English/American translation

My Favorite: - Jargon - a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect - (US).

Or - Jargon - like running but slower (UK, Norfolk)

That which comes quickly to mind (automotive):

Boot (UK)= Trunk (US), Bonnet (UK)= Hood (US), Gudgeon pin (UK)= Wrist pin (US), Grub screw (UK)= Headless OR socket (UK, inhex) Set Screw.

By far the best example of small differences was a passage i once came across on motorcycle carburetor (carburettor, UK) repair: "aim a torch down the carburettor throat" Here in the States that would be calling out the UK "blowpipe". Could be truly exciting?

I recall an interview on NPR from BBC of a doctor in the US who used his convertable for an office. The interviewer said it was quite noisy, that he must have the top up, and the doctor said yes it was, that he had the top down. Both knew what the other meant, even though the terms were opposite.

How about a different version of the saying...:

"Brits and Yankees, Similar nations divided only by their language"

Wangito.

That would be "... those whose first language is not english".

Lewis

If you travel England, you will find that the English don't speak English either! At least, if they do, there are many different ways to pronounce the same word. A few miles down the road and you would not believe you were in the same country, the accents are so pronounced!

My point exactly!

"'Ello, buoey. Dew yer keep a-troshin'?"

Blast me bouy, oyve jus been an had card. (Card - traditionally eaton with chips)

Thass a proper job!

It is said that the only people who speak English correctly are those who live in Inverness, in Scotland. They are the only ones who have enough time to do it!

A seasoned traveller in the country will be able to tell, to within about 20 miles/25km, where someone has spent the greater part of his/her life just by the way he/she speaks.

Many dialect words originate from farming activities in a time when transport was more difficult than it is today. Some individuals from the County of Essex regard the county boundaries as some kind of border and anyone who comes from beyond it as a "foreigner". It is sometimes difficult for the American to appreciate and understand and the following is offered in an attempt to close the divide a little.

http://www.oldlambourne.co.uk/glossary.html

I've just taken a look @ you link; I'd say fully 20% of the words listed therein are in @ least sporadic use in my area of the US.

Then, again, we are the the portion of US referred to as "Yankee" by most of the remainder.

(An old US joke:) YANKEE= From the U.S.

To those in the U.S., From North of the Mason-Dixon Line

To those North of Mason-Dixon Line: From New England

To those from New England: From New Hampshire.

To those from New Hampshire: The few who still eat pie for breakfast. (High calorie+!,Implies serious physical labor in the A.M.)

I looked at the link. I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and we use about a third of those words with the same meanings

I've always wondered why the some English-born vocalists seem to lose their "accent" (from my American point of veiw) when they sing? For example, the Bangles. On the other hand, Celtic Irish singers definitely maintain their beautiful accents.

Silly question number 2: To my ears, most of the different types of British accents have a very intelligent and sexy sound (if I ever get to visit the U.K., I will be at the complete mercy of the women). I've always wondered whether Brits feel the same way about American accents (Southern, New York, Mid-Western, Californian).

Responses will vary with the gender and preferences of the individual.

Responses will vary with the gender and preferences of the individual.

Yes, I guess I did ask a silly question. After all, why should I reasonably expect millions of British citizens to share a common opinion on this? (anymore than I should expect all Americans to share my positive opinion).

During WW2 a British RAF pilot was shot down and was transferred to an Australian field hospital. Aware of his grave situation, he Call the Aussie nurse and asks her: "Tell me nurse, have I been brought here to die? "no" says the nurse, "you have been brought here yesterday".

Wangito.

That's an old one! It sounds better with a rural accent of some sort.

In-Reply-To Message by Kris: Given the joke that English and Americans are 'two people divide by a common language' , I thought it may be useful to see if we can clarify this a bit.

Some words that cause confusion I'll avoid ( they may be funny but have little relevance to Engineering and may even lead to inappropriate /offensive chat). To initiate things my list begins ;

Gallon : 4.546 litres UK = 3.785 litres US

Billion : 1,000,000,000,000 UK (though we generally accept US definition)

Billion :1,000,000,000 US

Aluminium UK = Aluminum US

Trapezium : Quadrilateral with one set of parallel sides UK

Trapezium : Quadrilateral with no parallel sides US

Trapezoid : reverse of above.

I hope people feel free to correct/elaborate/extend this list.It may have particular use or those who's first language is not English.

