Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Question for non-US English speakers

 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
47 messages over 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>
Spinchäeb Ape
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4291 days ago
146 posts - 180 votes 
Speaks: English*, German

 
 Message 17 of 47
12 November 2013 at 8:14am | IP Logged 
40pancakes wrote:
It's worth noting that American usage is widely understood
and even adopted by some speakers in commonwealth
countries. In Australia I wouldn't be surprised to hear people
of my generation (early twenties) use cheque in that context.
Some even say "commercial" (for advertisement, stress on
the er), "trashcan" or "college" (when referring to university).
As much as these things sometimes irritate me (mass media
monopoly diluting our unique variety of English!) I have to
remember how Americanised my own speech is compared
to that of my parents, and their speech compared to their
parents...


UK English spills over into American also. In 49 states, the preferred word for that stuff you throw away is "trash" or "garbage." In Hawaii the preferred word is "rubbish." It probably has to do with Hawaii once being a British territory. I also hear more and more Americans saying "tap" instead of "faucet." "Faucet" comes from an archaic French word that the French no longer use. It was once the preferred term in UK English, but fell out of use there and hung on in the US. But you do hear "tap" fairly often. Some people call the one in the kitchen the tap and the one in the bathroom the faucet. However, an outdoors one is almost always called a faucet.
1 person has voted this message useful



1e4e6
Octoglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4111 days ago
1013 posts - 1588 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian
Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan

 
 Message 18 of 47
12 November 2013 at 9:37am | IP Logged 
Speaking of the tap, in British English, the tap is part of the washbasin, instead of the
sink. In some rooms of the house, outside of the en-suite there might be an extra
washbasin in the bedroom.

Also, there is one thing about the tap architecture from older UK homes that seriously
irritates me, is that sometimes there are two taps for hot and cold water that do not mix
into one pipe. I remember living in such a building, and I was too lazy to put in the
stopplug for the drain, so I would fill up the washbasin to the brim with the hot and
cold taps to get warm water.
1 person has voted this message useful



Random review
Diglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5604 days ago
781 posts - 1310 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Yiddish, German

 
 Message 19 of 47
12 November 2013 at 10:49am | IP Logged 
1e4e6 wrote:
Speaking of the tap, in British English, the tap is part of the washbasin, instead of the
sink. In some rooms of the house, outside of the en-suite there might be an extra
washbasin in the bedroom.

Also, there is one thing about the tap architecture from older UK homes that seriously
irritates me, is that sometimes there are two taps for hot and cold water that do not mix
into one pipe. I remember living in such a building, and I was too lazy to put in the
stopplug for the drain, so I would fill up the washbasin to the brim with the hot and
cold taps to get warm water.


Really? I'd never use the word "washbasin". It sounds very old-fashioned to me. I'd say sink. I might,
rarely, say basin (never washbasin) when referring to the actual physical structure of the sink.
Maybe it's a class thing?

Edited by Random review on 12 November 2013 at 10:52am
1 person has voted this message useful



dbag
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4843 days ago
605 posts - 1046 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 20 of 47
12 November 2013 at 12:40pm | IP Logged 
Random review wrote:
1e4e6 wrote:
Speaking of the tap, in British English, the tap is part of the washbasin, instead of the
sink. In some rooms of the house, outside of the en-suite there might be an extra
washbasin in the bedroom.

Also, there is one thing about the tap architecture from older UK homes that seriously
irritates me, is that sometimes there are two taps for hot and cold water that do not mix
into one pipe. I remember living in such a building, and I was too lazy to put in the
stopplug for the drain, so I would fill up the washbasin to the brim with the hot and
cold taps to get warm water.


Really? I'd never use the word "washbasin". It sounds very old-fashioned to me. I'd say sink. I might,
rarely, say basin (never washbasin) when referring to the actual physical structure of the sink.
Maybe it's a class thing?


I 100% agree. I have never, ever heard the word "washbasin" used in the UK. Surely a sink is a sink?
1 person has voted this message useful



beano
Diglot
Senior Member
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4443 days ago
1049 posts - 2152 votes 
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian

 
 Message 21 of 47
12 November 2013 at 4:30pm | IP Logged 
dbag wrote:
Random review wrote:
1e4e6 wrote:
Speaking of the tap, in British English, the tap is part of the washbasin, instead of the
sink. In some rooms of the house, outside of the en-suite there might be an extra
washbasin in the bedroom.

Also, there is one thing about the tap architecture from older UK homes that seriously
irritates me, is that sometimes there are two taps for hot and cold water that do not mix
into one pipe. I remember living in such a building, and I was too lazy to put in the
stopplug for the drain, so I would fill up the washbasin to the brim with the hot and
cold taps to get warm water.


Really? I'd never use the word "washbasin". It sounds very old-fashioned to me. I'd say sink. I might,
rarely, say basin (never washbasin) when referring to the actual physical structure of the sink.
Maybe it's a class thing?


I 100% agree. I have never, ever heard the word "washbasin" used in the UK. Surely a sink is a sink?



I went to university in the UK and my room was described as having a "washbasin"


Edited by beano on 12 November 2013 at 4:30pm
2 persons have voted this message useful



dbag
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4843 days ago
605 posts - 1046 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 22 of 47
12 November 2013 at 4:49pm | IP Logged 
There are actually a few threads about this on the word-reference forums sink vs basin
1 person has voted this message useful



Spinchäeb Ape
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4291 days ago
146 posts - 180 votes 
Speaks: English*, German

 
 Message 23 of 47
12 November 2013 at 7:41pm | IP Logged 
1e4e6 wrote:
Speaking of the tap, in British English, the tap is part of the washbasin, instead of the
sink. In some rooms of the house, outside of the en-suite there might be an extra
washbasin in the bedroom.

Also, there is one thing about the tap architecture from older UK homes that seriously
irritates me, is that sometimes there are two taps for hot and cold water that do not mix
into one pipe. I remember living in such a building, and I was too lazy to put in the
stopplug for the drain, so I would fill up the washbasin to the brim with the hot and
cold taps to get warm water.


When I think of a washbasin, I think of a huge industrial sink like one you see in a laundry room.
1 person has voted this message useful



stelingo
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5653 days ago
722 posts - 1076 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian
Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin

 
 Message 24 of 47
12 November 2013 at 8:49pm | IP Logged 
I also prefer to say sink, but washbasin definitely exists in British English to refer to the same thing.


1 person has voted this message useful



This discussion contains 47 messages over 6 pages: << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.4063 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.