Dead giveaways in a post that a person is from country X

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
121

[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy]
When I took Spanish in college (around the late 60’s), we were taught that the term for for USA residents was norteamericanos meaning North Americans. I don’t think I ever heard the term estadounidense. I don’t know if this has been an “official” change in the language since that time, or if our instructor was using some regional colloquialism that he picked up while he was studying in Mexico.
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But how does that term identify only citizens of the United States? “North Americans” would include Canadians.

122

And Greenlanders. And residents of Ste.-Pierre-et-Miquelon. And Saskatchewanites. We’re not really sure where they fit in.

123

[QUOTE=Baffle]
And Greenlanders. And residents of Ste.-Pierre-et-Miquelon. And Saskatchewanites. We’re not really sure where they fit in.
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Puh-leese. The correct term is “Saskatchewanians.” None of this “-ite” stuff. Makes me think of the followers of Mrs. Thatcher.

124

I’m a bit late into this thread.

[QUOTE=John DiFool]
If a poster says, “When I went to university”, I can probably assume he/she is Canadian.

“When I went to college” is what an American would say.
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[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
I’ll often use ‘US’ or ‘States’, especially when the precision is helpful, such as when there’s a particular distinction to be made between that country and Canada, or less often with elsewhere in the Americas.

Or British. Or (I think) Australian. In fact, pretty much just ‘not American’ :wink:
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I tend to find most Aussies say “Uni”. It’s like university is to long to say.

[QUOTE=erie774]
Americans go on vacation. Brits go on holiday.
Americans don’t say “arse”
Americans call it “soccer”, the rest of the world calls it “football”.
Americans get in a lot of trouble if they talk about going out to smoke a couple fags.
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Even the national league in Australia calls it soccer!

[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
For some reason, “cunt” used as an insult in Australia is exclusively male, although it can also be used as a general term meaning “guys” or “people”: “Every cunt was at the beach today” but obviously this depends on the circles you mix in..
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Aswell as what u just posted I have noticed woman tend to hate this word. I’m yet to find one that finds it acceptable.

[QUOTE=MrDibble]
If a person rips off New Zealanders, he’s probably an Aussie, and vice versa.
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New Zealanders are sheep rooters!

[QUOTE=wisernow]
“Bollocks” gives away the Brit. Or is it Aussie too?
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Never heard an Aussie say Bollocks.

[QUOTE=Darryl Lict]
I remember some non-American being amused at our term “fanny pack”.
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Thats because its a bumbag.

[QUOTE=Neidhart]
Americans don’t have “mates”, they have friends. And they go to bars, not pubs.
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I thought there was a difference to a pub and a bar? A pub tends to be open all teh time and serves means, and bars tend to have more a club feel without being a club.
I find if someone says “soda” they are generally American, as Aussies say “soft drink”. What do people form the U.K say?
I still find it weird when Americans say thong. Since you wear thongs on your feet not on your arse.

125

[QUOTE=tonedef]
I thought there was a difference to a pub and a bar? A pub tends to be open all the time and serves means, and bars tend to have more a club feel without being a club
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I always took a bar to be a part of a hotel that serves drinks, a pub a standalone building.

I hear soft drinks used to differentiate between something alcoholic and something that’s not, but people usually ask for a coke or the like in a pub or bar instead of asking whoever’s going up to get served for a soft drink.

126

One thing I´ve noticed around here is that many people say things like “It´s take time” or “It´s hurt” when stating something.
My GF speaks English very well, but does that a lot, looks out the window and says “It´s rain”

127

[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
‘Off of’ crops up in some English regional dialects, and it’s a phrase I sometimes use. I find it rather insulting to be told that because I sometimes use vernacular grammar in informal speech, I am ‘very uneducated’. The same as I see no reason to ‘correct’ my pupils’ use of, for example, the transitive ‘learn’ in speech - why should I crap on my own culture and background?
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No need to be so defensive, tractor boy. If you have to say “off of” in informal speech, I’ll put up with the fingernails-down-blackboard sensation and smile politely through it. It doesn’t belong in written English for a non-regional audience, unless the dialect is part of the package, in which case I can say “D’yew fare to do what yew fare to do, do I’ll twilt yew” all I like. As for your pupils, I’d’ve thought it was your responsibility to learn them better English. :stuck_out_tongue:

“Pop”. Though I don’t think the term’s as widespread as when I was a boy.

