Alright, I have one: I've been reading Jane Austen books and she says the word scruples alot. What's a scruple?

Scruples are morals. For more information, there's also this.

It's also a popular hair company.

I don't think there's anything particularly British, though. One can find that word in pretty much any English speaking country.

~Riella

thanks for answering Riella I was wondering cause here in Russia superstions are literaly a part of everyday life, there are so many things people just don't do because of superstition. Personally, I don't believe in superstition at all, but there are some things that even I do/don't do cause it's become part of the culture

Superstition may be a cultural thing but it's letting things have power over your areas in your life. It breeds anxiety, fear and mistrust. Not something you want or that God wants for you. What are some examples of Russian superstitions?

Getting married in May is considered bad cause they say you will argue for most of your marriage (Russian word for May-'Май' (My) and one of the Russian words for argue/disagree/not get along-'Маяться' (Myatsa) sound very similar, hense the superstition)--Personally I think this one is very stupid but still, May is the one month with hardly any weddings at all

Celebrating or giving birthday wishes before one's birthday, that is considered very bad luck

Before someone leaves, it's custom to sit together for awhile, supposedely to bring good luck

Do not give any sharp objects as a gift to anyone, if you do give it then the person has to 'pay you' with some little change

If you are unmarried do not sit at the corner of the table, you will remain unmarried for seven years

It's considered that showing a newborn to anyone except for close family might bring bad luck, usually people wait a week or so, custom says to wait 40 days.

Never give purses as gifts to people if they are empty, always put something inside (usually a little money), otherwise it is considered bad luck

Don't shake hands or give something over a threshold

Only give odd numbers of flowers to people, even numbers of flowers are for funeral

These are just a few there are a whole lot more in real life
And you are right W4J, believing in such things or even following them is really giving in to fear, but I suppse living in a country where superstition really prevails, it can be a bit hard to not follow them, lots of times I don't even think of it as superstition it's just nobody does it, so I don't do it either
(lol that's probaby a really lame excuse )

Apologies for coming to this thread so late, but I'm a fairly new arrival on NarniaWeb.

Do you sound like the people in the Narnia movies, or are there many very-different accents?

I'm from the North of England, albeit a rather posh part. Certain vowels are flatter when I say them: for example, I say the word "bath" to rhyme with how Americans say the word "math" (although we call the subject "maths", but that's another issue), while people in the South of England would say "barth". But going to university tends to iron out the more extreme elements of a regional accent.

How very much do you like your tea? Do you drink coffee, hot chocolate, etc.?

I like tea very much, and drink 8 to 10 cups or mugs of it every day. I drink coffee and hot chocolate occasionally. My best friend hates tea and never touches it. Same goes for my sister.

How do most Brits view royalty, and I just mean royalty in general?

Some go loopy over them. Many are apathetic, including me. I've no wish to make Britain a republic, but I couldn't care less what they get up to when they go on holiday.

What do British people think of American accents? do they sound whiny? or are they just as cool to Brits as British accents are to us?

We get so many American accents on TV and in movies (or as we say, films) that it's no longer a novelty. But I still find "The Dukes Of Hazzard" hilarious, especially the way Roscoe P. Coltrane pronounced the name "Enos" - it sounded far too rude to be on the air before 9.00 in the evening.

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?

As stated above, I drink tea throughout the day. But I can't get away with stopping what I'm doing to have tea in the middle of the afternoon - the boss wouldn't like that.

do yall make fun of American accents like we make fun of Brit accents?

Only when you say "yall".

Do you say pavement versus sidewalk?

Pavement, yes. And we say "lift" instead of "elevator", "tap" instead of "faucet" (apologies if I've spelled that wrong) and "toilet" instead of "bathroom", unless we're talking about a room to have a bath (or a barth) in. Also, the first floor of a building is the floor above the one level with the ground, which we call the ground floor. We write dates day/month/year, not month/day/year, so 5/1/2012 is 5th January 2012, not 1st May.

To each other does it sound like you have accents?

