[Don Jones]

To our Brit friends,

Something tongue in cheek but also quite perceptive and a fun read.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-g...ve-brits-nuts/

As I read the list, I found 1, 4, and 5 dead on. I found 8 and 9 deeply offensive! Although I do believe Americans should be forced to celebrate “Happy Zed Day” once a year in hono(u)r of the correct utterance of the last letter of our shared alphabet! On that day all Americans will have to say "zed" instead of "zee" if and when such occasion demands.

Don

[Cally Conan-Davies]

As a recent comer to these shores, and very recent recipient of the revered Card of Green (I am, in fact, as Sam Gwynn put it, Permanent President of the USA), and Australian to boot...

A LIST??? I could write a BOOK on the differences (I see them as that, rather than 'dislikes'). Perhaps your posting of this list will get me started, Don!

Exiled and Divided (and frequently Bewildered),

Cally

[E. Shaun Russell]

Yes...even having immigrated from Canada, where most of the news / television / media etc. had significant U.S. influence, I still notice a lot of little differences. There's very little I "hate" about the differences, but certainly a lot to notice. Actually, one of the things I dislike the most is that when people learn that I'm Canadian, that's often how they refer to me: "Have you met Shaun? He's Canadian." Most of the time I don't feel out of place in this country, but when I do it's usually because someone has singled me out as being a foreigner.

[Marion Shore]

As to the spellings, I think we're more practical i.e. phonetic, Brits are more elegant.

I mean, how do you pronounce color/colour?

col-er or col-hour/col-awr?

ditto, civilize/civilise

civil-eyes or civli-ice?

As for zed, why isn't b bed, c sed, d ded, e ed....etc.

I've been laughed at by European friends for switching my fork from left to right hand. But, hey, it's much easier to lift the fork with the strong hand. Again, practicality vs. elegance.

And what about driving on the right? What's up with that?

No criticism. I find the differences charming. The world would be more boring without them.

How about stuff we like about each other? There's loads of things I love about you guys. I even like the cooking.

[Don Jones]

Cally,

It's all the Anglosphere! Thanks for the word from your end of it. And for being green in the U.S., congratulations and welcome!

Best,

Don

Shaun,

On behalf of all Americans, I apologize that anyone called you out on your Canadianess.

Penance will be made!

Best,

Don

Ah, Marion!

But the continental style of the fork in the left hand is crucially practical and elegant. Switching forks is a time-consuming and unnecessary contrivance, which, for all I know, could be a Puritanical plot to delay the gratification of putting food in one's month.

BTW: I handle my fork/knife continental style. Minimal effort. Maximal yummy pleasure!

Best,

Don

[Jayne Osborn]

Don,

That is a fun read

I don't have very strong feelings about most of those things (what's the point?), and since I've been on the sphere I even find myself writing 'meter' and 'humor' quite often, instead of the Brit 'metre' and 'humour', because I'm mostly writing to you guys over there anyway, so why not? I'm pretty much inclined toward the "When in Rome..." philosophy.

Marion,
We pronounce 'colour' as culla, 'civilize' as civil-eyes, and I agree with you that our 'zed' is inconsistent. (I do wonder about your 'erb' pronunciation of herb, though. You don't say 'ospital'.)

There's just far too much intolerance, generally, about the UK/US differences. I simply WILL NOT put up with this, do you hear? ()

Jayne

[Marion Shore]

Jayne, when in Roume...

Seriously folks, I'm working on a novel told from different POVs and one of the characters is Canadian, so I write his part using British spellings, which is pretty cool, in't it?

[Marion Shore]

One thing I do not like is when they Americanise the spellings in British books--I mean, maybe it's not such big deal, but it does take away from the flavour of the piece, in my opinion, and I don't know why they do it.

[Cally Conan-Davies]

I can't say 'gas' for petrol. I just can't make my mouth or my brain do it.

I can finally drive on the right (wrong) side of the road without thinking about it, but I cannot automatically walk to the side of the car which has the steering wheel. That one gets me every time!

I cannot understand at all the point of having money that all looks the same. Australian notes are all different colours, so you know just by looking into the recesses of your wallet which is a five, a ten, a twenty. Here, I have to take them out and read the numbers. There is just too much maths involved in every day life here. And there are too many people who say 'math'.

I cannot understand the point of one dollar bills.

Oh no... I shouldn't have started! I'll keep the rest to myself - I'll write it in the aforementioned book.

Oh, just one more. The water in the toilet bowl... WHY?? WHY SO HIGH??

Ok, I can feel the flood-gates opening - I will stop. I promise. I hope.

[Gail White]

I can vouch for being annoyed by #3. It comes from the American desire to get in as many paying customers as possible. If you're through eating, you should be moving on, making way for somebody else.

One of the things I love about Italy is that the Italians don't try to move you on. Even if it's just before the height of lunch hour and you sit down at a cafe and all you order is a Coke, that seat is yours as long as you want it. Dinner, of course, is late and leisurely. Nobody hovers over you asking if you want your check. They figure that when you want the check, you'll ask for it.