This tag is for questions related to English as spoken in the isles of Britain and sometimes Ireland.
12
votes
5answers
5k views
When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)?
I'm confused by why people use the following:
It's up to yourself.
Rather than:
It's up to you.
Another example of this would be:
Please feel free to contact ourselves if you have any ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
When will “Present Perfect vs. Past Tense” cases be affected by culture?
Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case.
When talking about past ...
38
votes
8answers
7k views
Is there a reason the British omit the article when they “go to hospital”?
Why do British speakers omit the article in constructions like "go to hospital" or "go on holiday"? Pretty much all American speakers would rephrase those as "go to the hospital" and "go on a ...
18
votes
6answers
3k views
Are the endings “-zation” and “-sation” interchangeable?
What is with words that have forms that end both in -zation and -sation, such as localization and localisation?
Many spell checkers recommend -zation.
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Using contracted forms (“don't”, “let's”) in a formal text
How compelled should I feel to use non-contracted forms (do not rather than don't and so on) when writing in a rather formal text, say an academic paper? In one case I am afraid to seem too stilted, ...
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?
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 ...
14
votes
4answers
979 views
ON an American street, but IN a British one. Do the twain ever meet?
In the United States, we say that someone lives on a street, whereas I've noticed that British people say in. For instance:
Bubba lives on Washington Street.
Colin lives in Cavendish Avenue.
I ...
11
votes
6answers
3k views
“Speak to” vs. “Speak with”
What are the differences between these two phrasal verbs and what are the best situations to use each?
18
votes
2answers
1k views
When do you use “learnt” and when “learned”?
Is learnt UK English and learned US? Is it that simple?
I’m used to using learnt, but my US spellchecker says it is wrong.
13
votes
4answers
609 views
Which English language variety is best to use for global e-commerce?
Which variety of English — like American English, British English, and so one — is better to choose when translating to Englis, or building it from scratch, for an e-commerce site which intends to ...
25
votes
6answers
10k views
“Oriented” vs. “orientated”
What are the origins of the word orientated?
As far as I know, the correct spelling is oriented and orientated is not an alternative spelling but an error that is in common use.
Is it for example ...
20
votes
9answers
7k views
What is the difference between “English” and “British”?
As an American, I naively think of British and English as exact synonyms. I know I'm wrong, but I just don't know in what way. I am vaguely aware that people in the UK hold strong opinions about one ...
14
votes
8answers
5k views
Is it proper to omit periods after honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Dr)?
I've been reading the Economist lately and they apparently don't punctuate honorifics like "Mr.", "Mrs.", e.g.
The popular rejection of Mr Mubarak offers the Middle East’s best chance for reform ...
63
votes
28answers
5k views
Is there an American English equivalent of the British idiom “carrying coals to Newcastle”?
I'm an American living in the Netherlands who is learning Dutch. There's an idiom in Dutch that describes performing a needless/futile activity, "water naar de zee dragen," which literally translates ...
18
votes
3answers
3k views
Capitalisation of nouns in English in the 17th and 18th centuries
It seems to have been common practice in the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain to capitalise the first letters of nouns in English, e.g.
At which Time he prov'd himself the Noah's Dove, that ...
2
votes
3answers
327 views
Should one stick to American style of placing punctuation marks within quotes if one uses the American spelling?
According to Wikipedia, there are two ways to use punctation marks when it comes to quoting. Basically, we have the British style, where punctation marks that don't come from the quoted material "is ...
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 ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Why is 'forty' spelled without a 'u' in Canadian/British English?
I was writing in Word today (with the Canadian English dictionary enabled) and it kept putting a redline under "fourty" which I couldn't understand. A bit of searching says that, even in British and ...
6
votes
2answers
134 views
How did the practice of identifying an object after using a pronoun evolve?
While watching Barclay's Premier League matches on the Fox Soccer Channel, the announcers often identify an object by name immediately after using a pronoun. For example, in a match occuring right ...
4
votes
2answers
296 views
Does modifying a collective noun with a number make the subject plural?
The word dozen is a collective noun, i.e., singular when we think of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole. So we might say:
Talking about eggs: "A ...
4
votes
1answer
417 views
Punctuation within quotes
When I was at school I was told that a quote should end with a comma. For example:
"The car is on the road," said Tom.
"No it isn't," replied Dick.
"He's right — it's over there!" said Harry.
...
3
votes
1answer
250 views
“s” vs. “z” in BE vs. AE
I have trouble understanding why some words change "s"-es to "z"-s from BE to AE and some not. For example:
analyse -> analyze
characterise -> characterize
hypnotise -> hypnotize
But:
compromise ...
28
votes
12answers
4k views
Is there a difference between “cheers” and “thanks” in colloquial British English?
In colloquial British English today you hear "Cheers" (to mean "thank you") more often than "Thanks."
Is the choice of one or the other determined by regional, class, or education differences, or is ...
37
votes
7answers
2k views
Which variant of English should I use when my target audience is the world?
I know that all variants of English (American English, British English, etc.) can be generally understood by everybody who knows any of the English variants. However, there are some regionalisms that ...
