Different words for the same things depending on which country you're in.

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Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Oh one more thing I'm curious about.. Most of us call Americans "yanks", is that offensive to you guys?

    Brit/ Canuck/ Aussi and Kiwi Military slang is Septics
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Oh one more thing I'm curious about.. Most of us call Americans "yanks", is that offensive to you guys?

    Not at all, to me. Can't speak for someone from Alabama, though. ;-)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Oh one more thing I'm curious about.. Most of us call Americans "yanks", is that offensive to you guys?
    British people are Poms.

    And while I'm here lol it's pronounced oZZy, not Orrrssie/Arssie :smiley:

    Only to southerners or fans of Boston's baseball team
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I used to think America and Canada were the same country (Canada was in the US), Blasphemous I know :open_mouth:
    It's the same as people assuming New Zealand is part of Australia :anguished:

    Blasphemy is right!

    My boys are quite proud of the fact that we burned down the white house 200 years ago. LOL
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I used to think America and Canada were the same country (Canada was in the US), Blasphemous I know :open_mouth:
    It's the same as people assuming New Zealand is part of Australia :anguished:

    Blasphemy is right!

    My boys are quite proud of the fact that we burned down the white house 200 years ago. LOL

    We give the English credit for that. We consider you harmless and inoffensive, mostly. You can have Bieber back, though.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited December 2016
    Oh one more thing I'm curious about.. Most of us call Americans "yanks", is that offensive to you guys?
    British people are Poms.

    And while I'm here lol it's pronounced oZZy, not Orrrssie/Arssie :smiley:

    It's actually funny, because i think people outside of the US call Americans "yanks" or "yankees", yet to most Americans this only refers to people in the northeast/north. More specifically people from the original colonies of the U.S., new yorkers, or people from that general region. It is also a slang for people used during the civil war to refer to people who lived in the northern union states.

    I think if you said the word "yankee" to me, i'd be like "what do you mean? i'm from texas". LOL

    To recap: it's not offensive, but it doesn't apply to most of the US only a small region.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,706 Member
    edited December 2016
    Machka9 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    To be fair many of our colleges serve as feeder institutions to the university.

    So they go to college, then when they want to study for a specific career then the move on to somewhere like Yale?

    Everything i know about the US is learnt from American movies lol which as we all know are true to life :tongue:

    Speaking of American movies/shows.. I don't watch any Aussie tv shows and very rarely watch movies made here, cos they're usually low budget crap. Not all, but most...

    All my faves are American. I can't to British shows either, as for someone reason they are depressingto me.. So you guys over the pond :wink:

    From what I understand in Victoria and Tasmania, there's ...

    Kindergarten/Preschool at the age of 5.
    Primary School (Grade 1-7, typically ages 6-12)
    High School (Grade 8-10 or 11, typically ages 13-15 or 16)

    Then either college which is the equivalent of Canada's Grades 11 and 12, or maybe just 12.

    Then a person can go on to vocational college (such as TAFE) or to University.

    Even once we get up to the Master's level it is different from the way Canada did it when I was there. In Canada it was Bachelor's ... Master's. Nothing in between. Here, I can do it that way, or take it in stages (which I've done) to get my Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and then Master's.


    In Canada, it's ...

    Kindergarten/Preschool at the age of 5.
    Elementary School (Grade 1-6, typically ages 6-11)
    Middle School (Grade 7 - 9, typically ages 12 - 14)
    High School (Grade 10 - 12, typically ages 15-18)

    Then you go on to college. There are vocational colleges or pre-university colleges. I've been to both. If you go the pre-university route, you attend the college for a year or two, then transfer to the university to finish your 4-5 year degree.

    I was always confused by the difference between college and university. Then I hear people talk about giving up a low end job and going back to school, and they seem to mean college or university.

    Yes ... college is usually a place where you'll take an 18-month Business Administration course or a 6-month Welding course or something like that. You get practical skills which can get you into a decent job.

