British speakers use of the word hospital

[Ichinisan]

How about those crazy fuckers that say "yinz" instead of "you"? What the fuck is that shit? And you skipped Boston in your list of bizarre regional dialects. If all of America sounded like people from Boston, you'd be shitting yourself silly in anticipation of adopting the Queen's English. "I pahked the cah near Hahvahd Yahd cause Lahs had a haht attack and I had to visit him in hospital. Why weren't yinz there?"

I have never heard the "yinz" thing. Never.

 

[Childs]

Yeah, I can't stand British dialect.

"I'm on holiday"
"I'm going to university"
"I'm going to hospital"

and that whole "Do you fancy me" and "wanker" things just sound stupid.

They can't say/spell "aluminum" either.

Wanker is pretty funny. So is tosser. And even funnier that they mean the same thing. Those Brits have a serious issues with masturbators.

 

[Raduque]

I just always post this in a "USA/British people talk funny" thread

 

[Sulaco]

Probably the best impression of the BBC ever.

http://youtu.be/pjKy4MqqYX8

 

[Carson Dyle]

I'll take a stab at this one. I'm from central PA and we don't say y'inz around here. We do have a dual-usage and pronunciation for creek. A 'crick' is a tiny, little piss ant moving body of water. Bit bigger than a stream and is persistent. A creek is what's in-between a crick and a river.

I've never been aware of any such distinction in SWPA, where people are most just lazy in their pronunciation.

Funny story (probably not), but when I first moved to Colorado in 1985, I was checking out a book from the local library and the girl at the desk asked me out of the blue "Are you from Ligonier, Pennsylvania? I have cousins from there." I was blown away, as I grew up about ten miles from Ligonier.

 

[SunburstLP]

I never realized it was odd until I left this area. I also had no idea how crap we are about let and leave too. Oh, the things you learn when you leave the nest for the world.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

What British speakers may look like.

 

[steve wilson]

Wanker is pretty funny. So is tosser. And even funnier that they mean the same thing. Those Brits have a serious issues with masturbators.

That's the tip of the ice berg mate...

Some English ways of saying jerking off

wanker
tosser
choking the chicken
spanking the monkey
bashing the bishop
five knuckle shuffle
There are lots more I just can't think (find them on google) at the moment.

Edit: Thought of another one... belting one off

 

[werepossum]

You guys crack me up.'British' English is the original, authentic, non-basterdised (with an S, "y'all") English. American English is the weird one, with your (h)erbs and your acclimates and your math.

Slang notwithstanding, British English is what we speak in Australia. Ditto for South Africa and Malta. Your variant is only fluently spoken in the US, and Canada too, sorta.

Your version is taking over the world thanks to America's complete domination of worldwide mass media, but to British English speakers like me it's just weird. Try to imagine what it would be like if the whole world started speaking black rap gangsta slang as if it were the most grammatically-acceptable version of English, and you can start to approximate what it's like for us Britons.

Now, get off my cricket pitch.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm an American Southerner and I also say "in hospital". I just say it with an accent that probably makes it unintelligible to you.

 

[pcgeek11]

I also had a Brit friend tell me where she's from, calling somebody "Rock hard" is another way to say they are tough. Funny little people they are.

Damn, I thought that meant something else entirely.

 

[Puppies04]

I like this thread.

I will however point out that an Americans telling the English how to speak properly is comparable to a 12 year old telling a 60 year old professor that "they iz talkin funny"

We have been doing this a lot longer than you, don't worry you will catch up in a few 100 years.

 

[Ares202]

As an Englishman this thread makes me laugh. We say many things that aren't grammatically correct but this is also the case for American English....

 

[BlitzPuppet]

As an Englishman this thread makes me laugh. We say many things that aren't grammatically correct but this is also the case for American English....

You just reminded me of highschool math class.

I would always get so confused when the teacher/students would talk about multiplication by saying "so you times 3 and 5?" and no one would correct them.

But yes, Slang/Ebonics <> American English.

 

[Carson Dyle]

You just reminded me of highschool math class.

I would always get so confused when the teacher/students would talk about multiplication by saying "so you times 3 and 5?" and no one would correct them.

But yes, Slang/Ebonics <> American English.

My friend Tamicka momma teach English at PS37. Tamicka say she gonna aks her bout that.

 

[z1ggy]

Ayyyyyyy! Piss off ya dirty wankah!!!

Said no American ever.

 

[lozina]

Another kind of weird thing about the way British people talk... here in the states we have lots of slang that comes and goes with the times. But the British slang profanity 'bloody' seems to just linger forever - it never seems to die off in usage. It's been in use for something like 300+ years.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Another kind of weird thing about the way British people talk... here in the states we have lots of slang that comes and goes with the times. But the British slang profanity 'bloody' seems to just linger forever - it never seems to die off in usage. It's been in use for something like 300+ years.

"wise and beautiful woman" too. They gave up on "ye" and "forsooth" and "methinks thou dost pilfereth betwixt mine ducats caddish rogue" 300 years ago, but they stuck with "bloody" and "wise and beautiful woman." Frankly, I think they made the right call.

 

[WHAMPOM]

"She is in hospital"

"John Smith is recovering in hospital"

What, is there only one hospital in the world?

in jail
in court
in bed
in school
in business/law,retail,etc.
Are you sure English is your native language?

 

[Puppies04]

Ayyyyyyy! Piss off ya dirty wankah!!!

Said no American ever.

You fixin to get a whoopin you no good dirty stinkin liar!

Said no Englishman ever

 

[DigDog]

its not correct form - instead, they are doing what is accepted as dropping "the". it's an omission, but one should consider the praticle to be present.

kinda like "i'm going 'pub." thats what they say in york. there's a slight bit of "'t" in there so it's ok, ok?

besides, the language they are so proud of here is horrible, they seem to enjoy mangling it because they don't want to sound "posh". it's a trend.

innit.

 

[Ares202]

innit.

proppa

Seriously though I completely agree with what you said. Add to that lot of slang is also to make it easier to speak quickly and the listener (local native speaker) to still understand. Dropping 'The' from sentences makes you sound dumb though so i tend to avoid it, for example

'I'm going hospital'

 

[DigDog]

i gotta say, the local lingo does work with rap, though.

 

[who?]

It sounds stupid because you left out the word to.
I'm going to hospital.