Language Please

124

Replies

  • LosingWeight64
    LosingWeight64 Posts: 33
    i never realized how many differences there were between english english and american english, until i lived in england for a while.
    here we say aluminum... there its spelled and pronounced different than us. My favorite is the way they use the expression 'knock you up' .. meaning to go to someone's house and knock on the door . another of my faves is 'leg over'. (sex) as in.. so and so is grumpy,,, must not have got his leg over last night:).... and as for anatomy terms? we have way different names for our bits and bobs... but i like theirs better... to learn more, watch chubby brown lmao
  • jennibee70
    jennibee70 Posts: 1,067 Member


    "Chewin' the fat" -- This means chit-chatting or gossiping. I guess it's a southern US thing.

    We use that in Scotland too, there was a TV series called that on Scottish TV. By the way, a lot of episodes of a TV program is a series, not a season!
  • Skyfire23
    Skyfire23 Posts: 37
    I came from California where "soda" is the word, and now live in Washington where everyone says "pop". I understand a lot of American regional dialect, at least when written because I read a lot. We always said "cream rinse" instead of conditioner, and my mom and grandfather said "warsh" for wash, and "ammind" for "almond". We also always called the shopping cart a basket, until I met my husband, two whom a basket is something you carry, not push.

    My husband is from all over, having been born in Berlin to an American Army family, spent much of his early childhood in Okinawa, then in Massachusetts, then in Cali from age 8 on, and has some weird things. To him Iron is two syllables, "Eye-ron" where we always pronounced it as one, "Eyern" Same with "fire": Fi-yer.

    When my husband was 15, he was in a terrible accident, and in a coma for a while. When he woke up, he was combative and punched a nurse. She was British and came out and told his mother, "He knocked me up!" O.O
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I still question the Elevator thing - that wikibooks link is the only one I can find, and it is full of spelling and other errors, so it's not convincing me as a reliable source. (Isn't all Wiki user generated, ie subject to the same caveats as our own database?)
    1. It is fact-checked, though I agree it's not the best source.

    2. Other people have told me this particular tidbit.

    3. It appeared in a professional, respected newspaper article written by an AP reporter who I have to assume checked facts. It's not 100% for sure, but I'm going to believe that reporter before your "I don't believe it."
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    No, seriously, I'm willing to listen to any of the sources you can give me! It sounds so implausible, and I have taken the time to do some googling myself, with no results, but I'm open minded. Please, Persuade me!

    (I know this sounds a bit like I'm trolling but I'm not, honestly, I really am interested in what sources you can provide for this)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    No, seriously, I'm willing to listen to any of the sources you can give me! It sounds so implausible, and I have taken the time to do some googling myself, with no results, but I'm open minded. Please, Persuade me!

    (I know this sounds a bit like I'm trolling but I'm not, honestly, I really am interested in what sources you can provide for this)

    Read abut halfway down page 3 of this: http://www.dow.com/company/trade/pdfs/Trademark_Use_Guide.pdf

    Page 5: http://www.thoits.com/resources/trademark-faq-frequently-asked-questions.pdf
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    Here is some Newfie slang for you..

    Bum-buy - later on
    Ballyrag - hurt someone
    Chucklehead - a smart person

    There are lots more.. Newfies are the best.
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
    I really personally dislike the word panties...no idea why so I prefer what most UKers use and I say knickers. Or undies or underoos.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    The first of those links just tells me about trademarks, nothing about the "Elevator" name.

    The second I've given 5 minutes to download and so far unsuccessful. Will keep watching.
  • jess7386
    jess7386 Posts: 477 Member
    Also from Boston....born & raised in Southie. These are some of the things i've been called out on over the years:

    Bubbler (or bubblah) = water fountain
    Candlepin = Bowling, except with really tiny balls
    Macaroni and Gravy = pasta with tomato sauce
    Packie = liquor store
    Frappe = a milkshake, usually from brighams
    Carraige = shopping cart
    Pocket-book (pronounced pockabook) = purse
    barrel = trash can.

    That's all I can think of for now.

    oh, and rotary = roundabout.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    I'm Canadian. We don't have language issues....we just say "Eh" at the end of every sentence. :laugh:

    :drinker:
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Ok the other one's still about the details of a trademark.

    Still not convinced that calling a lift an "elevator" is because a company had that name, rather than because that's the word that means "lift stuff up". Being generous, a lift company may well have named itself "Elevator", that being a synonym for what it does. I just cannot find anything that backs this up - internet sources (unreliable as they are) do not give me any factual links, no other internet questioning site can give me a reliable source - heck they can't give me any leads at all!

