Korean Girls React to 'American vs British English' Tiktok

[@jessieperson]

Another funny one I've heard is when my British coworker asked another coworker (American) for a "rubber" which is called an eraser in the U.S . But a rubber....is a condom in the U.S. You should've seen my coworker's face LOL. He was like..."You need it....right now???"

[@Kuuppon]

Oh man I wish I could have been there. lol cultural misunderstands are both funny and eye opening. I love learning new things through awkward cultural differences,

[@MonumentToSin]

Lol on a similar note, I had a Korean roommate in college that got "penis" and "pennies" confused. She kept asking for "some penis"... "yknow the small ones" and I was like.. "Like right now? In public?"

[@astaristare]

I’m not American but I am heavily influenced by American culture even my accent is American just moved to Britain and hearing all my classmates say can I have a rubber always makes me wanna burst out

[@sonjamoua6473]

I live in America and I don't even know about this lmao

[@hanjis5894]

OMG NOOO HAHAH

[@gema.7132]

Being an immigrant living in the UK but learning English from American shows is another kind of experience 😅

[@theajane6444]

What a nightmare! 🤣 God bless you!

[@IzzyKawaiichi]

American here. I had a music teacher in Texas who learned Spanish from a Spaniard. Can you say "useless"...

[@ped0_catcher918]

nah literally

[@processingtheinfo]

SAMEEEEEEE but i sometimes talk in Australian or Canadian accents too. i learned english from different shows💀

[@moonlightmoonchild1133]

oh my. I learned english from american shows as well but we learn british english in school so it's very fun for me🙂

[@casluvs]

I’m from the uk (not from England, but Wales, which is ofc the same type of English as England) and I used to visit the United States a lot, and I can’t even count on one hand the amount of awkward experiences I’ve had with Americans due to the little bit of differences😭

[@RhamanaChan]

I'm a Brit (Northern England) and went to Wales for university when I was younger and no one could understand me 🤣I had to learn how to enunciate better so I could be understood. I went back home after 7 years and I had a Welsh accent so I had to relearn how to be understood again, it was pretty funny tbh, never left the UK but had to learn how to speak the same language different ways both times lol.

[@soonmeekim930]

I’m native born Korean but lived in the US all my life. I’ve had countless awkward experiences because well I’m awkward lol (not a bad thing, awkward and weird people have more fun and have better stories to tell). I hope you can visit more often again! Oklahoma seems boring but it’s actually extremely nice

[@soul_asmr]

to be fair a welsh accent sounds nothing like a London one 😂😂 I'm really into British tv so I've never had a problem understanding people from all over the UK but I can definitely see where a lot of Americans from smaller regions/who aren't familiar would get caught up on the welsh accent 😂😂 I find it really charming though

[@casluvs]

@@soul_asmr You’re right. There’s actually so many people who can’t tell the difference which is understandable like you said if it’s coming from an American or someone from a different country, but I can’t count on one hand the amount of times people have had trouble understanding me. So many thought that I was a complete foreigner and English not being my first language, lmao.

[@Gloulou10]

Hey same I'm also a Welsh. 😅🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 But to my desmare I do not have a very Welshy accent. 😢 I do not speak Welsh as I'm from south/West Wales.

[@MrsBrit1]

I'm an American in England, married to an English guy. Been through this for the last 22 years, since we met. It never ends.

[@bettylouturner4491]

Sounds like fun.

[@christina4616]

When I was 15, my best friend's family had friends come visit from the UK. At dinner, her mom was described me to their UK friends as 'full of spunk', which in the US means 'energetic', 'lively', 'brave' or 'determined' (at least where I am from). Their friends glanced at each other and looked at a loss for what to say. After dinner, one of the friends pulled my friend's mom aside and said, "I'm not sure what 'spunk' means in the US, but in the UK, it means 'seminal fluid'"... My friend's mom burst into laughter so much so that it took her ages to explain what she had been trying to say haha. We all still joke about it to this day.

[@razzygirl91]

Yeah spunk is pretty hilarious, as is the name Randy 🤣🤣

[@alondor8157]

I mean. We say spunk her too as sperm. It's interchangable 🤣🤣

[@alexia3552]

Oh my godddd 💀💀💀💀

[@williamjordan5554]

@@razzygirl91 and Willie.

[@cahinton.]

"Spunk" can also mean "cum" or "jizz" in the US, but it's definitely not very common and somewhat old-fashioned. I don't think anyone younger than a Baby Boomer would use that word in any context.

