Richard Bartrop Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 On 1/17/2017 at 4:54 PM, Snake45 said: Imperial Gallons? up here in the Former British Empire, we used Imperial gallons before we went metric, so car ads featured MPG figures calculated with Imperial gallons. Ever so often you'd see various theories floated about as to why cars sold in Canada got 20% better mileage than the same one sold in the states, when all it was is that we used a 20% bigger gallon. A few US vs UK terms I haven;t seen brought up yet: convertible = drophead shocks = dampers cell phone = mobile In North America a "Merc" is a Mercury, where in England, it's a Mercedes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spex84 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I've always wondered if "Merc" (Mercedes) is pronounced "merse". I mean, it's not "Merkades", right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Bartrop Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Spex84 said: I've always wondered if "Merc" (Mercedes) is pronounced "merse". I mean, it's not "Merkades", right?? I was watching a British TV show, and they pronounced it "Merk" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 9 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said: Regarding your mention of Welsh English, well actually no, Welsh is altogether a completely different language to English spoken mainly in North Wales and is derived from ancient Celtic, as is the Gaelic language spoken in more remote areas of Scotland, and the Irish language spoken mostly in the far West of Ireland I'm of Welsh , Scots , and Irish descent , born and raised in the U.S. Regarding the Welsh ( Cymræg ) language : it's heavily-based in Old Latin , with a dash of Norse mixed-in . Same goes for Scots Gælic and Irish Gælic , with regional dialects and variations (same as any language) . Here's how the Cymræg and Gælic alphabet appear : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 10 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said: US English tends to be more phonetic in the way many words are spelt, Or as we say, "spelled"... 10 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said: Due to the influence of Movies and TV programmes over the years from the States, many Americanisms are now becoming more common place in use over here in the UK. Whereas we've somehow picked up your "tarmac" for the airport area formerly called "ramp" or "apron". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Coronet, it is surprising now many languages owe their development in part derived from aspects of the Latin language. Not surprising when you consider that Latin was the language of ancient Rome and it's influence throughout the Roman Empire. Chris. Interesting that some words from our side of the pond have found their way into common use in the States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 22 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said: Don, The 'Some one ought to tell Microsoft there is no such thing as US English' was a tongue in cheek joke! Most of us Brits can understand and use both versions like yourself. US English tends to be more phonetic in the way many words are spelt, for example the English English word Tyres is spelt Tires in the US. Regarding your mention of Welsh English, well actually no, Welsh is altogether a completely different language to English spoken mainly in North Wales and is derived from ancient Celtic, as is the Gaelic language spoken in more remote areas of Scotland, and the Irish language spoken mostly in the far West of ireland. As you mentioned the Robbie Burns poem you posted is written in an old form of English from that period. It does however have a number of local Scottish colloquialisms thrown in for good measure. Due to the influence of Movies and TV programmes over the years from the States, many Americanisms are now becoming more common place in use over here in the UK. What we used to refer to as flats are now referred to as apartments, and a post mortem is more frequently being termed an autopsy. You mentioned Tyres and Tires. My favorite is color and colour. Confused the heck out of me when I was a kid "Airfixing". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 6 hours ago, Pete J. said: My favorite is color and colour. ...Favorite and favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxenro Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Northeast US vs Southern US license plates NE = Plates South = Tags moved South a few years ago am learning a whole new version of English Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 On 6/20/2018 at 12:56 PM, Spex84 said: I've always wondered if "Merc" (Mercedes) is pronounced "merse". I mean, it's not "Merkades", right?? I always thought the same thing! At least using it as a short for Mercury makes phonetic sense. So when I see it as an abbreviation for the Benz, I sound it out as "Merse". Probably just to pronounce it the same. Just saying. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: I always thought the same thing! At least using it as a short for Mercury makes phonetic sense. So when I see it as an abbreviation for the Benz, I sound it out as "Merse". Probably just to pronounce it the same. Just saying. ? Someone who's familiar with the German language will certainly correct me here : in German (or Germanic languages) , the "c" is pronounced like a "c" and / or "s" . A "hard-c" in German is actually a "k" ( think : "Kompressor" vs. "Compressor") . The "hard-c" is Latin-based , if I remember correctly ; that's how the Celts pronounce the non-existent-in-Celtic-languages "k" . Then there's the Français character "Ç" , which has an "s/c" sound to it ; like a "soft-c" with an "s" combined-in . So , basically , I've always heard "mer-say-dees" , including from those whose native language is German . Don't get me going on the pronunciation of 'Celtic' , and how it's incorrectly pronounced by practically everybody ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 On 6/21/2018 at 7:48 PM, jaxenro said: Northeast US vs Southern US license plates NE = Plates South = Tags moved South a few years ago am learning a whole new version of English Wait until your car breaks down, and someone asks you if you need a "wrecker"....... (a Tow Truck to the rest of the US)..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 On 20/06/2018 at 4:37 PM, Bugatti Fan said: Don, The 'Some one ought to tell Microsoft there is no such thing as US English' was a tongue in cheek joke! Most of us Brits can understand and use both versions like yourself. US English tends to be more phonetic in the way many words are spelt, for example the English English word Tyres is spelt Tires in the US. Regarding your mention of Welsh English, well actually no, Welsh is altogether a completely different language to English spoken mainly in North Wales and is derived from ancient Celtic, as is the Gaelic language spoken in more remote areas of Scotland, and the Irish language spoken mostly in the far West of ireland. As you mentioned the Robbie Burns poem you posted is written in an old form of English from that period. It does however have a number of local Scottish colloquialisms thrown in for good measure. Due to the influence of Movies and TV programmes over the years from the States, many Americanisms are now becoming more common place in use over here in the UK. What we used to refer to as flats are now referred to as apartments, and a post mortem is more frequently being termed an autopsy. Yeah - I hope my reply wasn't too serious. I know Welsh is a different language altogether, also pretty common the further west you go in Wales. - where the road signs go from English at the top, Welsh below to Welsh at the top. I did try to learn Welsh when I first moved here but was completely defeated by the huge regional variations and the complexity of it. 'Welsh English' is simply the unique way English is used by some Welsh people, and we're the richer for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldfinger Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Found this,, it is worse than we thought! https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/03/12/a-conversion-guide-to-british-auto-terminology/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldfinger Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 This is from a page on a site catering to Jaguar v8 conversions. I think it sums up what we are talking about pretty well. Law of Cryptic Instruction Any book, manual, pamphlet, or text dealing with the maintenance, repair, or restoration of a British Sports Car shall be written so that at least every fourth word will be unknown to the average reader. In the event that any portion of the text is understandable, the information contained therein shall be incorrect. Most people are familiar with this law. Here is an excerpt from page 132 of the MGA shop manual: "Before rebushing the lower grunnion banjos, you must remove the bonnet facia and undo the A-arm nut with a #3 spanner." All attempts to publish an English language version of this manual have failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reegs Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Grunnion banjos. Imagine that. Little fish in a bluegrass band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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