Differences between American & British English

Todd   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 04:26 GMT
"...but it seems to me that the Californian Accent (where I am from) is not really an accent at all...Does anyone outside my paradigm notice an accent in the Californian dialect?"

EVERYBODY speaks with an accent. It amazes me when people say that don't have one. You just don't realize it because you're surrounded by people who speak the same way you do.
Sara   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 06:33 GMT
lol Damian the tea and scones thing does sound very "English" : ) I would love to go to the Dog and Duck with you! That sounds like fun. Just out of curiosity, what do you wear on "American" night? and what do you order to drink when you go to the pub? I'm just trying to picture the entire forum at a pub, smashed and correcting everybody's English : ) It would be worth coming to England just to see that scene, I wouldn't even need a drink to be entertained : ) You're right about Americans liking cold beer, I sold a ton of it tonight at the restaurant where I work, mostly St. Provo Girl Pilsner- that's our local brand. I had to dress up like the St. Provo Girl once to promote sales at our restaurant, it was hilarious, I will never live it down. I'm not much of a beer drinker myself, but I do have a little bit of a weakness for margaritas-mmm margaritas : ) that sounds really good right now : ) so that is what I usually get when I give into temptation. Anyway it's been a long day of massaging and waitressing so I must go to sleep before My head hits the keyboard and my post looks like thisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss : ) Goodnight
Sara   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 06:51 GMT
One last thing before I go, or 3 for those keeping track : )

Eugenia- Brown/Black hair is beautiful too! Don't change to blonde just because society tells you too. There really aren't that many advantages to being a blonde- I know because I am a natural one. Some bad stereotypes get attached to blondes, people think you are stupid or slutty or naive or some combination of the above. Although the dumb blonde thing does come in handy when I get pulled over by a cop and can pretend that I didn't know that I was speeding : ) he hehe

xatufan- I also live on coffee, good stuff, but sugarfree redbull is the best! take a shot of that if you need to stay awake for finals : ) It works great, and it's guilt free! only 10 calories, tight huh?
and lastly, Lol means laughing out loud
the end, g'night everyone! : )
Eugenia   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 17:04 GMT
Sara: <<Eugenia- Brown/Black hair is beautiful too! Don't change to blonde just because society tells you too>> Of course you are right, brown and black hair is beautiful too but I just wanted to change to blond because I was tired of my original colour, not because of society :). And you are right about what people says about blondes, but they also say that they have more fun than brunettes :P
Xatufan: Alcohol is not good for studying, that's obvious. I haven't drunk alcohol for a month because I have to study. Anyway, I'm planning to drink some tomorrow :P
Damian   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 19:00 GMT
AV8R:

There just is no such word as "supposebly". As you say...sloppiness. I guess when we talk informally with our friends we do go all casual, which is a type of sloppiness but if anyone uses "supposebly" in writing then it shows ignorance.

I display ignorance now....I would never be able to listen to an American accent and say confidently: Hey! ..that's Californian! I must have heard it loads of times without recognising it. As far as I'm concerned it could be from Vermont or Kansas or Ohio or wherever, anywhere other than the South...or Brooklyn (which I suppose is the "Cockney" of New York?)
kia   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 20:14 GMT
hey Americans
you might feel the same way when you live in England and interact with English people and find completey different accent and words. it happens very often ,so take it easy guys!!!!!
see the world and feel the difference, its not just about american or british langague. its a matter of experience. And not who is superior or infereior regarding speaking. so people have to accept that american english is an american language not a british english.
Steve   Thursday, June 24, 2004, 23:50 GMT
Hey everyone, discovered this site a couple days ago and I must say, very interesting. I even took the time to read every single page of this thread :)

As far as the Californian accent goes, I think overall it is pretty much General American and therefore hard to pinpoint to just California. Damian, I have heard people from Vermont, Kansas, and Ohio speak this way so you aren't far off the mark. I guess you could call the Brooklyn accent the "Cockney" of NY. My grandmother has one and it's very fun to listen to hehe.

I never thought I had much of an accent until I went on a school trip to a national convention in Nashville, TN. You see, I'm from just south of Boston and according to everyone I met that wasn't from the New England area said that I have a very thick Boston accent. There were even some people that couldn't understand me and I had to repeat myself several times. The best part was that most of the girls said that the accent was "cute" lol. It was a very interesting experience to say the least.

Also, I find it hard to distinguish between the various British accents. Is there a site where I could find examples? Sorry to say, but it all sounds the same to me. I guess I just need to be exposed to them more!
Xatufan   Friday, June 25, 2004, 02:30 GMT
LOL!!! Finally I know what that means!
Damian   Friday, June 25, 2004, 02:43 GMT
Steve...hi.

Nice to read our post..yes this is a cool forum. I understand your inability to distinguish various British accents...but surely you can recognise a Scottish one? (Like mine). Or a Cockney? You have to be familiar with a country to pinpoint regional/local accents. I'm sure if you surfed the net under British accents you will find sites that will help you. Some UK accents are very distinctive and have names as well. See if you can find "Scouse" (Liverpool) or "Geordie" (Newcastle/Tyneside/Teesside/NE England. In Bristol they apparently have a strange sort of accent in which they add an "L" to words that end in a vowel, so that when they go to the "opera" they go to the "operal". If that isn't weird, what is? LOL
Steve   Friday, June 25, 2004, 03:14 GMT
Yes I can pick out a Scottish accent, also Irish. But that's about it for me lol. I'll try and find out what I can about those accents. I was also wondering how close Mel Gibson's accent is in Braveheart to being an actual Scottish accent. Is it even close or does it just sound cheesy?

As an interesting note, we do something similar to the people in Bristol around here. Although the Boston accent chops off the letter R where ever it can, it also adds one to words ending in vowels. So "idea" becomes "idear." Very strange once I think about it lol.
Damian   Friday, June 25, 2004, 06:34 GMT
Mel Gibson=Scottish? .....similar to my Texas drawl I guess :-)
Septic   Friday, June 25, 2004, 12:47 GMT
A Californian accent is definitely not a "general American" accent, although thanks to television, our regional accents are being eradicated.
S. Heinonen   Friday, June 25, 2004, 15:01 GMT
Is there a difference between American and British English in the use of capital letters when it comes to the names of artistic styles, philosophies, and so on? Is it 'impressionism', 'neo-platonism' (Am.) and 'Impressionism', 'Neo-Platonism' (Br.) or are such differences only a matter of the author's preference?
Xatufan   Saturday, June 26, 2004, 02:17 GMT
Damian, you wrote recognise with "s". It is British English.
Damian   Saturday, June 26, 2004, 06:49 GMT
Xatufan:

Recognise with an "s"?

Oh wow! ... so I did.. the strange thing is...I am British... I know for sure I am..I just checked on my passport.