FROM A RETIRED PHONE COMPANY TECHNICIAN IN THE U.S.A. I SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING:

U.S.A.: BATTERY (-48 v.d.c.) AND GROUND

U.K.: EARTH AND SOURCE

In-Reply-To Message by Kris: (Use Copy & Paste or drag text to quote the original text.)

Given the joke that English and Americans are 'two people divide by a common language' , I thought it may be useful to see if we can clarify this a bit.

Some words that cause confusion I'll avoid ( they may be funny but have little relevance to Engineering and may even lead to inappropriate /offensive chat). To initiate things my list begins ;

Gallon : 4.546 litres UK = 3.785 litres US

Billion : 1,000,000,000,000 UK (though we generally accept US definition)

Billion :1,000,000,000 US

Aluminium UK = Aluminum US

Trapezium : Quadrilateral with one set of parallel sides UK

Trapezium : Quadrilateral with no parallel sides US

Trapezoid : reverse of above.

I hope people feel free to correct/elaborate/extend this list.It may have particular use or those who's first language is not English.

THIS FROM A RETIRED PHONE COMPANY TECHNICIAN IN CHICAGO U.S.A.:

U.S.A.: BATTERY (-48 v.d.c.) AND GROUND

U.K.: EARTH AND SOURCE

THE FIRST TIME I HAD TO COORDINATE REPAIR EFFORTS OF AN INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LINE CIRCUIT WITH LONDON, I THOUGHT MY U.K. COUNTERPART WAS DRINKING PERRIER WATER!

Mny years ago a young Engineer in Harrow, now in Greater London according to its telephone circuits and one time in the County of Middlesex, received three counterparts from Rochester, in New York State, USA. Though the two parties could readily understand each other there were significant differences in terminology that caused one of the three to remark, "This is like a foreign language at the moment!"

The English Engineer seemed to have less difficulty, perhaps because of the familiarity of USA terminology from the glut of programmes originating from that part of the world featuring on local television. The Engineer still has occasional difficulty with local dialects of certain characters presented in "NYPD Blue" and "The OC", despite both rating high on entertainment value.

"Railway" - UK and Canada. "Railroad" - USA.

"Police Station" - UK. "Police House" - USA.

There are still many terms that have no direct translation: "Demolition Derby", "Drive-in", "Drive Thru" and "Country & Western" (what on earth is the difference between those two?) spring immediately to mind. More words are needed in the UK.

Incidentally, "fastfooder" has become a regular 1st conjugation verb in the French language...

differnt area will form different dialectisim, convention gradually. In china, mainland and taiwan are alll speak chinese but still has many differnt words and diffent meaning.

But also inside china you have different dialects of Chinese, "Haan", and "Mandrin" and others, right?

One term that I have found to cause confusion in transatlantic phone calls is that when an American refers to 'mils' he means thousandths of an inch but British engineers use the same term for millimetres.

As a Scot's living in the USA I have experienced this difference in the common language. Here's a few…

Pavement (UK), Sidewalk (US)

Pavement (US), Road (UK) so don't drive on the pavement in the UK

Labour (UK), Labor (US)

Centre (UK), Center (US)

Countersunk Screw (UK), Flathead Screw (US)

Countersunk Hole 90 degrees (UK), mostly 82 degrees (US)

Pinch (UK) steal, (US) to squeeze between fingers.

I was re-assembling a fixture when my American college started to take some of the fasteners I required to finish the assembly. I blurted out "Hey! Stop pinching my nuts".

The reasons for the UK being completely incomprehensible to those not used to it are readily apparent:

The British unite in a crisis and divide readily again over things like patron saints and sports; seeing England get beaten at Soccer or Rugby is a thing of great delight to the Scottish, who, like the Welsh and Northern Irish, don't play cricket, yet they share the Poms' despair when the Australians start looking at taking The Ashes back to the Antipodes. St. Patrick's, St. David's and St. Andrew's days are celebrated widely. St. George's day usually passes without such a thing as a polite clearing of the throat.

Jersey is a Bailiwick, and not part of the UK, yet Bank of England money is used. Jersey Bank notes are not legal tender in the UK. Jersey is not a part of the European Union either, like Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, though the UK's armed forces will happily see off the invader these days.

Neither Bank of England, nor Bank of Scotland, nor Royal Bank of Scotland, nor Clydesdale Bank notes are legal tender in Scotland. The last three are not legal tender in England and Wales, though they are widely accepted.