    And I don't really know why I'm continuing to post on this subject - I guess the best I could hope for is that people question anything they read on t'internet.. Worst case, i walk away shaking my head.
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    I'm Canadian. We don't have language issues....we just say "Eh" at the end of every sentence. :laugh:

    :drinker:

    You're obviously not a Maritimer.
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    I moved down to AL from PA about 9 years ago. The slang is very complex down here because of the long history of pervasive illiteracy. So many "words" I had to interpret and learn. Some examples: Osh potatoes=Irish potatoes, How much ya like= How much do you lack, Walmark= Walmart, Chester drawers= Chest of drawers
  • Psyb3r
    Psyb3r Posts: 176 Member
    Since moving from the US to the UK 4 years ago, my language has changed a lot. I quite happily call pants "trousers", underwear "pants", fries "chips", and chips "crisps". However, I just cannot call shopping carts "trolleys" or erasers "rubbers".

    In the south they call shopping carts 'buggies", it makes me think of horse and buggy tho. I just use 'cart'
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
    Ok the other one's still about the details of a trademark.

    Still not convinced that calling a lift an "elevator" is because a company had that name, rather than because that's the word that means "lift stuff up". Being generous, a lift company may well have named itself "Elevator", that being a synonym for what it does. I just cannot find anything that backs this up - internet sources (unreliable as they are) do not give me any factual links, no other internet questioning site can give me a reliable source - heck they can't give me any leads at all!

    And I don't really know why I'm continuing to post on this subject - I guess the best I could hope for is that people question anything they read on t'internet.. Worst case, i walk away shaking my head.

    hi melanie,

    this is what i found :)

    http://www.answers.com/topic/elevator

    it cites many encycolpedia's as references, but the gist of it suggests that elevator is a general term used to refer to some mechanism that lifts/hoists etc. The term did not derive from an company called Elevator.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    I'm Canadian. We don't have language issues....we just say "Eh" at the end of every sentence. :laugh:

    :drinker:

    You're obviously not a Maritimer.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA....no. :noway: :bigsmile:
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    I'm Canadian. We don't have language issues....we just say "Eh" at the end of every sentence. :laugh:

    :drinker:

    You're obviously not a Maritimer.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA....no. :noway: :bigsmile:

    What's so funny?
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    Well look at that...ya learn something new everyday :)

    I've realized that when I use the word "commode" outside of the south people look at me like I'm nuts.

    In many parts of the world, a commode is not a toilet, but a small chest of drawers.

    I found this out the hard way LOL
  • Rosa1213
    Rosa1213 Posts: 456 Member
    I love language and I read everything I can get my hands on, so I'm pretty familiar with most ways of referring to the different items of everyday use.
    However, I do recall being quite confused the first time I heard "galoshes" instead of "rain boots". :)

    Also: just because I love biscuits, here is a photo of what we call biscuits here in the US. (At least here in Texas!)
    Aren't they gorgeous...? I could eat them all day with some butter or honey...
    buttermilk-biscuits-sl-1673191-l.jpg
  • elexichoccyeater
    elexichoccyeater Posts: 310 Member
    The funniest thing for me was cigarettes being called "*kitten*" in some parts of Britain... Can be confusing sometimes.


    When I was in USA this year I asked a group of bikers if they were having a *kitten*! Yes they looked at me strange.. Sort of in an angry manner lmao!
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    So, can one of our American friends tell me what a "biscuit" is? I keep hearing Americans talking about having biscuits with gravy. To us, a biscuit is something you eat with a cup of tea. Like a cookie, but we only call certain biscuits cookies. All cookies are biscuits but not all biscuits are cookies!

    Biscuits and gravy is a savory dish... I forget what the brittish name is...but something to do with soda because they are made with baking soda. It is a flour, baking soda, salt, butter (lard or shortening...I like shortening best) cut together and then rolled out and cut into circles. They rise when baked into a flaky thick textured bread. I don't know if you have the same Mc Donald's breakfast menu, but the "sausage egg and cheese breakfast biscuit" is made on the same type of biscuit that we would use for biscuits and gravy. (the gravy part is a sausage gravy...delicious and totally bad for you (high sodium, high fat...high calorie...not so high nutrition.)

    Hope this makes sense and helps...

