I thought, maybe we can make, for all fics, a thread full of many usefull little things British people say, so as to make the stories more believeable, because it gets annoying writing bloody every second line....

Please, do post here british phrases, do post. Also i would like to know what things british people just don't say, thanks...

 

I can't really think of anything we do normally say, but we NEVER SAY CHEERIO OR GUVNOR!

If I ever see those words in a fic I drop it straight away, unless it is a joke.

That's about all I wanted to say.

 

I've got a few things. I don't know how helpful it will be, I've noticed most of the writers here don't get much wrong.

-the mail boxes are actually little slots affixed to the door, not an actual box.

-jell-o is spelt as Jelly. Jelly is called Jam

-Yes Britain is familiar with pizza's, mars bars, and fast food.

-currency is called pounds and pence, penny for plural. This is one of my peeves because anyone who pay's attention to the stock market should know this.

-we have Mc Donalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Wimpy. All fast food places.
-We tend to call store's shops. Malls are called shopping precincts.
-999 is the emergency number. Police stations instead of department.
-schooling is free, hospitals and medical care is free. Dentists are free. General Practitioner is the term for a family doctor. Health care is funded by the NHS.
Those are some I can think of off the top of my head.
If you have questions it would probably help, because I probably sound like I'm taking the piss.
Most of the stuff I know about other countries are taken from films, maybe there should be something like this for people who take Harry and Co to other places.

Litha

P.s please don't be offended, I'm just trying to be helpful.

 

you are very helpful.

 

A British person's mother is their mum, not their mom.

Soccer is football.

All British men wear top hats.

We use the metric system, not the imperial. However, height is still measured by most people in feet and inches, and most people use miles instead of kilometers.

You do not 'graduate' in British schools, nor do you recieve a diploma. You simply take your exams and pass them (or fail). You then get your certificate in the post several months later. There isn't an awarding ceremony.

Muggle education in Britain is as follows:

- ages 4-11 Primary school, compulsary, provided free by the state, take SATs at the end of year 2 (ages 7ish) and year 6 (age 11ish).

-ages 12-16 Secondary school, compulsary, provided free by the state, take GCSEs at the end of year 11 (age 16). Most schools also take SATs again at year 9 (age 14ish)

-Sixth form (also called college). Lasts 2 years, from age 16/17, to age 18. Not compulsary. Provided free by the state. Many different qualifications are on offer, but most do AS levels at the end of their first year, then A2 levels at the end of their second.

-University. Age 18+. Non complusary, not provided free by the state, but they do subsidise it heavily to lower fees.

What Americans call Potato chips are called crisps.

What Americans call fries are chips, although we have alot more varieties of them, french fries just being one type.

We do not have cookies, unless someone is being deliberately American, we call them biscuits.

We do not have candy, we have sweets.

The Queen has no real power, other than the supernatural power of being able to wave at crowds for hours on end.

Thats all I've got for now, but you can be certain that I'll be back.

 

how many pennys are in a pound? how many dollars is a pound? how do i change feet/inches/yards to meters/centimeters? how do i switch kilograms to pounds....

 

100 pence is a pound. The following coins make up the British currency: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p (where 'p' stands for pence coin), £1 coin, £2 coin, £5 note, £10 note, £20 note, £50 note. Scotland has the same banking system except that they issue £100 notes, England, however, doesn't.

The amount of Dollars to a pound, of course, depends on the exchange rate when the money is changed.

10 milimeters = 1 centimetre
2.54 centimetres = 1 inch
12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
1 yard = 1.0936133 metres
1609.334 metres = 1 mile
0.621371192 miles = 1 kilometre (ain't that a bastard?)

Weight tends to be done in stones and pounds here. 14 pound is a stone, so if someone was 145 pound that would be 10 stone 5. 0.45359237 kilograms = 1 pound.

The temperature is measured in degrees Celsius and not degrees Fahrenheit, to convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit is easier if you just use a online converter. http://www.cntraveller.com/Toolkit/temperatures.asp - is one such thing.

That's all I have for now. I don't think I missed anything out but if I have let me know.

 

http://jumk.de/calc/index.shtml

thats a site where you can calculate, metre to kilometre to miles etc
downside: its on german, but the names are similiar, i think you can use it

 

just a couple of things from the Scottish point of view.

