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Cultural Curiosities: Life in Other Countries

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Jillhope
(@jillhope)
NarniaWeb Nut

You already all know that I'm not British because I've already posted a question on this forum, but I believe I can answer the "What are ices?" question.
Ices are traditionally served between meals as a sort of pallet cleanser, of course I don't think people really use them much anymore... maybe in really high class society or an extremely gourmet restaurant.
I do hope I got that correct.


Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air... ...your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

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Posted : January 1, 2011 5:02 am
Lucy of Narnia
(@lucy-of-narnia)
NarniaWeb Guru

Thanks, Jillhope! :)
So are they just ice or are they flavored?

Lu

Avy by me, siggy by Dernhelm_of_Rohan
You suck a lollipop, and you sing a song. Get it right, Jo!

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Topic starter Posted : January 1, 2011 5:04 am
Shantih
(@shantih)
Member Moderator Emeritus

To each other does it sound like you have accents?

Regional accents, yes. Some are stronger than others :)

What does beef with mash and new potatoes mean? Is it like mashed potatoes?

It's exactly what it says on the tin - beef, with sides of mash potatoes and usually boiled new potatoes (young potatoes).

(BTW, about the food I mean like pigeon pie and such. And what are ices? Sherbet?).

Ahh, that sort of food was definitely reflective of the time Lewis set the book in. You can still get pigeon pie in some places, but it's not a popular food. I've never had it #:-s And I always assumed by 'ices' she meant ice lollies.

What are some things that American's say that tip you off to the fact they're American? (like someone told me that saying "he sure is" or "she sure did" and such is SO American!)

Those are pretty American ;)) There's a huge amount of differences between American English and British English, I couldn't list them all. A recent one I remember discussing were that we say 'post', you say 'mail'.

Has an American ever pretended to be British but you knew they weren't?

Online, yes. It's pretty easy to tell, I think because a lot of people aren't aware of a lot of the subtle differences (for starters, it's actually not very common to refer to yourself as British, most people prefer English, Welsh, Scottish, etc). I've never had anyone try to pretend in real life, although I do work with a guy from Chicago who does brilliant impressions of the rest of us, but he's had a lot of time to hone it ;))

What do you all think about movies with British accents? Do they sound different enough from you that you notice (like when I watch Sergeant York I can tell they're American but have a different accent), or do you not really notice it?

British accents in US films are more often than not pretty dire. It's nearly always noticeable, although sometimes an actor I know is English sounds ridiculous, so I think it might partly be that when they're surrounded by Americans the accent sounds a bit conspicuous.

And lastly (for now! ): Is it true that us Americans think we can do the British accent, and you Brits are rolling your eyes at us because it sounds so fake?

Maybe ;)) One thing I always have to point out is that there isn't actually British accent. I think what most Americans are going for is an English accent. I have met a few people that can pull it off pretty well (like the co-worker I mentioned) but there is a lot of dodgy 'British' accents going on.

Ok, I have to ask one more thing that just popped into my mind: Can Brits do an American accent?

Some of us might be able to... I don't know ;)) As I said in my other post we're not terribly intrigued by the accent so I haven't actually heard anyone attempting it. I imagine we're equally as rubbish, unless you spend a lot of time listening and immersing yourself in a language/accent you're always going to sound pretty silly, whether it be American, English, French, whatever.

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

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Posted : January 1, 2011 5:13 am
Jillhope
(@jillhope)
NarniaWeb Nut

Lucy Of Narnia, I think that generally they're flavored... but very lightly of lemon and some such... but they aren't sweet.

Shantih, correct me if I am wrong about the ices, Please... I'd hate to go around thinking that's what it was and possibly telling people if I were to be incorrect.


Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air... ...your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

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Posted : January 1, 2011 5:20 am
Shantih
(@shantih)
Member Moderator Emeritus

Honestly Jillhope, I don't know for sure ;)) I've heard of what you're talking about, but I've only ever had them once when I visited Italy, I've not known it to be a tradition in Britain. I might ask my grandmother if that is indeed what they used to call ice lollies so we know for sure :p

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

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Posted : January 1, 2011 5:30 am
Lady Lilliandil
(@lady-lilliandil)
NarniaWeb Nut

Thank you Shantih! I was confused about the food. I know what beef is I just did not know what new potatoes were. You are sooooo kind to answer our strange questions! I want to live in England, so I love learning about things that our different from the U.S. :D Thank You Again! :)

Avie by:MissAdventure
siggy by:LucyP0104

Caspian + Lilliandil
"Love NEVER fails"

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Posted : January 1, 2011 5:43 am
Lucy of Narnia
(@lucy-of-narnia)
NarniaWeb Guru
cuppycakesrach
(@cuppycakesrach)
NarniaWeb Nut

I have one: My Dad says that in England, everyone has tea at a certain time, and they all stop what they're doing at that time just to have tea. Is that true or a myth?

~Riella

I'm not from britian but I've stayed about a month there and I have friends there. Its not like they just automatically stop what they are doing and say " TEA!" ;)) but they call their dinner tea. So i think when they say they are 'having tea' it usually means dinner. But there is a thing, that I think mostly just the higher class people do, afternoon tea. Then they have their tea and desserts and stuff. I only did this once while I was there but its kind of like a brunch in the afternoon ( if that makes sense ;)) )


" We have nothing if not belief"

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Posted : January 1, 2011 10:50 am
Lucy of Narnia
(@lucy-of-narnia)
NarniaWeb Guru

Ooh! You were in England for a month! *jaw drops and starts drooling*

That must have been so much fun! So now I have a question for you:

What was the biggest surprise for you being there?

Avy by me, siggy by Dernhelm_of_Rohan
You suck a lollipop, and you sing a song. Get it right, Jo!

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Topic starter Posted : January 1, 2011 11:01 am
cuppycakesrach
(@cuppycakesrach)
NarniaWeb Nut

Well I was expecting something completely different but it actually was alot like America, or at less the part I'm from. But it was really great the only thing is I hated the food over there. I lost alot of weight when I was there ;)) haha


" We have nothing if not belief"

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Posted : January 1, 2011 11:43 am
IloveFauns
(@ilovefauns)
NarniaWeb Guru

also i think burke/berk means idiot but i am not sure, does it? ('' who is that berk?)

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Posted : January 1, 2011 12:23 pm
Aslans_Jewel
(@aslans_jewel)
NarniaWeb Junkie

do any of yall say "yall" or "aint" or is that just american slang?


no longer active. every once in a while ill pop back for the memories. good to see a few recognizable names 🙂

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Posted : January 1, 2011 2:43 pm
Lucy of Narnia
(@lucy-of-narnia)
NarniaWeb Guru

I of course am not British but to me that sounds like how American Mountain Folk talk. :)

Avy by me, siggy by Dernhelm_of_Rohan
You suck a lollipop, and you sing a song. Get it right, Jo!

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Topic starter Posted : January 1, 2011 2:44 pm
MinotaurforAslan
(@minotaurforaslan)
NarniaWeb Junkie

This is a question for anybody outside of the States: what stereotypes do people make about us? ;))

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Posted : January 1, 2011 8:36 pm
Warrior 4 Jesus
(@warrior-4-jesus)
NarniaWeb Fanatic

Minotaur, there are a lot but most of them are rather negative.

Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11

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Posted : January 1, 2011 8:44 pm
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