u/ksusha_lav

r/AskAnAmerican r/AskABrit r/ENGLISH r/EnglishLearning r/AskUK

If you were to tell ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ story, would you say ‘Someone ate my porridge’, ‘Someone was eating my porridge’ or ‘Someone has been eating my porridge’ when the bears got back home?

For those of you who speak other languages fluently, do you feel like when you speak English, you speak from a different place in your body than when you speak another language? Do the diaphragm, the stomach, the throat, the mouth, etc. feel different?

Hi everyone,

I'm not a native English speaker, but I'm fascinated by the sound of American English, and I'm working on improving my pronunciation. I've noticed that my American English sounds a lot better when I speak from a different place in my body — much lower in my throat, and my stomach does a lot more of the work.

I'm curious what you all think. Do you feel different when you speak English? If yes then how do you feel? I'd really appreciate your insights. You're wonderful people.

Thank you so much! Hope this makes sense.

u/ksusha_lav

If you were to tell ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ story, would you say ‘Someone ate my porridge’, ‘Someone was eating my porridge’ or ‘Someone has been eating my porridge’ when the bears got back home?

For those of you who speak other languages fluently, do you feel like when you speak English, you speak from a different place in your body than when you speak another language? Do the diaphragm, the stomach, the throat, the mouth, etc. feel different?

Is "hay fever" used for seasonal allergies (pollen) and "allergy" for other allergies in the UK? Is "hay fever" used in the US?

My cat has a white patch of fur on her stomach/belly.

"Remember to turn off the lights." vs "Don't forget to turn off the lights."

Native speakers, do these have different meanings to you - "My cat is allowed IN BED." and "My cat is allowed IN THE BED."?

Is 'pedestrian crossing' used in both American English and British English? Or is it usually 'crosswalk' in the US and 'zebra crossing' in the UK?

How common is paddle boarding in the UK? Do you also call it SUP?

How common is paddle boarding in the US? Do you also call it SUP?

What do you call this activity, the action of doing it and the board? Paddle boarding? SUP?

"Last name" - most common in the US (but is used in the UK too), "surname" - most common in the UK (but is used in the US too), "family name" - common in the UK (but used in the US too), "second name" - is sometimes used in the UK to mean 'surname'. Is this correct?

Do you use the words 'flavo(u)r' and 'taste' interchangeably when they're nouns and refer to food? Or are they different to you?

Is it correct that English doesn't have a sound to call cats?

Do you use the words 'calico' and 'tuxedo' for cats?

What's the difference between CHARACTER and PERSONALITY (in the context of cats, for example)? Can they be interchangeable?

Fur, hair, coat - what would you say the difference between these words is when talking about cats? They aren't interchangeable, are they?

Can the words 'RESCUE' and 'SHELTER' be used interchangeably when they mean a place for animals as in 'I adopted my cat from a shelter/rescue'? Or do they always mean different things? And also, is the word POUND used in this context these days?

What's the difference between twilight and dusk? Do you use them interchangeably?

For those living in states with a lot of thunderstorms, how do you feel about them?

What would you call these? Crepes? Pancakes?