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Divided by a common tongue


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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.

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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 :

ScotsGalic.jpg.a489cc4b07fd38e9eaac0b962c6af717.jpgscreen-shot-2017-01-12-at-10-23-44.png.44ff430955bd2d136ddd9efbf7840584.png

WelshAlphabet.jpg

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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".

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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.

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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".

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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. ?

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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 ...

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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).....  :D

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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.  

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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.

   
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