British And Australian English Vs. American English

[7by7]

Celsius vs Fahrenheit; I love the bit at the end about the British and air temperature.

[transam]

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?

Or a .50 Cal.

[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?

Or a .50 Cal.

Ma deuce. M-2 machine gun. WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Edited October 6, 2012 by chiangmaikelly

[rijb]

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??

Maybe for the same reason the queen's picture is not on U.S. money.

[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.

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.

You've missed the point. Americans in Thailand don't post here referring to prices at Villa or Foodland in US dollars. Germans don't do the same in euros. But Brits do in pounds or "quid."

[McMagus]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

I worked alongside some UK teachers in an international school and I honestly could hardly understand a word they said because of their strong accents. American English is easier to understand but not neutral in tone, inflection,. By and large, IMHO, well spoken Australians have the most neutral accent.

[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.

You've missed the point. Americans in Thailand don't post here referring to prices at Villa or Foodland in US dollars. Germans don't do the same in euros. But Brits do in pounds or "quid."

By converting Baht into Pounds It's also a way of working out some of the cost of living in Thailand,as opposed to the UK.

Which means at current prices in Thailand "Farang Food" is much dearer than the UK. It may be a pointless excercise for some people,but I have on occasions ,refused to buy something that was obviously hugely overpriced,on principal! That way one has the option of getting one of your friends to bring something over for you....... e.g £5 (250 for a jar of Colmans Mustard in Thailand £1-50 (75b ) in the UK,so stock up with 3 x Jars for less than the price of 1.

Edited October 6, 2012 by MAJIC

[I Like Thai]

Language changes as it evolves in any country, so we end up with different spellings and pronunciations across the world. However when a country changes the pronunciation of a word for no better reason than a childish one, then that is just silly in my opinion. One word I remember having it's pronunciation changed is the planet Uranus( your anus) to (your unus)

Many moons ago a deep space probe was sent to Uranus and started to send back photo images which were then sent worldwide for everyone to see. I remember well that the American commentators were using the correct pronunciation (your anus) for the first day on these television feeds. Then overnight it changed, on the next day the pronunciation of a planet changed from (your anus) to (your unus)

Is it just me or does anyone else find this very childish, it reminds me of my schooldays when someone using a rude sounding word got a lot of giggles behind the bicycle shed.

[JSixpack]

By converting Baht into Pounds It's also a way of working out some of the cost of living in Thailand,as opposed to the UK.

Which means at current prices in Thailand "Farang Food" is much dearer than the UK. It may be a pointless excercise for some people,but I have on occasions ,refused to buy something that was obviously hugely overpriced,on principal! That way one has the option of getting one of your friends to bring something over for you....... e.g £5 (250 for a jar of Colmans Mustard in Thailand £1-50 (75b ) in the UK,so stock up with 3 x Jars for less than the price of 1.

Yeah. You agree that the prices here are all marked in baht and only baht is accepted in payment. Since this is an international forum, not just a Brit forum (believe it or not), then--if the price is just always quoted here in the forum as baht--each nationality can convert the baht to his native currency if he so wishes. You don't really need the OP to do that for you, do you? Besides, the rate fluctuates.

We non-Brits don't give a shit about comparing the cost of living here w/ that in the UK.

Hence, as I said, giving prices in pounds for goods purchased here should be banned--as a rude annoyance.

[MAJIC]

By converting Baht into Pounds It's also a way of working out some of the cost of living in Thailand,as opposed to the UK.

Which means at current prices in Thailand "Farang Food" is much dearer than the UK. It may be a pointless excercise for some people,but I have on occasions ,refused to buy something that was obviously hugely overpriced,on principal! That way one has the option of getting one of your friends to bring something over for you....... e.g £5 (250 for a jar of Colmans Mustard in Thailand £1-50 (75b ) in the UK,so stock up with 3 x Jars for less than the price of 1.

Yeah. You agree that the prices here are all marked in baht and only baht is accepted in payment. Since this is an international forum, not just a Brit forum (believe it or not), then--if the price is just always quoted here in the forum as baht--each nationality can convert the baht to his native currency if he so wishes. You don't really need the OP to do that for you, do you? Besides, the rate fluctuates.

We non-Brits don't give a shit about comparing the cost of living here w/ that in the UK.

