Why do the British say "arse" instead of "ass"??

[Shine]

Just curious....

:shrug:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. No...

...why do you all say "ass" instead of "arse"? :D

[lizziegrace]

2. Well played!

;)

:D

[TZ]

3. I think I once told someone, R_A , I believe

That I wanted to start using "arse" cause it sounds better...He even analyzed WHY I liked it linguistically (can't remember the answer but it was amusing):rofl:

[MissHoneychurch]

5. Hey there sexy

:hi:

:loveya:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

4. I have also heard a stray

R in other words - such as

Gararge instead of garage.

I think it is a Eastern English thing since The Liverpudlians I have known are guilty of the extra R in words....

[Shine]

6. I saw Elton John perform at Caesar's last week and he was singing...

the song "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and there's that line about getting himself a "Vodka and tonic" and he specifically pronounces it "VodkER". heh. Weird. I don't quite get it, but whatever.

Maybe you're right about the Eastern English thing. Interesting.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. It's the same in northern New England accents.

We pahked the cah but have no idear where.

[Shine]

18. heh.

you're right. :crazy:

[Jamastiene]

47. See, the English stole all your Rs.

There is your answer.

[CreekDog]

56. but they gave some back but easterners couldn't figure out where they belonged in the first place

:shrug:

[CreekDog]

55. in Warshington

:think:

[IntravenousDemilo]

39. He said "vodker" because it was followed by a vowel. If the next word had started with a consonant,

he would have said "vodka". The "r" is used as an elision.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. That particular one is using the original French pronunciation

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garage

"Etymology: French, act of docking, garage, from garer to dock"

[zanne]

28. Personally, I like it when they use the word "bottom". nt

[Arugula Latte]

17. Or sometimes some Brits tack an "r" on to the end of a vowel-ending word

like, the name Sylvia becomes "Sylvier"

[IntravenousDemilo]

38. Are you sure you didn't hear it pronounced "garriage" (to rhyme with marriage and carriage)?

That's one of the more usual English pronunciations.

[tjwmason]

41. There are basically two pronunciations over here

One is rhyming with marriage - the other has the stress on the second syllable and the second g pronounced more like 'zh'.

[IntravenousDemilo]

58. The second one you name is one of the usual Canadian pronunciations, too.

That, along with "gradj" with a short "a".

[jobycom]

50. My relatives in Mississippi put an extra R in wash.

Warsh the clothes, warsh yer face. Maybe the British are from Mississippi?

[harmonicon]

62. Liverpool is in the west!

ok, north west. Another really common one in the north is "warsh", but my grandmother who spent her whole life in Michigan said that too. Her grandparents were from England though - I don't know which part, so she could have picked those things up from family, but I think too many people in the US say it for it to be family specific.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

7. Ass is a donkey

Arse is yer bum

[liberaltrucker]

64. Well, THAT pretty much settles it!

:toast:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

8. Or "leftenant" instead of "lieutenant."

[lizziegrace]

9. Hey you!

:hug:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Hey!

:hug:

[trogdor]

20. They only pronounce it that way.

They spell it the same way we do. So do the nice people north of the border, eh.

[Aristus]

21. I've still never heard a satisfactory explanation for that one.

I always thought is was due to England's traditional animus against France. 'Lieutenant' is a French word, and maybe the Brits just decided to say it differently to minimize its "French-ness".

Help, anybody?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

25. I first heard it in a Pink Panther movie.

It was probably "A Shot in the Dark," and I believe Peter Sellers said it.

[5LeavesLeft]

33. There's a

kernel (pronounced colonel) of truth in what you say!

[IntravenousDemilo]

40. Whenever I find a Canuck who pronounces it other than "lef-tenant", I kick his arse. n/m

[datasuspect]

12. because they are evil doers

[lizziegrace]

13. Sorry Shine

I'm not much help today... :silly:

:hug:

How are you and the shinelets??

[Phillycat]

14. My husband (British) says your-EYE-nal instead of urinal.

I just heard him say that for the first time the other day, I'm still giggling about it. :D

[Deja Q]

16. Because 'arse' is a 4 letter word. 'ass' is not.

Sounds better too.

When written, it sounds more regal... :D

[Shine]

19. "When written, it sounds more regal..."

:rofl: hilarious!

:hi: HypnoToad!

[intaglio]

22. 'cos you colonials said Arse=rude and thought

Ass is polite.

In proper English form, don't y'know, an Ass is a foolish person and an Arse is someone who trumpets noxious opinions.

[Shine]

26. hmmm..interesting distinction.

:rofl:

[billyskank]

23. Because it sounds better.

Though I do find myself saying 'asshole' more often these days. It's your fault, you lot. But 'asshole' seems better suited as a throwaway insult. Somebody just cut you up on the road - what an asshole. But ten seconds later you've forgotten about it. 'Arsehole' sounds like you really mean it though.

