This tag is for questions related to English as spoken in the isles of Britain and sometimes Ireland.
6
votes
4answers
516 views
“S'il vous plaît” = “If you please”?
In Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot detective stories, Poirot uses the phrase “if you please” a lot. Does this come from the French phrase “s’il vous plaît”?
8
votes
1answer
356 views
“courgettes” vs. “zucchini” under a historical perspective
In this TimLymington's answer it is said:
Interestingly, there is another vegetable with the same identity problem; what the British call courgettes and the Americans zucchini.
What is the ...
2
votes
2answers
54 views
A summer house, a cottage or a cabin?
When I want to refer to a (rural) vacation home, what would be the most appropriate term in BrE? I know in American English cabin and camp are used for those, but what would correspond to those in ...
2
votes
1answer
165 views
Why is there a difference in the adoption of “Kindergarten” in American and British English?
As someone living in the US, I've heard the term "Kindergarten" used quite frequently. However someone from the UK was mentioning to me that the term is really not used that much in British English. ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
How to form a gerund from “practise”?
I (think) I know the difference between practise (verb) and practice (non-verb).
However, I am not sure which form I should use in cases like the following ones:
I love practising the guitar.
...
9
votes
3answers
776 views
British pronunciation of “plait”
Having only seen this word in writing, I assumed it's pronounced "plate". howjsay (whose author is british) suggests the pronunciation that rhymes with "flat", but also offers the "plate" one. This ...
-3
votes
0answers
41 views
British accent and idioms? [closed]
Is there a tutorial on how to learn British accent and idioms? I moved to new Zealand and i almost cant understand their english. I believe new Zealand uses oxford so i assume they uses British ...
5
votes
1answer
163 views
Why is “accidentally” pronounced “accident-ly” instead of “accident-tal-y”?
Why is accidentally pronounced accident-ly and not accident-tal-ly?
Incidentally, some other adverbs have this same phenomenon, where some dictionaries show the second-to-last syllable as being ...
30
votes
15answers
3k views
Words with opposite meanings in different regions
I can't recall it, but there is a word in American English which now means the opposite of itself in British English. What words are there that have opposite (not just different) meanings in different ...
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Are “betwixt”, “trebble”, etc., acceptable in American English?
I grew up speaking British English. The words I learnt were occasionally marked off in papers, despite their being English words. Are words like betwixt, trebble, learnt acceptable in papers for ...
-3
votes
0answers
46 views
Technical English [closed]
‘Technical English is not the part of technology’. Enumerate your own views in a coherent paragraph in 100-150 words. Please sir write a paragraph for me
-1
votes
1answer
35 views
Definition for a sentence used in thesis/dissertation cover pages [closed]
I was looking at some cover pages and see that most of them use the following sentence;
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF....
What does it really ...
2
votes
3answers
130 views
Meanings of word “nick” in British English
Word nick seems to be used to describe many things. According to the dictionary, the main meanings are:
a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.
a hollow place ...
6
votes
5answers
6k views
How serious an insult is “wanker” in British English? [NSFW]
In the spirit of this question, "How profane is it to call someone a
'slag' in British English", how insulting is "wanker" in British English on the spectrum of profanities and vulgarities? What's ...
10
votes
7answers
5k views
When do you use “Cheers” instead of “Thank you” in spoken English?
A lot of time, people say "cheers" instead of "thank you". As I am not a native speaker, I wonder in which case you can use what.
It is used a lot for polite gestures, such as holding a door or ...
-1
votes
1answer
76 views
Pronunciation of “Oceania” in British English
How is Oceania properly pronounced in British English? Is it /ˌəʊʃɪˈɑːnɪə/, or /ˌəʊʃɪˈɑːnə/? I know a lot of people who use the latter, but I have always been taught the former.
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Which syllable is stressed in word “comparatively” in British usage?
British syllable emphasis on "comparatively"?
0
votes
1answer
90 views
Goodbye - is it very formal?
I'm writing about cultural differences - not for scientific purposes - and am trying to find out about more and less formal ways of saying goodbye in English.
On a scale of formality (from least to ...
13
votes
7answers
5k views
Is “used in anger” a Britishism for something?
On a different board, someone referred to a computer language that had achieved popularity beyond the academic world as "used in anger", the way a shot fired in combat instead of on the practice range ...
4
votes
7answers
248 views
What is “plaice” in the US? Would love a good fish and chips
When we went to the market, at the fisherman's counter we asked for plaice with which we would make fish and chips. Now here in the States when we ask for plaice, they don't understand what we mean. ...
6
votes
2answers
866 views
Dropped g's in upper-class 1930s Britain
‘Now take huntin'…’ ‘Oh, bull-fightin' — that's quite a different kettle of fish.…’ Italics bred italics. Dropped g's fell as thick as confetti.
(Jan Struther, Mrs Miniver, 1939; 4th chapter, ...
3
votes
1answer
63 views
If I go to a Language School, do I go to school?
My friend, aged 21, has just started taking classes at a language school, and will shortly be doing 4 hours each weekday there. It feels very odd to be saying "How's school going?" – we finished ...
3
votes
2answers
5k views
Date format in UK vs US
Why is the most common date format in the US like mm/dd/yyyy, whereas in Europe (including the UK) it's more common to have dd/mm/yyyy?
Looking around, I found that the US form is actually the more ...
1
vote
1answer
104 views
How to write out numbers in compliance with British usage?
This question regards the numbers from 1 to 999. We can ignore commas, hyphens, and spaces. What I'm interested in is when and where to use the word "and".
There are a few interesting cases:
1) 20 ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
“Exercise” but not “exercize”
Many words are spelled with -ise in British English and -ize in American English:
realise/realize
sanitise/sanitize
scrutinise/scrutinize
But exercise can only be spelled with -ise, never with ...
