Re: Comprehending British dialect (Re: British v. American Vocabulary)


10 Sep 1995 00:40:49 GMT

Magnus Olsson (mol@marvin.df.lth.se) wrote:
: In article <1995Sep6.071227.20964@news.cs.indiana.edu>,
: Sam Hulick <shulick@mango.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
: >
: >The only problem I have is playing a British game and running into all
: >sorts of things where I think "What is THAT?" :) Let's say that a
: >puzzle involved putting a diaper on a baby (weird example, but oh well
: >:). You look around and eventually.. "You can see a nappy here." How
: >would an American know what that is?

: Is it really that difficult?

Well, I guess you and I have studied English and not learned American or
Brittish English when we were children. Think about those words as
something you _never_ use: Those are like words taken from a different
language.

: > Do British people have the same
: >problem with American words?

: I think it's easier for us Europeans (native English speaking or not)
: to understand American words and cultural quirks than the other way
: round, because we're constantly immersed in American language and
: American culture via the media.

Maybe we should immerse Americans in European culture. :)

: Magnus

I don't know much about Australian English, but are there same kind of
problems between it and American and Brittish English ?


Lynoure