British English for Americans

[bowtwi]

I need to find a good book to help Americans understand British English asap.

I'm working with legal documents from a law firm in England. I need to be able to understand what they mean when they say things differently than we do here in order to edit them effectively and to teach others to do the same and quickly.

One example is that they say 'zed' for the letter z.

I'm looking for a book, but a dvd course or a good website could be just as helpful. I've googled it so far, and have collected some websites with a bit of help here and there, but I'm hoping to find something more substantial. I want to go beyond British/American dictionaries if possible.

Anyone here know what I'm looking for?

[QuietThinker]

I understand the main gist of what you're looking for BOWTWI.

I've sent a text message and email to my fella (He's a brit and taught English for a time, before going into journalism). He has promised to send me any information he can find that may be of use. I'll let you know as soon as he comes across with it.

Occasionally, I write for British publications and off the top of my head I can tell you to be on the look out for the Present Perfect tense, which is often used in British English to show an immediate past event still impacting the present.

I'm sure you're already used to spelling rules, etc.

cheers,

~QT

[ChasUFarley]

I need to find a good book to help Americans understand British English asap.

I'm working with legal documents from a law firm in England. I need to be able to understand what they mean when they say things differently than we do here in order to edit them effectively and to teach others to do the same and quickly.

One example is that they say 'zed' for the letter z.

I'm looking for a book, but a dvd course or a good website could be just as helpful. I've googled it so far, and have collected some websites with a bit of help here and there, but I'm hoping to find something more substantial. I want to go beyond British/American dictionaries if possible.

Anyone here know what I'm looking for?

BOWTWI - I assume the document you're working in is a Word document, no? Why not just change your dictionary settings to the UK settings?

Just a thought...

[VeganXTC]

Bow, I don't know any books or dvd's, but I found this site: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/cu...canbritish.html There's a glossary that looks useful, and at the bottom, there's quizes. Its was made by school kids in England, so I don't know if it would be too juvenile for your purposes.

Then I saw: http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/ The first course would be the only one about British and American english

Here's a site for English spelling rules: http://www.englishclub.com/writing/spellin...can-english.htm

Hope this helps!

Edited February 20, 2007 by VeganXTC

[bowtwi]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd already found a few things by stumbling around the past week or two, like that if you hold down the ALT key while typing 0163 in MS Word that you get the symbol for the British pound. (£)

I hadn't thought of using the keyboard UK style - thanks for that suggestion!

Vegan, those sites may be just what I'm looking for. I've had a blast in them so far!

Americans say "Keep your chin up." Brits say "Keep your pecker up."

Americans say "drunk". Brits say "....ed."

Americans say "chocolate chips". Brits say "polka dots."

I can't wait to learn more!

[RumRunner]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd already found a few things by stumbling around the past week or two, like that if you hold down the ALT key while typing 0163 in MS Word that you get the symbol for the British pound. (£)

I hadn't thought of using the keyboard UK style - thanks for that suggestion!

Vegan, those sites may be just what I'm looking for. I've had a blast in them so far!

Americans say "Keep your chin up." Brits say "Keep your pecker up."

Americans say "drunk". Brits say "....ed."

Americans say "chocolate chips". Brits say "polka dots."

I can't wait to learn more!

BT - changing the internationalization on your KB won't solve everything. I just tried. Hmm not knocking the idea - it was a good one for some things... but try the word randy...MS word wont change it....but in American it is a proper name... in English it means horny

On a less risque note the word queue is even tougher...in Brit is means a line of people... in American it generally means (not always) a computer data structure..the subtle stuff needs to be eyeballed

[doojable]

we say, "hood" (of a car) Brits say, "bonnet"

we say, "trunk" (of a car) Brits say, "boot"

we say, "cookie" Brits say, "biscuits"

we say, "muffin" Brits say, "scones"

Edited February 21, 2007 by doojable

[waysider]

You say potato.

I say tomato.

------ ----------

[doojable]

Oh yea ....If a Brit tells you to "Knock me up in the morning," He or she isn't asking for sex, he or she wants a wake up call.

[Sushi]

Lorry=Truck

Smart=Pregnant

Fags=Cigarettes

[QuietThinker]

Ahhh...but you haven't lived til you've had greasy chip butty!

[polar bear]

Jolly good show, cheerio,

God sve the queen and all that rot

[dmiller]

Polar Bear-- You CHEEKY BUGGER!!

