Uk Vs. USA
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Just as long as you phrase it that way and do NOT ask "for a ride".
"Ride" is the most common way in the US to ask someone to drive you somewhere. Asking someone "for a lift" or "to get a lift" are also widely understood to mean the same thing as "ride." I suppose "lift" might be more informal, and it might be used more often than "ride" when someone is asking to be taken somewhere the driver is already going or to some place along the way. "Can I get a ride to the airport tomorrow?" versus finding out somebody else is already going to the airport and asking "Can I get a lift?" But, you could interchange ride and lift without anyone ever giving it a second thought.
It's well known in the US that the British say "lift" instead of "elevator" so it wouldn't be confusing if somebody said they were going to "take the lift" instead of "ride the elevator" or "take the elevator" although an American saying "lift" instead of "elevator" might be seen as pretentious. It's about the same as when an American says "flat" instead of "apartment" or "queue" instead of "line," although I have seen certain types of apartments advertised as flats and Netflix has gone a long way toward getting "queue" into the American vernacular. If an American really wants to get pretentious, they can use the British pronunciations for advertisement, aluminum, and herbs. Or, better yet, spell color with a "u". I must admit that I greatly prefer the British pronunciation of advertisement and have to remember to use the American pronunciation.
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ModernRock wrote: »I must admit that I greatly prefer the British pronunciation of advertisement and have to remember to use the American pronunciation.
How does it differ? I don't think I've heard the full word, usually people say ad or advert! For me it's "ad-VERT-iz-ment", so for an American would it be "ad-ver-TIZE-ment"?
I haven't changed my pronunciation of much (only one or two words), so I still insist on saying "al-yoo-MIN-yum" and herbs with an aitch! My way of saying garage does confuse some people, but I refuse to change it after all this time.
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UK: supersize extra large; = US: small0
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I posted this on another such thread, but it's really worth it: http://dublinerinjapan.blogspot.com/2008/06/332-disneyworld-with-joe.htmlOur tour guide Wanda is waiting for us. Wanda is a very nice young woman from Kissimee. "There are some rully good rides here at The Magic Kingdom," she says, to a chorus of snuffles and titters. "We have big rides, small rides, scary rides, happy rides, whatever kind of ride you like you can find here at The Magic Kingdom." One fan is falling about the place now and another -- Crocko by name -- is laughing his bloody dentures out. Wanda must be wondering what it is she is saying that has all these grown men nearly widdling with laughter. But, true professional that she is, she continues.
"Er ... some of the rides have been here for a long time, but other rides are new, and here at Disney we're constantly looking at ways to make rides more exciting." The fans are slapping their thighs and guffawing at this stage. One usually quiet man from Laois is actually honking with laughter, throwing his ponderous head back and honking like a great big white-legged hysterical mallard duck. Honko, I'm going to call him from now on.
"What's so funny?" Wanda says.
"Nothing, Wanda," Honko replies.
"No, c'mon," she says, "Am I like, saying something funny?"
"Not at all, Wanda. You're grand, sweetheart. And c'mere, tellus, do you like the odd ride yourself, Wanda?"
"Oh yes, of course."
"And how many rides would you have a day?"
"Oh, I dunno, three or four I guess. Depends how much spare time I get."
(If you follow the link, Wanda then goes into the giant Mickey.)0 -
Ha! The worst I've had like that was being asked in a Michigan craft beer bar if I would be interested in a growler.
The poor waitress looked most perplexed at a table of Brits whose reactions were ranging from looking studiously in the opposite direction, to childish hysterics.
Apart from being lost as to what she actually meant by growler, all we know was that at home it is a rather coarse word for the aforementioned "lady garden"!0 -
This is the most educational thread I've ever read.
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blues4miles wrote: »Haven't been watching enough British TV lately to notice all the differences, but for those in the US this is a pretty fascinating quiz...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0
Do you call it a crawdad / crayfish?
Firefly? Moon bug? Glow bug/worm?
How about crane flies, mosquito eater / mosquito hawk?
It's a crayfish
Lightning bug
And I think dragonfly, but not sure about that one0 -
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Ha! The worst I've had like that was being asked in a Michigan craft beer bar if I would be interested in a growler.
The poor waitress looked most perplexed at a table of Brits whose reactions were ranging from looking studiously in the opposite direction, to childish hysterics.
Apart from being lost as to what she actually meant by growler, all we know was that at home it is a rather coarse word for the aforementioned "lady garden"!
**cries** 0 -
Something that's always amused me is the US use of "pissed" but without the "off", as in "He was really pissed!!".
In the UK that would mean "drunk".0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »
I posted this on another such thread, but it's really worth it: http://dublinerinjapan.blogspot.com/2008/06/332-disneyworld-with-joe.htmlOur tour guide Wanda is waiting for us. Wanda is a very nice young woman from Kissimee. "There are some rully good rides here at The Magic Kingdom," she says, to a chorus of snuffles and titters. "We have big rides, small rides, scary rides, happy rides, whatever kind of ride you like you can find here at The Magic Kingdom." One fan is falling about the place now and another -- Crocko by name -- is laughing his bloody dentures out. Wanda must be wondering what it is she is saying that has all these grown men nearly widdling with laughter. But, true professional that she is, she continues.
"Er ... some of the rides have been here for a long time, but other rides are new, and here at Disney we're constantly looking at ways to make rides more exciting." The fans are slapping their thighs and guffawing at this stage. One usually quiet man from Laois is actually honking with laughter, throwing his ponderous head back and honking like a great big white-legged hysterical mallard duck. Honko, I'm going to call him from now on.
"What's so funny?" Wanda says.
"Nothing, Wanda," Honko replies.
"No, c'mon," she says, "Am I like, saying something funny?"
"Not at all, Wanda. You're grand, sweetheart. And c'mere, tellus, do you like the odd ride yourself, Wanda?"
"Oh yes, of course."
"And how many rides would you have a day?"
"Oh, I dunno, three or four I guess. Depends how much spare time I get."
(If you follow the link, Wanda then goes into the giant Mickey.)
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ModernRock wrote: »I must admit that I greatly prefer the British pronunciation of advertisement and have to remember to use the American pronunciation.
How does it differ? I don't think I've heard the full word, usually people say ad or advert! For me it's "ad-VERT-iz-ment", so for an American would it be "ad-ver-TIZE-ment"?
The second pronunciation is American. (There are tons of pronunciation videos and other fun cultural comparison/reaction videos on YouTube. )
http://youtu.be/11z-id7CBFk 0 -
How about being "full of beans" for someone who has lots of energy?0
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I'm a Canadian in Canada who grew up in England. It took me a long time to figure out that pudding meant dessert in UK but wasnt always pudding. I spell my neighbour's favourite colour like this and always get the wavy red lines as if its a mistake - and it isn't. We spell jewellery like the UK, we call soda/pop "drinks" we just say "ads" in my neck of the woods. Loved Father Ted (RIP) all the brit coms, I have even been watching Coronation Street off and on since the 60's!! Enid was one of the characters - sour faced old boot with a hairnet. LOVE Mrs Browns Boys, but some of the dialogue gets bleeped - you cant say the "eff" word on regular broadcast tv in NA (though you can on HBO or specialty channels) -oh my this brings back a lot of memories!! I recall finding a friend in the school yard one day and she was crying as she had just been to see the principal. I asked her what had happened and she said she "got told off". I couldnt imagine that being told something other than a relative had died could be so tear inducing, but then it was patiently explained to me by some of the older kids.0
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