No men here wear top hats, well my Uncle did wear one with a hawian shirt to a funeral once, but he was drunk at the time.

The education system is different. Age 5 - 11 is spend at Primary school, going through primary 1 through to primary 7, each primary number being a different year and class, you progress automatically from one to the next at the end of each year unless you are held back. After primary 7 you go onto Secondary School. S1 to S6, again going from one to the next at the end of the year. During P1 to S2 you are tested using the 5 - 14 system, which is Levels A to F, A being the lowest F being the Highest. The levels are awarded in 3 different areas, Reading Writing and Mathematics. To give you an idea of the difference between level A and level F, for A you need to be able to write a sentence, read a sentence, and do very basic addition, like 10 + 10 and all that jazz. For level F you need to be able to write a proper critical essay of a text, answer questions on a text with decent understanding of moderately subtle points, and you have to be able to do all maths up to about the level of basic Pythagoras, including working out the areas and circumferences of 2D shapes.

In 3rd and 4th year at secondary school you study 8 subjects for Standard Grades, a bit like GCSE's. You study at one of 3 levels, Foundation, General and Credit. Foundation is the easiest, and Credit is the hardest. Grades are given 7 as a fail, 6 then 5 as Foundation, 4 then 3 as General and 2 then 1 as Credit. FOr standard grade you msut study English, Maths, one science, one language (usually french but not always), one social subject (geography, history, Religious Moral Philisophical Studies etc), one technical subject (computing, administration, accounting and finance, Technical which is metal work and wood work, graphic design etc), one art (music, art, home economics etc), and another of one of the groups from above which is your choice. As an example, for my standard grades,my which i only sat about 4 weeks ago btw, I took Maths, English, Chemistry, German, Geography, Administration, Music and History.

IN 5th year, you take 5 subjects. If you passed the subject you want to take at Credit level at Standard Grade then you can take a Higher. If you passed at general then you take Intermediate 2 (which is an equivalent of Credit), if you passed Foundation you take Intermediate 1 (which is equivalent to General), if you failed Foundation then you take Access 3 (equivalent to Foundation). IN 5th year you must do English, it is strongly advised you take Maths but it isn't compulsory, and apart from that you can take basically what you liek as long as your school offers it. I am taking 5 Highers this year, English, Maths, Geography, Administration and Chemistry.

In 6th year, you can take up to 5 subjects. Basically like in 5th year, if you pass Access 3 you can take Int 1, if you pass Int 1 you can take Int 2 if you pass Int 2 then you can take Higher. Also if you pass Higher, then you can take an Advanced Higher. Advanced Highers are basically 1st year university level courses. If you take 2 advanced Highers then you aren't required to take any otehr courses, if you don't then you need at least 3 classes on your time table.

ON a side note, education is only compulsory up to the age of 16. If you are 16 before september of the year you finish 4th year, then you are allowed to leave at the change of time table. If you are 16 after september then you are allowed to leave at Christmas.

On other things, British folk call mathematics, maths, not math.

British folk rarely use Ms to refer to folk, unless the person requests. We usually use miss if the person is unmarried, and Mrs is they are.

We drive on the correct side of the road, which is of course the left.

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving or Independance Day.

We do celebrate Guy Fawkes night, on the 5th of November.

We call Universities Universities, and Colleges Colleges. They are different things, offering different types of courses.

We don't drink "pop", unless it is imported from america and that is its brand name. We drink thigns like Iron Bru (mon the scots!!!), Coke, Fanta, Lilt etc.

Scots do not drink solely whiskey for their alcohol.

The Irish are not permanently drunk.

Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain. THe rest of Ireland is not.

It should eb ntoed that JKR's description of the weather at Hogwarts is very inconsistant with the rest of the weather in Scotland, especially in Northen Scotland. IN summer it rains, in Winter it pours, its usually still snowing at Easter in the Highlands.

IN scotland we call lakes, lochs.

Something I have found in general is that British folk (especially from the country) are more courtious than Americans. More ready to stop and chat, even folk who live in the cities.

The road speed limits are in Miles Per Hour.

Temperature is measured in Celsius.

The English aren't addicted to tea.

And one final thign I have to say and I hope you will remember.

England ruled a third of the world, but Scotland conquered a third of the world.