Hence, as I said, giving prices in pounds for goods purchased here should be banned--as a rude annoyance.

That's understandable,how about comparing the cost of living with Aus then?

[rijb]

Language changes as it evolves in any country, so we end up with different spellings and pronunciations across the world. However when a country changes the pronunciation of a word for no better reason than a childish one, then that is just silly in my opinion. One word I remember having it's pronunciation changed is the planet Uranus( your anus) to (your unus)

Many moons ago a deep space probe was sent to Uranus and started to send back photo images which were then sent worldwide for everyone to see. I remember well that the American commentators were using the correct pronunciation (your anus) for the first day on these television feeds. Then overnight it changed, on the next day the pronunciation of a planet changed from (your anus) to (your unus)

Is it just me or does anyone else find this very childish, it reminds me of my schooldays when someone using a rude sounding word got a lot of giggles behind the bicycle shed.

Bicycle shed? Was that next to the wood shed? Where mates took their fags?

[kevvy]

aren't Americans always right and they own the world , so why not change the English language . Lived there for 3 years and couldn't wait to get out ..

[I Like Thai]

Language changes as it evolves in any country, so we end up with different spellings and pronunciations across the world. However when a country changes the pronunciation of a word for no better reason than a childish one, then that is just silly in my opinion. One word I remember having it's pronunciation changed is the planet Uranus( your anus) to (your unus)

Many moons ago a deep space probe was sent to Uranus and started to send back photo images which were then sent worldwide for everyone to see. I remember well that the American commentators were using the correct pronunciation (your anus) for the first day on these television feeds. Then overnight it changed, on the next day the pronunciation of a planet changed from (your anus) to (your unus)

Is it just me or does anyone else find this very childish, it reminds me of my schooldays when someone using a rude sounding word got a lot of giggles behind the bicycle shed.

Bicycle shed? Was that next to the wood shed? Where mates took their fags?

No, we didn't have a wood shed at school. The Bicycle shed was where we put our bicycles. Many schoolmates also smoked their fags behind the Bicycle shed.I didn't smoke fags back then, but I do now

[h90]

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

yes but my English improves and modifies itself by reading books/news/texts which are often from USA and movies which are almost only from USA. So automatically it get more American.

My English isn't good enough to recognize the differences....I am already happy if I keep out my staffs English.....but it even happens that I uses that "no" instead of "not" and complete disregard of any grammar and times....

[bobobo]

English is not my first language. For me Your question is a LOT more complicated. For me it's a question about understanding what You say! I met a very nice guy in a bar. He was from Newcastle (England). That I understood! But the rest he said it was almost impossible to understand.. well fifty/fifty.it was something about jordi lassies??Nice ladies in Newcastle??But we had a good time anyway. Have two very good friends from San Fran. They brought a friend from Arkansas with them for 3 weeks. Mission impossible...and I mean it! You kiwis and aussies and RSA guys usually no problems to understand..oh i forgot You guys from Scotland..it's hard but no problem.

What I want to say is it's NOT about American/English/Australia or whatever..it's all about how You speak..

Maybe I don't belong to this thread, but any way now it's done..

[WilliaminBKK]

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.

Point of clarification as North America is a pretty large place the Americans never colonized Canada, in fact Canada/Britain won the War of 1812 & the Head of State remains as HM Queen Elizabeth.

Words in Canada are generally the same as the UK except the Z (zed) does appear in realize etc.

[Beetlejuice]

There is only English!!

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

No there isn`t.

My Thai wife speaks, Ingrish.

It is similar to English, only she doesn`t know what she`s talking about and I can`t understand one word she`s saying.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Beetlejuice

[chiangmaikelly]

aren't Americans always right and they own the world , so why not change the English language . Lived there for 3 years and couldn't wait to get out ..

Get out from where? Did you live in East St Louis or Detroit? BTW Texas is not part of America. Nor is California

[h90]

English is not my first language. For me Your question is a LOT more complicated. For me it's a question about understanding what You say! I met a very nice guy in a bar. He was from Newcastle (England). That I understood! But the rest he said it was almost impossible to understand.. well fifty/fifty.it was something about jordi lassies??Nice ladies in Newcastle??But we had a good time anyway. Have two very good friends from San Fran. They brought a friend from Arkansas with them for 3 weeks. Mission impossible...and I mean it! You kiwis and aussies and RSA guys usually no problems to understand..oh i forgot You guys from Scotland..it's hard but no problem.