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

I'm from the U.S. and I've always pronounced "route" as "root". It depends where in the U.S. you're from. Also, the only time I've heard of fries being referred to as chips in the U.S. is in the name of the dish "fish and chips", which is usually breaded and fried cod served with fries.

[@IzzyKawaiichi]

I'm American and I use both interchangeably. Also either/either.

[@cooldude4643]

they're not fries, fries are thinner

[@MelonHere20]

Same here, there's so many different dialects in the US, but I use both versions of root, and either

[@soonmeekim930]

So am I. I pronounce the root in root beer differently than people in my area. Funny story, my ex (boyfriend at the time) and I were pronouncing fajitas incorrectly ( fa-jia-tas) and he accidentally pronounced it that way when ordering food 😂😂😂

[@JazzyCrumbles]

I prefer calling them chips because chips remind me of wood chips, which are thin? Stupid reason lol. But from what I understand the term french fries comes from the cut of the fries being the french cut?

[@bladepanthera]

As a British kid in an American school I quickly learnt to not say "rubber" when I wanted to correct my pencil work 😂

[@alondor8157]

Haha, I'm sure you got lots of laugh though.

[@juliapigworthy]

If you've already made a mistake then it's a bit late to ask for a rubber init?

[@HeleneEXOL-1485]

*French * Well I need some help 😅😅 if is not rubber what is it ? 🤣

[@bladepanthera]

@@HeleneEXOL-1485 eraser!

[@cheman579]

God I as a Brit who went to a British school, I can't imagine being British in an American school, must've been a nightmare

[@solitarelee6200]

Ah, the pants vs pants thing has... been the result of some misunderstandings between me and some UK friends LOL. I also learned when I was younger that the c-word (c-*-n-t) wasn't actually a very serious insult in the UK. It's considered VERY serious (start real fights serious) in the US, even more so back when I was a teen, so when I heard someone's (british) mom call someone else's (british) mom that, I was like OH SHIT THERE IS ABOUT TO BE BLOODSHED IN THIS KITCHEN!!!!!!! but it wasn't that serious at all ghjksflgjskdj

[@kris.........]

It's the same in Australia, practically a term of endearment here 😅

[@m0zkiii]

depends on the family for sure. im british and when i was a little girl my mum found the word cunt in a letter i had written to a friend and lectured me for hours and made me fear for my bloody life lol . she explained how much it had been used against women in the 80s. i think we just like to swear more in general here , but cunt is still pretty taboo and prob the most "extreme" swear. just some context for ya as tbh i would be surprised to hear 2 middle aged women refer to eachother as that, its generally the younger population that use it casually.

[@alondor8157]

It's actually hilarious when I watch british media, and see the word cunt thrown around so much. It's actually kind of shocking to my American ears. And then I think about how commonly we say stuff like 'fuck', which should probably be taken even more serious. Just shows the cultural differences.

[@ELmayberry]

😂😂😂

[@chatnoir-i8x]

@@kris......... C*NT IS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT THERE? omggg lmaoo nahh in the USA we do not really use that word in our lango but we understand it as a HUGE offense and it can cause fighting

[@CherryGryffon]

It gets even crazier when you look at Southern American English. It's a whole other beast lol

[@depechem0ld]

This was a riot 😂 And in America's defense, eggplants were named by Europeans in the 18th century because the common variety from back then would grow white fruits that looked like eggs, instead of the longer purple ones we're more familiar with today. So, while we're king of extremely simplified names, that's on our friends across the sea lol

[@DeveusBelkan]

Same for half of these. Aluminum was coined by a British chemist. Soccer was coined in England. Fall was the original name of the season, which should be obvious to anyone that thinks about it for a second. If summer and winter are opposites, what is the opposite of spring up, if not fall down? When we change the language, they think it's absurd, but when they change the language on us, it's just sensible.

[@alondor8157]

Yeah. Americans actually stuck to the original variants. England evolved.

[@walkerlocker6126]

Everyone wants to trash us for calling football 'soccer' when the word was literally coined in the UK. It's just that it fell out of trend there and for some reason it stuck in the US

[@wyterabitt2149]

@@DeveusBelkan Soccer was used with football for a long time, it wasn't changed just settled on the one that made more sense. I can't even tell what point you tried to make with the Aluminium example, do you know yourself? (it's also the scientific international standard to use Aluminium). Spring as nothing to do with springing/up in the slightest, and Autumn predates "fall" by a few hundred years at least.

