
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
My sister speaks this weird American/local/RP/cockney thing. It's absolutely awful (or as she would say, "It's aaaarbsolu'ely oooorfyul, buttmunch"[/QUOTE]
Now then, it's a small world. Any ideas why your sister has this hybrid mutant accent?
In a bit.
[editline]28th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Shoupie;28316983]My teacher deducted points from my essay because I put my punctuation marks [i]outside[/i] of my quotation marks, because that's apparently not how Americans do it. But that just looks unnatural to me.[/QUOTE]
This is a weird one, i've never seen punctuation inside quotation marks, that's really illogical.
EDIT - Yep wikipedia to the rescue
American - "Words words words."
British - "Words words words".
Not taking the higher ground here but surely quotation marks are purely for the words it needs to be quoted and can't dictate the rest of the sentence, the American one looks really odd.
I'm American and I've always put my punctuation outside of my quotations.
I always used to put punctuation outside the quotations but then the American school system made me change.
Hey <Yanks/Brits>, you <forgot the/added an extra> <letter> in <word>! Silly <Yanks/Brits>! You should use the proper English, <British/American> English!
[editline]27th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;28334479]I always used to put punctuation outside the quotations but then the American school system made me change.[/QUOTE]
Good, it looks horrible
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;28334479]I always used to put punctuation outside the quotations but then the American school system made me change.[/QUOTE]
It's not even correct in British English. The only punctuation which goes outside of quotes are commas, which you shouldn't need to use after quotes anyway.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.