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Originally Posted by Rawky-Roo:
Originally Posted by Cosmopolitan:

I guess they only polled fick people..?

 

Either way, I'm so enraged I could cause a mischief right about now!

 

Really? I just laughed at most of them, then i'm on vent (voice chat) with a bunch of Americans a few times a week so have heard it all before (in jest )

Jen-Star

 

I have some sympathy for this one. I know that spelling and pronunciation idiosyncrasies are often half the fun of English, but "schedule" has annoyed me ever since I read an Isaac Asimov short story which drew attention to the inconsistency in the British pronunciation of "school schedule".

Eugene's Lair

Well, this guy clearly has an axe (or should that be "ax"?   ) to grind, but like a few of these these quotes, it seems to be a matter of perspective and could easily be switched around. I wouldn't be surprised if the average Brit knows more about American politics than then average American knows about Brtish politics. This isn't a "dumb American" thing: it's just that American culture is all-pervasive in our society, and as a result most non-Americans know more about the States than they do about most other foreign countries.

 

Years ago I saw a Michael Moore programme where they tried a little test. They went out in the streets of a US city (NY, I think), and asked people basic questions about Canada, such as: Who's the Head of State? What's its capital city? What's its currency? They then went to Canada and asked Canadians the same questions about the USA. Guess which country score best?

The thing is, if you were to ask a group of Brits, I suspect they'd be more likely to know how many states there are in the USA or what its capitol is, than how many Provinces and Territories there are in Canada or what its capital is...

Eugene's Lair
Last edited by Eugene's Lair
Originally Posted by Eugene's Lair:

Obviously people may get confused when they see something they're used to done differently, but I've always considered the UK method more logical as it follows a natural progression: day, month, year...

Isn't that a idiosyncrasy of Americans?  Most nations put the day first, it's the Americans who have it arse about face, as usual.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country

Carnelian
Last edited by Carnelian
Originally Posted by Lori:

I believe the proper term is "yer darn tootin'" 

 

 

You say "cheque", I say "check".

At least they sound the same, it was very confusing for me and all involved when I went to the USA in November and was looking for things like a car park, or a petrol station, or a till in a shop

 

Oh, but the way your petrol/gas stations work is better than ours, but I was SO confused the first time. I had to go and ask a member of staff for help, luckily it was quiet and she was very friendly and helpful

SazBomb
Originally Posted by SazBomb:
Originally Posted by Lori:

I believe the proper term is "yer darn tootin'" 

 

 

You say "cheque", I say "check".

At least they sound the same, it was very confusing for me and all involved when I went to the USA in November and was looking for things like a car park, or a petrol station, or a till in a shop

 

Oh, but the way your petrol/gas stations work is better than ours, but I was SO confused the first time. I had to go and ask a member of staff for help, luckily it was quiet and she was very friendly and helpful

Lol, there's loads of things that are just easier there... Gas stations definitely being one of them

 

The hands free public toilets are another, wave at the toilet as you finish and it flushes, wave under the taps (faucets Lori) and they turn on, wave in front of the paper towel dispenser and it gives you paper towels. I wish we had those things here!

Jen-Star
Last edited by Jen-Star

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