In Britain, we tend to just say "Where is the toilet?".
Straight to the point, no resting, or washing (other than your hands) involved.
Straight to the point, no resting, or washing (other than your hands) involved.
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restroom
In Britain, we tend to just say "Where is the toilet?".
Straight to the point, no resting, or washing (other than your hands) involved.
<< leftenant (U.S. lieutenant), shedule (U.S. schedule) >>
Note that these two changes are only in pronunciation, not in spelling.
"shed-jool" is not preferred in Canadian English,
most Canadians would use the American Pronunciation, just like /nu/ instead of /nju/, but then again, CBC likes using British-sounding pronunciations...CBC's English is more British-sounding while MuchMusic English is more USsounding...Younger generations seem to prefer US pronunciation, of many words!
I live in the south and I've heard it occasionally. However, I live in one of the larger Southern cities, so we have transplants (especially among professionals) here. I think Atlanta is like that as well. The accent gets watered down and words from other places are heard.
you very rarely hear 'washroom' in the south... you'd hear 'powder room' far more often (or at least "i'm off to powder my nose...")
Chips, shedule and mum:
My Canadian cousins (from the Greater Toronto area) all say french fries, schedule and Mom - same as Americans. Not sure about leftenent, letterbox or testimonials, I'll have to ask.
<<I live in the south and have never heard that term before.>>
No, you live in Florida, which doesn't count. ;) Well, I've heard it in the south, and in Texas, and even here in NM. It's not the most common name for that room, as K.T. and Skippy say, but I can't buy that there's a big British influence going on around here. Other than the fact that you could say that us all speaking English in general can be contributed to a British influence....
"In Britain, mum is used everywhere today except in remoter areas like Cornwall, Wales and Scotland where "mom" still survives."
---- Mum isn't used everywhere in Britain. I am from the north of England and would never, ever, refer to my mother as mum. It's always "mam" (with a short 'a').
It's always "mam" (with a short 'a').
In Chicago and Detroit they pronounce MOM as MAM... What goes around comes around :)
>>In Chicago and Detroit they pronounce MOM as MAM...
What goes around comes around :)<< In most of the NCVS area, though, the vowel used is not actually [{] but rather is [a], whereas your writing it as "mam" implies [{].
''In most of the NCVS area, though, the vowel used is not actually [{] but rather is [a], whereas your writing it as "mam" implies [{].''
I guess, it depends on a speaker. Even NewYorkers (NYC) note that in Chicago, Detroit in Buffalo they have [{] for /A/ (Lakers' mom, Don, block --->sound like mam, Dan, black to a NYC or LA ears)
Maybe just try: "Where is the bathroom?" Or, "do you have a restroom?"
Next time ask the person behind the counter. Do not involve customers, or anyone not behind the counter. I think it's a fair question to ask if you are at a gas station. If they are outside some stations lock them, and you have to retrieve a key to use'em. Do not converse with teenage girls in groups of two or more (unless you are a teenager yourself). This will invariably cause a snowball effect of giggling and snorts that will rise to such a pitch that your ears will bleed till the point of blackout. You've been warned. |