EDIT: Another thign is that British folk never ever ever say anywho, and rarely say anyhow. It is almost always anyway.

 

I feel like such an old git, but be aware that the school system has changed.

In Harry's (and mine) school years there were:
Nursery - which is from 3-5yrs
Infants school - which was 5-8 yrs
Junior school - which was 8-11yrs (SAT's were introduced in 1990approx)
Comprehensive school - which was 11-16yrs (preparation and taking of G.C.S.E's)
Which in my day were: Maths(Intermediate, Central, Advanced) English Language, English Literature, Dual Science (Biology, Physic's, Chemistry and Animal.), History, Religious Education, Physical Education, French, German, Geography, Music, Art, Information Technology, Design Technology(Food Tech, Electronic's, Graphic, Woodwork).

Sixth form-Studying the above subjects to A Level.
College- Basically the same as Sixth Form but with National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ's), Higher National Diploma's(HND's).

University- under graduate - Phd's and Proff's etc.
Please note that pre 1999 grants were given for university and college students. Tuition fee's were introduced after 1999, and top up fee's in 2004.

I feel like such an old fart now, but the education system has undergone lots of changes since my day.

Also note that Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Eire are separate countries.
But devolution is pretty recent and Eire has been separate for far longer.

It's not good to mistake these things, as my scottish grandad would tell you.

Litha

 

Not much more to add here. One thing is, i dont know if this is an american saying but a lot of people right 'i could care less.' Usually in these parts of the world it's 'i couldn't care less.' I'm not sure if everyone writes it that way but i have seen it written and it's quite strange...

Very few british houses have basements or cellars, usually just attics.

Quite often, slang is used for currency. Pounds can be sometimes be called 'quid' and the like, but its not overly common.

If someone will be 'muggle shopping' in the city center, it's usually called 'town'.

It's written 'center,' not 'centre'.

Typically insults are 'git, prat, idiot, twit or twat' as well as all your usual swearing combinations...

I doubt this would be needed but soccer is just football.

Not everyone is smartly dressed in suits, just business men and such. And nowadays its usually just open-collar, no tie.

pants are called trousers, underwear or boxers can be called pants.

People rarely say full sentences, they do abbreviate to you're, didn't, won't, etc. I know not everyone writes like this but just so you know, not a lot of people speak fully (of course, some stuck-up people will, like dumbledore, mcgonnagal etc.)

 

Is Spanish accessible as a course to any of y'all across the pond? Just curious.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_slang#Modern_Urban_Slang_in_London

Do ya'll use these words cause that shit sounds quite stupid

 

First of all, yeah we can learn spanish. Some schools have it optional, some have it manditory and some don't have it at all. It's not the primary second language though, that's french. Most secondary/grammer school's will have french as compulsory for at least three years.

And as for most of those words madeye, thats pure crap. There are only a few that are actually used here and any of that will not be used by anyone known in harry potter (except dudley and his gang). Any one who does use those are known as 'chavs' or 'steeks'. There kinda like 'gangstas,' i suppose. Except usually white (not being racist) and skinny. No hair. Lots of cheap jewellary or 'bling.' But still, most of those word are just completely random. But we do say pissed to mean drunk. but i think thats the only one.

p.s. even though my profile says ireland, its really northern ireland, still in the UK. Plus most of the tv i watch comes from england.

 

That's one of the things most get wrong.
The accents they use in the film are quite posh.
The only word's I use on that list is pissed, filth and plonker (which is mostly because I'm a Only Fools and Horses fan.

Slang round Notts is stuff like Youth (Blidworth affection), Hey up (which is hi).
Most of the swear words I use are pretty much standard, but I've never used motherfucker.

A copper's nark is someone who tattle's to the police.

Spanish was not on the curriculum when I was at school, but I'm 25 now and times have changed.
It's amazing how little notice you give to things when you've grown older.

Litha

 

Actually, 'center' is the American spelling. British spelling is 'centre', from the french. In the same way, an American 'meter' (as in, the length) is spelt 'metre' in Britain. However, a measureing meter, such as a parking meter or a water meter, is spelt 'meter' in Britain.

American spelling sulfur is spelt sulphur.

Color is colour.

Labor is labour...you get the idea.

Madeyemoody, out of that list, I have heard the following: Banged, Batty Boy, Fit, Coppers, Gander, Innit, Plonker, Shag, Flog.

