Non American English

[TxRad]

In America I understand that rooting is something which one does in support of a favourite team. In Australia rooting is synonymous with fucking. To describe a woman as a good root is an Australian sophisticate's way of appreciating a particular female!

I understand that the readership of this site is predominantly about 40% North American (Canada & USA) 10% UK 10%+ Indian English readers and about 10% other English (South Asian, South African, Australian etc.)

Hollywood has been a major educational force in teaching the American version of English to non-Americans, but there is no equivalent reciprocal force.

When I first went to the USA years ago I thought my understanding of American idiom was pretty good but then I discovered that Southerners and Ghetto dwellers speak other languages altogether...as indeed did the lady at the coffee shop/store/bar/whatever when I tried to order breakfast.

What, no bangers at that cafe?

Even with my Texas accent. I got along pretty well down under. In Australia also.

 

[bronzeage]

Which gives a whole new meaning to 'fanny pack'.

Never confuse backpacking and fanny packing. It requires different clothes.

 

[TxRad]

Never confuse backpacking and fanny packing. It requires different clothes.

As uninformed as a lot of Americans are, they would think fanny packing should be in the anal category at the very least.

 

[ishtat]

What, no bangers at that cafe?

Even with my Texas accent. I got along pretty well down under. In Australia also.

Sorry Tex, no bangers, they're English. In Sydney they're sangers. Originally they were "Sangers Bangers" after the Australian meat company of that name, then the bangers bit was dropped leaving sangers.

There is some, not a huge amount of difference between the English of various Oz cities because they're so far apart. Sydney and Brisbane tend towards American wheras Melbourne and especially Adelaide are more English in style.

 

[TxRad]

Sorry Tex, no bangers, they're English. In Sydney they're sangers. Originally they were "Sangers Bangers" after the Australian meat company of that name, then the bangers bit was dropped leaving sangers.

There is some, not a huge amount of difference between the English of various Oz cities because they're so far apart. Sydney and Brisbane tend towards American wheras Melbourne and especially Adelaide are more English in style.

I heard it both ways over the twenty years of traveling in and out of your beautiful country. Spend most of my time in Melbourne. Loved it. Sydney was a love hate thing. Loved the beaches but hated the hustle and bustle. Everyone always seemed in a hurry.

Now that i think back, the accents were different.

Eya" Not so much the accent as the word usage I think.

 

[evanslily]

Which gives a whole new meaning to 'fanny pack'.

Yeah, I used to think that was a tampon...

As others have said, Stephena, ignore 'Anon' - unless of course he/she says something nice and then just bask in the praise.

In my experience, there are actually very few readers here at Lit who get their knickers in a twist about British spelling and expressions, though I suspect there are those who make a point of writing such comments in the hope of getting a rise out of you.

It's all part of the fun of submitting your writing here. Enjoy!

 

[Handley_Page]

A piece of advice was given in one think I read.
If you use a particular set of slang, explain it in a note with the text.

Fanny Pack ?
If that's one of those little bags that goes on your belt close to your ass, the term "Bum Bag" is probably closest over here. IT has to be said, however, that it's a very transitory expression. You don't hear it these days, 'cos nobody uses them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_pack

 

[Loring2]

The problem is worse than you imagine for no native Limey has uttered any thoughts, ideas, opinions worth reading since Dickens. Even Churchill sounded like a bagpipe mated to a cow's ass.

I can see right off that you really don't much care for Brits. Is that a fair assessment?

 

[Loring2]

I make it clear in my profile that I write in British English.

Sometimes I get a complaint that I can't spell, usually from anonymous.

I ignore it.

There are tens of thousands of members of Literotica who are not US citizens. Most of the time we are tolerated.

Og

Dammit Oggbashan ... and here I thought you were from St. Louis, maybe Kansas City.

 

[sr71plt]

Dammit Oggbashan ... and here I thought you were from St. Louis, maybe Kansas City.

Cleveland.

 

[Loring2]

Cleveland.

Dammit ... I should have recognized that Ohio twang.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I can see right off that you really don't much care for Brits. Is that a fair assessment?

How can you respect any nation that embraces ninnies like Charles Windsor? The country went to hell when it traded Stewarts for Huns.

 

[sr71plt]

Cleveland embraces Charles Windsor? Does it use a half or a full Nelson?

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

When my Aussie girlfriend in 6th grade asked if I had a "rubber" the giggles and teasing didn't stop until 7th.