[@DeveusBelkan]

@@wyterabitt2149 If you want a point, you're going to have to know what you're talking about. One -- I said soccer was a term coined in England, which has nothing to do with whether or not football was a term used also. The point being that soccer is not an Americanism so it's ridiculous to mock Americans for using it when it isn't even a term they coined. Two -- same point with aluminum, not coined by Americans, Americans just adopted it while the international community debated a standard which chose a different spelling. Third -- You're entirely wrong about spring, it absolutely does have to do with spring up, fall down. Spring and fall are NATIVE English terms. Autumn was a loan word from the Romance languages. The language transitioned from calling the season Haerfest to Fall and Autumn -- but fall, unlike autumn, is true to the roots of English.

[@mackenzieoudshoorn1466]

and then there's canada, who uses a mix of the two hahaha

[@Nitesraven]

Add a little french in there too. LMAO!!

[@T_Cup]

Same as Australia, which is a mix between the two and has it's own things too.

[@someoldytaccount]

@@T_Cup Where I'm from, we have heaps of lingo from our Indigenous Peoples too. I was surprised other Nations languages weren't used in common language in other states/regions. You heard of boondy?

[@T_Cup]

@@someoldytaccount Nah, never heard of it, but you're totally right.

[@rinalaskaa]

I'm from Australia, and there are some words that we use like Americans and some that we used like Brits, but we can mostly understand both and can typically alternate between them.

[@walkerlocker6126]

One thing I love about you guys is if a word can be shortened in any possible way, you'll shorten it. And throw a -y at the end for kicks

[@Verceal]

The US also has different accents between the different states to. When we visit places outside the states we live in it's not unusual to be asked if we are from a specific one. I know I've been asked a few times, even when I've visited as little as one state over. It can happen regardless of the direction you travel. ex. soda vs pop, restroom vs bathroom, hat vs cap, & etc.

[@jjs7721]

The “you alright?” one legit happened to me when I was on holiday in New York. Walked into a CVS to get something and the kind assistant asked how we were and I said “I’m alright thanks” and he full on looked at me like WTH. I said it a couple of times again before explaining that I was saying that I was feeling good.

[@zannatulo1639]

Why was the assistant confused?

[@jjs7721]

@@zannatulo1639 no idea - he looked at us like ????? Maybe it was my accent because we Brits tend to say the world “alright” quite quickly so he couldn’t understand? But he only got it when I changed it to “I’m good, thank you”

[@alondor8157]

This is actually very weird, cause we say I'm alright in the US aswell. Now it'd be more confusing if you just asked someone "You alright?" as a greeting. We'd say some like how ya doing, or what's up. Asking someone You alright as a greeting sounds like you think something wrong with them, as suggested in this video. It was probably moreso your accent 🤣

[@Purwapada]

its funny because in papua new guines the word in tok pisin for hello is 'yu all right'

[@blacksesamecandies]

Depends on the region. Most people the US will ask "How are you doing?" or "How are you today?" which seems more polite. "You alright?" seems informal and maybe a bit hostile to some folks. Especially in the city, people may use this to prompt a hostile encounter. But, similiarly if you went to the UK as an American and they helped you with something and you just said "Yep" or "Ok" it may be considered rude. "Huh?" in Japan is considered rude too.

[@Sylaise]

Works with Spanish too. When I'm helping Mexican customers, translating from them, I have to remember not to use the word "cojer" because while it means "to pick up" in most Spanish countries, it means "to fuck" in Mexican Spanish. Imagine my surprise as a Puerto Rican when I learned that. Also when I was visiting family in Dominican Republic and was asking them for papaya (which is how I always said it in Spanish) and my auntie was like 😐 and I proceeded to describe it to no avail. When my mom called that night to check on us, mom told her that we were referring to "lechosa" and auntie laughed and was like "why didn't they just say so". I didn't even know that was a whole different word. So yeah, definitely an issue in Spanish too 🤣🤣

[@churchill378]

This is funny but I think a lot us British understand the majority of the common America words simply through growing up with American films and tv shows.

[@alondor8157]

True, same in the states. If someone came up to me with a British accent and mentioned my Trousers, I'd understand.

[@lighting7508]

I assume everyone online is American 💀

[@XXXTENTAClON227]

@@lighting7508 I’ve learned there is a far greater chance of encountering: - Europeans - Indians Before Americans lol

[@Unagodd]

You guys have dialects, but it seems like they're generally understandable among Korean speakers. Some accents, not dialects just accents, are practically indecipherable to other English speakers. I've also heard German dialects change so radically that they're basically gibberish to other dialects.

