If You Are A Brit, Clap Your Hands!

[ArielFabian]

No my 5 year old goes "Quiero Agua!!" to my wife, but says "Please daddy , can i have a cup of water if youre not too busy, thank you" to me.

"Water" sounds very different in the British and the American English to me. British speakers seem to soft or erase the "R" at the end, and Americans pronounce a soft "T" in the middle which sounds very similar to a "D".
"Quiero agua!!!" is not that elegant but it is easier to understand.

 

[Girino]

Me think the Brits deserve lotta more clapping than this and the usual 'mericans hijacking threads.

 

[johnw100]

"Water" sounds very different in the British and the American English to me. British speakers seem to soft or erase the "R" at the end, and Americans pronounce a soft "T" in the middle which sounds very similar to a "D".
"Quiero agua!!!" is not that elegant but it is easier to understand.

Well you have to remember British speakers have something like 60+ regional accents and they vary greatly on how we pronounce words. But generally American English seems to add a couple of RR`s to the end of many words compared to British English,I think theyre making up for all the U`s theyve butchered from the English language. ;-)
This woman highlights just a few of the accents.

 

[johnw100]

What is the secret behind the Brits cold temper? I so wish I was raised by English parents, instead of having this very Latin snappy attitude that keeps getting me into trouble.
Is there a sort of coaching to learn to keep your temper?

Thanks in advance to all the Brits that will chime in.

Can you give us a few examples of your snappy attitude? Then we might be able to help you.

 

[johnw100]

By order of the British Government

 

[Gringoboy]

Maybe this is why many Argentines call us 'pecho frio'.

 

[ArielFabian]

Well you have to remember British speakers have something like 60+ regional accents and they vary greatly on how we pronounce words. But generally American English seems to add a couple of RR`s to the end of many words compared to British English,I think theyre making up for all the U`s theyve butchered from the English language. ;-)
This woman highlightsjust a few of the accents.

Thanks for the link, looks really interesting. Will take a look and try to differenciate each accent in the future.
Regarding to butchering the language, I agree with you, the British never butcher the writing, even if they write fast

 

[nlaruccia]

An Argentine friend of mine that now lives in NYC used to think that North Americans were frio. He would say: tipico americanos. Then he adjusted to the States, and traveled to London and loved the English people too. He loves his home country, but he thinks that Argentines misunderstand North Americans and English saying that they are cold, but he thinks Argentines are "babosos" that don't respect people's space nor their time. Nothing is perfect.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Well you have to remember British speakers have something like 60+ regional accents and they vary greatly on how we pronounce words. But generally American English seems to add a couple of RR`s to the end of many words compared to British English,I think theyre making up for all the U`s theyve butchered from the English language. ;-)
This woman highlightsjust a few of the accents.

There are strong regional accents in the US as well, but English speakers from other countries often fail to recognize them. The movie Fargo, for instance, does a brilliant job depicting Upper Midwest speech. Then, of course, there's always http://tinyurl.com/l3otryy

 

[Girino]

Can you give us a few examples of your snappy attitude? Then we might be able to help you.

I get annoyed very easily and the I can't keep my mouth shout about it.

For example, if there are two people in front of me walking in the mid of the sidewalk at a very S-L-O-W pace, I start screaming in my head "Jeez, do you really have ALL DAY to waste, don't you?!".
My grandma always told me to try to cause as little discomfort as possible to other people, so: walk on one side of the sidewalk, don't stand in the middle, think about people who might need to walk faster, be proactive in figuring other people's needs.

When it is raining and I am about to cross the street on a crosswalk, I can't stand people in a car not letting me pass. In Italy they don't usually stop for pedestrians, unless they are already crossing the street or are carrying a burden, a baby or there is an elderly crossing, but here in Argentina they RUN OVER YOU shamelessly.
Snappy attitude: I start yelling them "Vaff****o, do you think crosswalk are decorations?!" and I wish I had an hammer to break their windows, so that they'd learn their lesson.


Also, I am pretty straightforward: if I am calling someone to arrange a time to meet, I expect to end the call within 10' with a time and a place, not with a generic "dinner time" after 20 minutes of chit chat. Especially if we are talking about the same day and if there are other persons involved. This regularly happens when trying to make plans with my boyfriend's family (he does the talking over the phone).
Snappy attitude: I start yelling "Holy moly how is it possible you didn't get a time and a place?! You've been on the phone 30 f*ing minutes, what have you been talking about? Boludo!"

I don't like when people try to upsell, if I enter a shop with a specific request, I already made my mind before walking in. I understand marketing and stuff, but if I come in for a nail polisher and you don't have it, don't try to sell me a lipstick, it makes me feel a dumb prey.
Snappy attitude: I walk away too fast and it is considered rude, while too me I am just making them a favor to avoid wasting time when I am already sure I am not interested in buying something else.


I can't stand lies, and I am not a good liar. And very often I think that courteous wordings are just blatant lies everybody is fine with it. In the example above, once I get my answer "Sorry, we don't have it", I say "Too bad, thanks anyway" and I am already out of the store, while I gather that I should show some support for the poor sale assistant, wait for her to pitch in with some upselling, fake being interested and close with "I'll think about it".
Snappy attitude: In general, if someone is bullshitting me, I say openly "Bullshit" or I walk away, while in certain situations I should let the other people "win", smile, and try to bullshit back.


I hardly cope with other people's OCDs. There is this 'relative' that insists on keeping on my kitchen light even if he is sit in the living room facing the other way. I turn it off, he turns it on. I open a window, he closes that window. Frankly, when this happens twice in a row it gets kind of weird. A nice "Please, can you close the window that I am cold?" would be perfectly fine, especially because this person is a relative of my boyfriend and has been knowing me for 2 months.

In general, my boyfriend tells me that I should be more accommodating and that I should look after my own interests, even if that means to "play" along some bullshit, "accepting" an undefined answer, letting someone "win" and keep the lights on, etc.

I think part of my snappy attitude is that I make efforts to avoid certain behaviors - that keeps my mind busy all the time, and I am angry that someone gets along fine without all these self-controlling actions. I am not saying I am never wrong, but if I am carelessly walking in the mid of the sidewalk and I notice someone trying to pass me, immediately I am reminded that I should walk on the side and not in the middle.
Or if I turn on a light and then the owner of the house turns it off, I think "I shouldn't have turned it on in the first place" and I won't repeat the mistake.
Or if I am making plans who involve a third and a fourth persons, I try to define everything as much in advance as possible, so that they all have time to make arrangements of their own.