0
votes
0answers
158 views
What do you think about Indian English? [closed]
What you think about Indian English. i read about an article in Indian news paper about the Indian English, a developing new language such as Canadian English and American English from British ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Help sheet for determiners and prepositions [closed]
I'm trying to produce a simple help sheet for foriegn speakers on English determiners and prepositions.
Specifically, a basic description of when to use each type of determiner, and then the list of ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
Is the phrase “getting on” commonly used in British English? What register would its use be in?
I've collected a new phrase from my watching of British television, getting on, as in "How's he getting on?" From various contexts, I think I've gotten the meaning down to "how's he doing?" Anyway, ...
18
votes
5answers
1k views
What is the pronunciation of “the”?
I read that the definite article is pronounced differently depending on the word that follows it.
Which is the exact pronunciation of the?
7
votes
6answers
1k views
The origin of the phrase “Now then!”
This pair of adverbs of opposed meaning, one indicating the present and the other the past, when conjoined is used to attract attention to what is going to be said or suggested next, in other words ...
5
votes
5answers
4k views
“Dear Professor” vs “Dear Mr”: differences between British and American usage
In British English, is it acceptable to address a professor as "Dear Professor X" when writing a formal or informal letter? Does it sound natural?
Why I am asking this question:
I was looking ...
5
votes
1answer
129 views
Are constructions like “That's me out, then” primarily British rather than American?
Prompted by comments to this question on English Learners (about "That's you done"), I've been searching Google Books for similar constructions of the general form that's [pro]noun adjective (for this ...
0
votes
2answers
5k views
What does 'reference' mean in a CV?
I am an undergraduate student who is creating a CV for internship. I saw a CV template which had a heading called "Reference." What does that mean? Is it related to the applicant's previous work ...
8
votes
9answers
7k views
What exactly does it mean to “mug somebody off” in British English?
I tried looking this up at the Urban Dictionary, but it gave only one net-upvoted definition, and that definition wasn't even clear. The background for my question is coming my watching from a movie ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
How to say 100,500 [duplicate]
How do you say the number 100,500? Is it one hundred thousand five hundred? For some reason that doesn't sound write in my mind. The number 10,500 is ten thousand five hundred. Please correct me ...
2
votes
3answers
99 views
What word describes the shape of a whirlwind when seen from above?
What word describes the shape of a whirlwind when seen from above?
Swirl
Whorl
Radial
The shape they make when seen from above resembles a radial pattern or even a whorl.
3
votes
2answers
301 views
What would be the British Equivalent Words to “Freshmen” “Sophomore”
I know that to describe which year you're in, with American English, people usually use words like:
Freshmen - 1st year college/university student
Sophomore - 2nd year
Junior - 3rd year
Senior - ...
-1
votes
1answer
160 views
Where can I find a list of words whose pronunciation is irregular? [closed]
Most words in English follow certain rules of pronunciation for vowels (for example: "o" in a closed syllable is usually pronounced /ɒ/ while in an open syllable it's usually /əʊ/).
From time to ...
-3
votes
2answers
82 views
Parenthesis and quotations having punctuation before AND after them [closed]
I'll have to come up with some examples to show you my question:
I know if a sentence is inside either, the punctuation is inside (I also know I use a lot of comma splices. I think of the way the ...
6
votes
2answers
18k views
Successfull/successful - is this a UK/US difference?
I would tend to write double-l, but Google gives me more single-l, so I'm guessing it's an Atlantic divide thing.
And I guess all the other *full words.
0
votes
0answers
27 views
English phonetics References [duplicate]
What are some great references on English pronunciation practices?
The book The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations was mentioned in an answer on this site.
Is it considered authoritative? What ...
0
votes
1answer
77 views
Is 'read' still synonymous with 'majored' in BrE? [closed]
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English#university
"She read biology at Cambridge."
That doesn't mean 'she read a book or something about biology at Cambridge'?
-1
votes
1answer
155 views
Is this a polite way to ask questions? [closed]
I want to send questions to someone, I want to ask you if this way is polite and if there are better ways:
I want to ask you questions, your answers would be appreciated
I want to ask you ...
4
votes
8answers
542 views
Dinky cars (toy cars)
I came across this term while proofreading an unpublished poem by an Irish poet. The context is not important so I'll just say that it is clear that it means “toy cars”.
I Googled the term and see ...
5
votes
1answer
3k views
Is “weightage” an English word?
Is weightage an English word?
We use it a lot in India, but I couldn't find it in my Oxford Dictionary.
8
votes
1answer
762 views
UK English: Is “dived” a valid word?
Proofing a manuscript, I found this in the middle of a chase scene:
Spotting an opening, I dived into it and was horrified to find it was a dead end.
Is “dived” a valid past tense of the verb ...
2
votes
7answers
10k views
Is there a rule in British English about how to pronounce “either”?
There are two common pronunciations of "either": British /ˈaɪðər/ and American /ˈiːðər/. If Americans are more or less consistent in this regard, then the Brits seem to be freely using both. In fact, ...
-1
votes
1answer
109 views
Interpretation of 'have' as stative or dynamic
Please bear with me. It's been a long time since I looked up grammatical concepts.
The sentence is:
I can quite clearly see the bewildered looks you will be having on your faces on reading this. ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
Does your name belong to you?
I'm having trouble deciding whether the word 'name' can be used possessively. Currently I'm thinking it's correct to say:
Patients' names have been altered to provide anonymity
However it just ...
14
votes
4answers
5k views
When did Greenwich begin to be pronounced as “Gren-ich”?
I just read an interesting question here on Greenwich Mean Time.
I'm interested to know when Greenwich received its peculiar pronunciation. Has it always been pronounced as "GREN-ich" (/ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ/), ...