    University is a place where you'll get a degree. You'll get theoretical knowledge which may or may not get you into a decent job depending on the area you've chosen.

    Interesting. I've always thought it's just American slang for university. So a 5 year degree can't be called "collage"?

    In other words, does the informal "back in college" become "back in university" if you have a 5 year engineering degree?

    In Canada, you wouldn't get a 5-year degree in college.

    In Canada, colleges are either vocational (business diploma, welding certificate, etc. etc.) or the first part of a university degree.

    I went to a college, located in my smaller town, for the first 2 years of my Bachelor of Education. But for the last 2 years of that degree, I had to go to my choice of 3 universities in a larger city.

    I've also been to several vocational colleges collecting various certificates and diplomas.


    In Australia, or at least Victoria and Tasmania, college is Grade 12 (and maybe 11 too) ... or possibly vocational college.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,706 Member
    Kindy- (4years old)
    Primary school-Grade 1-7 (5-12 years old)
    High School - Year 8-12 (13-17/18 years old)

    I dont think anyone has brought up the legal drinking age. It's 18 here, and in Britain too i think. If you're old enough to vote, then you are old enough to drink.

    19 in all provinces except for Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba. The age is 18 there.

    I think Canada is more in line with Aus, than the US. Do you use the metric system over there?

    Before my parents left Germany, they were tossing up between Canada and Australia, but the cold winters there put them off. They arrived here in the middle of one of our hottest summers on record, and regretted their decision to come here an hour after landing lol

    Yes, in Canada we use metric.

    The imperial system is only used in 2 or 3 countries.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    One place Canadians stuck to imperial is in the kitchen. Cups and teaspoons. Milk comes in litres though.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    One place Canadians stuck to imperial is in the kitchen. Cups and teaspoons. Milk comes in litres though.

    I'm old enough to think in both. Officially metric but I'd never consider my weight in Kg, nor my height in cm although its listed that way on my Identification card.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I used to think America and Canada were the same country (Canada was in the US), Blasphemous I know :open_mouth:
    It's the same as people assuming New Zealand is part of Australia :anguished:

    Blasphemy is right!

    My boys are quite proud of the fact that we burned down the white house 200 years ago. LOL

    We give the English credit for that. We consider you harmless and inoffensive, mostly. You can have Bieber back, though.

    Nooooo.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    One place Canadians stuck to imperial is in the kitchen. Cups and teaspoons. Milk comes in litres though.

    I'm old enough to think in both. Officially metric but I'd never consider my weight in Kg, nor my height in cm although its listed that way on my Identification card.

    I'm in the US, but am also in microbiology. So I definitely think in both. I grow bacteria in celcius, but measure outdoor temperature in farenheit. In the lab I weigh in grams, but weigh myself in pounds. It's funny how hard it is to bring the two worlds together :).
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Kindy- (4years old)
    Primary school-Grade 1-7 (5-12 years old)
    High School - Year 8-12 (13-17/18 years old)

    I dont think anyone has brought up the legal drinking age. It's 18 here, and in Britain too i think. If you're old enough to vote, then you are old enough to drink.

    19 in all provinces except for Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba. The age is 18 there.

    I think Canada is more in line with Aus, than the US. Do you use the metric system over there?
    Canada uses both metric and imperial. Well, they do here in Quebec.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    @Sabine_Stroehm & @Christine_72
    As a fellow Canadian - It has been a few years since my visit to Aus/NZ but isn't it " Eats Roots Sh***s and L***** " ? ? when describing the Human Male Wombat o:) . Hope I don't get tossed in the MFP Jail for this.

    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    As a Canadian who moved to Australia in 2009 ... I had to learn a whole new language. My first year here I was constantly coming home and asking my husband what on earth certain terms meant. But I'm almost fluent now. :)

    arvo
    barrack
    bluey
    chook
    etc. etc.

    Even "bring a plate" still sounds weird to me.

