Can someone explain the reasons behind these differences between Americans and Brits?

[kurstytemple]

I've noticed that Americans greet people often with, 'hey, what are you doing?' even when it's completely clear what the person is doing, ie, picking them up from the airport, bumping into them shopping. As opposed to the British greeting, 'hi how are you?'

Also Americans can say bye ONCE on the telephone yet us British folk seem to say bye about 1 million times repeatedly whilst hanging up the phone. For example, Americans - 'it was good speaking to you, bye'. Brits - 'it was good speaking to you, okay, you too, okay, bye, bye, bye, bye, byeeeee, bye, bu-bye, byeeeee'. What is that all about?

Additionally, I've been watching a lot of teen mom 2 and the court system over there just seems so much more straightforward and fair. Not sure if that's an accurate representation. But for instance, a person can go directly to the court for custody arrangements instead of all the faffing about before getting to that point, seems to be easier to get protection orders from someone and seems to be a bit more lenient with young people, making deals with them to ensure that certain convictions don't go on their record hence not making them unemployable. I still have to declare a breach of the peace I got at 18 pissed as a fart.

Anyway there's my ramblings. Anyone else noticed this or care to explain why the differences? Or point out any of their own for me to ponder

When my Australian cousin came to stay, she was amazed by jacket potatoes and used to have them most days.

I’m Arizonan and I have literally never in my whole life heard a single person from Arizona start a conversation with “hey what are you doing”. It’s always “how are you doing” or “what’s up” or anything else - sorry OP but I think you’re mad for thinking you’ve heard this from anyone

It would be the same if Duolingo was a British App. My IPhone is under U.K. English and it corrects American spellings or flags American words as errors. Nothing about being precious.

That's not the issue. Duolingo, fortunately, seems fine with things like colour and honour. It gets annoying when it won't accept things like "exercise book" for "workbook" or "pavement" for "sidewalk" but I'm not suggesting that this is down to being precious. What is, however, a trifle precious, is the use of euphemisms like "bathroom" or "restroom" for lavatories.

I’ve come to the thread late, however, wanted to clarify that depending where you live in Australia the garbage collection may differ. I live in a part of Sydney where my council has a 3 bin system. Green waste (food scraps, grass/garden clippings etc.) are collected every week. Recycling bin & another bin for anything else take alternate weeks. I chucked my tumble dryer out years ago, never replaced it. I manage with line drying… sometimes I even leave the washing out overnight.

I order pretty much EVERYTHING online. I’m happy to pay for the convenience. I liked that there are differences in our cultures, how boring if we were all the same.

Hoo-roo mate.

I remember my friend (who is from NZ not the US) always used to answer the British greeting "you alright?" with "why?" as she thought they were implying that she wasn't.

@Downunderduchess

I’ve come to the thread late, however, wanted to clarify that depending where you live in Australia the garbage collection may differ. I live in a part of Sydney where my council has a 3 bin system. Green waste (food scraps, grass/garden clippings etc.) are collected every week. Recycling bin & another bin for anything else take alternate weeks. I chucked my tumble dryer out years ago, never replaced it. I manage with line drying… sometimes I even leave the washing out overnight.

I order pretty much EVERYTHING online. I’m happy to pay for the convenience. I liked that there are differences in our cultures, how boring if we were all the same.

Hoo-roo mate.

But... but... but... spider willies? Poisonous Australian spider willies?

@LegoCaltrops … I know and yet I take that risk! I’ve attached a pic of a little critter I was obliviously sitting next to in the backyard whilst reading recently.

There's no way I could be oblivious to something like that!

Oh God the spiders… won’t someone realise that all cultural differences can be traced back to the spiders 😵

Brits saying Bye. Lol

www.google.co.uk/search?q=very+british+problems&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

mobile.twitter.com/SoVeryBritish?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

@Terhou
But surely 'loo' is also a euphemism, for toilet?

Bumping - great thread!

[quote mathanxiety]@Terhou
But surely 'loo' is also a euphemism, for toilet?[/quote]
Toilet is a euphemism for lavatory.

