British Versus American Terminology – Don’t get lost in translation!

First topic message reminder :

The UK and the US have a wonderful relationship – we have lots in common with our transatlantic neighbours but contrary to what many people think, language might not be one of them.

We recently opened new offices in America and everything was going swimmingly, until we suddenly realised that our teams on both sides of the Atlantic were sometimes completely confused after a conference call or Skype meeting. It turns out that despite both offices speaking English, they were speaking very different languages.

Our team in the US seemed outraged when their British peers went outside for a quick “fag”, and the UK team were left baffled when they were asked to meet an American client on the “first floor”, which in British English means ground floor.

It transpires there are hundreds of words that have a completely different meaning across the pond, so to ensure you don’t get caught saying something offensive or embarrassing, we created this jolly good video comparing the British and American terminology for certain objects.

The biggest attack to British English comes at the sacred, quintessential British ritual of tea time (you will not believe what they call a biscuit, it’s almost blasphemous).

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/things-americans-say-wrong_uk_56f4131fe4b04aee1b702ad1?utm_hp_ref=uk


lol Video on link

Syl wrote:

Miffs2 wrote:Americans say pissed for angry. British say pissed for drunk

We add an 'off' if we are angry.
It's not only different countries that have different meanings...different areas do to.
Tea cakes were balm cakes where I grew up in Salford....here ( just a few miles away) tea cakes have currents in them....and finger rolls are now bunnies...very confusing.

I asked for a sandwich in a cafe a while back, and was asked if I wanted a sub. I had no idea what the waitress meant.

A"sub" is a small loan against your wages taken back when you are paid.

nicko wrote:A"sub" is a small loan against your wages taken back when you are paid.

Haha! That's what I thought, but apparently she meant a bread roll. Of course I've seen branches of Subway since then.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:

We add an 'off' if we are angry.
It's not only different countries that have different meanings...different areas do to.
Tea cakes were balm cakes where I grew up in Salford....here ( just a few miles away) tea cakes have currents in them....and finger rolls are now bunnies...very confusing.

I asked for a sandwich in a cafe a while back, and was asked if I wanted a sub. I had no idea what the waitress meant.

I see SUBWAY advertises foot long ones....is anyone ever that hungry?

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

I asked for a sandwich in a cafe a while back, and was asked if I wanted a sub. I had no idea what the waitress meant.

I see SUBWAY advertises foot long ones....is anyone ever that hungry?

That's a big sub.

I can't stand Subway.  It's shit.

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:

We add an 'off' if we are angry.
It's not only different countries that have different meanings...different areas do to.
Tea cakes were balm cakes where I grew up in Salford....here ( just a few miles away) tea cakes have currents in them....and finger rolls are now bunnies...very confusing.

I asked for a sandwich in a cafe a while back, and was asked if I wanted a sub. I had no idea what the waitress meant.

I see SUBWAY advertises foot long ones....is anyone ever that hungry?

I can manage one if it's on flatbread. The big bready buns are a bit too much for a foot-long, but I've put away my fair share

Synonyms for sub include hoagie, hero, po'boy, grinder, and there are probably others ...

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:Ever heard an American try to say Worcestershire Sauce!   

Werchestershire.   Werkestersheer.  Worsstestersheer.  

No,  you numpties it's Wooster Sauce!

DOWN here, most Aussies would probably pronounce Worcestershire sauce as

Wister_shear sorse.

Everyone I know calls it "WERstusher" sauce

Ben_Reilly wrote:

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:


DOWN here, most Aussies would probably pronounce Worcestershire sauce as

Wister_shear sorse.

Everyone I know calls it "WERstusher" sauce

That's Texas. Here it's, Wor-ster-shire souce.

Crazy Canadians say, Al-u-min-ee-yum, can you imagine? Everyone knows it's, a-loo-min-num.

Original Quill wrote:

That's Texas.  Here it's, Wor-ster-shire souce.

Here it's called Lea & Perrins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Wooster sauce

IT's ALA MINI UM IN BRUM.

My mother had some Scottish quips.  I remember...This is none of I...

My brother used to copy her: O dooness, dooness, me, dis is ode ob'aye.

And fair-ta-middlin'...

Fair to middlin' .... Haha that's a blast from the past!

eddie wrote:Fair to middlin' .... Haha that's a blast from the past!

You hear that all the time among older Texans. "How ya doin'?" "Oh, fair to middlin' ..." Probably descended from the thousands of Scots who poured into Texas around and after the Civil War and became ranchers.

Original Quill wrote:Crazy Canadians say, Al-u-min-ee-yum, can you imagine?  Everyone knows it's, a-loo-min-num.

Look at the spelling :

Aluminium versus aluminum..


IT'S not our fault if so many Americans choose to deliberately misspell so many words !

Others include colour/color, through/throu, mum/mom, metre/meter (and where a 'meter' in English means a guage, not a measure of length..).

I was at a conference in Rolling Meadows and we broke off and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. One of the guys from Edinburgh had just stopped smoking and he said as we gout out...

'I could murder a fag right now'

One of the Americans quickly reminded him where he was and to mind his tongue.

Irn Bru wrote:I was at a conference in Rolling Meadows and we broke off and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. One of the guys from Edinburgh had just stopped smoking and he said as we gout out...

'I could murder a fag right now'

One of the Americans quickly reminded him where he was and to mind his tongue.

Maybe if he just stuck to prostitutes...um, and nor murder, just an hour in the hay...