British English?

I think it's also a matter of how you express yourself, including colloquialisms, right down to what you call various objects and situations. There's a discussion in the Novels forum about differences between American and British English.

Do you go "down the shops" or "out to the store?" That's a simple but fundamental difference. It won't confuse, because anyone who speaks English understands both statements, but it will set off a small bell that each expression belongs in a different 'camp.'

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/americanglossary/H.htm#AmE_haberdasher

Try this.

Jiggz said:

One of the things I noticed from all the kind comments that people left regarding my various postings was that I write in British English. I think it was Puma who said it.

Click to expand...

Funny, to me you "sound" Sth Efriken in my head. My hubby lived and was schooled in South Africa for a few years during his childhood, so I can't help but lean that way. Your post is written with similar speech patterns to his (and thus, his accent).

Of the words you mention only color/colour is US/UK, the rest are slang versus formal English. Most people notice OU instead of O and S instead of Z, there is also use of double LL before ing as well as actual idiom differences as mentioned. I think it pays to know which dialect is being used and be consistent....

schedule: USA it's pronounced "skedule"
and in Britain it's "shedule." I'm always amused by that.

The way other people pronounce Aluminium makes me laugh every time.

All you need to know is that we speak proper English, everyone else is wrong.

Microsoft Word has one version of spell check and grammar check for its American users, and an entirely different one for its British users. I tend to use "which" rather than "that" and my American-English version of MS Word keeps telling me I should be using "that" instead.

I am told if I want to I can go into some sub-menu of my MSWord and flick a radio button or unclick something or other, and then I'll have the British-English version instead of the American-English. And then I'll be free to type "which" to my heart's content.

scarletpeaches said:

All you need to know is that we speak proper English, everyone else is wrong.

Click to expand...

LOL!

Actually I think the "Schedule" thing is pretty funny too, tho you didn't spell the phonetic versions right.. it's "shkedjul" vs "shedjel" as far as I can tell (that might be horrible fake TV British tho I'm not sure).

Jiggs, mostly it's about the expressions you use and the amount of "correct" grammar you use while speaking or writing. American English tends to be more improper and slang-ridden.

MSWord has a bigillion options now, even New Zealand English You just need to go to tools: language

veinglory said:

MSWord has a bigillion options now, even New Zealand English You just need to go to tools: language

Click to expand...

Good to know.

Jiggz said:

least some effect!

But what are the differences really? I can hear I speak quite differently to what I hear on TV, but in terms of writing? Sure, color/colour; nite/night; thru/through - but is that really all there is to it?

Click to expand...

Could be difficult to analyse, because it may have to do with your whole style and voice.

I don't know if it is still the case, but on a course a couple of years ago a number of people (predominantly American) said my work was very much like reading English novels that they'd studied at school or whatever. I have no idea why.

They didn't actually mean it disparagingly, in fact they quite liked it. We Kiwis at times tend to be more British than the British though.

Agreed.

I find that visual differences tend to centre on spelling and punctuation. I don't think the latter is obvious, but, for example, the double speech marks is more American than British. And British quoting, doesn't include the sentence's punctuation unless it was part of the original quote. This is reversed for American quotation. (If I recall correctly, that is. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Other differences lie in idiomatic expressions and some slang.

I remember reading a list of alternative British terms / slang terms for 'insane'. Is it here in one of the threads?

The alternatives turned up, 'nuts', 'bonkers', and a few more.

You also have expressions. I suppose some of the more stereotypical ones are, 'Cor blimey', 'Wotcha', 'Good grief!', 'Tally ho', and 'Oh, I say old chap'. I don't have anything current right now -- haven't been in the country for a while.

Additional dissimilarities (if that's not a word, it is now =^P) lie in terminology, for instance, 'pinafore' -- a dress (Brit.) or an apron (Amer.). Both are interchangeable, but these are the main uses. Another example is 'jumper' -- wool pullover / sweater (Brti.) or someone who jumps / sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or sweater (Amer.). There are plenty more.

Further differences to watch for seem to be in the narrative voice. I can't pinpoint how, since I just pick it up. I believe it may have something to do with cadence, or maybe tone?

I also agree with Sassee: British English tends towards proper grammar, while American English has a lot more slang in it. Perhaps the former seems 'stiffer', while the latter is more 'relaxed'.

Hmm. Now I'm curious. Must find time to research this more.

Does 'regular' strike anyone else as American?

Another obvious one is -ize versus -ise.

I married an Australian. Her English is far easier to understand than what the Yankees are speaking. I talk Southern.

Now, explaining to an Aussie that not all Americans are Yankees, well, that's a hard row to hoe.

And why is it that I love Vegemite but she hates grits?

Best regards,
Michael
(born and bred in North Carolina)

P.S. I edit authors from all over the world. I don't know how many times I've read a writing sample from a confessed non-native English speaker and appeared psychic to the sender by saying, "You're European." They wonder how I know. Then I explain that they use English as well as native speakers but have better grammar. Seriously. Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, Russians. They're very different from Asians that way. Or Merkins.

Snitchcat said:

I find that visual differences tend to centre on spelling and punctuation. I don't think the latter is obvious, but, for example, the double speech marks is more American than British. And British quoting, doesn't include the sentence's punctuation unless it was part of the original quote. This is reversed for American quotation. (If I recall correctly, that is. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Click to expand...

US style is that small punctuation marks--commas and periods--are always inside the quotes, while tall ones--question marks, semi-colons, etc.--depend on which part it goes with.

ETA: The usual explanation given is fear that typesetters would break the line after the quotation mark, leaving the period or comma alone at the beginning of the next line. Seems like a drastic solution to me, but what do I know?

I love to think about an arena full of fans drinking Bovril. Wish we had something like that here in the states. Beef broth, mmmmm!

We speak a bastardization of British and American English, I'd say.

We're Commonwealth, so we follow British spelling and grammar rules, but we've been brought up on American sitcoms and Oprah, so that affects our speech patterns and word usage.

And we still say "China".

I've always found this sort of thing neat, although I don't know why. My favorite prononuciation might be 'Leftantant'. Not sure how wer get either sound out of the word but hey, however Sean Bean says it is fine with me.

I know some people may find it a point of pride, but when reading, listening, or speaking, does it really matter? I only notice when I read Dickens about the old fashion punctuation style, but does it deter for the reading? No.

Then again, I notice I used some pretty formal speech for an American. I say seemly and today my niece asked me what the heck shan't was. A lot of people tell me I use words they don't know. I think that's a bigger issue! 80)

I say verily, certainly, assuredly, quite, therefore, homey, innit?, crikey, you lot, and y'all.

From what I can tell, a "British accent" in writing tends to have more coming after a sentence...if that makes sense. I can't really think of great examples right now, but I know that when I read akiwiguy's post I immediately saw "They didn't actually mean it disparagingly, in fact they quite liked it." Something about the stuff after the comma, especially the "quite", tipped me off that it wasn't an american style. An american would probably be more likely to say "They didn't actually mean it disparagingly. They liked it, actually." or "Actually, they liked it." American's don't use quite...and when they do it sounds British and people notice.

Hmm...my Dad's from New York, my Mom's from North Carolina, and I watch an unseemly amount of Canadian and British TV.

Sample Shady sentence: "Unfortunantly, I'm'a cut y'all."

I had a fight with a US friend over 'horse-back riding', instead of British 'horse-riding'. I said, 'What other part of the horse are you gonna ride, bint?' Flesh wounds ensued.

Well, the term "riding," at least where I live, has sexual connotations, so....