Goodnight Little Spoon: Monday List: Dialect Differences

Nov 14, 2011

Monday List: Dialect Differences

I am very fascinated by the little differences in language and wording between Western countries. You might remember my Regional Dialect Meme vlog from a few months ago - it mainly focused on pronunciation, but there are lots of specific word differences between Australian and the US. I made a larger list of some differences I could think of on my Listography. The words above are just some of my favourites.

Can you think of any other fun word differences?

+ glitter texture by pugly pixel.

12 COMMENTS:

Miki's scrapbookNovember 14, 2011 2:18 PM
Awe, so cute! I had people laughing at me when they heard me say "fringe " and "biscuits". I was taught British English so those words turned out to be some different that I thought, hehe.

Have a great week, Bianca! ;D

Miki.
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CheNovember 14, 2011 4:49 PM
i also say biscuits, nappy and fringe :)
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Sarah RooftopsNovember 14, 2011 7:22 PM
Me, too.

I saw a blogger apologise recently for not always getting the American spelling right. Wha-?! I find the differences between all the varieties of English fascinating; I don't feel any need to change my spelling and vocabulary just because a lot of bloggers live outside the UK.
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PickAndMixNovember 15, 2011 12:19 AM
I say
pavement

you say
sidewalk
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Natalie MulfordNovember 15, 2011 1:25 AM
There were a few things I had to pick up on when working with US actors, a few things would get lost in translation. One of the main ones was soft drink/soda/pop, I was forever forgetting to call it what it was!
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stuNovember 15, 2011 4:25 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
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stuNovember 15, 2011 4:27 AM
these are fun to read! it's funny how when English is not your native language and you sort of learn most versions to the same words, then like Australian/British/North American people have these funny moments and misunderstandings with their words and you're like what, how can you be confused about thongs and flip flops, of course they're the same thing! sometimes i feel like i'm missing something funny by knowing 'too much' :D.
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aDeLiNeNovember 15, 2011 7:39 AM
Loveloveloveloveloveloveloooooove this list.
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Jane CullenNovember 15, 2011 10:31 AM
I love this! In Canada we say zed and some people call flip flops thongs. What do you call gas that you put in your car? We just call it gas or fuel but in Ireland they called it petrol. I love the sound of that. Also your crisps are my chips, your chips are my french fries and we say bandaids instead of sticky plaster. I could go on forever here. Take care!
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RhianneNovember 17, 2011 10:14 PM
I love this - the UK is similar to the Australian, though a doona is a quilt/duvet, I had to ask someone about that one recently lol.

Looking at your other list, prawn/shrimp always throws me too.
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shebaNovember 18, 2011 7:49 AM
i say "zed" too [being canadian and all!] and my new yorker students look at me like i have two heads when i forget to say "zee"!
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Miss Cinti - my poppetNovember 30, 2011 5:41 PM
Hi Just discovered your blog via the dialect meme on pugly pixel.
I'm tempted to join in even though it was yonks ago.
I'm always the last to find out about things, probably because i never have time to read blogs.
x cinti
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I ♡ your comments :)

100 ideas by keri smith: 1. go for a walk. draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk.
2. write a letter to yourself in the future.
3. buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal). use it everyday.
4. draw your dinner.
5. find a piece of poetry you respond to. rewrite it and glue it into your journal.
6. glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street.
7. expose yourself to a new artist, (go to a gallery, or in a book.) write about what moves you about it.
8. find a photo of a person you do not know. write a brief bio about them.
9. spend a day drawing only red things.
10. draw your bike.
11. make a list of everything you buy in the next week.
12. make a map of everywhere you went in one day.
13. draw a map of the creases on your hand, (knuckles, palm)
14. trace your footsteps with chalk.
15. record an overheard conversation.
16. trace the path of the moon in relation to where you live.
17. go to a paint store. collect ‘chips’ of all your favorite colors.
18. draw your favorite tree.
19. take 15 minutes to eat an orange.
20. write a haiku.
21. hang upside down for five minutes.
22. hang found objects from tree branches.
23. make a puppet.
24. create an outdoor room from things you find in nature.
25. read a book in one day.
26. illustrate your grocery list.
27. read a story out loud to a friend.
28. write a letter to someone you admire.
29. study the face of someone you do not like.
30. make a meal based on a color theme. (i.e. all white).
31. create a museum of very small things.
32. list the smells in your neighbourhood.
33. list 100 uses for a tin can.
34. fill an entire page in your journal with small circles. colour them in.
35. give away something you love.
36. choose an object, draw the side you can’t see.
37. list all of the places you’ve ever lived.
38. describe your favourite room in detail.
39. write about your relationship with your washing machine.
40. draw all of the things in your purse/bag.
41. make a mini book based on the theme, “my grocery list”.
42. create a character based on someone you know. write a list of personality traits.
43. recall your favorite childhood game.
44. put postcards of art pieces/painting on the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors, so you can see them everyday (but not become deaf to them.)
45. draw the same object every day for a week.
46. write in your journal using a different medium (brush & ink, charcoal, old typewriter, crayons, fat markers.
47. draw the individual items of your favorite outfit.
48. make a useful item using only paper & tape.
49. research a celebration or ritual from another culture.
50. do a temporary art installation using a pad of post it notes & a pen.
51. draw a map of your favorite sitting spots in your town/city. (photocopy it and give it to someone you like.)
52. record all of the sounds you hear in the course of one hours.
53. using a grid, collect various textures from magazine and play them off of each other.
54. cut out all media for one day. write about the effects.
55. make pencil rubbings of six different surfaces.
56. draw your garbage.
57. do a morning collage.
58. list your ten most important things, (not including animals or people).
59. list ten things you would like to do every day.
60. glue a photo of yourself as a child into your journal.
61. trasform some garbage.
62. write an entry in your journal in really LARGE letters.
63. collect some ‘flat’ things in nature (leaves, flowers). glue or tape them into your journal.
64. physically alter a page. (i.e. cut a hole, pour tea on it, burn it, fold it, etc.)
65. find several color combinations you respond to in public. document them using swatches, write where you found them.
66. write a journal entry describing something “secret”. cut it up into several pieces and glue them back in scrambled.
67. record descriptions or definitions of subjects or words you are interested in, found in encyclopedias or dictionaries.
68. draw the outline of an object without looking at the page. (contour drawing).
69. what were you thinking just now? write it down.
70. do nothing.
71. write a list of ten things you could to do. Do the last thing on the list.
72. create an image using dots.
73. do 3 drawings at different speeds.
74. put a small object in your left pocket (or in a bag), put your left hand in the pocket. draw it by feel.
75. create a graph documenting or measuring something in your life.
76. draw the sun.
77. create instructions for a simple everyday task.
78. make prints using food. (fruit and vegetables cut in half, fish, etc.)
79. find a photo. alter it by drawing over it.
80. write a letter using an unconventional medium.
81. draw one object for twenty minutes.
82. combine two activities that have not been combined before.
83. write about your day in an encyclopedic fashion. (i.e. organize by subject.)
84. write a list of all the things you do to escape.
85. cut a random shape out of several layers of a magazine. make a collage out of the results.
86. write an entry in code.
87. make a painting using tools from the bathroom.
88. work with a medium that is subtractive.
89. write about or draw some of the doors in your life.
90. make a postcard that has some kind of activity on it.
91. divise a journal entry using “layers”.
92. divise an entry using “layers”.
93. write your own definition of one of the following concepts, sitting, waiting, sleeping (without using the actual word.)
94. list 10 of your habits.
95. illustrate the concept of “simplicity”.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.