America stole our language...and changed it!?

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 8:58 am

Re the McIntyre routine, I've never met anyone that calls it eye glasses. (I've been wearing glasses since about 7 years old). Or wastepaper basket. I remember watching that and thinking "that's the drawback of being a public figure. You open your mouth and hundreds of people can see your ignorance in a given area.'

amother

Pistachio

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:01 am

I'm not as familiar with British English as I am in Australian English. Do the British also pronounce the short "o" sound as "u" and vice versa, like the Aussies? for example, they spell Mommy "Mummy" but pronounce it the same. Bus is pronounced "Bahs," while boss is "bus," and umbrella is pronounced "ambrella."

playgroup is creche (in Australian English, not sure about British)

singleagain

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:13 am

This reminds me of a thread I saw on Reddit about how the American publisher of Harry Potter changed a bunch of things in the first few books.
"Philosophers stone" to "sorcerers stone"
"Jumper" to "sweater"

Etc... Until I think book 3 or 4 and then they figured people would figure it out. But people were still confused

Why was Luna obsessed with "pudding" nope that means "dessert" in general

And why was filch "punting" kids over the swamp... Well it's not kicking like in the NFL... It's rowing in a boat

amother

Ultramarine

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:01 pm

I didn't read through all comments. Sorry if overlapping. Petrol is Gasoline. Cutlery is silverware. Sweets are candy. Cot is a crib. Starter is an appetizer.

amother

RosePink

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:07 pm

amother Ultramarine wrote:

I didn't read through all comments. Sorry if overlapping. Petrol is Gasoline. Cutlery is silverware. Sweets are candy. Cot is a crib. Starter is an appetizer.

Cutlery and starter are also American words:)
Grew up using them in my very American house (we did use silverware and appetizer too but we switched off...)

chanatron1000

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:13 pm

singleagain wrote:

Changing "philosopher's stone" to "sorcerer's stone" made no sense. A philosopher's stone was never called anything else in the US.

Brit in Israel

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:14 pm

amother Pistachio wrote:

Majority don't do this, Across the UK pronunciations vary. But we don't sound anything close to the Aussies.

Crèche is for babies, playgroup are toddlers, kindergarden is for 3 /4 yr olds

amother

Currant

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:17 pm

My mom's British so I can think of a few.
Didn't read thru the thread so I hope this isn't a double
Cabinet-cupboard ( or as we say cabid)
Bib-pinafore ( or as we say pinny)
Boots- wellies

singleagain

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 3:49 pm

chanatron1000 wrote:

Changing "philosopher's stone" to "sorcerer's stone" made no sense. A philosopher's stone was never called anything else in the US.

They thought that Americans were stupid and wouldn't want to read a book about "philosophy" but if you change that to "sorcerers" Then it sounds more exciting

latte

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 4:11 pm

I had a wedding in London when I was a kid and someone complimented me, "your hair is brilliant!" It took me a minute to remember where I was...

Brit in Israel

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 4:31 pm

amother Currant wrote:

My mom's British so I can think of a few.
Didn't read thru the thread so I hope this isn't a double
Cabinet-cupboard ( or as we say cabid)
Bib-pinafore ( or as we say pinny)
Boots- wellies

Boots and Wellies are 2 things in the UK, you will only use wellies for the rubber rain boots.
Bib is used widely in UK, pinny is in some areas used instead of Apron.
Pinafores are sleeveless dresses,

amother

Seashell

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 4:49 pm

But why do people think English accent is s-xy? To me it sounds like they all have hot potatoes in their mouths…. TMI

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 4:58 pm

I read a lot and read books by various authors from different countries. I had a teacher in high school correct my papers, saying that although my grammar in a given instance was technically correct, I was using British grammar rules. I think this was about punctuation use inside vs outside of parentheses.

amother

Caramel

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 7:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sorry America, English was spoken in England before Columbus discovered America!!

Okay, and therefore what? The original colonists to America were British. And the language obviously evolved differently on opposite sides of the pond for what should be obvious reasons. The British were not the only people to colonize the US- we have influences from native languages, French, Spanish, Dutch, Cajun, and others. Accents obviously evolved over time.

amother

Oldlace

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 7:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

Is this sarcastic?

She’s talking about accents-
Americans say skejule and tishew
British say shejule and tisyu
(Schedule and tissue)

Btw, almost every word in the English language that comes from French is pronounced differently. Americans say it the French way, British kind of made up their own pronunciation
My personal opinion is that because England and France spent so many years at war, the English couldn’t bear to pronounce French words with the French pronunciation, so they made up their own.
America was always allies with the French from the revolutionary war, and therefore retains French pronunciation

So speaking of butchering languages……..