What I want to say is it's NOT about American/English/Australia or whatever..it's all about how You speak..

Maybe I don't belong to this thread, but any way now it's done..

Well as German speaker I am sometimes amazed that I can understand Scottish (spelling???) that people from London could not understand. It is like there is some German mixed inside the English. Or like a German speaker who didn't learn English reads English.

Don't know if there is a real connection to German or if it only feels like it.

[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

yes but my English improves and modifies itself by reading books/news/texts which are often from USA and movies which are almost only from USA. So automatically it get more American.

My English isn't good enough to recognize the differences....I am already happy if I keep out my staffs English.....but it even happens that I uses that "no" instead of "not" and complete disregard of any grammar and times....

Hahaha, the same happens to me, if i speak " Thaiglish " for 10 minutes, it takes another 10 minutes to switch again to passable English

[Soutpeel]

When I worked in the states the funniest term/names I came across was the term "fanny pack" and the name of a mortgage company called "Fanny Mae"

The American guys I was working with couldnt understand why I had a smirk on my face everytime one of these terms/names was mentioned..

[kevjohn]

When I worked in the states the funniest term/names I came across was the term "fanny pack" and the name of a mortgage company called "Fanny Mae"

The American guys I was working with couldnt understand why I had a smirk on my face everytime one of these terms/names was mentioned..

Strange, I smiled at those term and probably for the same reason as you.

[KKvampire]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Wouldnt you like to believe so ,maybe in some parts of the world where standards have declined in speech but I retain my BBC English prononciation and spelling in personal use and teaching foreigners

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

[kennedy]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Wouldnt you like to believe so ,maybe in some parts of the world where standards have declined in speech but I retain my BBC English prononciation and spelling in personal use and teaching foreigners

I know I'm just a dumb yank in your opinion, but is that the right way to spell pronunciation?

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

Edited October 7, 2012 by kennedy

[chiangmaikelly]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Wouldnt you like to believe so ,maybe in some parts of the world where standards have declined in speech but I retain my BBC English prononciation and spelling in personal use and teaching foreigners

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

When you are commenting on American politics are you the foreigner?

[KKvampire]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Wouldnt you like to believe so ,maybe in some parts of the world where standards have declined in speech but I retain my BBC English prononciation and spelling in personal use and teaching foreigners

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

When you are commenting on American politics are you the foreigner?

Wrong thread for US election

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

[chiangmaikelly]

Australians are the most difficult to understand.

American english has pretty much become the international standard.

Wouldnt you like to believe so ,maybe in some parts of the world where standards have declined in speech but I retain my BBC English prononciation and spelling in personal use and teaching foreigners

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

When you are commenting on American politics are you the foreigner?

Wrong thread for US election

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

I am afraid you did not read my post. I was not asking your opinion only your status. When you are commenting on American politics are you the foreigner?

[h90]

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

yes but my English improves and modifies itself by reading books/news/texts which are often from USA and movies which are almost only from USA. So automatically it get more American.

My English isn't good enough to recognize the differences....I am already happy if I keep out my staffs English.....but it even happens that I uses that "no" instead of "not" and complete disregard of any grammar and times....

Hahaha, the same happens to me, if i speak " Thaiglish " for 10 minutes, it takes another 10 minutes to switch again to passable English

I catch myself at "This no good", "This tool same same". When they speak with me that way I almost answer in the same way.....Heck how can the Thais learn a proper English if I speak Thaiglish with them?

And every time..... 0.01 % remains in my brains automatic language software...over the years and thousands of dialogs the Thaiglish is more and more getting the normal English.

The counter is movies (USA) and English books (mostly USA).

My wife and I speak a mix of German, English and Thai that no one else understands.

Last time my parents visit me, I noticed that my German is also very schwarzeneggered......When I speak it automatically I use some English and Thai expressions.

[Grumbles]

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

Everyone knows a grandmother is graNma

[smokie36]

Oh re gah no

Ah loo min ih um

Yes I agree Taddy. Reading and writing English was taught phonetically in the home as small kids by our mothers. Why anyone seems to believe there are better ways to do this is beyond my comprehension.