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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4290 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 33 of 47 13 November 2013 at 8:59pm | IP Logged | |||||
I did not know that you were from Newcastle. The university is in the city centre right at the top of the high street and Haymarket, but still I have heard the term used. Not around that area though. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| lecavaleur Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4777 days ago 146 posts - 295 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish | Message 34 of 47 13 November 2013 at 9:15pm | IP Logged | |||||
In Canada: - "Bill" and "check" (as in what you have to pay at a restaurant) are used interchangeably. As in the UK, a "cheque" is a piece of paper which gives the recipient the right to claim a sum of money from your bank account. - The "post" is typically called "mail" as in the U.S., despite the fact that the postal service is called "Canada Post". It's former name was the "Royal Mail". - "Serviette" for a napkin is somewhat archaic and belongs mostly to another generation, perhaps also to a certain social class these days. I rarely ever hear it. The vast majority of people call it a "napkin". - "Lorry" is not in Canadian usage. Here it's called a "truck". - A "college" in Canada is generally a post-secondary institution that offers technical/vocational training. A few of them offer a limited number of 4 year bachelor degrees. Unlike in the U.S., where "college" is an ambiguous term referring sometimes to 2-year colleges sometimes to 4-year colleges, sometimes to universities, Canadians always specify whether they are in "college" or "university". Some universities (essentially the University of Toronto) are divided into "colleges", which is a system modelled after the British system one sees at Oxford and Cambridge. Most Canadian universities, however, are divided into faculties and departments. In modern Québec, the French word "collège" refers also to a post-secondary institution which delivers preparatory diplomas permitting admission to a university, but also technical diplomas that prepare the recipient for a career in certain fields. They are also most commonly referred to by the official French acronym "CÉGEP". 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4290 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 35 of 47 13 November 2013 at 10:45pm | IP Logged | |||||
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That is quite interesting, I thought that "serviette" was colloquial, because I remember
in addition to the younger relatives that I have who came to visit who used it regularly, I heard in Toronto one teenager saying to the other in a restaurant saying, "Dude, we need more serviettes". Or perhaps it is used to sound popular or something. I have heard about UoT doing that like the Oxbridge universities. I suppose McGill do that as well? Edited by 1e4e6 on 13 November 2013 at 10:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5565 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 36 of 47 13 November 2013 at 11:10pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I thought serviette usually signified a lower middle class arriviste trying to be
sophisticated by using a French word instead of the English word. Certainly, my mother used it in that way and she was about as arriviste as they came. (is there a normally English word for arriviste? :-)) Edited by Elexi on 13 November 2013 at 11:11pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4622 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 37 of 47 14 November 2013 at 12:31am | IP Logged | |||||
I would call this a washing-up basin :-) 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| FullofPears Newbie Japan Joined 4051 days ago 9 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 38 of 47 14 November 2013 at 6:56am | IP Logged | |||||
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I'm from western Canada, and I think both my grandmothers call them "serviettes", but the rest of my family goes with "napkins" (or "paper napkin" if you need to distinguish it from one made from cloth). For me, a basin (or washbasin) would be a (usually plastic) tub used to do the dishes when camping or something, not something built into the house (that's a sink). I'd call the thing at a restaurant a "bill", although I'd understand "check".
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| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4622 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 39 of 47 14 November 2013 at 12:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I've heard plenty British people use the term serviette. Usually among older generations. If you go a bit further back, the word counterpane was used to describe what today would be known as a bedspread or duvet. Some words fall out of favour as time goes by.
What about skirting board? This is a term that every native English-speaker from the UK would know, regardless of educational level. Yet it's words like these that trip up non-native speakers who have never lived in Britain (even though their English is otherwise excellent). I believe the Americans call it baseboard, but the same argument applies. Edited by beano on 14 November 2013 at 12:56pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4828 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 40 of 47 14 November 2013 at 7:05pm | IP Logged | |||||
Not to me. To me, the "sink" is what's in the kitchen, aka the "kitchen sink". (back in the sixties, there were "kitchen sink" dramas in film and TV, i.e. about everyday (usually working class) life. A sink and a washbasin are two quite distinct things, and I think a plumber would agree with me. The word "handbasin" is also heard, though I don't use it. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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