tig28 Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I heard they replaced Emma's poem with an ugly sign, "No Hispanics Need Apply." Americans generally call themselves Americans, with little of the Scot/Brit/English/Welsh kind of debates. I was labeled as americano by a Mexican immigration officer on my application for a one-year visa. Emma may have been writing about some undesirable British refuse. But I wonder, after meeting non-English European immigrants working in the UK, how many UK residents speak the right language, properly? Considering the size of my country and population, we have far fewer regional dialects than the UK does, and ours are usually similar enough to be understood in other regions. I even understand my friend who migrated from Edinburgh at the age of 41. "Emma may have been writing about some undesirable British refuse" ----- Highly unlikely ............ England was sending pretty well all it had to Australia. No -- in fact--- history reports that America was sourcing her refuse from almost everywhere & in the process earning worldwide praise. And, some wags suggest ( not I ) earning the gratitude of those Australians --- buy elevating their social status. "I even understand my friend who migrated from Edinburgh at the age of 41." Dammed impressive sir ----- I must confess that comprehension of our Scottish cousins is frequently beyond me. " how many UK residents speak the right language, properly? " Now we get to my point precisely --- The UK is made up of group of different countries ----- English is only the native language of one of those countries. Obviously it is spoken poorly in certain parts of the UK ( and other countries.) Hence we have this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 As for English rhyming slang, it sounds like something that mentally retarded convicts would come up with, and that seems to be pretty much the case. J. Arfur, Ulysses G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Rhyming slang is often used in feature films, such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) (the United States DVD version comes with a glossary to assist the viewer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpuiman Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Over 4000 British slang expressions2200 American slang words Great links....the Cockney rhyming slang is absolutely fascinating. I believe I had seen an example of it in the movie "Oceans 12" but didn't realize it's origin at the time. The line was something like "We're in Barney" meaning "we're in trouble".....trouble rhymes with rubble, which conjures thoughts of Barney Rubble ( an American cartoon character) which is shortened to just Barney. Thanks again for the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmeriThai Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I don't like some American slang words like "groovy" or "enjoy" ... "Groovy" has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, except for retro-views of the 60s and Austin Powers movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I don't like some American slang words like "groovy" or "enjoy" ... "Groovy" has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, except for retro-views of the 60s and Austin Powers movies. I am waiting for AWESOME to join the defunct club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmeriThai Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I don't like some American slang words like "groovy" or "enjoy" ... "Groovy" has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, except for retro-views of the 60s and Austin Powers movies. I am waiting for AWESOME to join the defunct club. LOL! Yeah, that's another one. Can't wait to see that one become history. No doubt something else will crop up to replace it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Over 4000 British slang expressions2200 American slang words Great links....the Cockney rhyming slang is absolutely fascinating. Maybe if they aren't calling you a septic tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spee Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 In my modest British opinion there are far too many silly american expressions used here... such as "chilling out".... what a ridiculous expression!! OY, JIMMY! What th' bloody 'ell are you on about? Are you takin' the piss? Methinks you've been 'aving too many pints at yer poets-day piss-ups. What a load of <deleted>, mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylviex Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 One that I find rather abrasive is the recent overuse of "said" as an adjective -- e.g. "I went to visit a friend yesterday. Said friend told me ... ". What's wrong with "the" ?! Do these people spend a lot of time in court ?? I see this quite a bit on these forums; no offence if you're an abuser . Who's going to be first to make a sentence combining all the above irritants ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hicks Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 In my modest British opinion there are far too many silly american expressions used here... such as "chilling out".... what a ridiculous expression!! But worst of all, in my modest opinion, is the (incorrect) usage of the expression "enjoy". If I´m not mistaken, the verb "to enjoy" requires an object...i.e. you enjoy something. It is incorrect to wish that someone "enjoy". Any other opinions on this totally insignificant topic????? Chilling out in Thailand! Yeah right! Hey man I'm a Brit too but like crazy man, the US of A has kinda spiced up our lingo which is cool but I guess it's richer for the infinite number of varieties that add to its constant metamorphosis. It's a living organism and immensely rich for that. Enjoy! (Reflexive verb, imperative mood. Can take an object but not necessarily. Cf 'go', 'run', 'stop', 'finish', 'vomit'.