Wales is not represented in the Union Flag, and has its own language; English is still not spoken in certain parts of Wales - Blaenau Ffestiniog and Anglesey in particular. The Welsh sound "ll" (double-L, pronounced with the tip of the tongue in contact with the back of the teeth of the upper jaw so that the breath passes over the side of the tongue) is not heard in English, and one will be hard pressed to find a Welsh speaker in Cardiff, the administrative Capital of Wales. Scotland, like Northern Ireland, is represented in the Union Flag, yet Scots Gaelic, or Celtic, is rarely used in Scotland apart from the names of mountains and small places, like the outer islands.

One won't find an "English pub" in Scotland. Scotland has an extra Bank Holiday on 2nd January, presumably to allow the Scots to fully recover from their excesses on 31st December/1st January? Hogmanay is celebrated. Heavily! Christmas there is much more of a low-key affair in Scotland, a marker to get past with relatively little fuss.

Northern Ireland is part of Ireland to the English and to the Welsh, and part of the UK to the Northern Irish and the Scots, though there does seem to be some hope of a constitutional settlement these days...

An Englishman eats Itailan, Indian and French food, drinks Australian and South African wines, drinks Belgian beer and Scottish whisky, drives a German or Japanese car, takes holidays in Spain and Portugal (or Corsica/Corfu), watches American television entertainment, and yet is naturally suspicious of anything "foreign".

Hope that clears this one up...

Well said sir! Splendid fellow, dont'cha know.

Er, not so much of the "Sir". Someone may be watching....

Amercan Billion in Hebrew is called "Milliard"

English Billion in Hebrew is "Trillion"

...and the same in French.

We can therefore use 10 to the power of 6 and call it "sixtion", to the power of 12 "twelvion" to the power of 21 "twenty-one-ion" etc...

Believe me, in the USA, nobody knows what a trapezium is.

When I was a child, a cartoon show had the heroes traveling to an alien planet, which was inhabited by robots and made entirely of metal. The planet was called moo-nee-moo-la (aluminum backwards). That would not work in the UK.

The trouble with England is under the governmemt it is illegal to be English!

You have to be from some ethnic background in order to be accepted.

Native people are now third class and taxed out of existance.

You are far more likely to hear a non british voice now than a real old English voice.

We the real brit are now in a minority. Our jobs all exported due to our high cost of live if you look at all the latest info you will see we now rank as some of the poorest people in the world. Thanks to Blair Bush the world has gone up in flames and we should be collectively hiting back at the idiot who have got us into this mess.

I know we do have different words and meanings to words but do we all understand loony politician?

Quote lifted: "Thanks to Blair/Bush, the world has gone up in flames"

Response: A new "Guy Fowlkes (day)" sort of response has been earned?

On the lavatory wall, in a bordello in Paris, a scribe appeared: "God is dead. - Nitche"

Two weeks later, another scribe appeared: "Nitche is dead - God"

I dont profess to know everything but I have a friend who does. Everytime I tell her something she says"I know".

You must be British, I'll have to guess.

My aunt is British (from Redding) and she does it all the time.

Yes I am a Brit, Its spelt Reading by the way, a wonderful place.

I was trying to resist posting on something I started , but since comment on engineering terms has faltered :- People seem to be generally aware of differences in the definition of various words . For those who aren't it's a case of 'let the buyer beware' .

The funniest thing on this thread is how you can interpret comment differently according to the punctuation etc. Lynne Truss would probably like to kill me if we met.

A funny story that I can't express in writing was about an MP who was forced to apologize by the Speaker of the House of Commons for calling a fellow MP a liar. He said without pause " I said the honourable Gentleman is a liar it's true and I am sorry for it and you can put the punctuation where you like ". I'm not sure who the individuals involved were.

Kris

...I'm not sure who the individuals involved were...

You don't have to, it can be applied to Israeli or Albanian politicians, for all I know.

OK Chris, What about

TIG = British, GTAW = American.

...only according to Ricky Gervais. One wouldn't want to live near the "Whitley Whiff".

I must have missed something very fundamental here.

I goggled his site, but was asked to register. Are they keeping notes of the occasional browser?

Soccer = American, Football = British.

Football = American, American Football = British.

Can any of our American friends explain the offside rule?

As soon as you'll explain why you're on the "wrong" side of the road (they being on the "right" side, of course).

But sir! What about Japan? Australia? Come come my good fellow, don't discriminate.

O.K. Let them explain it. Brits got off easy again. It must be a hidden trait.

