by "LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
Published 11/07/2017 at 08:48
by "LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
Published 11/07/2017 at 08:48
Tags: British
STARS: 1
I have noticed a couple Opponauts using what I consider British word choices when I understand them to be born and raised in America. Today, Rob’s NPoCP post included similar choices. Is this an affectation, or do these folks really think and speak in this style as well as write this way, do you think?
“. . . and there’s a luggage rack on the boot that might make you constantly think you’re being followed by a shopping trolly .”
An American would typically say “trunk” and shopping “cart” (or in some parts of the country, “buggy”).
Others like to write “tyre” rather than the American “tire,” or “Mum” instead of “Mom.”
"Nibby" (nibby68)
11/07/2017 at 08:50, STARS: 1
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/07/2017 at 08:59, STARS: 0
I just watched that like 8 times and I’m not sure why.
"Nibby" (nibby68)
11/07/2017 at 09:01, STARS: 0
i think it’s one of the dumbest viral videos ever made
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/07/2017 at 09:01, STARS: 2
I spell it “grey” rather than “gray”. Not Automotive but still a British influence as I have a greyhound, dogs of British ancestry.
"Svend" (svend)
11/07/2017 at 09:02, STARS: 0
I’ve seen MissMercedes use U.K. spellings of colour and favourite but also the other day Canuck, CB spelled millimetre the U.S. way, millimeter.
"Svend" (svend)
11/07/2017 at 09:04, STARS: 0
Wasn’t it part of a really crap song or something?
"Party-vi" (party-vi)
11/07/2017 at 09:09, STARS: 13
Boots go on your feet trolleys run on tracks mums are flowers and I don’t know what a tyre is but I’ll shoot one if I see it.
/Merica
"Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever" (rustanddust)
11/07/2017 at 09:10, STARS: 1
I’ve always used “gray” and “grey” as masculine and feminine, as in “blond” and “blonde”.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
11/07/2017 at 09:15, STARS: 2
This man represents my America.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:16, STARS: 1
Is the world going crazy?
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
11/07/2017 at 09:16, STARS: 2
Trunks are for elephants, carts are for horses and I’m tired of trying to work out what a ‘mom’ is. Message Oriented Middleware? Milk Of Magnesia? Moment Of Madness?
Heh, this is fun :)
"CB" (jrcb)
11/07/2017 at 09:19, STARS: 1
Shhhhh, no one needs to know.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/07/2017 at 09:19, STARS: 0
cant speak for anyone but me but i use boot and trunk or hood and bonnet (trolley,cart mum,mom) pretty much interchangeably... wichever word comes to me first... my accent tends to change depending on word choice too
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
11/07/2017 at 09:20, STARS: 3
I use both. I can never remember which one I’m actually supposed to use (Canada). I figure if I’m right 50% of the time I’m good
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
11/07/2017 at 09:22, STARS: 2
I do that sometimes. The red squiggles are aesthetically displeasing.
"Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
11/07/2017 at 09:22, STARS: 0
I spell center as centre pretty often.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
11/07/2017 at 09:22, STARS: 5
I think you mean “mad” or “mental”
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/07/2017 at 09:24, STARS: 1
Sometimes I say proper, fiddly or twiddle but that’s just because I like those words.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
11/07/2017 at 09:24, STARS: 0
Somewhat related, but go check out “21 Accents” on Youtube. She has tons of videos and swaps between various English-language accents mid-sentence and describes the differences. It’s a mindfark at times.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:26, STARS: 0
Interesting. I assume that you self-identify as “American?” If so, why do you think that you “switch hit” with the word choices? Pop culture influences such as Harry Potter or other books and music? Or is it in any way aspirational?
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
11/07/2017 at 09:27, STARS: 6
I prefer writing in Scottish so everything needs to be translated.
"CB" (jrcb)
11/07/2017 at 09:29, STARS: 3
I’m Canadian. Spelling rules basically say stick the letter “u” in as many places as possible. Other than that, British spellings are the norm, except in many cases where American spellings are the norm, in which case you can kind of say “forget it” and do whatever.
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/07/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 1
According to google it’s more popular to use the Queen’s “grey” in Gooseland.
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/07/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 0
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"CB" (jrcb)
11/07/2017 at 09:35, STARS: 10
E for England, A for America, Eh for Canada.
Grey, Gray, Grehy.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:37, STARS: 0
Yeah, Canadians are so influenced by both American and British culture that I really don’t think that it would be fair to expect consistency from Canadians as a whole on written language.
