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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / March 2004Australian / British vs American English
I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in Australian, British and American English. For example: American: I'm going out - do you want to come with ? Australian, British: I'm going out - do you want to come with *me* ? American: Where are you *at* ? Australian, British: Where are you ? American: It's different *than* the other one. Australian, British: It's different *to* the other one. American: I'll be with you *momentarily* Australian, British: I'll be with you in a moment (or, in a minute; or, in just a second) Australian: Are you right ? American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? Does anyone know any others ? Thanks for your help, David Fisher Sydney, Australia I previously wrote: > I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in Australian, > British and American English. Here are a few more I could think of: American: How are you *doing* ? Australian: How are you *going* ? American: What's *up* with him ? Australian, British: What's *the matter* with him ? American: I wouldn't *of* done it ... Australian, British: I wouldn't *have* done it ... (Correct me if any of these are wrong :-) David Fisher Sydney, Australia Bill Bonde ( Straight invective is not satire; satire must deliberately overshoot its mark. ) - 02 Mar 2004 07:32 GMT > I previously wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > (Correct me if any of these are wrong :-) Is English your first language? Is this some sort of joke? Perhaps you are a troll.  SignatureMy contacts in the industry tell me that Mel is next going to make a movie about the Children of Israel's escape from Egypt which will focus almost entirely on the twelve hours that it took for the Egyptian army to drown in the Red Sea after Moses was done parting it. Other than a few flashbacks to toads falling from the sky and rivers turning crimson with blood, it will just be endless sequences of people trying to tread water and gasping for air. The Pope has already seen the shooting script and said, "It is as it was", so you can see it's going to be another good one for Gibson. Bill Bonde asked: > Is English your first language? Is this some sort of joke? Perhaps you > are a troll. Yes it is, and it's not a joke ... what made you think so ? David Fisher Sydney, Australia ( <= the location might have given away my first language) > Bill Bonde asked: > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Sydney, Australia ( <= the location might have given away my first > language) Bill's possibly getting upset about > American: I wouldn't *of* done it ... > Australian, British: I wouldn't *have* done it ... The actual words are "I wouldn't have done it". This is sometimes written using a weak form which approximates the spoken version as "I wouldn't've done it". Because the "'ve" sounds like "of" millions of native speakers (wrongly) write "I wouldn't *of* done it" (in fact I used to do this myself before I started getting interested in language teaching). Bill may think you've just suggested all Americans are illiterate... Interesting to hear the responses you get - but you might get more on alt.english.usage or alt.usage.english. G'day DCC >> Bill Bonde asked: >> >>> Is English your first language? Is this some sort of joke? Perhaps you >>> are a troll. [snip] > Bill's possibly getting upset about > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > myself before I started getting interested in language teaching). Bill > may think you've just suggested all Americans are illiterate... No offense intended ... I didn't realise it was just the spoken version. The same thing happens in Australia too :-) Thanks, David Fisher Sydney, Australia >> Bill Bonde asked: >> >>> Is English your first language? Is this some sort of joke? Perhaps you >>> are a troll. [snip] > Bill's possibly getting upset about > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > myself before I started getting interested in language teaching). Bill > may think you've just suggested all Americans are illiterate... No offense intended ... I should have realised it was just the spoken version. The same thing happens in Australia :-) Thanks, David Fisher Sydney, Australia > Is English your first language? Is this some sort of joke? Perhaps you > are a troll. Straight invective? Looks more like gratuitous, unprovoked and unfair insult. DCC > I previously wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > American: What's *up* with him ? > Australian, British: What's *the matter* with him ? "What's *up* with him" is common in the UK. m. >I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in Australian, >British and American English. > >American: It's different *than* the other one. >Australian, British: It's different *to* the other one. Correct British English would be "It's different *from* the other one" - though the uneducated do often use "to" in this context. >Australian: Are you right ? >American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? A closer British English equivalent would be "Are you alright?" >> I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in >> Australian, British and American English. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Correct British English would be "It's different *from* the other one" > - though the uneducated do often use "to" in this context. "Different to" is a common dialectic form. It is not necessarily uneducated. >> Australian: Are you right ? >> American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? > > A closer British English equivalent would be "Are you alright?" "Alright" is uneducated, although widespread. m. > >> I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in > >> Australian, British and American English. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > m. My 1978 Random House says 'alright' is non-standard for 'all right'. Since '78 'alright' has probably become widespread enough to be standard -:) BTW you should avoid a term such as 'uneducated'. Many highly educated people do use 'uneducated' terms at times -:) >>>> I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in >>>> Australian, British and American English. [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > BTW you should avoid a term such as 'uneducated'. Many highly > educated people do use 'uneducated' terms at times -:) I used the term 'uneducated' ironically, in reply to the OPs use of same. It is not a term I would normally use in this circumstance. m. <snip> >>Australian: Are you right ? >>American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? > > A closer British English equivalent would be "Are you alright?" Interestingly in Hiberno-English (not Ulster Scots as far as I recall) "Are you right?" is quite common. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan > <snip> > > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Regards, Einde O'Callaghan As it is here int' North of England. DCC > > > > Australian: Are you right ? > > > > American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > As it is here int' North of England. Are you right? No, this can't be right because the meanings of "right" and "alright" are quite different: right = correct, true, factual, valid alright / all right = acceptable, satisfactory, unharmed How could anyone confuse these two words? SignatureJames Taylor, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK. PGP key: 3FBE1BF9 To protect against spam, the address in the "From:" header is not valid. In any case, you should reply to the group so that everyone can benefit. If you must send me a private email, use james at oakseed demon co uk. > > > > > Australian: Are you right ? > > > > > American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > How could anyone confuse these two words? > Are you right? No, this can't be right because the meanings > of "right" and "alright" are quite different: Ah, right, must be both my and Einde's imaginations then... Well, pardon me, but on your way to Ireland maybe you could explain the error of their ways and correct the logic of several million speakers of Northern England English. You might go on to explain how "am I in your road?" should be "am I in your way" and that "can I give you a lift" is an offer of transport not of help to move something. DCC - actually an exiled southener. > > > > > Australian: Are you right ? > > > > > American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > How could anyone confuse these two words? Well ... lots of idioms don't make "sense". In the Australian version, "Are you right" in this context doesn't mean "Are you correct" - and in the British version, "Are you alright" doesn't mean "Are you unharmed". Both mean something like "Do you need any help with anything", as stated in the original email. There is no confusion between the two words really ... they just don't have their usual, literal meaning in this context. David Fisher Sydney, Australia > > American: It's different *than* the other one. > > Australian, British: It's different *to* the other one. > > Correct British English would be "It's different *from* the other one" > - though the uneducated do often use "to" in this context. Really? I thought that "to" and "from" were perfectly interchangeable in this context. By what authority do you claim that "to" is inferior? Of course, "than" is certainly wrong. "Than" is used when making an asymmetric comparison such as "bigger than". > > Australian: Are you right ? > > American, British: Do you need any help with anything ? > > A closer British English equivalent would be "Are you alright?" Americans will also say "most all" when they mean "almost all". I wish someone would put them right because it's most confusing (N.B. not almost confusing). SignatureJames Taylor, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK. PGP key: 3FBE1BF9 To protect against spam, the address in the "From:" header is not valid. In any case, you should reply to the group so that everyone can benefit. If you must send me a private email, use james at oakseed demon co uk. > I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in Australian, > British and American English. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > David Fisher > Sydney, Australia My younger son is visiting Oz right now. His latest observation on Stryne is that 'How ya going' has replaced 'G'day, mate.' >> I am trying to find some different ways of saying things in Australian, >> British and American English. [snip] > My younger son is visiting Oz right now. > > His latest observation on Stryne > is that 'How ya going' has > replaced 'G'day, mate.' That's true ... Thanks everyone for the replies. By the way, if you said "What's up with him ?" or just about any of the other examples I used, people would understand you in Australia (lots of exposure to American movies !) If anyone is interested, I also found a web site on "British vs American English": http://www.aussieslang.com/directory/uk-us.asp - and quote from George Bernard Shaw, who said that the United States and United Kingdom are "two countries divided by a common language" :-) David Fisher Sydney, Australia |
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