Can you tell the difference between a British and an American by looking at them?
- Thread starter Moze
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I think most of the US is dominated by German ancestry.
Sutton Dagger
Member
Just ask them what a scone is, the British person will give you the correct answer.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
"Ho, save the choild, 'urry up and scoff quick now, lest the hinfant be drownded in yon pudden. "
Nope, don't have much problem.
He's Irish.
Really always marvel at Rooney's head, only an Irish person could have such mismatched facial features (and I say this as an Irish person).
To use a native expression, "look at the fucking head on him".
A lot of people would say you can tell the difference between Irish & English people fairly easily (and I would agree, in fact, I would go one step further and say you can tell the difference between the descendants from the planters up north and the "natives" - average height jumps up by a fucking foot and suddenly everyone looks like a rugby player)
To use a native expression, "look at the fucking head on him".
A lot of people would say you can tell the difference between Irish & English people fairly easily (and I would agree, in fact, I would go one step further and say you can tell the difference between the descendants from the planters up north and the "natives" - average height jumps up by a fucking foot and suddenly everyone looks like a rugby player)
Actually iirc he is an American who was forced to adopt a British accent after being given the single most British name of all time.
Pretty sure he said this that one time somewhere.
GraveHorizon
poop meter feature creep
American whites are looking very mixed nowadays. We start off being of mixed European blood anyway, so we lack that distinctive look Germans, French, or British sort of have (if you stay in one of those places long enough you'll get what I'm saying).
And now we're always 1/8th or 1/16th not-white (usually Native American), and marrying up with someone of another ethnicity is now considered desirable, diluting us further.
To top it all off the sun in the U.S. is much stronger than in Europe, especially in the South, so American whites are always tanned and aged and ragged looking.
And now we're always 1/8th or 1/16th not-white (usually Native American), and marrying up with someone of another ethnicity is now considered desirable, diluting us further.
To top it all off the sun in the U.S. is much stronger than in Europe, especially in the South, so American whites are always tanned and aged and ragged looking.
matt360
Member
Bullshit on both counts. I'm from the south and Andrew Lincoln's accent is more than adequate. He is certainly not bad enough to ruin a scene, no matter how high someone's standards might be. And Hugh Laurie might as well be American.
QuicheFontaine
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Supermanisdead
Member
ugh, benedict cumberpatch is NOT sexy. no no no no no no.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
That is absolutely not true. He is more English than the majority of English people in England.
i find it fairly easy to spot out an american; usually they're obese, holding a burger in one hand, shopping bag in another and they act as if people care about what they say. depending on how fat they are and how much they look like john goodman helps me determine which state exactly,
Napoleonthechimp
Member
The sun is stronger? What.
It may be more arid in the American south but it can get hot in southern Europe.
345triangle
Member
british accents are far more diverse than north american, partly because of britain's long history of being invaded and people subsequently running away to various parts of the islands. pretty much every major city in the UK has a distinct accent — and that's in a place the size of a single largeish US state.
many of these accents don't make it onto exportable TV, granted.
FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
Has this been posted yet?
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
This is pretty offensive and inaccurate. A real American would dual wield burgers and wrap the bag around their arm.
And he would fight for what's right, fight for your life!
TheRedSnifit
Member
Let's compare political figures:
Trent Strong
Banned
We don't clap at the end of movies.
This needs to fucking stop now Americans....there is no such thing as "British English".
It's English, that's all...it's your version of the English language that is the subset of English, not ours.
travisbickle
Member
I live abroad (Korea)
Noone ever thinks I'm American.
Sometimes people think I'm French (which makes my wife happier than me) but mostly they guess English.
People say it's the shape of my face, but I think it's because I'm quite slim.
Noone ever thinks I'm American.
Sometimes people think I'm French (which makes my wife happier than me) but mostly they guess English.
People say it's the shape of my face, but I think it's because I'm quite slim.
In my experience Asians won't immediately think a white guy is American because Americans never have any vacation time to go abroad, and hence are a rare sight.
I can only tell if they are in a tourist group in vacation here in Italy.
Mostly because of the average weight and dresses.
Anyway it seems to me that this thread is trying to compare only native english with white americans of central/northern europe origin.
American(and canada) is the worst country in the world if you want to guess its citizens by looking only at their facial features, it's a land with an huge story of imigration in the past centuries.
Mostly because of the average weight and dresses.
Anyway it seems to me that this thread is trying to compare only native english with white americans of central/northern europe origin.
American(and canada) is the worst country in the world if you want to guess its citizens by looking only at their facial features, it's a land with an huge story of imigration in the past centuries.
stop right there
We had a discussion like this in a thread on here a few weeks ago
The problem is we have grown up with both these actors on UK TV talking in their native accents for years so to me hearing both and knowing their 'real' voices was very hard to buy.
Americans may have seen Andrew Lincoln as a believable good Ol boy I just saw Egg from This Life putting on a dodgy yank accent.
Same with Hugh Laurie his always been seen as a very posh actor. So his accent was hilarious the first time I watched House.
CyclopsRock
Member
I used to work for a Chinese company and one time our big boss man came over to visit our office in London. When he found out that one of our creative directors was from South Africa, (Seff Efricar!) he congratulated him on his excellent English. I dunno how the fuck he knew, he couldn't speak a word himself but he could see his translator talking to him in English I guess.
And for all you cockney lovers, here's a small kick in the teeth - in our office, we refer to the Americans as "septics" - Septic Tank = Yank.
And for all you cockney lovers, here's a small kick in the teeth - in our office, we refer to the Americans as "septics" - Septic Tank = Yank.
iamaustrian
Member
brits: real huge boobies
Americanians: fake boobs or naturally flatter
Americanians: fake boobs or naturally flatter
A strong Geordie is even worse, and I live in Liverpool (no I don't speak scouse).
I love the scottish accents though, the ones from Glasgow are kind of hard to understand sometimes but very nice to listen to.
Looks American or British?
British. But that's only because I know him.
Plus American and UK black guys have a subtle difference in the way they get their hair cut.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Only if the British guy is a chav, otherwise probably not.
frankie_baby
Member
I really don't get why people are surprised with hugh laurie, I thought blackadder and Jeeves & Worcester were fairly well known in America, at the very least you'd expect people in the industry to have seen them
Trent Strong
Banned
I couldn't make it past the first ten minutes of Jeeves and Wooster. It was nothing but ten minutes of Laurie making a retarded face.
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
This will not end well.
I cannot tell the difference from just looking at someone.
I can more often tell the difference if they engage me in conversation, even without the accents.
If they are American they engage me in conversation.
If they are British they do the proper and correct thing and keep quiet.
I can more often tell the difference if they engage me in conversation, even without the accents.
If they are American they engage me in conversation.
If they are British they do the proper and correct thing and keep quiet.
British people have accents that make them sound smarter than my drawl.
It reminds me of the silly idea that the non-Spain versions of Spanish "aren't 'real' Spanish."
Actually, both aren't the same English language spoken when the colonies split off. Languages evolve and diverge (Although American English had some help with its intentionally changed spellings). So calling them British English and American English is fine.
It reminds me of the silly idea that the non-Spain versions of Spanish "aren't 'real' Spanish."
Why are "white American" and "African American" different categories there?Has this been posted yet?
FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
Significant ancestry differences between the two arguably largest racial and ethnic groups in North America? Why would they not be?
:lol, ignoring Wales and Scotland, are we? They certainly aren't the namesake of the language but definitely speak their own subdialects within "British English" in the present day.
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