Questions tagged [insular-english]
This tag refers to questions about the various forms of English spoken in the archipelago commonly called the British Isles, comprising both the two larger islands of Great Britain and Ireland as well as the smaller Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, and over 6,000 smaller islands ...
-4
votes
1answer
2k views
initialised or initialized which one is correct spelling? [duplicate]
I have often seen initialised in lots of text, but when I want to write it in Microsoft office word, it says it was misspelled and it should be initialized instead of initialised.
so here is my ...
6
votes
3answers
307 views
Which words or grammar forms are likely to cause a collision between American and British English?
For all the Mickey-taking on both sides of the water I suppose British and American speakers understand one another 99% of the time.
Can anyone think of any areas of vocabulary or grammar where ...
0
votes
4answers
122 views
Are there specific situations where one spelling variant is recommended over another?
I am not a native speaker of English so I get confused when writing since there are sometimes two different spellings of words in English — by which I mean an American spelling and a British spelling. ...
0
votes
2answers
397 views
UK English pronunciation of word “language” please?
What is the correct British English pronunciation of the word language please?
Throughout my education in New Zealand and South Africa the first g was a soft sound as in bang? Here in Australia, on ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views
they would've got away with/would've gotten away with it [duplicate]
Which is right:
They would’ve got away with it.
They would’ve gotten away with it.
I am interested in what we would say in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not in the United ...
1
vote
2answers
235 views
Were American, Australian, and New Zealand English dialects ever spoken in Britain before the colonization of these lands? [closed]
Were American, Australian, and New Zealand English dialects ever spoken in Britain before the colonization of these lands?
3
votes
2answers
692 views
Is the English language used by the European institutions the British one?
I find here an article on the use of English within EU institutions.
It says: "our publications need to be comprehensible for their target audience, which is largely British and Irish, and should ...
10
votes
3answers
628 views
Are there any studies on changes in British English to become more like American English?
With the spread of American popular culture (movies, books, franchises, etc.) and technical jargon (manuals, Web syntaxes, default spell-check settings, etc.), I'm wondering if there have been any ...
2
votes
1answer
538 views
Adjective relating to Great Britain and Ireland
Is there an adjective meaning “from or pertaining to the British Isles” (or if you prefer “from Great Britain, Ireland or surrounding islands”, or “from the Atlantic Archipelago”, or whatever floats ...
11
votes
3answers
20k views
Accents of characters in Downton Abbey
To continue the question started in identifying accents of British actors, there is one popular current cultural artifact with an excess of non-standard British accents, and that is The BBC series ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Does American “condominium” as applies to building ownership have an equivalent term in British or Australian or other English dialects?
An American "condo" is a building, usually residential or industrial, that is owned in condominium by multiple parties. I've recently learned that this term isn't used in conversation in Britain or ...
2
votes
2answers
6k views
“Woman front bits” meaning
Whats does "woman front bits" actually means?
This question is surprisingly inspired by one of the answers
to this question: "Is there any slang I should avoid in the UK or Ireland".
It is ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Should pronunciation of the r in “heart” be the same as r in “rabbit”, in UK English?
My 5 yr old daughter was given a task by her teacher to "find as many things as she can that have the sound r" with examples of rabbit, barrow, and ruler (all r's were underlined in the 3 words).
...
16
votes
4answers
43k views
How does one correctly pronounce the letter 'H': “Aych” or “haych”?
What is the correct sound of the letter H when reading the alphabet - is it 'aych' or 'Haych' ?
14
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the 'distances' among the major English dialects?
Yes, I admit, as an AmE speaker, that all non-North American accents sound the same: BrE, Irish, Scottish, Australian and South African. Or rather, I can tell they are different if placed side by side ...
13
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the origin of British/Irish cinema names?
British and Irish cinema names from a certain period seem to come from a pool that includes The Odeon, The Curzon, The Savoy, The Adelphi (maybe you can think of more). Where did these names come from?...