Absolutely. When I joined a local operatic company, based on the north side of Manchester (I'm from the south side of Manchester), they accused me of being a Londoner. Grrrr...

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!)

How you might pronounce place names when you're in England. For instance, "Derbyshire" is pronounced "Dar-be-shuh". If you say "Durr-bee-shy-urr", it's a dead giveaway.

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

I've seen American performers do Gilbert & Sullivan on stage. Some are very good at it and some aren't. Some are good most of the time and then one word gives them away, such as pronouncing "clerk" as "clurk" instead of "clark", or "Loo-tenant" instead of "Lef-tenant".

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?

Depends on the accent. Most English (as opposed to Scottish, Welsh or Irish) accents (I mean real ones) in movies tend to be fairly mild, so I don't tend to notice. If someone speaks in a particularly strong London or Cornish accent, then I notice. And Geordie (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) is almost a different language.

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?

Some are good at it, such as James Marsters in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Michael McKean and Christopher Guest in This Is Spinal Tap were superb. With others, it looks like the only British people they've listened to are the cast of Upstairs, Downstairs - it's so over-mannered.

Can Brits do an American accent?

Some can. Me: not so sure. I played one of the American characters in a local production of "Brigadoon" a few years ago and while local friends said I did very well, when I tried the accent on a friend from Connecticut she collapsed giggling.

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

It does, but the origins of the word are less savoury (oh yes, that's another thing, we spell certain words with a "u" while Americans don't). It's actually Cockney Rhyming Slang. I won't say what for, as it's not at all suitable for a family forum.

I do have a question and it's geared toward anyone not living in Russia
are there any certain superstitions that almost everyone believes in. Like things that people just don't do cause it's a bad superstition. And on a whole, how superstitious would you say the people in your country are?

We have a lot of half-believed superstitions concerning minor things here in the US. For example, making wishes on shooting stars or when blowing out birthday candles.

As for the "on a whole" thing... I'm not sure I can speak for the whole country.

But I do agree with Riella, about there being a whole lot of half-believed superstitions. Thing is, I think it's mainly kids that believe that stuff. Once we reach the teen years, we start to grow out of it. And those things only come back up if you're around kids. (unless it's the examples Riella mentioned... everyone still sees those the same way, out of habit)

Like, I know plenty of kids that would never dare to step on a crack (for fear of breaking their mother's back). And it's mainly kids that would consider a rabbit's foot lucky. (that said, I know sports teams have their own superstitions when it comes to important end of the season games )

I personally don't hear of many superstitions these days, unless I'm around the theatre. And again, it's not that we really believe them, it's just something that's not done.

For example: We NEVER say the name of the Scottish Play. And one is NEVER to wish an actor/actress/crew member "Good Luck", that's bad luck. You say "Break a leg" instead. And random other stuff like that. It gets interesting, though... you can always tell who's a newbie, because we overhear them say something, we gasp, and then set them straight.

Again, I don't think it's so much that we actually believe them... it's more like, we've been ingrained with that stuff since we're little. And by the time we're older, it's just habit. Does that help?

Yes it does, thanks a lot It's so interesting to hear about how it is in other countries

One thing I've wondered lately, is why so many villains in films and TV shows made in the States have English accents. It's almost become a stereotype, of the bad guy being a Brit (or at least, sounding like it). Is it a reflection of US attitudes changing towards the British (or the English), or some other reason?

My first question is, "Is the expression, 'Great Scott' common or is it just prevalent in Narnia?"

And the second: "A British tv series often has guys referred to as 'just some bloke'. Is 'bloke' derogatory like 'blockhead' or is it a common name for random guys?"

Thanks.

The term 'bloke' isn't derogatory in any way. It's used in much the same way as 'guy' and means 'ordinary, everyday man'.

My first question is, "Is the expression, 'Great Scott' common or is it just prevalent in Narnia?"