128

[QUOTE=John DiFool]
For example, if I see the word “rubbish”, it’s quite likely that the person is from the British Isles.
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If someone uses the word “brilliant” to describe something other than light and human intelligence, they’re probably British. If they use it more than once in that context, they’re most definitely British.

Use of “robot” to mean “stop light” or “traffic signal”, and “hob” to mean “stove”: definitely South African.

Very affected English, for instance “Do the needful and kindly tell me the three English words that end in the letters -gry very much please”: Indian. Hell, “kindly” and “do the needful” alone scream Indian.

Written English by many Russians is usually quite bad, where a grammatical rule is broken with practically every word. Any man who has used an online dating service has received letters reading something like “You am kindly and structure man I muchly please to marry.”

129

[QUOTE=tonedef]
Never heard an Aussie say Bollocks.
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I say “Bollocks” a lot. It’s a very handy word. :slight_smile:

I’ve always called those flip-flop footwear things that go on your feet “Jandals”. :smiley:

Then again, I do keep my coldies in the Chilly Bin, have a Duvet on the bed, and describe small things as being “Wee”, so I don’t think I can be regarded as any sort of definitive authority on Australian English. :stuck_out_tongue:

130

[QUOTE=Martini Enfield]
I’ve always called those flip-flop footwear things that go on your feet “Jandals”. :smiley:
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Yeah, but you’re a banana bender :smiley:

131

Are Americans the only English speakers to semi-regularly use Yiddish terms in everyday writing and speech, for instance schlep, schmuck, nosh, shtik, nebbish, and so on?

132

[QUOTE=Malacandra]
As for your pupils, I’d’ve thought it was your responsibility to learn them better English. :stuck_out_tongue:
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In all seriousness, I do strongly feel that a distinction should be made between the specific case of teaching them to write formal English correctly, and the wider prioritising of this one form of the language above regional identity in the form of dialect.

[QUOTE=elmwood]
Are Americans the only English speakers to semi-regularly use Yiddish terms in everyday writing and speech, for instance schlep, schmuck, nosh, shtik, nebbish, and so on?
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There’s just a handful in British English - going through [urk=List of English words of Yiddish origin - Wikipedia]this list I’d say only chutzpah, schmooze, nosh, schlong, schmaltz and spiel. And whether they have arrived via our own Jewish population or from America is a very different question!

133

[QUOTE=Malacandra]
“Pop”. Though I don’t think the term’s as widespread as when I was a boy.
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Some Americans say this too, especially in the Midwest.

134

[QUOTE=elmwood]
Are Americans the only English speakers to semi-regularly use Yiddish terms in everyday writing and speech, for instance schlep, schmuck, nosh, shtik, nebbish, and so on?
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When you say ‘Americans’ you mean only New Yorkers or New Jerseyians right.

135

If you type “yer dern tootin’” you’re probably from North Dakota.

136

[QUOTE=ScareyFaerie]
'im indoors will say “it needs washed” or similiar, but he’s Scottish…

I am slowly enlarging my US friends’ vocabularies with such delightful terms as “twunt” and “barmpot”.
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Don’t forget “Wazzak” they’ll love that little gem

137

“I could care less” is American.

“I couldn’t care less” is British (and elsewhere?).

138

If you talk about Robots instead of Traffic Lights you’re probably a South African.

If you are 20 years old and attending school you’re probably American. Here when we are finished high-school we go to university. In the USA I gather school means both.

139

Also, if we mention putting a stiffy in your computer don’t get shocked, it’s how we refer to the 3 1/2 inch disks. Apart from the obvious connotation which we don’t think about here in SA, it was actually useful to have a different term to use to distinguish between the 5 1/4 inch disks and the 3 1/2 inch ones.

140

[QUOTE=e-logic]
“I could care less” is American.

“I couldn’t care less” is British (and elsewhere?).
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Do you think so? I’d say that the former is said by people who don’t know that the latter is correct, no matter where they live.