I’ve always seen that meme done with the differences between the US & Aus (perfect example - the battery-powered hand-held light source… “flashlight” in the States, torch out here, yet a torch for them is a burning piece of wood!) - it’s funny to see both similarities and differences between UK & Aus!

BTW as for your original question, it’s obviously B, B & A for me.

I would have killed you if you said you pronounced it ‘YO-git’ dude… I have enough of that argument as it is!!

I made the mistake of asking my friend if I could borrow her thongs to go to the conbini (Convinience store!) and she looked at me like I was crazy and said `No you can not borrow my underwear…..get out of here` I had to explain I meant her shoes!

I have adapted my language over time and change it depending on who I am with. Most people say I sound American which is weird for me since I have never been there and while I used to work with a lot of Americans I haven`t done recently….Others say they think i am Australian and more than a couple of people have asked if I am german?!? Not sure where that came from! My accent gets stronger when I go home but is fairly natural here….I also only say dinner now…..saying tea confused by best friend who is scottish way too much!

I was B C A

A, B/C, A (yogurrrrt with a nice hard American RRRR)

Do you have a copy of the full survey? Or a link to one?

Here in the US we have regional differences. I grew up wearing sneakers, while FH wears tennies (tennis shoes). Some people have yard sales, others have garage sales or tag sales. I say YOH-git while FH says YOH-gurt. I push a shopping cart or carriage, others push a wagon. Hawaiians wear slippers and the rest of the US wears flip-flops (thongs) or sandals. It’s quite funny travelling around the US and hearing new words along with the different accents.

B, B and A like most Aussies. The weird thing is that my Norwegian boyfriend (who spent some years as a child in England and 4 years with me in Oz) has adopted just about all of my terms for everything. He even says “capsicum” now (that’s a pepper for those confused), even though I think Australia and NZ are the only places that call it that.

I also thought it was funny that some of the Australian terms vary from state to state. For example, I’m from South Australia so I would say “drinking fountain” instead of “bubbler” and “bathers” or “swimmers” rather than “togs”.

Lulu - I’ve done that too! At least Rob knows what I’m talking about when I say ‘thongs’, but anyone else over here would probably look at me like I was an alien - they use the word ‘flip-flops’. I find my accent is quite indistinguishable when I’m in the UK but gets quite strong when I’m on the phone to my family.

Sean - Unfortunately I can’t provide you with a link to the survey as I copied it from my friend Sarah’s livejournal (which is friends only). I believe it’s just a chain letter/meme style survey which has been doing the rounds… perhaps you could google it?

Kirsten - I’ve never heard of ‘tennies’ before but it’s such a cute phrase! Do you think your FH would be upset if I kidnapped his word?

Zoe - Oh I forgot about capsicum! Rob says ‘pepper’ too and it is SO frustrating. That and mandarins - he calls them ’satsumas’. I’m from SA originally too, so I was brought up with words like ‘canteen’, ‘bathers’, and ‘bag-racks’, but moving to Queensland when I was quite young meant that I quickly adopted the words ‘tuck-shop’, ‘togs’ and ‘port-racks’. Sad isn’t it?

[…] do you call… Australian blogger Amy posted a list detailing the differences between her vocabulary and her Welsh boyfriend Rob’s. (Amy and Rob […]

Ooh, I love this post. I’m a linguist, and LOVE dialectology.

I’m from Canada, but have lived in the States for several years. By and large, we have the same names for these things as the Yanks, with a few exceptions.

WHAT DO YOU CALL:

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Brook. (American: Stream)

2. What’s the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Grocery Cart (American: Grocery/Shopping cart).

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunchbox. (American: Lunchbox/pail)

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Frying pan. (American, also: skillet, griddle)

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Chesterfield or Davenport. Also couch.
(American: Sofa/couch)

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Trough. (American: Gutter).

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Veranda, Porch (Both)

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Pop. (American: Pop, Soda, Soda Pop, Coke)

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancakes. Older people call them Flapjacks. (American: Pancakes)

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub. (American: Hoagie, Sub, Grinder).

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Trunks. (American: Swim(ming)-suit)

12. Shoes worn for sports.
Sneakers, Tennis shoes. (Both)

13. Putting a room in order.
Cleaning up. (American: Cleaning up, picking up).

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Firefly. (American: Lightning Bug, Firefly).

15.The children’s playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
See-saw (American: Teeter-totter, seesaw).

16. How do you eat your pizza?
Either knife/fork or hands. Usually with utensils. (American: hands)

17. What’s it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Garage sale. (American: yard sale, rummage sale).

18. What’s the evening meal?
Supper. (American: Dinner).

19. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Water fountain. (American: water/drinking fountain, bubbler).

20. What do you call the clothing covering for legs worn on the outside?
Pants. (same)

Oh, and in Canada we say “thongs” too, but in America, its “sandals” or “flip-flops”. And I say A, A, A.

Craig - Chesterfield or Davenport, never heard of either but really interesting!!

They’re purely Canadian terms.