According to this Wikipedia article, the term Great Scott was actually an American expression, used in the late 1800's before C.S.Lewis was born. Possible origins seem to be related to the American Civil War, or else Mark Twain's disdain for Sir Walter Scott, a revered and popular Scottish novelist of the time of Queen Victoria, who wrote historical and quite warlike fiction. Mark Twain, as Samuel Clemens, wrote a novel called The Prince and the Pauper which has a certain similarity to C.S.Lewis' later Horse and the Boy. But Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee at the court of King Arthur, as well as his Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Apparently it could also be a jumble of German expressions of WW1. I used to think it was a reference to Scott of the Antarctic who perished there in 1912. Now there is a land locked into perpetual winter!

One thing I've wondered lately, is why so many villains in films and TV shows made in the States have English accents. It's almost become a stereotype, of the bad guy being a Brit (or at least, sounding like it). Is it a reflection of US attitudes changing towards the British (or the English), or some other reason?

Agreed. It is a heavy stereotype in America, not sure as to why though. Also, people act like just because someone has an English accent, then that automatically means that they're so smart. And in every Biblical film I've ever seen, all the Egyptians have English accents too. Why is that?

Agreed. It is a heavy stereotype in America, not sure as to why though. Also, people act like just because someone has an English accent, then that automatically means that they're so smart. And in every Biblical film I've ever seen, all the Egyptians have English accents too. Why is that?

Perhaps it stems back to the old bad-guys-have-English-accents theme, because after all, the Egyptians in most Biblical films probably are not represented as exactly "good guys".

One thing I've wondered lately, is why so many villains in films and TV shows made in the States have English accents. It's almost become a stereotype, of the bad guy being a Brit (or at least, sounding like it). Is it a reflection of US attitudes changing towards the British (or the English), or some other reason?

Agreed. It is a heavy stereotype in America, not sure as to why though. Also, people act like just because someone has an English accent, then that automatically means that they're so smart. And in every Biblical film I've ever seen, all the Egyptians have English accents too. Why is that?

Given that America - or USA - is the predominant maker of English-speaking movies, is it also surprising that the heroes are almost always with an American accent, even in Classical movies such like Troy, or anything about Thermopylae and the rest of Greek or Roman History? Sometimes I find it spoils a movie for me that ubiquitous red-blooded good old American types seem to crop up so anachronisically. I agree, though, that stars like lantern-jawed Charlton Heston, who did such a fine job of dying heroically in most of his movies, whilst baring all of his impressive lower teeth, can't really help their accents, however they have modified them for the movie.

I also expect that English-language movies feature villains who speak correct BBC English as a nod to the standard form of English as it is spoken by really well-educated people. Which is in marked contrast to the rest of us uneducated types in the English-speaking world, who speak with varying idioms, accents and dialects, including in England, itself.

Some of those accents, such that of Inglis (Scottish English) are also used to stereotype characters, especially those who are supposedly money-grubbing, irascible, dour and, in some cases, a doctor.

My first question is, "Is the expression, 'Great Scott' common or is it just prevalent in Narnia?"

According to this Wikipedia article, the term Great Scott was actually an American expression, used in the late 1800's before C.S.Lewis was born. Possible origins seem to be related to the American Civil War, or else Mark Twain's disdain for Sir Walter Scott, a revered and popular Scottish novelist of the time of Queen Victoria, who wrote historical and quite warlike fiction. Mark Twain, as Samuel Clemens, wrote a novel called The Prince and the Pauper which has a certain similarity to C.S.Lewis' later Horse and the Boy. But Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee at the court of King Arthur, as well as his Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Apparently it could also be a jumble of German expressions of WW1. I used to think it was a reference to Scott of the Antarctic who perished there in 1912. Now there is a land locked into perpetual winter!

That is a very interesting bit of information about the origins of "Great Scott".

However, the use of the phrase isn't particularly common. I believe it was used more in the 40's and 50's ie around the time the Narnia books were written. Nowadays, hardly anyone in Britain tends to use the phrase "Great Scott". We are more likely to say "omp" or "What on earth"