;) :P ;)

Edited February 21, 2007 by dmiller

[doojable]

Bloody 'ell! At least he's not a sod.

Edited February 21, 2007 by doojable

[WordWolf]

Oh yea ....If a Brit tells you to "Knock me up in the morning," He or she isn't asking for sex, he or she wants a wake up call.

And if they ask to "borrow a rubber",

they're not asking for a wake-up call,

they're looking for an eraser.

==========

This probably will be of no use to you, but might at least be interesting....

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/help/strictly_british1.html

It's a lexicon of specifically British usages in the Harry Potter series.

[Lori]

I like the way they talk!

[QuietThinker]

Me too, Lori ;-) It's part of the reason why I dig the "fella" so much.

Although, he's from yorkshire, specifically Sheffield, and up t'north they have some interesting speech patterns. For example, they use "thee" and "thou" in informal conversations, though, not, say, at work.

So, if you meet a friend and want to say, "Hey, How are you? How's it going?" you would say, "Ey up! 'Alreight, thee!"

other fun sayings from t'north... "Tha's nowt but enough to be goin' on with." translates into "I've said enough on this matter" or "I've given you enough work to do now."

We do have an explicit agreement though...he *never* calls me "Her Indoors" (wife or LTLP) and I never call him "Himself outside."

Hmmm...let me think...what else fun...? Ah, the use of *our* If someone says to you, "Our lass" that generally refers to the mom or wife, sometimes a daughter...it depends on context.

...and for any folk music fans...Sheffield United (a football, not soccer, doncha know) uses the tune of "Annie's Song" for the team song, known as "The Greasy Chip Butty" song.

It's unrelated to anywhere else in the country, but, some londoners still use rhyming slang (often what is called cockney language elsewhere)...so, an example would be:

Telling porkies, which means telling lies.

This comes from: telling pork pies (pies rhyming with lies).

:-)

QT

[GeorgeStGeorge]

When I was in graduate school, a visiting British professor came to work in our lab. He'd ask, "'Ave you a 'gum bung'?" which I eventually decoded to a "rubber stopper." He'd ask for a "retort 'older": ring stand. I almost felt like having him draw pictures! And, of course, there's the pronunciation thing. Even when they're not adding syllables (aluminium), the emphasis is usually on the wrong one (ca-pill'-ary instead of cap'-illary); and the vowels were wrong (mee-thile instead of methyl).

What's wrong with them, anyway?!

George

[excathedra]

i don't even want to tell you the reaction of a dear british girl when veepee said he was going to smack her fanny

http://english2american.com/dictionary/cat_thebody.html

---

i just hope you don't have to translate cockney english

[dmiller]

Here's a site where you can hear the various British dialects, by the folks that speak them.

Got this from someone I met on another board, named Celtic Mark.

Once the site loads, click on any of the green dots for the regional dialects

to hear the locals there speak it in their own way.

I think you need Real Player for this, but it's a fun listen. :).

VARIOUS BRITISH ACCENTS

[bowtwi]

Here's a site where you can hear the various British dialects, by the folks that speak them.

Got this from someone I met on another board, named Celtic Mark.

Once the site loads, click on any of the green dots for the regional dialects

to hear the locals there speak it in their own way.

I think you need Real Player for this, but it's a fun listen. :) .

VARIOUS BRITISH ACCENTS

Great fun! Yep, I wish I could just stay at tiddly too! LOL

Thanks for all the comments - I appreciate them.

[Greek2me]

Here's another site that has a couple of pages of the differences between British English and American English.

English Language Differences

[QuietThinker]

BOWTWI,

DW (my fella) thinks This Dictionary on British Slang and Colloquial Usage might be of use to you.

Additionally...

I think you might find British English from A to Zed helpful.

Cheers,

~QT

[bowtwi]

Greek2me and QT - Thanks for the suggestions. I've asked them to buy the two books you and your fella suggested, QT, and I've submitted the list you gave Greek2me as well. This is great stuff.

This right here is one of the greatest things about the GSC, in my opinion.

We're really good at helping one another out, networking. I love to bring a challenge here and hear others' experiences and share resources.

Thanks so much!

Edited February 22, 2007 by bowtwi

[Mister P-Mosh]

Just for fun, check out Britain for Americans. Don't take it as a completely serious source, though. It's humour.