Differences between American & British English

Ryan   Friday, July 04, 2003, 05:32 GMT
I think the pronouncing the "t" as "d" happens in the US the closer one gets to New York City. In New York they say things like "wuddy-ya" for "what are you." In Michigan where I'm from the "t" is barely pronounced in the same expression and the "d" is still very prominent. We also say things in Michigan like "wahder" for "water." In New York the word is pronounced "wahduh."

Because the pronounced "d" most likely started in New York, I wonder if its origin is Dutch, as they were the original founders of the New Amsterdam colony. It certainly has a more Germanic sound to it. British English, on the other hand, is more likely to retain the "t" sound, in my mind, because of the influence of Norman-French on the English spoken there. The "t" sound is a very important one in the French language and in Latin in general (mater, pater, etc.)

Ryan
Larry   Saturday, July 05, 2003, 07:30 GMT
I use English-To-Go.com stuff, and they seem to mix American and British English in different lessons. Never had a complaint or comment from students.

I wonder if the Internet is mashing American and British English up together.

Some words also seem to be developing different meanings. For example, I'm starting to think of a flat as low-rise and apartment as higher-rise (4 story building and above)! Strange. Anyone else?

Anyway, I think that the differences in words used are decreasing, not increasing.

Accents, on the other hand, seem to be just as interesting and different as ever!
wanna   Monday, July 07, 2003, 21:14 GMT
American : eggplant / English : aubergine
American : zucchini / English : courgette
Dorian   Monday, July 07, 2003, 21:19 GMT
Larry
Do you teach through the net ? how do you call that "tele something" ?
I think when we reach a level of proficiency as learners, we do learn both Amercian and British. It's obvious.
Adam   Friday, July 11, 2003, 02:23 GMT
What is an Aubergine? I've seen the colour, but not the plant.
Simon   Friday, July 11, 2003, 08:14 GMT
English to go? Please tell me this is a lie. English to go, with fries?????
Chantal   Sunday, July 13, 2003, 19:27 GMT
Adam
Aubergine* comes from French and is the fruit of eggplant and British name for American eggplant. It's not very common in the USA. I find rarely a meal with eggplant in retaurants in the USA.

French : Aubergine. cataluna : alberginia. Arabic : al-bâdindjân.
comes from Farsi : Badenjan.
HiyaKiani   Monday, July 14, 2003, 00:08 GMT
MM

I had a gig at this district educators' retirement dinner thing with my school's contemporary string ensemble (CSE). (We just played the music for the people who were entering. They fed us later as a treat for playing for them.) Later they served dinner and one of the servings was eggplant lasagna. I never had eggplant. So, I tried it. It sat on my plate and went in the garbage after that. My friend tried it, she hated it and barely swallowed it. One of the viola players was telling us a horrible story about her eggplant experience. She said it was disgusting loudly, accidently, and a Latino man serving the food heard her. She apologized 100 times (I exaggerate that) and 17 times (I counted) in Spanish (!Muy siento!) He didn't seem offended at all. Actually he told her in Spanish that he didn't like eggplant either.

They had some great chocolate covered strawberries, (I never had them before) and some "keesh" (I don't know how to spell it but it tasted good as an ordeur. I can't spell that either.)
The eggplant lasagna was the only thing I disliked.

All of the old people who were retiring seemed to like it though.

So you are right, Chantal, eggplant isn't common in the US.

MP & BB
Kiani
Lana   Monday, July 14, 2003, 01:39 GMT
"keesh" = quiche
HiyaKiani   Monday, July 14, 2003, 02:41 GMT
Thanx lana. I had little quiche ordeurs. At music camp, they served big blocks of quiche. I prefer them small and in the mini pie crust bowl thingie's
Lana   Monday, July 14, 2003, 04:09 GMT
Oh, now I think I know what you mean by "ordeurs" = hors d'oeuvres. In English, we would say appetizers.
Rugger   Monday, July 14, 2003, 06:34 GMT
The New Zealanders are like the Brits and call eggplant aubergine and zucchini Courgette. Aussies follow the Americans and call them eggplant and zucchini. Here in Melbourne, Australia, eggplant is a common vegetable and is used in many dishes. I find it to be yummy, especially when grilled and served with fish or used in curry, or as mentioned above, used in vegetarian dishes such as eggplant lasagna.
Simon   Monday, July 14, 2003, 06:38 GMT
In US you say 'appetizers'. In England we say 'starters'.
Clark   Monday, July 14, 2003, 06:57 GMT
In America, we also say "starters." It is generally in more "posh" restaurants though.
Guofei Ma   Monday, July 14, 2003, 23:45 GMT
Aubergine/eggplant is quite common in Chinese restaurants in the United States. I don't appreciate its texture at all.