Am not American, but not British either! Let's translate...

amother

↑ Jean ↓

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 7:02 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Lol in what way did you change?
Did you find it hard

Op
Post is Mail
Bin is garbage
Garden is yard
Pinafore jumper sweter
But the words are the least of the acclimating I had

They say I now sing my questions instead of asking them 🤷‍♀️

Do you want to the (here you raise your volume and stretch out the last word) p-a-a-r-k 🎵?

Of course! The English are another breed. lol.

How long are you there?

amother

↑ Jean ↓

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 7:05 pm

amother OP wrote:

I've learned a new word today! Always wondered what Cilantro was! I just skip it if a recipe calls for it!

Glad I can be of assistance Rolling Laughter

This reminds me when the famed Chanie Applebaum came to London to do a cooking show and she was going on and on about an eggplant. Everyone was looking at each other in confusion until I bravely raised my hand and let her know that in the uk it’s called an aubergine!

amother

↑ Jean

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 7:08 pm

amother Watermelon wrote:

I'm a brit married to an American and had to change a few words.

My main change was 'put your pants in the hamper/laundry' instead of 'put your trousers in the washing'
If I said it the British way the pants would stay on the floor.

Recently I was having a shopping talk with my British sil and was going on about buying pants for my son but not from any store coz they need to be the right fit so I don't have to sew them and I want to try them on etc. she could not understand why I was so fussy about my son's underwear.

The first time I went to primark (this was before it opened in the US) I went on my first visit to the uk as a newlywed. I was so excited that I found pants for only £10 that I gushed about it to my brand new father in law who couldn’t understand why it was such a good deal! Banging head

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 8:08 pm

amother Jean wrote:

coming up to 15 years,

↑ Busybee5

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 8:17 pm

amother Jean wrote:

😂

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 8:45 pm

amother Sapphire wrote:

How about invigilate= proctor 😂😂

No word I'm american English for what the English use smart. Fancy just doesn't do it.

It's used in different ways in America and England. Smart to Americans means clever, in England it means fancy.

amother

Eggplant

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 10:07 pm

I once was eating at a table with some brits and I asked someone to pass the napkins and the girl I was sitting next to discretely handed me a pad.

I did learn awhile back that in British, you would say you "fell pregnant" and Americans reading that get so offended, like you're acting like it just happened out of nowhere or something when really that's just the standard terminology in the UK.

nicole81

Wed, Aug 28 2024, 11:05 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm a Brit living in NY. My American friends tell me I'm so 'British', but just been to the UK for a Simcha, and my family there say I'm so 'American'!

They're both a bit right and a bit wrong, I'm probably somewhere in the middle!

Looking for some fun, let's make a list of British English versus American English..

Vacation-holiday
Highway-motorway
Trunk-(car) boot
Sidewalk-pavement
Cookie-biscuit
Mall-shopping centre
Parking lot-car park
Tuition-fees
Faucet-tap
Garbage-rubbish
Truck-lorry

I'm married to Brit who's been in America for 24 years. He has the same situation where Americans think he's so British and in England people think he sounds American.

What's funny is that I happen to have been reading exclusively UK literature for the past 2 years, a book about every 2 weeks so when we visit English family, I naturally use the British version of words where my husband uses american ones. I guess code switching isn't his thing lol.

We're in England now and just today, I said

- "that's quite the queue" and my husband responded 'yeah I'm not waiting on that line'
- " does our rental car have a boot?" to which he responded 'omg I had to think about what you were asking'
- "she's completely bollocks' him; what did you say? "Nevermind. She's full of BS."

Also a lot of the general phraseology differs. We sound so odd together, me with the American accent speaking Brits English and him with the English accent speaking like a born and bred American. People have asked me where I'm from, saying they can't place my accent but I think maybe I'm just confusing them lol.

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Aug 29 2024, 5:07 am

amother Eggplant wrote:

Your amother color lol! Is it aubergine or eggplant?? English or American??