[@solitarelee6200]

this is true, first time I heard swiss german I thought I was having a stroke, it's very different from the german you would learn in school here

[@Unagodd]

@@solitarelee6200 Most American schools teach Hochdeutsch, which is light years away from Dutch or the Nordic languages.

[@ELP1017]

I'm from NY but live in VA now and there are areas in VA where I can barely understand what people are saying.

[@shakirabenjimin7249]

As a person who is born and raised in London but is German.. I am often so amazed by other types of dialects and accents. The most unrecognizable German dialect I have ever heard is from the south east (Bavarian)… it’s almost like a completely different language

[@rai2423]

I heard that some if their dialects almost sound like different languages to each other. I watched a youtuber whose dad had a very strong dialect and she had to put subtitles in her video because other Korean viewers couldn’t understand him.

[@scifirocks]

I used to know someone who was not just an American living in the UK, he was ex Amish and he said this happened to him all the time. He said when he was younger he was studying in a library, and someone asked him if he had a rubber. This led to a lot of embarrassment before he realised that we call rubbers are called erasers in America.

[@leahphilcox4832]

As someone who speaks British English I’ve been in situations like this and it’s so irritating lol 😂

[@katiemsn2225]

I have a friend who lives in the Uk and we talk over xbox a lot and I always aggravate him on purpose and he knows it. It's hilarious 😂

[@abiye8056]

American is not the same language as British. I can confirm this, because when I moved to America, nobody understood what I was saying 😭

[@katiemsn2225]

@@abiye8056 in the words of my nieces being goobers, they tease our UK friend by xalling American English as the Americanish language

[@katiemsn2225]

@@abiye8056 they're weirdos and they are infatuated with him even though I remind them that he's like 33! 🤣🤣🤣

[@someoldytaccount]

​@@abiye8056 They're different accents of English, but still the same language. There are enough similarities that they're mutually intelligible and not considered separate languages, but there are still difficulties that arise based on your dialect.

[@flakyanddelicious]

Mexican-American here. I worked for Wal-Mart for a bit almost a decade ago, and two British guys walked up to me while I stocked the lipsticks and asked me where the "coo-lahs" were. My jaw dropped. To me, that sounded like the Mexican Spanish word "cula" which means "ass." I just about decked these guys. Luckily, they understood that I heard something different and described it as an insulated box to keep food cold. "Oh! Coolers!" I laughed. They awkwardly laughed too.

[@sambros2]

Its called an esky in Australia

[@XXXTENTAClON227]

… why did you want to punch them for that interpretation in the first place? LMAOO imagine being in a foreign country, asking for help, and being floored because of it

[@moonchild848]

This was awesome!! As a Canadian, it's weird because we say some American things but mostly like the Britis. We spell color as colour...we say 'root' for route and we say holiday for vacation...thanks for the great reactions!!

[@hwren9845]

That's really interesting to know. I think it's the same for Australia too; kind of a mix of UK and US words. Though Australia also has its own lingo which sounds totally made up to me lol

[@champion3859]

Moon No you’re wrong I’m Canadian and we use American words mostly, but when we write we use British spelling. And the accent is same as American if you’re Canadian you should know that😐.

[@wyterabitt2149]

@@champion3859 I know a lot of Canadians, due to family who married a Canadian. I have never heard a Canadian I would confuse as American while over there.

[@heyitsnasira]

As an American who is very familiar with British accents. The 'bottled water' thing is a guaranteed laugh out of me

[@sheFEISTY.43110]

Reminds me when I've helped a customer twice, and he's British. I had to repeat myself a few times because I honestly couldn't understand some of the words he was saying. He then chuckled because he knew this wasn't the first time people in America couldn't understand him. I can tell just from his laugh and his face expression. 🤣 It's funny that the fact he came in twice before, different timing, and I still couldn't hear him or understand him. Even my coworker who helped him before had a hard time too. It wasn't just me.

[@Korea4Me]

That was interesting. I spent my formative years in the US but I've lived most of my life in the UK in Scotland. While watching this video, I realised I say words like 'aluminium' and 'Tippex' but I can still remember the American equivalents. However, some American words I've totally forgotten like 'stroller'. Actually, I teach English online. Most of my students are Korean and I often have to explain the differences between American and British English - both vocabulary and grammar.

[@eeelizabethh95]

I’m American and the accent & tone is on point 😂 we are very expressive in our speaking over here 😂😂😂😂🫶🏽

[@sabbys7750]

Lol that was funny!! 🤣🤣🤣 I'm American and I knew all the British terms....lol But I could see the confusion if people didn't know. 🤣🤣

[@juliapigworthy]

Even the British don't know all of the British terms cos every fifty miles or so the locals will have a unique dialect.