The only ones I've used are fit, gander and shag.

As for Spanish, it's not compulsary for schools to offer it, but the schools with better funding and staff will do so. The three most common languages offered by schools are French, Spanish and German.

 

Driving

Highways are called motorways in the UK.

We drive on the left side of the road.

The steering wheel is placed in front of the right seat as opposed to the left hand seat in an American car. The pedals are usually in the same layout.

The legal driving age in the UK is 17 as opposed to 16 in the USA

In America yellow lines signify the centre of the road and white the edge while exactly the opposite occurs in the UK. Yellow lines signify the edge of the road and white the middle.

Drinking/Gambling

Age at which you can freely drink alcohol in a UK pub/nightclub is 18 whereas in the USA it is 21.

The legal gambling age in the UK is 18 as opposed to 21 in the US.

Age of Consent

The age of consent in the UK is 16 in England and Wales and Scotland while it is 17 in Northern Ireland. This is the same for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

The age of consent in the Bailiwick of Jersey is 16. Homosexual acts between men can be charged under the crime of sodomie (sodomy) if the participants are under the age of 18; or if the act is between more than 2 persons; or if performed in a lavatory open to the public (by payment or otherwise)

Homosexual acts between men, performed aboard ships registered in Jersey and used for passage or freight, by any members of its crew may be charged under the same crime regardless of the participants' ages.


Marriageable Age

The age at which you can marry is different in different countries of the UK. These are listed below:

• England: 18, 16 with parental consent
• Wales: 18, 16 with parental consent
• Scotland: 16
• Northern Ireland: 18, 17 with parental consent
• Jersey: 18, 16 with parental consent

Spelling

-our / -or
Most words ending in -or in the U.S. (e.g. color, flavor, honor) end in -our in Britain (e.g. colour, flavour, honour). There are of course some exceptions to this.

-re / -er
In UK English, some words of French or Greek origin end with a consonant followed by -re. Most of these words have the ending -er in the U.S. This is especially true of endings -bre and -tre: fibre/fiber, sabre/saber, centre/center.

-ize / -ise
American spelling accepts only organize, recognize, and realize. British usage accepts both the older -ize form and the frenchified -ise form (organise, recognise, realise). However, the -ize spelling is rarely used in the UK in the media and newspapers, which is why it is often incorrectly regarded as an Americanism.

UK English often favours hyphenated compounds, such as counter-attack, whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, so counterattack is much more common.

The easiest way to get spelling right is to set your spell-checker to UK English. American spelling doesn't bother me at all when reading though and I've not really met anyone who does get bothered by it.

Other

Light switches are opposite. Down is off in America, while down is on in UK.

Believe it or not, toilet flush handles are (in most cases) also on the opposite side of the toilet.

The main road in a town is normally called "Main Street" in the USA, while in Britain it is invariably called "High Street".

People in the UK write dates dd/mm/yy (day/month/year) whereas people in the USA write dates in the format mm/dd/yy.

Edited: to add some notes on spelling.

 

Don't worry, i know. I was just lettin' everybody know the difference over here.

Usually, i don't care when reading a fic, i'm just letting anyone who's interested know. Nothing american really bothers me on a story because i know enough of the basics to understand it, doesn't make a difference to me.



In a restaraunt, tips are not compulsary. If you think the meal/service was good you can leave a tip of your own chosen amount.

I'm not sure but i've heard that in a America all the light in a room comes from table lamps or something. In england we have big lights that hand from the ceiling in the center of the room and sometimes lamps for extra light if we need it.

Chips are called crisps, and french fries are called chips.

All prices already have tax added to them, you don't have to add anything.

cookies are called biscuits.

 

In Scotland Chavs aare known as Neds (which most folk take to stand for Non Educated Delinquints)

British folk pronounce the "h" on "herb", so it is written "a herb" not "an herb" like americans do.

On the spanish note, it is actually becoming more popular than German in Scotland. IN fact, ym school has now stopped teaching German in favour of Spanish, and IM fairly sure that in the years to come, French will be replaced by spanish as the official second language, which will be sad because it will break one of the few remaining links to the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland.

 

In my yorkshire accent, a herb would be pronounced an erb. But maybe us Yorkshireonians are just weird.