It's not 'easy' - If we win we celebrate , if we loose ? Hey it doesn't happen - Dunkirk was a triumphant rescue , Balaclava pure heroism.....If we are seen to loose , the other fella sure ain't gonna feel good 'bout it (Soz Ms Truss if U R Readin'). As to 'hidden' , all things here are deemed secret here unless made public (as opposed to public unless made secret ). Oh the fun of ambiguity !

The liar joke does transfer , but it works much better with a stuffy British accent .

Of course the real masters of deliberate ambiguity are Politicians and Lawyers . May they inherit the Earth and all its fission waste .

...If we are seen to loose...

In the Tokyo Olympics (1964 I think), an American took first, the Soviet took second. Soviet Pravda: "The Soviet got second place, the American next to last place".

It's all about your point of view

I want to ask the word "guy", is it english or american usage?

whats it really meanning? good or bad word. whta different from person, people, fellow etc.?

The word is fine , but informal . A 'guy' is a man . More recently a phrase including '...you guys..' can refer to any gender. The word does have other (occasionally ) used meanings , such as an effigy. Origin unknown - possibly from the name Guido (refer to guy Fawkes night + England ). Kris

thanks kris,

I often see this word on the net. some times I feel its good but other times seems bad. now I know, its fine at most situation.

in chinese- english dictionary it was translated into " Jiahuo", in chinese prononciation, the word has both good side and bad side as well. when its good, most time is speaking to a child or make a fun among colleagues. it seems the dictionary translation is not quite right.

I know that story of your england. it said a man called guys who want to explode king. but was caught by the king.

You are welcome ,

The main thing is that you have the understanding . English people have a poor record for learning other languages , so I admire your ability with English . You also probably know more English history than I do Chinese history.

Kris, you are modest. I know only a few stories from text books and some reading. we can do nothing about it. we have to study foreign languge scince childhood. and you can speak other langues. you see, this langue is difficult for us all and we always forget and cannt keep up with new words.

you could read some chinese history, however, it has long history. and has may wonderful events.

...translated into " Jiahuo"...

I love the sound of Chinese speech. I see Zang Yeemou films ("Hero", "Dance Of The Daggers", etc.) and ravel the art of course, but dive into the sound of this language.

Call me kinky, I don't care

zhang is a famous director in china. he was awarded international many times. he works hard and keep on inovation at shooting.

but I dont like his film, so do most of chinese.

he always like to reflect the b ackward and fatuous in his show.

Its pity we dont know why some chinese goverment department alway sent his film to game.

I was fascinated by "Hero".

This DVD is one of the best in my collection. It is about the attempts on Chen's life, the first unifying emperor, and was done with competing versions of the story, so you cannot tell what really happened.

Maybe the government sent Zhang's films to international events, knowing people like me will love his films...

P.S: Is it true Jet Lee is from Taiwan? I thought he was from mainland China.

"hero" is the first "huge film" produced by film bureau of china. beautiful scenery, magnificence picture. china gongfu and fiction story. special effect is made in america.

Lee's chinese name is Li Lian-jie (chinese pronounciation), he is from Beijing, he was a member of beijing matial art (wu shu = chinese word) team when he was a younger. and been a titleholder for many years in nation wu shu games.

Many of chinese people like me dont like Zhang's film, but the westerns is really favourite . its beyond us.

as I said before, in his film he like to show fatiuty, hang behind of chinese. in order that most of western think china still in barbarism state. they are hungry, no clothes and live in a gay room. when they come and visit with seeking novelty spirit. they seems to feel they lost their way. and not believe their eyes.

the situation is changing, he begin to shoot some beautiful film, so do our painting realm.

Im not an artist, I may not understand what they are thinking and produced.

...Im not an artist, I may not understand what they are thinking and produced...

You don't have to be an artist to have an understanding or appreciation of art. Art is made by people, for people, even if some bold promoter may display paintings by a chimpanzee or an elephant.

Art is only someone's way to share the human experience with others, and it is done in so many methods, fashions, and ways, almost any one may find something to relate to.

I understand that Zhang may portray old, feudalistic, ancient china, but westerners like me who sees it, not thinking: "how primitive or superstitious China is" but instead knows modern china is very much on the world's map, only self being very interested in china's history, because it's one of the oldest most innovative cultures and civilisations in the world.

The west appreciates, respects, and somewhat fears china's rise to world power. This is the truth as I know it.