English is English... Except if It's English

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Some things I've noticed: the use of present perfect: British say ' I've lost my keys' while Americans say 'I lost my keys'; or 'have you got a car?' and 'do you have a car?'.
Another: the past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English. Example: He's gotten much better at playing tennis.
British English: He's got much better at playing tennis.
My english classes gave me this experience:

British - American
aerial - antenna
anywhere - anyplace
trousers - pants
timetable - schedule
sweets - candy
wardrove - closet
ill - sick
mad - crazy
interval - intermission
peep - peek
nowhere - noplace
postman - Karl Malone... errrr ... mailman
queue - line

That's so far, I'm sure I'll remember some more.

 

Actually, in England, the word 'pants' is often used as an expression for something that has gone wrong. For example, "That Ian Bell is complete pants!" to describe an international sportsperson who is not performing to the standard expected. Or "Pants!!" as an alternative to swearing when your PC crashes on you.

Another one is "pear-shaped" to describe a situation that has gone downhill on you. For example, if your team was winning 2-0, and is now losing 3-2, you might moan "Oh man, it's all gone pear-shaped now!" Not sure if that is one that is used or recognised in the USA or not.

 

It's all gone Pete Tong!

 

Actually, Barmy probably knows loads of crazy phrases that are well-known in his local region but that even people from the rest of England wouldn't understand. That's one of the crazy things about England that for a small country (in land mass) it has remarkable variety in the way its language is spoken within even that country (let alone how it is used around the rest of the world).

There's probably as much difference between how a Yorkshireman, the Queen, and a Cockney speak, as there between how an American and New Zealander do.

 

@HB: probably more!

And that list doesn't even include Geordie, which is a whole other language.

Did you know that there's no word in the English language (according to OED) that rhymes with oblige ... And that the word "queueing" contains the longest unbroken run of consonants!

Some little tidbits for you there, before bedtime

 

Isn't it true for all language on earth? Isn't normal for a language to be different depending on it's geographic location?

 

Yeah, but in England it changes dramatically just going from East London to South London.

 

Actually in the USA there is a great variety. I think TV has brought a little more leveling to our language but I can remember visiting New England less than 20 yrs ago and being unable to understand some of the local people. In my childhood there were people in the Smokeys that still spoke a form of Elizabethen English. Or Northumberland English. A lot of Scots had settled there but it wasn't Gaelic.

 

Same as in Spain: usually a guy from Barcelona can't catch up with a guy from Sevilla; there are others like Vascos, Galicians and Valencianos.
It happens the same in Argentina, around the world, an Argentinian is known by he's accent but what people don't know is that they are just from Buenos Aires, and they are the only people who talk like that, the rest of the country has another very different accent (and they use lots of different words), but is the people who don't usually leave the country (for living or touring).

 

Galicians are practically Irish people. Galicia is just like Ireland, but with much better weather and food.

There is also that unofficial US language where the words 'sooooo', 'like' and 'totally' are used and strange ways, and 'mixed and matched' such as "Totally dude" meaning 'yes' or "Like noooooooo!" meaing 'no'. No matter where I have travelled in the US, there are always groups of teenagers that speak that way, dispite the local dialects.

With Ireland, the further up North you travel, the more Scottish we sound, and faster we speak. As I was brought up on a Gaeltacht region, my pronounciation of English is strange, as is my accent.

 

Actually, "got" is the correct form, even in the Americas. "Gotten" is slang.

 

Actually, it's just a different tense. "He got" is correct, as is "He has (He's) gotten".

 

Does England have its own version of Ebonics?

 

"Gotten" also appears in Walter Scott's books. Not in narration, though, it's just the Scottish folks who use it.

I suppose Cockney is something like Ebonics.

 

It's actually very easy to mimic an Australian accent; just move your top lip as little as possible when you speak.

Instant Aussie!

 

Hrm...

There is no such thing as British English or International English.

It's simply English.

There are regional dialects based on English. For example : American English, Australian English, Scots, etc.

Being Scottish it causes no end of irritation to me when England, United Kingdom, and Great Britain are interchanged.

England - A member country of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Britain - A shortened version of Great Britain.
Great Britain - The island, consisting of Scotland, Wales, England.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Consists of the countries of Scotland, Wales, England and the province of Northern Ireland.

Football is known the world over as Football. You can also call it Association Football.

There is, however, an arguement that says Football is the name for whatever sport is meant by it.

Soccer is an unacceptable word in my book. Americans can't just go renaming other countries sports because they clash. Likewise us Brits can't just go renaming American football to Gridiron.

 

I have to admit I'm guilty of that. I use Great Britain and United Kingdom interchangably. I guess I'm screwing over the Northern Irelanders.

 

Hey, Britain is no shortcut for Great Britain! It's just the name of the whole island.

 

I am trying...