[Shine]

27. hmmm....so "arsehole" is more serious then?

interesting. who knew!? :rofl:

[billyskank]

29. Dunno. It's just how it feels to me.

Your mileage may vary. :hi:

[Shine]

30. It's all about how it feels.

:hi: :hug: nice to see ya, babe.

[JCMach1]

24. they also recycle alum-inium cans

spelled the same way as American aluminum...

I worry sometimes about our British cousins. :)

[eyepaddle]

31. I forget when exactly, but a DUer actually tracked this one down

Apparently, the American "Aluminum" is the historically correct one--as opposed to some idiosyncratic yankee corruption.

[ghostsofgiants]

32. ...

"The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three years later recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both, but places aluminium first.<28> IUPAC officially prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications, although several IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum."

[eyepaddle]

42. Here's the bit I was looking for

"Sir Humphry made a bit of a mess of naming this new element, at first spelling it alumium (this was in 1807) then changing it to aluminum, and finally settling on aluminium in 1812. His classically educated scientific colleagues preferred aluminium right from the start, because it had more of a classical ring, and chimed harmoniously with many other elements whose names ended in –ium, like potassium, sodium, and magnesium, all of which had been named by Davy."

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

Apparently the -um speeling was the one in vogue (however briefly) when an edition of Webster's Dictionary was published--this was just before the switch to Aluminium occured. And since Webster's wass pretty much the authoritative reference at the time that's the one that lodged in the popular consciosness. I suppose we might all consider a change back to "alumium" to provide with further entartainment!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

34. You lot haven't the foggiest, have you?

My academic training is in historical linguistics, and here's the real story.

"Arse" is the original form of the word, related to the German word "Arsch," same meaning.

"Ass," which means "donkey," began as an American euphemism for "arse."

As a result, "ass" (the animal) became a "funny" word, and is almost always replaced by "donkey" in American speech.

[Shine]

35. I'm sooooo confused!!!

:rofl:


Thank goodness people don't say "donkeyhole" here. :D

Thanks for your academic input, LL. :patriot:

[pokerfan]

44. he's right

"Arse", from Old English ærs "tail, rump," from Proto-Germanic root arsoz (cf. Old Norse ars, Middle Dutch ærs), which meaning anus.

Ass means donkey.

[BlueJazz]

45. Yep...You got it Linda....You Know...If people (nowadays) just went ....

..back in time to ...oh maybe the 12 century, they wouldn't be able to understand hardly a word of English (Old English)

(or so my friend in college told me) :)

I remember even reading the original text to a few Old, old english songs and I had NO idea what they were trying to say...

[jobycom]

52. So you're saying

the American version is a more evolved form of the word?

[Bake]

36. Somehow, "smack that arse" just doesn't sound the same....

Just sayin'.

Bake

[IntravenousDemilo]

37. Why do we say "ass" instead of the original "arse"?

OK, well, I say both, but then I'm Canadian.

[raccoon]

43. "Arse" sounds a little less harsh. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

46. See my post #34

That goes for all of you who are making wild guesses.

[raccoon]

48. Thanks, Lydia! Now, riddle me this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7639133

[Shine]

54. "less harsh"

:rofl: that's hilarious.


Hypnotoad said it sounded "more regal" LOL!


This thread is CRACKING me up.



Get it?



:hide:


:D

[asthmaticeog]

49. Because they have more clarse than we do.

[Shine]

53. Very clever!

I salute you! :patriot:

(I'm amazed this thread is still going, quite frankly.) :D

[La Lioness Priyanka]

51. their language, their rules?

[Boudica the Lyoness]

57. My husbands family pronounce a lot of words wrong

They are Americans and they say Don instead of Dawn. Clod instead of Claude. And there is no difference between the words Marry, merry or Mary! Lot's of words are mispronounced by them or unpronounceable to them. He cannot pronounce my maiden name because it has a U in it, so he changes the U to a O. Really pisses me off when he introduces my parents to someone. He's got a college degree by the way.
Remember though an ass is a donkey, not yer bum.

[trof]

59. And why mee-graine instead of my-graine?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

61. It's a French word, so the Brits are closer to the original pronunciation

It would be "mee-GREN" in French.

[edbermac]

60. I don't listen to people who drive on the wrong side of the road.

:patriot:

[harmonicon]

63. because, in general, the British just do it wrong

it doesn't matter what "it" is, but this rule especially applies when applied to pizza and other standard food stuffs.

[liberaltrucker]

65. Ah, the US and UK

To paraphrase Sir Winston: "Two great powers divided by a common tongue".

See post 64.

[krispos42]

66. How else...

...can we advance the inevitable split of "American English" and "British English" into two separate languages, "American" and "English"?

:-)