[@ShaneCarey]

Trevor Noah had a similar bit about how "napkin" means a baby diaper in South Africa. When a New York taco vendor suggested "napkins" (meaning paper for wiping face) with his food, Trevor thought that meant the tacos were expected to give him diarrhea. (He probably wasn't wrong.)

[@robfinlay8058]

South Africans have some weird words for things. They call traffic lights "robots".

[@piperfoxx6232]

It's probably already been mentioned, but the whole Aluminum vs Aluminium stems back to marketing for the Foil product in the beginning. In the US it was marketed as Aluminum Foil whereas in the UK it was Aluminium. Then seeing those respective spellings repeatedly on the shelves it just kinda stuck; similar to how in the UK it is known as a Hoover for vacuums or in the US, tissue paper is called Kleenex since those were such big brands. The object just became synonymous with the brand😁

[@wyterabitt2149]

In science it is universally accepted in the rest of the world as Aluminium, not Aluminum in North America only, so there is more to it than that today.

[@SunyiSideUp]

Some of those in the map video we do say in the US. Like pavement. It's just pavement refers to anything paved, and a sidewalk refers to any paved area designated for walking beside a road.

[@be_me]

This even happens to my boyfriend and me even though neither of us grew up in an English speaking country 😂. He grew up in Japan and was taught British English in school and while my mother is from England, in Germany (where I grew up) we get taught American English. I know the British English words but I never use them so there's always this short moment of confusion when he talks about a hoover or pants or other specifically English words until I remember.

[@Chualland]

I guess in the US we had more brands than they did at the time. In the US we say Coke, or Kleenex,

[@Zaalpe]

Fun thing about aluminum vs aluminium is that aluminum without the I was first and was named by a British guy.

[@brandon3872]

I enjoyed seeing your reactions. As a British person who grew up watching a lot of American TV shows I quickly learnt (that's how we spell learned!) to understand American English. I don't have any difficulty understanding American English. :)

[@sabriel_]

this guy's so good at all these different american accents it's jarring when you can hear him slip a little bit when he's playing his american characters lol

[@MoonshineTora]

With English as my second language and learning it from the internet, I am mixing British and American English quite a lot. Even the emphasis changes from word to word. I guess I mostly have AE pronunciation, but within that some words come out British. To me AE is easier to understand (mostly) But I like the words of BE more, because they are closer to what we use in my native language.

[@Purwapada]

ohh thats very interesting from a lingustics point of view :) Thanks for sharing. and yes AE has an unusual set of vowels and pronunciation of some words because it came from a mixture of very different accents which then formed the standard AE accent

[@bettylouturner4491]

And then there is English spoken by a Gaelic speaking Irish man. Guinness, please.

[@elvisneedsboatsbennett2455]

Different regions in the states use different words for things, also. In the north east, they call them indicators, we call them blinkers in the south. Northerners call shopping carts carts, in the south we call them buggies. Pop, soda, soda pop, coke- just depends on where you are. Everyone, you all, y'all, y'ins, you'uns. I am sure there are more I just can't think of at the moment.

[@rimun5235]

The period vs full stop definitely tripped me up. People literally looked at me like I was stupid for not knowing what a period was...

[@alondor8157]

I actually learned the word Full stop recently. It sounds kind of awkward to me, haha.

[@katararose5333]

Period = Full Stop 🤯🤯🤯

[@Purwapada]

yeah i always wondered why they were talking about periods lmao

[@justanawkwardnerd]

I've noticed that a lot of American words are different because there are more specific words that America tends to use, and the "replaced" word is often the general umbrella term the object belongs to. Like hoover - Hoover is a vacuum brand, and while we do have it, we just use "vacuum" to better generalize. It also doesn't help that people will be confused as to why you're talking about the president or the dam of all things, too. The opposite is true as well - Kleenix is a (face) tissue brand, and is used interchangeably with the actual term of "tissue." This is also true of the term "coke" when talking about soda in parts of New England. Say it anywhere else, and we'd think you specifically want a Coca-Cola, but it just means any soda or "pop," another term for soda - more old-fashioned, but it's used more often in Eastern parts of the country. Pavement is also a general word to refer to concrete paved paths - not just sidewalks. Sidewalks are just the term for the dedicated area specifically for walking, like in neighborhoods, while the pavement will be used to explain the concrete area around a mall, for example. Bins are also just (often plastic) containers commonly used for storage, usually referred to as _"plastic/storage_ bins" as a result. Trash cans are _specifically_ for trash - bins could be for _anything,_ and you don't want to confuse the two.

