British And Australian English Vs. American English

[ozziebloke]

I was giving my opinion on another forum and all but myself were American. Instead of arguing about my opinion i was continually told to get educated and learn some proper gramma. I found this very strange and funny because as far as i was concerned I beleive my gramma to be quite proficient.

Here are 3 examples to start with

1. Same word — different spelling

I live in the land of extra vowels. We like our colours, ask our mates (friends) for favours, and will bank a cheque (check).

We also like using ‘s’ instead of ‘z’ for words like optimise, organisation and analyse.

2. Different words for the same object

Depending on where you are, a zucchini can also be a courgette, a pepper is really a capsicum, and coriander is known as cilantro.

What I would call a dummy, my American friends would call a pacifier, and when I talk about pants (trousers) my British friends think I’m talking about underwear.

3. Different measurements

Inches and miles mean nothing to someone who has grown up with centimetres and kilometres — and how do you know if a pound of chocolate will be enough when you are used to kilograms?

[Semper]

Wrong forum?

[Dr Robert]

re:3 above-when you are talking to imperialists you will never win a metric argument...might be the same for political proclivities too!

[h90]

and now think how confusing it is for a German who have English as their second language.

[h90]

re:3 above-when you are talking to imperialists you will never win a metric argument...might be the same for political proclivities too!

Metric system will win in the long term. But on the politically everyone is bombed into submission, no way to win that.

[CharlieH]

There are many other examples but as English from England is the origin, the rest is just local adjustments or laziness and wishing to make it their own "version". But the true English is obviously the correct version as anything else is merely diluted and done so in many cases to make it easier for them to understand.

Edited October 6, 2012 by CharlieH

[mauGR1]

and now think how confusing it is for a German who have English as their second language.

Not really, I ( try to ) speak English, not American...Although i find the English should stop being so eccentric with those yards and pounds, and adopt the metric system

[chonabot]

I went to a Gramma® school - honest guv

[Thaddeus]

Oh re gah no

Ah loo min ih um

[KarenBravo]

There are many other examples but as English from England is the origin, the rest is just local adjustments or laziness and wishing to make it their own "version". But the true English is obviously the correct version as anything else is merely diluted and done so in many cases to make it easier for them to understand.

Sorry, you're incorrect.

When the first Americans colonized North America from England, they took their English language with them. Whilst the language evolved and changed in England, in the North American colonies it changed a lot slower.

You will find that a lot of the words and spellings of English words that we associate with the USA are actually they words and spellings found in England in an earlier time.

[CharlieH]

There are many other examples but as English from England is the origin, the rest is just local adjustments or laziness and wishing to make it their own "version". But the true English is obviously the correct version as anything else is merely diluted and done so in many cases to make it easier for them to understand.

Sorry, you're incorrect.

When the first Americans colonized North America from England, they took their English language with them. Whilst the language evolved and changed in England, in the North American colonies it changed a lot slower.

You will find that a lot of the words and spellings of English words that we associate with the USA are actually they words and spellings found in England in an earlier time.

Thank you Karenbravo, I stand corrected, which led me to this,

In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardised. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influentialdictionaries. Today's British English spellings follow, for the most part, those of Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language(1755), whereas many American English spellings follow Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).^[1]

Webster was a strong proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. Many spelling changes proposed in the United States by Webster himself, and in the early 20th century by the Simplified Spelling Board, never caught on. Among the spelling reform supporters in England, the influence of those who preferred the Norman (or Anglo-French) spellings of words proved to be decisive. Later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on today's American spellings and vice-versa. In many cases, American English strayed in the 19th century from mainstream British spelling, but it has also kept some older spellings.

The spelling systems of most Commonwealth countries and Ireland, for the most part, closely resemble the British system. In Canada, the spelling system can be said to follow both British and American forms,^[2] and Canadians are somewhat more tolerant of foreign spellings when compared to other English-speaking nationalities.^[3] Australian spelling has also strayed somewhat from British spelling, with some American spellings incorporated as standard.^[4]

^{Anyone wanting a more detailed version and examples can go here:}http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

Edited October 6, 2012 by CharlieH

[Rob8891]

There are many other examples but as English from England is the origin, the rest is just local adjustments or laziness and wishing to make it their own "version". But the true English is obviously the correct version as anything else is merely diluted and done so in many cases to make it easier for them to understand.

