[Wikipedia-l] Re: Re: Wikipedia English English

[Alphax]

Mark Williamson wrote:
>> I'm sorry but there are not a "few" usage differences, there really are
>>quite a lot. And this is more than just dialect we are talking about: I'm
>>not arguing for "equal rights" for each dialect; but for "equal rights" for
>>the two orthographies, in the same way as Scots, and the two forms of
>>Norwegian.
>> this is just an example:
>>http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html
>>http://www.krysstal.com/ukandusa.html
> 
> 
> You really are barking mad, aren't you?
> 
> The vast majority of those aren't even real differences.
> 
> Some examples:
> 
> "note" vs "bill" -- "bill" would probably not be understood in the UK,
> but referring to them as notes would be understood in the US.

A bill is something demanding payment.

> "maths" vs "math" -- any good encyclopaedia should always say
> "mathematics" rather than abbreviating it so lazily.

Agreed.

> "autumn" vs "fall" -- we use them both as synonyms on this side of the
> pond. You guys don't?

Nope. Fall is something that hurts.

> "bank holiday" vs "legal holiday" -- I've lived in the US my entire
> life, and I've never even heard of the latter

Never heard of a "legal holiday", and I don't think we have "bank
holidays" either.

> "tick" vs "check" -- not the same thing. a check is a distinct symbol,
> as is a tick, and they are two different symbols.

Never heard of a check in that context...

> "pissed off" vs "pissed" -- WTF!? first of all, this won't be found in
> most encyclopaedia articles. second of all, we say both here.

Also use both.

> "trousers" vs "pants" -- although we consider "trousers" to be a bit
> old-fashioned, it will be widely understood here. I did used to think
> it meant shoes though.

Trousers are more formal than any old pants :)

> "pedestrian crossing" vs "crosswalk" -- we use both here.

Never heard of a "crosswalk".

> "store" vs "shop" -- this is probably the lamest one on there.

Agreed, but you can always buy things at a shop :)

> "chemist" vs "drug store" -- "chemist" isn't common here, but it's
> better than "apothecary", which is probably less ambiguous than either
> of the other two.

Chemist and Pharmacy all the way...

> "bill" vs "check" -- uhh... we use both.

You can make out a cheque to pay a bill...

> ".co.uk" vs ".com" -- that's not a linguistic difference. There are
> plenty of UK companies that have a .com, as it's supposed to be
> international (as opposed to .us)

Agreed, that's a historical difference - UK decided on .co.uk, NZ
decided on .co.nz, Australia decided on .com.au, and US got .com because
they could.

> "car" vs "automobile" -- we usually just say "car" here. only people
> like you say "automobile".

I say good sir, that's a horseless carriage, and I shall dual any many
who should say otherwise!

> "jug" vs "pitcher" -- absolut rediculos~!
> 

Except of course for a Pitcher Plant...

> I could go on. But I'm getting bored. You're mad. End of story.
> 

And I'm Australian.

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