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Posted: |
Dec 16, 2013 - 12:01 PM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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What I find unusual is the English(UK) non-use of the definite article "the" when speaking of a place, such as university or hospital etc. : e.g. "She went to hospital". "are you going to university?" We Americans like to bulk up our language by making it "She went to the hospital", etc. Although I do seem to be hearing American broadcasters dropping "the" all over the place. I think on this side of The Pond it sounds rather affected. Actually, it reminds me of Tonto talking to the Lone Ranger Now THAT's an interesting one. I suppose I'd omit the definite article in the abstract, ie when the important bit of the conversation is about someone furthering their education or needing medical treatment. If it had already been established that a particular location were involved, I might then say "the" university or hospital. Real life examples: our elder daughter has just come home for a month from Lancaster Uni. She'll be going back to the university sometime in January. Also, our younger daughter is booked in to Harrogate Hospital for a minor operation on her feet next Monday, and we'll be taking her to the hospital very early in the morning. A subtle difference, and one that I'd have expected would also exist over the pond. Another thing you Americans say is, for example: "It's not that big OF a deal". We just say "It's not that big a deal." Another example of you bulking up the language?
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Aluminum versus aluminium!
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The date thing is just how it's always been done, here. However, I've never encountered any issue with mm/dd/yyyy format. Not once, so I don't understand why it matters? The Brit thing I never got was the word "schedule", with an "sh" sound rather than a "sk" sound, as we do in the US. You don't say shool for school, so why do it for schedule?
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Surely Gas is the abbreviation of Gasoline? Yes, but it's not "Gas"...why not just call it petrol or diesel? Why call it Gas? You wouldn't call it "Fred"? Because it's not Fred. So why call it Gas, whatever it is short for? I know the answer to this, I'm just taking it to the extreme, of course Why do you call it petrol? Why not call it gas? I know what petrol is short for, but who cares, why call it that? Just sayin', that's what this sounds like, even though at this point you're being humorously extreme. Our word for it is Gasoline, which encompasses diesel as well. We shorten it as you use the short "petrol." Or do you really say "I'm going to the corner to get some petroleum?" Petroleum is the word, petrol is just an abbreviation. Gasoline / gas - same thing. And why is it puzzling because the US uses gas? Maybe we think it's weird the UK uses petrol to fuel their lorries carrying shipments of crisps. :-)
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I always wonder if to say: United Kingdom ; England ; British Isles ; Britain ... which is the proper way to say it?
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I always wonder if to say: United Kingdom ; England ; British Isles ; Britain ... which is the proper way to say it? United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus a few small sets of islands. Technically, four countries, one state. England is England. Scotland is not in England, but it is in the UK. British Isles is a geographical term, not a political one. It refers to Great Britain and Ireland, including the Irish Republic, and those other small islands. Britain is the Island that contains England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is not in Britain, but it is in the UK. The Republic of Ireland, Eire, is in the British Isles, but not in the UK. English people are English, except when England is losing at football, in which case they magically become British, if Scotland or Wales are doing well. This rarely happens.
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Thank you kindly William. Now it makes more sense.
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I wish someone could find the old Willie Rushton sketch (Rushton, for Americans, was a satirist and comedian who used to work with Peter Cook and David Frost and Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore, etc.), the sketch where he's rehearsing that old song 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off'. The piano starts up, and he sings, 'You say potato, and I say potato ... you say tomato ...' But he's never heard the song before, only is reading the lyrics. He doesn't get the context, and the words look the same on paper. And it doesn't make sense, so he has to keep stopping. You have to hear it to see how funny it is.
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Posted: |
Dec 16, 2013 - 1:27 PM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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I always wonder if to say: United Kingdom ; England ; British Isles ; Britain ... which is the proper way to say it? United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus a few small sets of islands. Technically, four countries, one state. England is England. Scotland is not in England, but it is in the UK. British Isles is a geographical term, not a political one. It refers to Great Britain and Ireland, including the Irish Republic, and those other small islands. Britain is the Island that contains England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is not in Britain, but it is in the UK. The Republic of Ireland, Eire, is in the British Isles, but not in the UK. English people are English, except when England is losing at football, in which case they magically become British, if Scotland or Wales are doing well. This rarely happens. Like the British Andy Murray... And now, William, explain cricket!
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