Sorry, you're incorrect.

When the first Americans colonized North America from England, they took their English language with them. Whilst the language evolved and changed in England, in the North American colonies it changed a lot slower.

You will find that a lot of the words and spellings of English words that we associate with the USA are actually they words and spellings found in England in an earlier time.

Then might one respectfully suggest that they catch up with current spellings??

[ozziebloke]

I found the most arrogant Americans about gramma were those in their early 20's and usually women, The blokes were usually more illiterate

[nietzche]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

[7by7]

Gramma? Do you really mean your grandmother; or are you talking about grammar?

[uptheos]

There is only English!!

Many countries speak their own particular version with different grammar, but there is only one English

Edited October 6, 2012 by uptheos

[Crossy]

The word is 'grammar' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramma

Not sure of a Thai connection, so moving to the Pub for the fight to continue.

[ozziebloke]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Have to dissagree! Aussies all are generally the same but yanks have so many different dialects and some sound like like their from another country other than the US and try some of the english accents like liverpool and welsh

[ozziebloke]

Gramma? Do you really mean your grandmother; or are you talking about grammar?

Yes grammar

[uptheos]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Have to dissagree! Aussies all are generally the same but yanks have so many different dialects and some sound like like their from another country other than the US and try some of the english accents like liverpool and welsh

English spoken by a Welsh person has a 'Welsh accent'...........not an English accent.

[Rob8891]

Ref the OP's 3 points...

1.... Not different..... CORRECT spelling! Yanks got it wrong with the letter ZED..... hohoho

2..... No one's perfect - we all use the wrong word occasionally, but stick around and we brits will help you progress.... PS...You forgot "strides"

3.... You're not up for the challenge of ounces, pounds, stones or inches, feet, yards and miles? Chicken!!!

As long as we can all communicate as clearly as possible, I suppose some of the quibbles don't really matter. Pretty soon, REAL english will be out-stripped by chinglish/tinglish or whatever evolution one wishes to call it. Nevertheless, this crabbit old school teacher will still keep battling to keep the colonials on the correct path!!

[7by7]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Have to dissagree! Aussies all are generally the same but yanks have so many different dialects and some sound like like their from another country other than the US and try some of the english accents like liverpool and welsh

I don't think that many Welsh people would take kindly to being told they have an English accent!

Edit, uptheos beat me to it; must type faster!

Edited October 6, 2012 by 7by7

[7by7]

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

I have noticed many changes in my 57 years; due, I think, to American films and TV.

For example, when I was young we went to the cinema or the pictures or the flicks. My daughter goes to the movies.

I eat chips, she eats fries.

We had a school dance, she went to a prom.

Etc, etc.

Edited October 6, 2012 by 7by7

[transam]

Wos ''gramma'' guv. ?

[evadgib]

Contrary to popular belief the metric system is widely used & accepted by the vast majority of Brits.I'd also like to see STONE binned once & for all when referring to someone's weight.

[JSixpack]

Contrary to popular belief the metric system is widely used & accepted by the vast majority of Brits.I'd also like to see STONE binned once & for all when referring to someone's weight.

I'd also like to see POUNDS binned once & for all when referring to something's price in Thailand.

[MAJIC]

Contrary to popular belief the metric system is widely used & accepted by the vast majority of Brits.I'd also like to see STONE binned once & for all when referring to someone's weight.

I'd also like to see POUNDS binned once & for all when referring to something's price in Thailand.

It's known as GBP (Great Britain Pound) so Pounds £ will not alter until (heaven forbid) the UK changes to the Euro,which may or may not happen.

And America is still using the old Imperial System.

[7by7]

Not quite.

An imperial gallon equals 4.546 litres, whereas a US gallon only equals 3.79 litres.

As the US was one of the first countries to introduce a decimal currency, I cannot understand their resistance to the metric system.

[uptheos]

As the US was one of the first countries to introduce a decimal currency, I cannot understand their resistance to the metric system.

Yeah, their guns are all in mm.

[chiangmaikelly]

As the US was one of the first countries to introduce a decimal currency, I cannot understand their resistance to the metric system.

Yeah, their guns are all in mm.

Like a .45 eh? Or .38 special or Ma deuce?

Edited October 6, 2012 by chiangmaikelly