What is, however, a trifle precious, is the use of euphemisms like "bathroom" or "restroom" for lavatories.

But "lavatory" is itself a euphemism. Originally, it just referred to the washbasin, not the fixture used for bodily functions. (Yes, as an American, I will avoid use of the "t-word" at all cost.)

Doesn’t “toilet” come from the French “toilette”, which also refers to washing oneself rather than urinating or defecating?

I remember a New Yorker friend being horrified by my casual use of “toilet” in conversation, I might as well have been using the c-word.

Asian English (eg in Hong Kong or Singapore) favours “washroom”.

Lavatory originated from the Latin Lavare, to wash.

Maybe washroom is closer to the original?

Loo comes from a phrase which includes the word 'l'eau', meaning water. 'Gardez l'eau' was apparently shouted as one emptied the contents of the piss pot on friends and neighbours in the street below your boudoir. It may once have been water, but at that point it certainly wasn't.

Every toilet-related word commonly used in English, whether American or British, is a euphemism.

Bog or shit house maybe? Or maybe not. Privy used to be used - somewhere to be private.

"Toilet" has definitely lost its euphemism status in the US.

Also, by the way, in the US, "restroom" tends to be used for public buildings, "bathroom" for private residences, including the "half-bath" or "powder room." But you will also hear people use "bathroom" for public buildings as well, although you seldom hear "restroom" for a private residence.

Perhaps the best euphemism of all is the one referenced by the ancient royal office of Groom of the Stool.

@pierre my mum used to say Howya - a contraction of How are you - from one of the border counties.

They don't do the xxx at the end of messages. My american customers (I build up a good rapport with them) wouldn't have a clue

The only acceptable English responses to How you doing' or ' How are you' are 'not bad' if things are great, "mustn't grumble' if it's just average or 'Could be worse' when life's a total nightmare.

The correct response to "all right"' is a matching ' all right'.

And for @GeorgiaGirl52. A lot of Brits don't drive because in cities public transport (buses, trains, trams and tubes, even river boats and in London one cable car) are readily available, reasonably priced and very quick. Many people including anyone over 60 and the under 18s get unlimited free use of public transport. Driving OTOH is slow and super expensive. London like many cities in the U.K. is many 100s of years old. It wasn't designed for cars. Parking is super expensive and there isn't much of it. A secure parking space in London can rent for as much as a small flat. It's a small crowded city so the average driving speed is only 8.7 mph.

For my husband to drive the 11 miles from our house to his office would take about 90 minutes each way driving. He would have to park some distance from his office which adds another 15/20 minutes commute time each way. It would cost over $50 in parking and the Congestion Charge (a toll to enter London). That's without including fuel costs, insurance, road tax, buying a car and wear and tear on the car. To do the same journey by train takes under an hour each way, and costs about $20 a day - and it will be free when he turns 60 next month. And he can stop for a drink after work without having to worry about drink driving which is very strictly policed here. It's a no-brainer. No wonder so many people just don't bother learning to drive. They don't need to.

The reason things are different in the U.K. to the USA is that it's a smaller, older, more crowded country with an entirely different culture.

"Washroom" is also very Canadian.

Most Americans would tell you that "toilet" refers to the fixture itself, and not the room it's in.

It's important to compare like with like when talking about transport. If you live in rural England, it can be quite difficult to get along without driving. The US had a very concerted effort from the 40s onward to emphasize cars and roads, rather than transit, and it's had an immeasurable impact on the planning of anything built during that time.

I would quibble a bit with "entirely different culture."

Of course there are profound cultural differences; we are two different countries separated by an ocean. But I think sometimes on MN, the cultural divide is overstated.

Just as one example: every state in the US except for one is a common law jurisdiction, and English cases can and are used as authority in court cases. Law is a pervasive cultural influence and many of our basic notions of law, and especially equity, have English foundations.

And while Scots law has not been a big influence in the US, the Scottish educational system historically has. We even get the term "high school" from Scotland.

These are just a couple of examples; there are many more.