The FastDay Forum

I used to think you Brits spoke English but I have been watching Come Dine with me UK and can hardly understand a word they say

I wonder if Brits like their "wine" a little more. I get the sense there is more home cooking going on over take out food here in the US, very admirable.

[Betsysgr8]

@Wineoclock, I prefer to listen to 'real' english with all the varying (sp?) regional accents then the watered down "BBC" english. It's much like all the regional accents in North America all the way from Alaska through Canada to the South and from New Froundland to Nova Scotia through the east coast of the US all the way to me in the West. Absolutly incredible and facinating. I also love to hear the difference with the Aussie's and kiwi's. Do you have regional accents in Australia?

[Betsysgr8]

I used to think you Brits spoke English but I have been watching Come Dine with me UK and can hardly understand a word they say

DVR's come in very handy when watching British shows that use real everyday english, I am backing up and listening over and over again until I can understand what I heard!

I wish I had the rewind/replay thingy going way back when my friend John from Newcastle was alive, I could barely understand anything he ever said!

"Diverse" would be the first thing I think of. It's hard to generalise to say there's a 'true Brit' because there are so very many of you You can't really shove your your average lager lout into the same basket as your plummy country lady - which one is more British?

If I had to name one thing though, it would be to agree with Tracieknits to say most of you have truly shocking teeth! A lot of it must be genetic but honestly, are there no orthodontists in Britain or does no-one care?! I can identify a Brit before they even speak because off their snaggleteeth (Before anyone takes offence, I was born in Yorkshire lol)

@Betsygr8 apparently we have regional differences but not as strong as the UK. I find it amusing when films and tv shows will have a New Zealander playing an Australian, it's very easy to pick as the NZ accent is very different.
I was listening to a top voice coach who coaches many actors and the Australian accent is possibly the hardest to master.

I must say I love. British humour, grew up with it. But what is the British obsession with bare bums?

French people think that Brits are snobs! I think a lot of this comes from cultural differences, I remember a long time ago when I first worked in France people thought I was a snob because I didn't spontaniously 'faire les bises' at work, although I knew French people kissed to say hello it seemed strange to do so with people you had never met, and lots of colleagues thought this was because I thought I was above them! They also think that British people can't cook, are drunks, and can't speak other languages (the last bit is fair enough but the French are generally no better!)
I think Swedes are more admirative of the Brits, I hear more about our sense of humeur and great tv than other things, but in fairness the Swedes I know have actually been to Britain and do speak English so I think their view is more accurate, the French tend to base their view on steriotypes on tv and the time they were made to go to England as a teenager and eat baked beans for breakfast lol!

Thank you everyone. I see it didn't take long to get down to our panties/knickers and posted by an American Picking a few out here:

Bad teeth.
Truth rating: High, although there is an obsession in the UK right now at addressing this driven by celebrity culture. I have great teeth though
Loud.
Truth rating: Medium. (but not compared to an east coaster or an Ozzy)... Its normally driven by the drinking......
Heavy drinkers.
Truth rating: High. Its a national sport especially amongst the young, and rich retired's. I think we could probably outdo the Germans, Australians and the South Africans. Especially the Scots, the Irish and the Geordie's.
Bad Food.
Truth rating: Low. To quote @ballerina, this is a load of 'bollox'. London is the foodie capital of the world right now and local artisan products, english pubs and bistro's are all the rage. Its true though that good food in the UK is expensive. Don't judge us by Come Dine with Me, but Chef Ramsay
Being formal/pretentious.
Truth rating - low. The Brits think this about the French and its just not true....we are trying to figure you out, but worth reading the link below about our 'weasel words'.

Other things
@wendyjane's observation about disambiguating meanings was hilarious. I really must find a way of weaving that example into my talk. Thank you

Geordie's. In a league of their own @Betsysgr8 and your dear friend John. Having lived there for 15 years and still spend alot of time there because I love it, they would declare independence from the rest of the UK if they could afford to, although their affection for pease pudding probably doesn't help UK's reputation for food. Sorry @silverdarling Standing by for the reposte

Here are some links you might like to comment on. Please keep 'em coming

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/425830 ... ay-of-life
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... t-hit.html

@rawkaren hahaaaa! Entirely agree with you there, as a pease-pudding hating yorkshire lass it's taken me 10 years to understand the geordies in one sense of the word, and just touching the surface in the other. And nobody's mentioned football ...

And the most unusual thing - we have all this variety in an island which is less than the size of most states in the US ... One of the reasons why my parents came back to the UK from NZ was that they missed all the variety! Life then (the sixties) was too samey for them over there - they couldn't wait to get back to this overcrowded, rude, infuriating, dirty, snaggle-toothed but endlessly interesting and funny collection of islands

I am English living in rural France amongst French farmers, neighbours own us. They ask each other what their English are up to. They know all our comings and goings including the date we are next due to arrive if it is a holiday home. My neighbour laughs at my plump chickens we do not eat, at my dogs who sleep on the sofa, my cats who live in doors. The fact I take dogs and cats to the vet amazes them! They are surprised when I give them homemade cake/jam etc as have always believed the English do not cook. They are pleasantly surprised when we attempt the language as we have the reputation of not bothering. When visiting a fortified chateau the chap conducting the tour looked me in the eye and with a big smile said 'this was built to keep the English out'. In my village, as we get more involved in helping with fetes and things they are beginning to accept us but I think they will always regard us as their English.

I am English living in rural France amongst French farmers, neighbours own us. They ask each other what their English are up to. They know all our comings and goings including the date we are next due to arrive if it is a holiday home. My neighbour laughs at my plump chickens we do not eat, at my dogs who sleep on the sofa, my cats who live in doors. The fact I take dogs and cats to the vet amazes them! They are surprised when I give them homemade cake/jam etc as have always believed the English do not cook. They are pleasantly surprised when we attempt the language as we have the reputation of not bothering. When visiting a fortified chateau the chap conducting the tour looked me in the eye and with a big smile said 'this was built to keep the English out'. In my village, as we get more involved in helping with fetes and things they are beginning to accept us but I think they will always regard us as their English.

That's funny. I adore French people and when we do actually get to know one another, it always comes as a bit of a surprise to everyone when we realise that we are actually not that very different - despite our strange ways. Still don't get French humour though!

@Rawkaren, I read this recently, and thought it might fit here! Meaning absolutely no offence to anyone, anywhere, of course. (And yes, there are a lot of Brits with bloody good teeth, I'm one of them)



After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, French scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the French: in the weeks that followed, American archaeologists dug to a depth of 20 feet before finding traces of copper wire. Shortly afterwards, they published an article in the New York Times saying : "American archaeologists, having found traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the French."

A few weeks later, ‘The British Archaeological Society of Northern England’ reported the following: "After digging down to a depth of 33 feet in the Skipton area of North Yorkshire in 2012, Charlie Hardcastle, a self-taught local amateur archaeologist, reported that he had found absolutely bugger all. Charlie has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Britain had already gone wireless."

Just makes you bloody proud to be British.

Where I work, we get people from other countries visiting. I often hear them ask:

Is it foggy all the time ?

Nice one Izzy and yes, I also have a good set of gnashers on me and I absolutely hate this fad for teeth that look like a full set of luminous dentures a la Simon Cowell etc, yuk!

Ballerina x