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American flag or British flag for English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6703 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes  Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 49 of 66 28 June 2012 at 4:28pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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A simple and sufficient reason for using Union Jack as a marker for English could be that English people in England invented the language. But US citizens are welcome to use Stars and Stripes and the Australians and the New Zelanders are welcome to use their flags if they can't bear to see the flag of the old colonial power. Likewise it seems most logical to use the Portuguese flag to denote the Portuguese language, but the Brazilian flag is OK with me - escpeially if the dialect used actually is Brazilian.
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| Presidio Triglot Newbie United States Joined 4581 days ago 39 posts - 150 votes Speaks: English*, Russian, German Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Gulf) | Message 50 of 66 28 June 2012 at 8:07pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
-- It is my experience tbat Americans are not "arrogant about their own version of English." They certainly don't regard it as "superior." I have found that many are fascinated by the various accents that come out of the UK, and often voice how much they like them as they speak with individuals that have them.
-- "Can't bear to listen to?" Oh, please.
-- How can you possibly feel qualified to make such generalizatons? Many Americans follow British TV programming like BBCAmerica via Satellite. BBC World News Dr. Who The Graham Norton Show Top Gear Multiple other British TV series. It comes as 'standard' on most Satelline plans. Combine that with a plethora of British movies as well as interaction with the over 4,000,000 Brits that visit the US every year. Americans do NOT have a one-size-fits-all understanding (or opinion) about the various British accents. Not even close. I am curious as to how you feel qualified to make such generalizations about all Americans. I am in my 50s and have lived in seven different states from Washington state to the panhandle of Florida. My job also had me visiting several other states for several weeks to a few months. I think that is a pretty good cross-section of exposure and experience to support my opinions. I am going to go out on a limb and assume your opinion is based on less. As far as this thread, I am amused that something like this would carry on for so long. The simple answer is as far as British or American flag is........it doesn't matter. It is the material you desire that will be accessed by clicking on the flag that matters. If you are American and bothered that it is the Union Jack or British and bothered that it is the Stars and Stripes, I feel sorry for you. . Edited by Presidio on 28 June 2012 at 8:30pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5453 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 51 of 66 28 June 2012 at 8:30pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
If Australians and New Zealanders can't bear to see the Union Jack, then they may have a problem with their own flags as well... :-) 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5022 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 52 of 66 28 June 2012 at 8:40pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Can't bear to listen to? Trust me, a lot of American girls love the British
accent ;) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| PillowRock Groupie United States Joined 4734 days ago 87 posts - 151 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 53 of 66 28 June 2012 at 8:47pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I don't quite agree. The choice of flag icon should match content and vocabulary of the site. If you denominate prices in pounds, list British credit options (I don't recall all of the names off the top of my head, but the US and UK amazon sites definitely have different credit choices listed on their checkout pages), would have travelers "hire" a car, or carry a "torch" in the dark, etc. ..... then use a British flag icon. If you denominate prices in dollars, list American credit options, would have travelers "rent" a car, or carry a "flashlight" in the dark, etc. ..... then use an American flag icon. Edit to add: This is an unusual site in that it refers to vendors / prices in multiple currencies, has a lot of posts / content using both British and American vocabulary, etc. For these kinds of cases, I can go along with the "it doesn't matter" line of reasoning. Edited by PillowRock on 28 June 2012 at 8:51pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Presidio Triglot Newbie United States Joined 4581 days ago 39 posts - 150 votes Speaks: English*, Russian, German Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Gulf) | Message 54 of 66 28 June 2012 at 9:07pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
-- You make very valid points. My comments were primarily for when it would not matter, such as international sites for foreign language study where British and American flags are often used interchangeably. As far as 'hire' vs. 'rent' and 'torch' vs. 'flashlight,' I have one more to add. I learned it when I asked if the car I wanted had a trunk while renting a car in London. The person looked at me quizzically and then said, "Oh, the boot." British actor Kenneth Branagh once did a movie where he played a person from the American deep south. There was a scene where he was supposed to run to a partially submerged car screaming that there were children in the trunk. There is a very unintentionally funny outtake I saw where is he running towards the car yelling in his fake southern accent, "They're in the boot! They're in the boot!" . Edited by Presidio on 28 June 2012 at 9:09pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4550 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 55 of 66 28 June 2012 at 9:29pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I'm curious, what is the meaning of fanny in British English? I'm wondering because, while everyone else in America uses it to mean buttocks, my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother used it as a euphemism for the female genitalia, especially when talking to small children ("Boys have wee-wees, girls have fannies.") Is it that in England? If so, it's strange that my grandmas would have used it. My great-grandma emigrated from Croatia as a little girl and my great-grandpa was of German descent. Edited by Gala on 28 June 2012 at 9:31pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4537 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 56 of 66 28 June 2012 at 10:11pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
It is exactly as you suggest Gala, except it is used as a vulgar expression rather than in the way that your grandma used it. If you think of the other vulgar words associated with that part of the anatomy now (ie another name for a cat) then that is how fanny is used. It is a little less common now though. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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