    Good Arvo to you, what footy team do you barrack for. We had a roast chook for dinner last night, might get chilly later so will have to the throw the bluey on.
    I gave up the durries/*kitten* 12mths ago, good thing as I always drank too much goon juice when i smoked. Might have a barbie later :lol:

    Over here we "cheer" or "root" for a team.

    I understand that "rooting" for a team would have a quite different meaning in Australia. ;)

    We have a saying over here to describe a wombat (which can also be used for some people

    who live out in the bush)..

    It " Eats,roots and leaves"

    There's a book here:
    eats, shoots and leaves

    https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M97VP3ZGWKVPQD9YP5CR

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    I used to think America and Canada were the same country (Canada was in the US), Blasphemous I know :open_mouth:
    It's the same as people assuming New Zealand is part of Australia :anguished:
    Or Tasmania not being a part of Australia :lol:
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,926 Member
    edited December 2016
    As a fellow Canadian - It has been a few years since my visit to Aus/NZ but isn't it " Eats Roots Sh***s and L***** " ? ? when describing the Human Male Wombat o:) . Hope I don't get tossed in the MFP Jail for this

    No that wouldnt make sense - the whole idea is to show commas matter - ie the difference between 'eats,roots and leaves' vs 'eats roots and leaves.'

    since he wouldnt eat *kitten* anyway, one couldnt have the sentence 'eats roots, *kitten* and leaves' whereas he would eat roots and leaves.

    It is the same principle of grammar matters as The panda: eats shoots and leaves or Lets eat, Grandma vs Lets eat Grandma

    Just, being Australians, we made a crude version with our slang meaning of root.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited December 2016
    Oh one more thing I'm curious about.. Most of us call Americans "yanks", is that offensive to you guys?
    British people are Poms.

    And while I'm here lol it's pronounced oZZy, not Orrrssie/Arssie :smiley:

    I've heard both "Yanks" and "Seppos" (from the rhyming slang). Neither is offensive to me. I find "Yanks" kind of endearing and "Seppos" pretty funny.

    [ETA:] Australia is right near the top of my bucket list for "places to visit". That plane ride though, ugh.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    edited December 2016
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    We give the English credit for that. We consider you harmless and inoffensive, mostly. You can have Bieber back, though.
    No Tradeseies - you have him you keep him.

    @paperpudding It's not about proper grammar/punctuation, it's about the secondary-local meaning of the word combinations.
    I have a Foggy Memory of some refined young lady ;) using the version I mentioned - directed at - to me? after a night on the town.

    Now we just need to get some Newfoundlanders on here to give there version of Canadian - Newfie translations.
    Yes Newfoundland is a province in Canada but they have a dialect-language that is very unique.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited December 2016
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    [ETA:] Australia is right near the top of my bucket list for "places to visit". That plane ride though, ugh.
    This.
    My first trip (Aus-CAN) went smoothly even though it was very long, but my second trip to Canada was so stressful. I almost missed the plane due to incredibly long lines at LAX.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2016
    As a fellow Canadian - It has been a few years since my visit to Aus/NZ but isn't it " Eats Roots Sh***s and L***** " ? ? when describing the Human Male Wombat o:) . Hope I don't get tossed in the MFP Jail for this

    No that wouldnt make sense - the whole idea is to show commas matter - ie the difference between 'eats,roots and leaves' vs 'eats roots and leaves.'

    since he wouldnt eat *kitten* anyway, one couldnt have the sentence 'eats roots, *kitten* and leaves' whereas he would eat roots and leaves.

    It is the same principle of grammar matters as The panda: eats shoots and leaves or Lets eat, Grandma vs Lets eat Grandma

    Just, being Australians, we made a crude version with our slang meaning of root.

    There's a current band called Let's Eat Grandma that made me think of that book/concept when I first heard of the band (through their weird song Rapunzel), and of course it's also doing it on purpose.

    (This post also belongs in the What Not to Eat thread, I suppose!) ;-)