    Oh, let's see... there's
    soda biscuits
    baking powder biscuits
    buttermilk bisuits
    drop biscuits
    choke biscuits
    cathead biscuits
    and of course...
    dumplins which are essentially boiled or steamed biscuits :happy:

    And there is a difference between each and every one, albeit subtle.
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
    Funny, one of my friends just wrote me about this very thing -- apparently she propositioned about 100 men without realizing it. She's in a professional exchange program in the UK, and while giving her presentation, offered her assistance to any of her new cohorts with questions on our methods. Apparently "hit me up" doesn't quite mean the same thing as it does in the US. :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    The first of those links just tells me about trademarks, nothing about the "Elevator" name.

    The second I've given 5 minutes to download and so far unsuccessful. Will keep watching.

    *sigh*

    From page 3 of the first link (and I am having a really difficult time figuring out why you are so against this being true):
    Incorrect use of a trademark, even in company correspondence, unwittingly
    contributes to its vulnerability. Such failure to use trademarks properly may result
    in their becoming generic. Examples of trademarks which became generic are
    aspirin, cellophane, kerosene, elevator, and escalator – all of which are now
    public property. These once powerful trademarks no longer serve the commercial
    needs of their original owners.
    And I don't really know why I'm continuing to post on this subject - I guess the best I could hope for is that people question anything they read on t'internet.. Worst case, i walk away shaking my head.
    I do question what I read on the Internet. However, the first time I heard this story was from an AP article IN A NEWSPAPER. Not on a random Internet site. Good grief. I've said that about five times already.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    I think the spelling differences are more interesting.

    curb vs. kerb
    tire vs. tyre
    misspelled vs. misspelt

    Curb and kerb are completely different words with different meanings, as are tire and tyre in the UK, both misspelled and misspelt are used widely here.

    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kerb?s=t

    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tyre?s=t

    They may mean something different to you, but the dictionary backs up the OP.

    I suppose it just depends on the dictionary you're using. I doubt many in the UK would use 'curb' to describe the edge of the pavement (sidewalk to our US friends).

    That was the point about the spelling. In the US, "curb" is the edge of the sidewalk OR it means to stop doing something or do it less. "Curb your use."

    So, if a "kerb" in the UK is the edge of a sidewalk, then the spelling is different there than in the US, which is what the OP said.

    Haha thanks for sticking up for me!
  • SMarie10
    SMarie10 Posts: 956 Member
    I love language and I read everything I can get my hands on, so I'm pretty familiar with most ways of referring to the different items of everyday use.
    However, I do recall being quite confused the first time I heard "galoshes" instead of "rain boots". :)

    Also: just because I love biscuits, here is a photo of what we call biscuits here in the US. (At least here in Texas!)
    Aren't they gorgeous...? I could eat them all day with some butter or honey...
    buttermilk-biscuits-sl-1673191-l.jpg
    These look delish! Makes me want to do some baking. This is what a true biscuit is to those in the US. Cookie is what we eat for a sweet snack (although we don't admit that on MFP) :P
  • Ibelievenme2
    Ibelievenme2 Posts: 96 Member
    I love language and I read everything I can get my hands on, so I'm pretty familiar with most ways of referring to the different items of everyday use.
    However, I do recall being quite confused the first time I heard "galoshes" instead of "rain boots". :)

    Also: just because I love biscuits, here is a photo of what we call biscuits here in the US. (At least here in Texas!)
    Aren't they gorgeous...? I could eat them all day with some butter or honey...
    buttermilk-biscuits-sl-1673191-l.jpg
    Oh they look so good.... gravy please
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    My family has always called the TV remote a "clicker". I was shocked when someone was confused about what I was asking for.

    My husband says "remote control" when referring to a video game controller. :laugh:

    My mom used to say "clicker" too.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    lol took me a good few days to realize that people meant when they asked me "do yo have a *kitten*" when I was over in london (totally unrelated I know)... still don't get why they call smokes *kitten* though? anyone know?

    The original definition of *kitten* is "burning bundle of sticks." So it comes from that. I had it as a vocabulary word in 6th grade. The teacher had trouble controlling the class for all the giggling going on.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    funny - when I moved to the US [Boston] and was offered jimmies on my ice cream - I was wordless - where I lived jimmy was a slang word for male parts

    And they call us prudes. ;-)


    :laugh:

    And if someone in Boston said that to someone in Kansas City, we would be clueless as well. Here a jimmy would be something to open a locked door.

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