Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language

[tody]

I really enjoy reding this thread. My dad, who was an english teacher had an old friend in the UK, who in turn taught German. They would go on lengthy discussion on language-centered topics. They have both passed away, and I really miss listening to them.

[ARNC]

@Brian said in Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language:

One of these things that I’ve never got my head around is the dinner / tea use depending on where you are not only in England but even in Oz

You’re brave to go there! So many elements of geography, culture and class to unpick with this. Reminded me of the whole U and non-U thing, which thankfully is mostly obsolete. I’m not sure anyone would consider it “common” to refer to a mirror rather than a looking glass in 2024!

[WhiskeySandwich]

@T4920 I pronounce it like that but I often hear "Merlin" as well

[goosehd]

I grew up with there being 3 meals in the day: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. As I started moving around to different parts of the US and Canada, I ran across Dinner can be at lunch time or dinner time depending on the size of the meal as dinner is often the largest meal of the day. Supper is alway's an evening meal and typically smaller than dinner.

Then you have brunch which is a late breakfast and early lunch. So what happens when you call your midday meal dinner and it's brunch time? Brinner?

[Matt]

This should clear things up..

[endo]

tusdy ...

[jiminstitches]

@goosehd @Brian @ARNC So my friends up north in the U.K. call dinner, Tea. My grandparents and the war generation tend to call lunch time dinner. But then it seems common in the U.K. that my grandparents always have a hot meal at lunch time and that’s why it’s probably called dinner.

So if that’s confused you I’ll clarify:-

So at work i have a “tea break” where I dont drink tea but instead have a can of Dr Pepper.

On my lunch break . I eat my dinner

In the evening my main meal is my tea. Again i do not drink tea. For example tonights tea is a chicken curry and Pale Ale.

But then when I was at school the ladies that served our lunch were called ‘Dinner Ladies’

[goosehd]

@jiminstitches Just about enough of that…Probably don’t even want to ask about aperitifs, digestifs, cocktails, etc.

[jiminstitches]

@goosehd lol I bloody love digestives, 2 packs in the weekly shopping, I usually have them after dinner with my tea!

[goosehd]

@jiminstitches

[IH-GARY]

You get a Breakfast just after you wake up and Supper just before you go to bed - both usually a choice between cereal or toast depending on whether there is any milk left.
Tea is what you have at Tea Time, which is when you come home from school or work.
Be careful not to do bad things after your Tea or you might not get any Supper.
On Christmas Day between Breakfast and Tea you get Christmas Dinner, same on Sundays - you get a Sunday Dinner. If it’s not Christmas or Sunday it’s just called Dinner.
Also if it’s not Christmas or Sunday, both dinner and tea come with chips but not always a vegetable.
I think Lunch might be a bit like Dinner but always with a vegetable and crisps instead of chips.
I have heard of the word Brunch but never seen one so can’t confirm.
Hope this helps.

N.B.
A chip is a chip and a crisp is a crisp. There is something in between, which is called a fry - but these are best left alone as they are the devils work and no good can come of such sorcery.

[Tago Mago]

The nuances of the English language even have their own poem:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chaos

[Tago Mago]

Also, people who aren’t familiar with this are usually perplexed when they are addressed as either „love“ or „pet“ in a random shop in the north of England

[jiminstitches]

@Tago-Mago very true, I get asked ‘ do you want a cup of tea love’ from customers multiple times in a week. But it’s usually an older lady asking a younger man or vice a Versa. I would say it’s usually used when there’s a two generation gap or 20 year gap. If you go to Stoke on Trent everyone calls each other ‘Duck’.

[endo]

for me, as a non-native english speaker (probably wrong already), capitalization is this real thing. You know, like the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse.

[ARNC]

@endo you don’t want to mix those up, unless your Uncle Jack happens to be into that kind of thing. In that case, you might prefer to avoid spending time with said uncle in an equine environment.

[Matt]

@endo either way your uncle’s lucky to have you.

[endo]

thanks, gentlemen, for your support

[popvulture]

I think the toughest Brit vs Yank thing for me to get used to is “quite.” To us, “quite good” sounds like you did pretty well, but to a Brit it’s more like you did sorta meh. I saw this funny chart once… lemme see if I can track it down.

[popvulture]

My favo(u)rite is probably “brave proposal.”