"facw" (facw)
11/07/2017 at 09:37, STARS: 2
Alexander beat you to taking out Tyre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyre,_Lebanon
"facw" (facw)
11/07/2017 at 09:38, STARS: 0
My laptop was set to UK English spellcheck for a a while. I recently had to reinstall so I’m back to American English now.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/07/2017 at 09:38, STARS: 1
im half dutch half british (currently living in the netherlands) and i mostly switch hit because i know to many words but can only ever remember some of them at any given time...
most likely some popculture in there too as i do tend to pick up bits n bobs here n there and they slip into how i speak..
mostly i just play with words.. its fun
"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
11/07/2017 at 09:43, STARS: 6
It’s a pet peeve of mine to see distinctly american people use non-american slang/spellings/language. Especially when it is only certain words and not the entire character of their speech, if that makes sense. If someone normally speak like an american and write like an american and use american words, it’s off-putting for them to insert “boot” or “tyre” but maintain the “american-ness” everywhere else. It puts too much emphasis on those words and distracts from the rest of the message, IMO.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:43, STARS: 0
Wow. Just . . . wow.
"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
11/07/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
Shut up you dumb blonde
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
This is pretty much why I posted about it, I’m just wondering if there is an aspect that I’m overlooking.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/07/2017 at 09:45, STARS: 1
also... i may have missed the part where you specified from american writers in my haste to reply :)
"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
11/07/2017 at 09:46, STARS: 0
Thinking in British gives a whole new meaning to “I’ll put a boot in your ass”
"mjswee" (mjswee)
11/07/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 1
I live near what one could call is the border of northern and eastern Kentucky. My family (and extended family) has always called the trunk the boot. I didn’t realize boot wasn’t part of the average American nomenclature until I was a teenager.
I use cart, tire, and hood (except when I owned a MINI then it was a bonnet), but the rear storage area of a car has always been the boot.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 09:52, STARS: 1
That is very interesting. I wonder if it is a holdover from immigration patterns in a relatively culturally isolated area? Probably not, but I think about these things.
There is a small pocket of Appalachian North Carolina where some speech patterns are similar to the Pittsburgh local patterns (the use of “yinz” in particular), but supposedly no connection other than possibly historic migration patterns. Go figure.
"mjswee" (mjswee)
11/07/2017 at 09:57, STARS: 1
From my limited genealogical research, my ancestry is mostly German and Irish and immigrated around the same time post-Civi War and pretty much stayed here.
Linguistics is very interesting. Even on a regional micro-level, people from the next county over from me with strong roots in the area typically pronounce “oy-el” sounds as “arl.” Oil becomes arl, Doyle is Darl.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
11/07/2017 at 10:04, STARS: 2
What a wonderful idea... I don’t think it needs the “y” though. I think this should become standard Canadian English.
Greh
Pleh
Beh
Streh
Meh
Seh
Todeh
Cleh
Treh
Heh
Canehdian
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 3
Excuse me, but I believe you found a counterfeit Brit.
No one in their right mind would type ‘trolly’ - the correct spelling is rather, ‘trolley’.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
11/07/2017 at 10:26, STARS: 2
I’ve noticed that I picked up a couple Britishisms from watching a lot of Top Gear a few years back.
I have considered intentionally teaching myself the Transatlantic accent, though, mostly as some sort of protest against America.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
11/07/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 0
You’re not overlooking anything. It’s people being stupid for the most part.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
11/07/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 2
Sometimes I’ll say petrol because 1) more fun to say than gas. 2) gas is kind of ambiguious. Are you referring to gas as in “I have bad gas” gas as in natural gas, gas as in gasoline, gas as in the state of matter? 3) If the rest of the world says petrol, maybe they’re right? 4) If my target audience is in the EU or AU, it makes more sense to say petrol.
"AntiSpeed" (AntiSpeed)
11/07/2017 at 10:57, STARS: 0
I lived in England for a little over a year, and I’ve kept a few of their words that make more sense. Like “sat nav” flows much better than “gee pee ess.”
Also “blue roll” instead of “shop towel.”
"CKeffer" (KefferCameron)
11/07/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 2
I’ve found myself picking up a few “British-isms” here and there. As far as I can tell it’s due to the ever increasing ease of access to foreign entertainment. No, I don’t go around forcing a “British” accent, nor calling the trunk or hood of a car the boot or bonnet, but occasionally I’ll find myself using words like twiddly, or other such words simply because I have heard or read them often enough for them to become common parlance in my head, but also because the word sounds right or just makes sense in my head.
"promoted by the color red" (whenindoubtflatout)
11/07/2017 at 11:30, STARS: 1
My parents attended British colonial schools but I was raised in the States, so I’ll use British expressions and American spelling.