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spee Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Also slang is constantly evolving, back in the 60's everything was swinging (good) but you don't hear that term any more although the negative dodgy (bad) is still used. I agree that slang is constantly evolving. During the 60s in the US, "cool" meant something good, "far out" meant something impressively good. Most American slang, like jazz, blues, boogie woogie and eventually hip hop and rap, has almost exclusively been created and initiated from within the minority black community and then typically adopted by majority white suburbia middle class well after the fact. Phrases like "cool," "far out," and "hip" were popular back in the 40's and 50's, typically within the black musical community, long before they became popular with the white middle class hippies in the "summer of love" era. Personally, I think it's because whites tended to have come from relatively uptight upbringings whereas blacks tended to be raised to be expressive and creative. I guess a couple of exceptions could be the "surfer speak" unique to southern California and the "valley girl speak" that also came from the LA valley in the 80's. There are probably others. IMHO, slang in the US is now completely over the top and probably more in use than proper vocabulary. I can still recall the time several years ago when some educational leaders pushed to teach "ebonics" instead of proper English in the school classroom. Now some overheard conversation can be a mix of ebonics, or spanglish and god only knows what else. But hey whatever, it's not like I'm "gonna have a cow, man" or go around telling people to "eat my shorts" if I don't approve of the way they extrude their verbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nongwahyay Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 In my modest British opinion there are far too many silly american expressions used here... such as "chilling out".... what a ridiculous expression!! But worst of all, in my modest opinion, is the (incorrect) usage of the expression "enjoy". If I´m not mistaken, the verb "to enjoy" requires an object...i.e. you enjoy something. It is incorrect to wish that someone "enjoy". Any other opinions on this totally insignificant topic????? Chilling out in Thailand! Yeah right! Hey man I'm a Brit too but like crazy man, the US of A has kinda spiced up our lingo which is cool but I guess it's richer for the infinite number of varieties that add to its constant metamorphosis. It's a living organism and immensely rich for that. Enjoy! (Reflexive verb, imperative mood. Can take an object but not necessarily. Cf 'go', 'run', 'stop', 'finish', 'vomit'.) ´Ey upp...... by your accent, I would guess you´re a Yorkshireman!!!..... I disagree with your last claim, however.......... as far as I understand, the verb "enjoy" requires an object.....you cannot (grammatically speaking) pick or choose, whether to add one or not... unless you want to instigate a thread like this... But have a nice........ (inferred), anyhow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegenFarang Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 i find it hilarious that a brit is complaining about americans using too many expressions. '<deleted>' 'wanke_r' 'bloody' 'blooming' 'arse' 'bugger' you guys got more silly expressions than in country in the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spee Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 2200 American slang words I don't know about all the rest, but I think the definition for "YO" is definitely wrong. The term "Yo" actually has its roots in American urban crime over the last 30-40 years or so, and the police officers often overwhelmed by the volume of minor age perps being processed. "Yo" or more appropriately "Y.O." is a police abbreviation for "Youthful Offender." The cops had so many young criminals to deal with, they didn't address them by name, but rather by term, as in "Hey, YO, put your ass in that chair." The young hoodlums came to see it as a perverse term of endearment. In other words, being known as a "YO" gave them "street cred" amongst one another. So calling each other "YO" was a sign of respect among young criminals who had some exposure to the criminal justice system in one form or another. It's one reason why I never refer to anyone as "yo" or use a term like "yo, wassup." To me, it's a term of insult and disrespect, rather than a slang way of talking cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcom Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 A few years ago the poms decided to change "make a decision" to "take a decision". Really? Take it where? I can take a sack of groceries from the store to my home. I can take a girl out of a bar - where can I "take a decision" The pot should stop calling the kettle black. How about the overly trite "actually"? Believe this started in OZ & quickly moved to England where is caught fire. Now it's ok to use it 2 or 3 times per sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grtaylor Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 A few years ago the poms decided to change "make a decision" to "take a decision".Really? Take it where? I can take a sack of groceries from the store to my home. I can take a girl out of a bar - where can I "take a decision" The pot should stop calling the kettle black. How about the overly trite "actually"? Believe this started in OZ & quickly moved to England where is caught fire. Now it's ok to use it 2 or 3 times per sentence. Pom here - and I have NEVER heard anyone say "take a decision" . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 (edited) Anyone who likes to smoke fags has a lot of nerve pointing fingers at us. Edited September 14, 2008 by Ulysses G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Boy Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 i'm in chiang mai and i heard someone use the expression 'ecky thump' the other day. which i quite enjoyed. The term is taken from a Brit comedy show "The Goodies" in the episode Bill Oddie (one of the three main characters) becomes initiated into the secret Lancastrian martial art of ecky thump. He and the rest of the martial arts group use a black pudding to "thump" their opponents with the cry of "ecky thump!" Classic humour CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nongwahyay Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 A few years ago the poms decided to change "make a decision" to "take a decision".Really? Take it where? I can take a sack of groceries from the store to my home. I can take a girl out of a bar - where can I "take a decision" The pot should stop calling the kettle black. How about the overly trite "actually"? Believe this started in OZ & quickly moved to England where is caught fire. Now it's ok to use it 2 or 3 times per sentence. Pom here - and I have NEVER heard anyone say "take a decision" . . . . . Second Pom here...........I´ve never heard "take a decision" either....................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonrakers Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 i find it hilarious that a brit is complaining about americans using too many expressions.'<deleted>' 'wanke_r' 'bloody' 'blooming' 'arse' 'bugger' you guys got more silly expressions than in country in the world you forgot "soddit" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshawk Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 yanks and their usage of the word 'spunk' constantly amusing to the most Brits that one... 'wow, you sure got a lot of spunk' why thanks, i always aim to please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nongwahyay Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 yanks and their usage of the word 'spunk'constantly amusing to the most Brits that one... 'wow, you sure got a lot of spunk' why thanks, i always aim to please I bet you´ve confused our American counterparts with that one........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonobo Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 yanks and their usage of the word 'spunk'constantly amusing to the most Brits that one... 'wow, you sure got a lot of spunk' why thanks, i always aim to please I bet you´ve confused our American counterparts with that one........ Actually, Americans also have the same slang meaning for spunk. It is perhaps not as well-used, but it is used none-the-less. I guess it does sound rather funny in that context (and while I have never made the connection before, I think it is now imbedded in my mind, thanks a lot! ). Sort of on par with "smoking a fag." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Americans know spunk. Didn't you know that American is a TONAL language? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 where does the saying "will you take breakfast" come from? I never take breakfast, sometimes I eat it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grtaylor Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 (edited) where does the saying "will you take breakfast" come from?I never take breakfast, sometimes I eat it though. I have feeling that it is Scottish usage, perhaps more specifically Edinburgh. Edited September 15, 2008 by grtaylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 My good, modern British dictionary gives both definitions for spunk, and neither is tagged as one nation or the other. Depends on context, such as a porn film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burr Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 In my modest British opinion there are far too many silly american expressions used here... such as "chilling out".... what a ridiculous expression!! But worst of all, in my modest opinion, is the (incorrect) usage of the expression "enjoy". If I´m not mistaken, the verb "to enjoy" requires an object...i.e. you enjoy something. It is incorrect to wish that someone "enjoy". Any other opinions on this totally insignificant topic????? Bloody well said "Nongwahyay" You post good crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgjackson69 Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I don't like some American slang words like "groovy" or "enjoy" ... "Groovy" has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, except for retro-views of the 60s and Austin Powers movies. I am waiting for AWESOME to join the defunct club. Yes, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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