29
votes
8answers
9k views
“Toilet”, “lavatory” or “loo” for polite society
My friend is trying so hard to fit into polite society, and is raising her child to say loo rather than toilet. I know it should be lavatory (and I would not say lav) but we are in the 21st century ...
11
votes
6answers
771 views
“Toward” or “towards” – what would a native speaker use?
In this question we learn that toward and towards are interchangeable, but that the former is somewhat more typical of U.S. English and the latter of British English, although there is some indication ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
“right” vs “correct”
Except when we use right to denote direction, what is the difference between these two terms?
Also, which one is the preferred construction between these two
Am I right?
or
Am I correct?
12
votes
7answers
3k views
How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'?
How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'? It may be UK only, and may have been spawned by Alan Partridge. Cash/Cas are not right.
*As in a slang term, "he was acting all ...
10
votes
5answers
3k views
How to use “you know”
For a non-native speaker like me, I am always wondering how to use you know correctly, as in the following sentence:
Alright, well, for example, like on
Saturdays, y’know, what I liked to do
...
6
votes
2answers
577 views
Enquire and inquire
In British English I think these two words have different shades of meaning, but I couldn't articulate them. In American English I see inquire used where I would use "enquire".
Are there shades of ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
“Practise” vs. “practice”
As an Australian, I like to follow British forms of words such as license/licence and practise/practice. I have no problem with licence the noun and license the verb, but I find it hard to keep ...
8
votes
1answer
754 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
839 views
Is the phrase “all to c**k” considered profane?
I occasionally use the colloquialism "all to cock" to mean "disastrously wrong". I've always thought it a benign phrase, but recently I've wondered whether the use of the word "cock" in this situation ...
5
votes
2answers
460 views
Pronunciation of GUI in British English
I've heard a lot of Americans pronounce abbreviations like GUI as goo-ey. Is this the same with British English, or is it more common to spell out the word, like gee-you-eye?
93
votes
2answers
3k views
Where were “should”, “shall”, and “must” in the 18th Century?
According to the following Google Ngram, in the U.K. the modals should, shall, and must were virtually missing from English writing during the 18th Century (I've added will for a comparison modal ...
15
votes
5answers
1k views
Why is “can I get” replacing “could I have”?
I noticed the other day when serving the public that when asking for something, people were saying "Can I get an xyz, please". The previous time I had such a job it was "Could I have an xyz", or "May ...
25
votes
5answers
6k views
Is there a difference between “arse” and “ass”?
From a comment here, in frequent usage, arse and ass are often interchangeable when used to refer to buttocks or to a person of dubious charms. However, although “to arse about” has a vague connection ...
23
votes
7answers
2k views
Does “gay” still include the meaning “merry”?
Dictionary.com lists eight meanings
of gay, with “merry, lively” as
the first entry.
Microsoft banned an
Xbox user for listing Fort
Gay (a real place) as his
hometown:
Xbox Live considered the ...
21
votes
2answers
1k views
Why is “math” always pluralized in British English and singular in American English?
In the U.S. I would study math. In Britain, I would study maths. What gives?
8
votes
2answers
4k views
Is the proper spelling “judgment” or “judgement”?
I always thought the proper spelling was judgment, but I see judgement all the time, even in articles, news, etc. Merriam-Webster lists judgement as a variant spelling for judgment.
But is the ...
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 ...
16
votes
5answers
2k views
“Knocked up” to mean “woken up”
I'm reading some Sherlock Holmes stories (don't judge - it's good vacation reading) and Conan Doyle has Holmes saying things like "Sorry to knock you up, Watson..." which I'm finding very... odd. ...
14
votes
4answers
7k views
Is “wot wot” or “what-what” an authentic British expression? If it's supposed to be mocking, what is it mocking?
Some background first: As I was reading some past answers on English L&U, I came across this old question, where the top accepted answer maintained there were distinct class differences in the use ...
12
votes
9answers
2k views
American vs. British English: meaning of “One hundred and fifty”
I've noticed that Americans do not say "and" when speaking numbers: for example, 150 would be pronounced "one hundred fifty".
I and most other British-English speakers would pronounce it "one hundred ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Why is The Mall (Westminster, London) pronounced like mawl?
Why is The Mall pronounced differently even though it shares the same spelling as mall (shopping)?
5
votes
1answer
425 views
Autumn Vs Fall geographical distribution of usage?
I know that generally Autumn is the British term and Fall is the American term but what is the geographical distribution of the two terms outside these countries?
I'm fairly sure that no British ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
“At the beginning of the century” or “in the beginning of the century”?
At the beginning of the century.
In the beginning of the century.
How to clearly distinguish when to use at, or in?
5
votes
2answers
449 views
When can “have” be used without “got”?
I read this article and now I'm confused when got can be omitted when using have.
Could this be explained in plain English without technical terms?
Is there a different usage in past tense?
4
votes
2answers
276 views
What is the origin of “oh noodles!”
Noodles are tasty. I like them, but why are they also used as an exclamation of dismay in the following?
Oh Noodles!
