Best way to Learn British English?
The funniest story I heard this week was about a man, somewhere in the North of England, who took the people who flew an EU Flag from their town centre building to court. He said that because it isn't a national flag, and certain other things that I can't remember (and also he was Eurosceptic) he said that the building must surely need planning permission to fly the EU Flag.
The court found the man to be correct, and ordered the town hall never to fly the EU Flag again until it has planning permission.
I hope they never get planning permission. People don't want to see that eyesore when they do their Sunday shopping.
Hello!
I need a monolingual dictionary. I'm not an English people so I would like to buy a dictionary for advanced learners.
I have a problem: I don't know which dictionary is better:
- Collins Coubild: English Dictionary; Advanced Learners
or
- Oxford English Dictionary; Advanced Learners?
What is the difference Collins and Oxford dictionary?
Thank you your help!
**'strange passivity in the face of danger or absurdity or provocation'**
That's the same as saying the English tend never to panic whatever the threat of danger.....except for puir auld Corporal (Don't panic! Don't panic!) Jones of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon of the WW2 Home Guard. Everyone else is calm and composed as the bombs begin to fall while Jonesy is crapping himself.
**Bill hooks? I don't get it.**
Towels in a bills hooks drawer, Uriel.....that sort of general hardware store I reckon.
Scots control England do we, Adam? It must be that passivity of yours. Anyway, cheers for all the lovely dosh you chuck our way...great! You can well afford it. Just wait for when Gordon steps into Tony's shoes......you willnae know what's hit ye! :-)
Gie us a smile, Adam.....you dinnae look so nice when you scowl.
Funny note to end on: Keeping abreast of latest news reports - UK news in this case. A report out today says that England apparently has the highest rate of shoplifting in Europe with immigrants and asylum seekers very much the largest group responsible. What is odd is that top of the list of stolen items were razor blades for some weird reason. Who uses those ffs?
"What is odd is that top of the list of stolen items were razor blades for some weird reason. Who uses those ffs? "
You don't shave your legs Damian?
I like Chamber's dictionaries best, but to be honest there's not a great deal of difference between any of them!!
**You don't shave your legs Damian? **
I've no need to, Adam...but why do you ask? Cutting down on wind resistance when cycling?
True, Rick...all much the same.
The Cambridge dictionary online is quite good, I must say old chaps!
Jolly good!
Damian - I heard a modern Englishman use some Old-Fashioned English -
In Listening to the Director's Commentary for the film Snatch - Guy Ritchie does speak througout and he uses words like chap and he even says Cheerio at the farewell at the end - I never heard that by Modern speakers. He has a real London accent I believe if that is what you would call it. Apparently some people still use it...
As regards RP I have been really noticing the difference - after listening to several MP3 selections showing RP against say Cockney or Cornish, RP is instantly recognizable by many speakers I have encountered.
Learning still...
Its all quite jolly good my chums, how bout a spot a tea at Knightsbridge chaps!
ROLLS: well, hello there my dear chappie!.....how's things? Everything tickety boo down at the old ancestral? How's mama?
As it's the butler's day off maybe we could go up to Kinightbridge for afternoon tea old thing. How about Harrods? You only need to take out a second mortage on the ancestral to pay for it....... LOL
http://www.buyagift.co.uk/cgi-bin/buyagift.storefront/en/product/3094?engine=adwords!341&keyword=%28harrods+tea%29&match_type=
Of course RP is instantly recognisable from Cornish and Cockney, Rolls! It's like telling the difference between a lump of chalk and a lump of top notch Cheddar. Or telling the difference between Queen Elizabeth and Janet Street Porter! :-)
Have a good evening, old bean! Or morning...or afternoon...or whatever time of day it is with you. It's just gone 18:30hrs here and time for some nosh then off and out on the town..cheers mate!
Coincidentally, whilst not even looking for anything to do with this, I've just found this article that is discussing a similar thing to what this thread has been discussing -
British prison officers who wore a St. George's Cross tie-pin have been ticked off by the jails watchdog over concerns about the symbol's racist connotations.
The pins showing the English flag -- which has often raised hackles due to its connection with the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries -- could be "misconstrued," Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said in a section on race in a report on a jail in the northern English city of Wakefield.
The banner of St. George, the red cross of a martyr on a white background, was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers during the military expeditions by European powers to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims, and later became the national flag of England.
A section on race relations in Owers' report said: "We were concerned to see a number of staff wearing a flag of St. George tie-pin.
"While we were told that these had been bought in support of a cancer charity there was clear scope for misinterpretation, and Prison Service Orders made clear that unauthorized badges and pins should not be worn."
As one of her formal recommendations Owers said: "Staff should not wear unauthorized badges or pins."
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, said Tuesday the red cross was an insensitive reminder of the Crusades.
"A lot of Muslims and Arabs view the Crusades as a bloody episode in our history," he told CNN. "They see those campaigns as Christendom launching a brutal holy war against Islam.
"Muslim or Arab prisoners could take umbrage if staff wore a red cross badge. It's also got associations with the far-right. Prison officers should be seen to be neutral."
Doyle added that it was now time for England to find a new flag and a patron saint who is "not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with."
edition.cnn.com . . .
Let's bow to our Muslim masters.
"The pins showing the English flag -- which has often raised hackles due to its connection with the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
The banner of St. George, the red cross of a martyr on a white background, was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers during the military expeditions by European powers to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims, and later became the national flag of England."
But before the Scots and Welsh start poking fun, just remember that if these people are saying the English can't fly their flag because of its bloody past, then the same is also true of the flags of Scotland and Wales.
The red dragon on the Welsh flag has its origins in the banners with red dragons pictured on them that were carried by the Britons when they fought in battle with the invading Anglo-Saxons, who carried banners with white dragons on them.
And the Scottish flag has its origins in a dream that a Scottish soldier had on the eve of a battle with the English (I think it was Culloden) and he saw in the dream a white cross against a blue sky - and so the Saltire was born.
"Scots control England do we, Adam? It must be that passivity of yours. Anyway, cheers for all the lovely dosh you chuck our way...great!"
If you read that post, then you will see that you do.
Why is it that for things that concern ONLY Scotland, only Scottish politicians have a say? English politicians can't have any say in Scottish-only affairs.
But in England, the reverse is true. For matters that affect ONLY England and NOT Scotland, Scottish politicians can have a say in it!
And what's fair and democratic about that? Why should a Scotsman be England's Health Minister, but only a Scot can be Scotland's?
--------------------------------
"A report out today says that England apparently has the highest rate of shoplifting in Europe with immigrants and asylum seekers very much the largest group responsible"
A report recently released found that Scotland is the most violent country in the industrialised world. Glasgow is the murder capital of Europe.
And why does England have so many more immigrants, per capita, than Scotland? That's because the Scottish Government that rules England dumps all the immigrants, even the illegal ones, mostly into England, and hardly anywhere else in the United Kingdom. But not just anywhere in England - the NORTH of England. Never the South of England, or Wales or Scotland.
"Anyway, cheers for all the lovely dosh you chuck our way...great! "
Did you know that Scotland is the only nations, out of the 4 countries of the UK, that takes more OUT of the Treasury that it puts in?
Not only do English taxpayers subsidise the Scots to the tune of £8 billion a year, we even have to pay for things that are NOTHING to do with England - ENGLISH taxpayers (not Scottish taxpayers!) paid for the Scottish Parliament! Yep, can only happen with Blair, who was born in Edinburgh, as Prime Minister.
The English paying for Scotland's Parliament is the equivalent of the English paying for the Sydney Opera House in Australia, or the English paying for a new football stadium being built in France.