Well, I see that I will need an interpreter when I visit the British Isles. I expected it in Scotland, but this has been an eye opener.I'll just have to keep watching "Doc Martin" and listen closely.

God forbid you should come to Cardiff, Wales. I moved to Cardiff in 1981 and being a Lancashire lad born in Bolton in 't NorthWest o England not far from the fictional Coronation Street i had some difficulties.Of course we speak the Queens English but when you here things like :Where to is it.orTen sheets a pound your christmas wraporLook You nowYou will be in a right quandary.Wycliffe

My mother was from Norwich and had one of the "milder" dialects. I've heard the Welsh. You're right---it is a test to follow them.

Hi Viperpilot and boeing247, Sorry you’ve completely lost me with your explanation. As I see it [ maybe other Brits will help me out here ], the expression relates to a specific situation, hypothetical or otherwise. E.g. A Chelsea supporter [ English soccer team] says to me ‘ I hope we win the Cup this year’, I would reply ‘I could not care less’ - which would imply [ correctly] that it would be impossible for me to be less concerned about their fortunes – in other words it is of no interest to me. If I replied ‘ I could care less ‘ [which I have never heard a Brit say anyway ], it would be taken to mean that it would be possible for me to be less concerned- which to me makes no sense in any context. I have just given myself a headache thinking this through and am going for a lie down in a darkened room ! Boeing247, I think we do use the correct definition of irony over here, as a good deal of our humour is based on it. Are the people you refer to English [ i.e by nationality] teachers or teachers of English ? Regards..Stuart

Are the people you refer to English [ i.e by nationality] teachers or teachers of English ?

Teachers of the English language, and the same goes for any other language (Spanish, French, etc...). We'd say "Teacher from ______". (If the teacher was from England, we'd probably say "British Teacher", but that would technically also apply to a teacher from Scotland or Wales)

...I have just given myself a headache thinking this through and am going for a lie down in a darkened room !Regards..Stuart

Stuart,Didn't mean to give you a headache there... just playing with you and words is all. No harm done, and I hope no harm caused. :smile:Alan

No problem Alan,I was joking about the headache [ just my ironic sense of humour ], I find all languages and their use fascinating.Have a good one........Stuart

Edited February 18, 201214 yr by htfc

And we all have the nerve to say:" I don't understand why non-English speakers have such a problem with our language."

And we all have the nerve to say:" I don't understand why non-English speakers have such a problem with our language."

My favorite scenario is "If they don't understand what you're saying, just say it LOUDER and SLOWER!"Gud ting I lernt Spanesh wen I wuz a litel kyd. Et wuz tha onley wey I culd speek to are neybor uhkros tha streat an git sum grean chiley to eet. MMMMM! :P

Makes me laugh when I hear Americans on the Xbox tell me I've said something incorrectly, let us not forget that it is we Brits that made the language....

Do you really want to take the blame for the English language all alone?................. LOL, Viper! Been there.

In lesson two, we will be introducing adverbs...Al

Let's not forget where the English language originates though,

Germany, France and Italy, with a brief visit by Scandinavia...Though I do wonder about verandah, and bungalow.

Loose power would be a joy to behold.

Nicer than having to behold loose vowels.

Edited March 3, 201214 yr by Dave_Morgan

DaveBut not as nice as 'lose women'PeterH

In lesson two, we will be introducing adverbs...

Oh no! Is that like ad-ware?

But not as nice as 'lose[sic] women'

'Loose' women don't mean to be that way; they're just... eager. And, if you look like I do, you'd 'lose' women all the time, too!

Yeah, like that habit of my British friends of throwing gratuitous and irrelevant vowels into perfectly innocent words grates with me...

But we invented the words Bill! :lol: .... there they're just on permanent loan to you! :lol:I often make a business trip that takes me into the US North Eastern Seaboard, then up to Ontario and Novo Scotia, and I have to admit, whereas the colors of New England are spectacular, it's always lovely getting over the Canadian border, and seeing the colours of the maple leaves. ...ie it's nice when the spellings become familiar again.