You can get the same results from ANON by using words with three syllables and a reading level above 6th grade. Let's face it - we write to the lowest common denominator.

 

[SeaCat]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Most Americans can't speak either American or British English correctly.

Cat

 

[SlickTony]

Which gives a whole new meaning to 'fanny pack'.

One wonders what they call the fanny pack in England. At least I do.

(Oh--bum bag. Makes sense, except that I've never carried one in the back--I'd be afraid of someone sneaking up behind me and opening it up.)

 

[matriarch]

Yes, the funniest one I've come across, is 'to knock someone up.' In England, this means to knock on their door to wake them up in the morning. Fanny is another old favourite, which means vagina in England.

Ermmmmmmmmmmmm.................no. Im a Brit, and as far as I am aware, if you've 'knocked someone up', you've made them pregnant.

 

[Pure]

i think it's worth noting that the differences in slang and vocabulary are not the only matter.

there is something hard to define about british style in written english. it's somehow more flowing, structured, and elegant than much american english. by 'structured', i mean such things as balance in a sentence and parallel constructions, among others. some american writers achieve that, of course, but comparing university grads in the two countries shows big differences in what i've tried to describe above. i might note that much of the world, e.g. Kenya and India, learned British style English, mostly, and the best of their writers reflect that. indeed their ordinary writers--as i said above-- sometime seem a cut above US persons in this hard-to-define quality.

 

[sr71plt]

i it's somehow more flowing, structured, and elegant than much american english.

Now there's a smug, unsupporable personal opinion if I've ever seen one. Nationality has nothing to do with flowing, structured, and elegant writing.

 

[TxRad]

Now there's a smug, unsupporable personal opinion if I've ever seen one. Nationality has nothing to do with flowing, structured, and elegant writing.

Speaking of unsupported personal opinions, yours are awfully snarky this morning. Just my humble opinion of course.

If you read the whole thing you would have caught this: comparing university grads in the two countries shows big differences in what i've tried to describe above.

 

[sr71plt]

Speaking of unsupported personal opinions, yours are awfully snarky this morning. Just my humble opinion of course.

If you read the whole thing you would have caught this: comparing university grads in the two countries shows big differences in what i've tried to describe above.

Nothing in what Pure posted was sourced to anything but Pure. (If you knew anything about research you would have caught that.)

 

[TxRad]

Nothing in what Pure posted was sourced to anything but Pure. (If you knew anything about research you would have caught that.)

I caught it alright. What you never seem to catch is a thing call personal experience or observation. If it ain't in the book, it doesn't exist, seems to be the only thing that matters to you. That and your own personal view of things.

And you are getting worse about it all the time. Just an observation.

 

[sr71plt]

I caught it alright. What you never seem to catch is a thing call personal experience or observation. If it ain't in the book, it doesn't exist, seems to be the only thing that matters to you. That and your own personal view of things.

And you are getting worse about it all the time. Just an observation.

I guess your "experience or observation" is just my "gross sweeping generalization" then.

And I guess this is one of your personal attack days, is it? What, Scouries hasn't posted yet today, so your attack finger is itchy?

 

[oggbashan]

I'm not sure that I could agree with Pure about British English - that it's somehow more flowing, structured, and elegant than much american english.

While that might have been true of university graduates up to the 1970s, there has been a steady decline in the teaching of classically literate English since the 1960s. I am sometimes startled to realise just how little English Literature needs to be studied to get a good A level (University entrance)English grade. Of course there are students with a love of literature and language, but the requirements are much lower than they used to be.

In the 1950s, any UK science graduates would have been expected to be able to express themselves in structured elegant English. Now some of them seem to be incapable of writing a logical explanation of their work.

When I was running my secondhand bookshop I always had a large stock of English Literature from the common such as Shakespeare and Dickens, to the obscure. I can't remember any school or university student asking for a book I hadn't read.

This year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. It used to be an essential part of any literate person's education. The modern versions of the Bible, although perhaps easier to understand, do not have the cadences and resonances of the King James Version. I hope the anniversary will remind us what we appear to have neglected.

Og

 

[TxRad]

I guess your "experience or observation" is just my "gross sweeping generalization" then.

And I guess this is one of your personal attack days, is it? What, Scouries hasn't posted yet today, so your attack finger is itchy?

No attack, just an observation, as I said.