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 Mon May 28, 2007 20:58 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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I recently (well hell... this weekend) saw an "As Time Goes By" episode in which Judy Dench's character and her ornery boyfriend/husband/co-writer (whatever his actual function, they seem to be attached at the hip) go to LA to work out a writer/film deal.
It was neat to see how LA (and by broader application, the USA) seems to two Brits.
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prezbucky
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| Mon May 28, 2007 21:17 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | The US editions of Harry Potter books are edited for American audiences. Certain words and expressions are changed to enhance comprehensibility, so what you're reading when you read a Harry Potter book bought in the US is American English. |
That's right. Or, you might call it "American English lightly seasoned with a bit of British flavor".  |
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Yankee
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diverhank
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| Mon May 28, 2007 22:25 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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lol
Hank, I don't like writing XOXOXOXO writing to a stranger (perfect or otherwise), either.
I can imagine how your doing so might tend to make your wife a tad uncomfortable.  |
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Yankee
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| Mon May 28, 2007 23:08 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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ROFL
I think if we stick to the smaller words (hehe), we might be able to understand each other.
EG:
Yank: Hello, how are you today?
Brit: Why, I'm fine, thank you! Did you see the Liverpool/Man U football game today?
Yank: What the...? I didn't know that there were football teams in Liverpool or ... Man U?
hehe
Never mind. There might still be issues.
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prezbucky
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| Mon May 28, 2007 23:11 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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Hi prezbucky,
Have you been to the UK?
All the best
EU |
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Englishuser
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| Mon May 28, 2007 23:30 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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| diverhank wrote: | | I need to find some quick! Oh yeah, like people signing a letter with "Love, XOXOXO" to an almost perfect stranger...Got me in trouble with the wife more than once! |
I came from a family where everyone knew they were loved, so the actual words, "I love you," were brought out of the trunk mainly on momentous occasions of deep emotion. I don't like it when people end routine cellphone conversations with their kids with the sentence, "I love you," robotically spoken and universally in the same sing-songy tone. (People never did this when I was a kid, so it must have sprung from pop psychology.) Since these people and their kids use, "I love you," almost interchangeably with, "See ya later," I often wonder what their families say to each other when they're truly overcome by love. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Mon May 28, 2007 23:47 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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EU
Nope, I have not yet been to the Scepter'd Isle (or however Willy S. put it).
I will visit Britannia on my next serious trip.
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prezbucky
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| Mon May 28, 2007 23:56 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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| prezbucky wrote: | Nope, I have not yet been to the Scepter'd Isle (or however Willy S. put it).
I will visit Britannia on my next serious trip. |
It'll be interesting to see what you think. I was a bit disappointed, because I found it not the least bit exotic. It was kind of like going to Canada. You know you're in a different country, and some stuff is different, but fundamentally nothing is different. There's a Subway sandwich shop on the corner, a lot of the same chain stores, and even the police sirens sound the same.
I did come to understand one seemingly stupid thing Prince Charles said once, though. He was condemning modern architecture, and I thought he should just go get a life. Then, when I got there, I saw that the Brits really aren't good at modern architecture, they were still building ugly minimalist buildings from the 1970s, and the only cool high rise they had was a Darth Vaderish place in the financial district. I thought they should just raze all the modern buildings and invite some Chicago architects over to fix the place. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Tue May 29, 2007 0:04 am What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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I expect to have some fun in the pubs though. I've recently gotten into soccer (mostly Prem, Serie A and world/European competitions) so I figure I might have a good time catching a match at some pub while downing some Bass and Guinness (sp?) and chatting with the natives.
And yeah, if they have crappy architecture, then Chicago would be the place to go for inspiration.
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prezbucky
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| Tue May 29, 2007 0:13 am What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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| One interesting thing about the pubs: You know how we always see pictures of olde tyme pubs whose windows are made of that olde tyme "crown glass" with the lumps in it? You still see that kind of lumpy crown glass in some American restaurants that are supposed to look like throwbacks to the 18th century. Well, in Britain, they actually manufacture pressed glass for pub windows that is meant to simulate the lumpiness of 18th-century blown window glass, but doesn't do a really good job. That was one modern twist I never expected. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Tue May 29, 2007 0:21 am What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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Are they generally dimly lit?
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prezbucky
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| Tue May 29, 2007 21:18 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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Hi prezbucky,
| Quote: | | I've recently gotten into soccer (mostly Prem, Serie A and world/European competitions) so I figure I might have a good time catching a match at some pub while downing some Bass and Guinness (sp?) and chatting with the natives. |
Wouldn't it be better to write 'locals' instead of 'natives' since many would consider the latter inappropriate as it is old-fashioned as well as somewhat offensive?
All the best
EU |
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Englishuser
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| Tue May 29, 2007 21:33 pm What mistake bugs you the most in your language? |
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Should we also change over to "local speakers of English", EU? 
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Yankee
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| What do you think about the so-called (Freedom For Women) in the Mid-East? | How green are you? |
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...and here I was thinking there are hopes between AmE and BE after all...