"G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
11/07/2017 at 11:39, STARS: 1
This is going to sound really weird, but I often use “quite” in the way the Brits do. I guess it’s just because my dad’s British and my Granddad’s British, but I guess it makes me seem more positive and perky than I actually am. “Quite good” actually means “fairly good” in most cases.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
11/07/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 0
I feel that Americans are calling it “nav” more often instead of “GPS” which I prefer because “nav” is more complete, while GPS is just the tool on which to base navigational guidance.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
11/07/2017 at 11:58, STARS: 1
Other than the fact that it is spelled “trolley”...
I have a slight disapproval of the orthographic form -t on certain verbs to indicate past tense. Although “t” is how it is sung even with -ed as the orthographic form.
However...
It’s a shopping cart, a parking deck, a tire, and the boot and bonnet (I owned a MINI, so fie). You also wear a toque when playing pond hockey, eat Kraft dinner (cheesey pasta, what is that nonsense, Brits?), and it’s pronounced soary, damnit.
You have a ZIP code, ask for the bill, open the tap to get some water, pull up your sweatpants when you are ready to leave the washroom, and go sit on the couch.
(I’m from everywhere...)
"Flex my boost" (flexeb)
11/07/2017 at 12:00, STARS: 0
Southern dialects originated in large part from a mix of immigrants from the British Isles, who moved to the American South in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the creole or post-creole speech of African slaves.
"Svend" (svend)
11/07/2017 at 15:27, STARS: 0
Going? It went crazy a long time ago.
"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
11/07/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
2) Context. You never really speak without context, it’s not confusing.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
11/07/2017 at 15:50, STARS: 0
“I need some CNG for my car”
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
11/07/2017 at 16:10, STARS: 1
I use grey instead of gray, and litre instead of liter. The literature I read through at work, and training classes I take aren’t always, or even usually, written by Americans. So I subconsciously may have adopted those and a few others without fully realizing it.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 16:30, STARS: 1
I’m a mixture. Some of it is from all the British literature I read as a child, some of it is from my time in Sydney, and a fair bit of it is simply from spending time with a diverse group of English speakers in person and online. Car stuff is mostly American but I say other things that instantly give people the idea I’ve spent time in a commonwealth country. Because I have.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 16:34, STARS: 0
Problem with this is that in cases like mine it’s not an affectation. It’s literally how I think, speak, and write. And it has annoyed teachers and editors for years, but I have been consistent in my usage for my entire life. I have no intention of changing now. That said editors often change my Ss to Zs which drives me crazy but I understand why.
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
11/07/2017 at 19:26, STARS: 1
I don’t know if I do it on here, at least I don’t think so, but I work for a British company and our internal correspondence going to/from/through the home office often contains numerous “Britishisms”, for lack of a better word, so I’ll sometimes consciously use them myself so as to be better understood by the intended audience. Also, I don’t want the reader focusing on my nationality instead of the content of the message, if you understand my meaning, we tend to notice when something is different from what we are used to.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
11/07/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 1
I don’t think i’ve ever noticed that. I have used a few Britishisms from Top gear and Thick of It.
What I like to do is try and find the region folks are from
h ttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
11/09/2017 at 04:29, STARS: 0
What are blue roll and shop towel?
"AntiSpeed" (AntiSpeed)
11/09/2017 at 17:29, STARS: 0
Basically ultra-heavy duty paper towels.
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
11/09/2017 at 21:27, STARS: 0
Haha! Cool. We might have those in Aus but I’ve never seen them.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
11/11/2017 at 22:47, STARS: 1
I dunno, if I do it, it’s certainly not intentional. I’ve been told I talk & write funny for years though, so maybe. I do know I spell it “grey” unless making a conscious effort not to though, which really bothers some people for some reason.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/13/2017 at 16:26, STARS: 0
I am culturally neither American nor British. I was born and currently live in the States, but I have spent and continue to spend time in Hong Kong, where spelling is often confused between “authorised” and “authorized.” British spelling and terms are indeed fairly commonly outside ‘Murica, and Americans ought to accept that as a self-proclaimed “free and open society.” It’s not that troublesome to go along with simple alternative spellings and word usage that honestly are not even that confusing.
If you’re a journalist writing for an American audience, you should probably stick to terms and spelling that Americans are accustomed to.
Otherwise, tyre and tire mean the same thing to me and woe be he who wishes to judge others for using spelling that is not wrong . There is a world outside your (not you specifically), country, and it’s your loss if you refuse to embrace it.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/13/2017 at 16:27, STARS: 0
Asians call it GPS because it’s easier than remembering acutal English words.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/13/2017 at 16:30, STARS: 0
Ha. Well this ‘Murican is gonna roll right up into Vancover and order me some potine. What are you going to do a-boat it?
"CB" (jrcb)
11/13/2017 at 16:51, STARS: 1
Welcome you into my country and thank you for spending your money on our economy?