A funny look at the difference between American and British people

originally posted by: Lucidparadox
When I heard they dont put ice in drinks over there... I just couldnt..

I cant drink water or pop or most juices without ice in it.

You heard wrong...

a reply to: Sublimecraft

THE BATHROOM THING! YES!

I remember using public restrooms in Germany and Austria -- the stall walls go from floor to ceiling, same with the door. Some of them even had a light switch on the inside. Total privacy.

As someone who has an...aversion to #2 in public, those toilets were a godsend. Why do we have these gaps on our toilet stall walls in America? Why?!

originally posted by: Skid Mark
a reply to: brace22
I had to shake my head at the "Obama is considered a hero" part. Okie dokie then. Yeah...

Really? From the country whose senate gave Blair a standing ovation and a medal - just goes to show doesn't it.

a reply to: angeldoll
An element of laziness has crept into British pronunciation, where Americans tend to be more precise, especially about names.
We pronounce "Monty PythON" as "PyTHUN". It sounds odd when I hear Americans sounding the "h" in Birmingham, or the second "w" in Dionne Warwick. And you struggle with "Worcester", a simple two syllable word ("Wooster").

Perhaps you have noticed a difference in syllable emphasis;
I am used to DeFENCE, PrinCESS, and Robin HOOD, which Americans seem to change into DEfense, PRINcess, and ROBin Hood.

a reply to: DISRAELI

Brits are lazy? Pfft. I don't know why we even have 't's.
Water becomes wadder. Better is bedder. I love the way you guys say your 't's, as it should be.
You are more like wa-tah bet-tah. Sounds so much nicer.

Yes we put the emphasis too frequently on the first syllable. Everybody notices it.

Oh, and you almost never hear in-ter-net. It's more like innernet.

originally posted by: MrsNonSpecific
a reply to: eriktheawful

I can't find a list. Maybe ATS should do a competition.

I went to the US 12 years ago, ad the only thing that stuck in my head was the following.

1. Massive portions
2.Very very straight boring concrete roads, where we seemed to drive, very very slowly
3. We stopped everyday for 'gas' in our Pontiac Aztec we hired. Awful car.
4. Boston is very english, but I can't remember specifics as to why.

Perhaps Boston is very english because it's in NEW ENGLAND? LOL!

it use to be like that in the usa but we've undergone several decades of political upheaval and overthrow of our original government by your royal family's bankers.

originally posted by: Sublimecraft

Those American Pronunciations also look exactly how "Scousers" speak to me .

I worked in the great city of Liverpool for most of the 1990s and got called a "woollyback" (all in good fun of course). When I leave the NW of England/North Wales area everyone ironically assumes I am a 'scouser'.

When I speak to Americans they think I'm Australian. "No worries there".

Hey guys! Sorry I have not been more active in my own thread! I left work yesterday and didn't get a chance to get to a computer until now.

Thanks those for the kind words and thanks for keeping this pleasant and simple It's refreshing to be able to talk about UK and US without having a war of words over who is better.

Neither is, just different IMO.

a reply to: HUMBLEONE

But what makes it so english? I couldn't put my finger on anything specific.

I know its New England, but you think the englishness might have been diluted or warped in some way.

I do prefer Boston to New York.

I would so move there if I could. Maybe it might have happened in another life.

a reply to: corvuscorrax

Having lived a considerable time in Western Australia (11 times the size of Utah but with approx the same population) I can't really agree with the way too many people.

Less areas of "wilderness" but plenty of places to go that are less densely populated (or even sparsely populated) and so much more diversity and things to do and see in between. You don't have to live in a city, quintessential village communities still exist, I live in one and would now never swap.

Of course mass migration will no doubt eventually overrun that but that's a discussion for another thread.

I think it might be fairer to the U.S. to compare it to Rwanda, rather that anywhere in Europe etc.

Just sayin'...

How about Canada? I always figured Canada was like a hybrid between America and England.

a reply to: Xaphan
Can you illustrate that by comparison with the original list?
How many times would you identify with the American side of those contrasts, how often with the English side?