Across the Pond

[RogerDuke]

I'm friends with a family from England who have been here over 25 years. 10 kids in the family. The parents have accents but you can tell they've been here awhile. Only the 2 oldest kids have accents. The oldest hasn't lost it a bit. Sounds much more British than her parents. 

[HossC]

British English often comes with subtext and inferred meanings whereas American English tends to be more direct. Here's a video by an American who's been living in the UK for a while. In it, she describes some of the phrases that initially confused her.

 

[RogerDuke]

Hoss, do you prefer to be called British or English? 

 

[HossC]

3 hours ago, RogerDuke said:

Hoss, do you prefer to be called British or English? 

Because I'm still close to the UK, I'm usually identified as English, and that's fine with me (although I didn't celebrate St George's Day on Thursday!). My nationality is British, and that's probably how I'd be known further from home where people aren't so familiar with the differences between the Home Nations.

[HossC]

Why Are The British So Eccentric In War? That's the question posed in this video. It tells the story of why you can always make tea in a British tank, and of the soldier who went into battle in Operation Market Garden (the failed attempt to take the bridge in Arnhem as dramatized in the movie 'A Bridge Too Far') with an umbrella.

 

[Hobie Hartkins]

We go for cold tea down here in the South! I drink  several bottles of unsweetened Black tea! per day!....uh sorry about that comment about B$%#@ tea....that's not politicaly correct.....let's just call it African American tea!    

[Hobie Hartkins]

All this is VERY interesting  Hoss! Thank you!

[HossC]

We have iced coffee as an option here, but tea is a hot drink. It's a staple in the UK and Ireland. Until I started watching these videos, I hadn't realized how rare kettles are in American homes. I think one if them said that the lower mains voltage in the US means they take much longer to boil.