[@JamesAlex88]

My brain was fried as a Brit watching an old episode of the Oprah Winfrey show, SJP said she makes her son say “Fanny” to refer to his bottom, in British slang it means “vagina”.

[@Korea4Me]

😄😄

[@ShaneCarey]

Fanny pack! Er, bum bag...

[@phillipschofield6369]

I think as a british person when i went to america the problem wasn’t just the different word meanings for things idrk how to put it, but the accent. I am from up north and when i went to california a lot of people thought i was from russia for some reason😭 so they were always impressed with my english skill. I think for a video idea it would be interesting to watch yous react to all the UK accent as they r all fairly varied and as a country the diversity of our dialect and accents are misrepresented in the media due to a mass portrayal of brits using received pronunciation when in reality u could probably drive 10 minutes away from a location and end up in a place with a completely different accent/ dialect.

[@hwren9845]

Whereabouts up north are you from? I once travelled through the US with a couple of friends, one Scouser and one Irish guy, and the Americans always thought my Irish friend was Scottish and my Scouse friend was Irish?? I have a generic south England accent and got called Australian a few times. It was wild.

[@Veronica.1371]

They didn't cover my favorite British/ American different words: - bonnett/ hood - boot/ trunk - biscuit/ cookie

[@bettylouturner4491]

Car park for parking lot,

[@BookNerd4Music]

I've only seen like 2 or 3 of his videos i really enjoyed all of these! Especially the sad piano man on his shoulder! It made me laugh so hard. Probably because for some reason I actually pronounce "water" that way. I have no clue why. It always made people ask me where i was when I grew up in my part of the south USA.

[@cube9244]

The thing is, due to each state having developed their own culture, United States citizens have different accents. This has lead to times where you can have people from different parts of the U.S pronouncing things differently. If you noticed in the video the guy was giving different accents of Americans to reflect this. This can lead to confrontations where even Us Americans can’t decide how things are pronounced.

[@andrewgrant6516]

That rush of fear when the pilot announces that the plane will be landing momentarily. Quick, we have to get out before it takes off again!

[@Imaginaryt]

I'm from Nigeria and as a country colonized by the British, we use British English so most times certain words in American confuse me a lot. Their pronunciations too are very different. I was almost personally offended when they were making fun of British pronunciations.😅😅 The most painful one was the one about the date arrangements. Like, how do you put the month before the day? Very confusing. Interesting, but confusing🤧

[@celiwempungose6820]

South African struggles😂😂

[@priscillaz4108]

you forgot to mention that under every single vid an american poking fun at the uk, there are british people making fun of school shootings and american kids dying thinking it is an appropiate thing to say

[@ladydubhblossom]

it's literally amazing how much just a bit of difference in the usage of a language can either make a conversation awkward or downright weird and possibly dangerous. the crazy part is it's not just British English either, you gotta include wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Australia as well as the slang each uses, and their accent depending on where they grew up in each respective county or state in their country. America is weird in itself too, each state has an accent and uses terms differently. Most of the world though when taught English learns from the British side though which can also make convo's interesting traveling anywhere else too lol.

[@solitarelee6200]

As someone from the south us, that one was SO ACCURATE it hurt me. I think I've MET the guy he's mimicking!!! hahahaha

[@ellsbellsbabyy]

one of my friends is a japanese student here in the uk and they started learning american english in japan but obviously continued learning uk english in the uk and they said pronunciation was much easier w uk english and i’ve researched it since and seen many ppl of other different native languages say the same so it puzzles me that american english is the most taught form of english even in countries where their native language is more adaptable to the pronunciation of uk english. i understand movies & tv shows but we have quite a big market for those too so it’s ??? especially bc ppl who use uk english can understand american english but ppl who use american english always act like they can’t understand uk english. is it intentionally meant to be harder or 😭😭😭

[@ellsbellsbabyy]

side note i also think if you’re already fluent in english as a second (etc.) language such as if you’re studying the language full time at uni or something, it could actually also be more beneficial to learn uk english. as english is ultimately from england, you can delve into the history of the language such as shakespearean english and old english, learning how this word turned into this word, how we still use many french words and terms incorporated into everyday english conversations or words and terms inspired by other european and celtic words and terms, whereas americans don’t use those words and terms (e.g. en route, cul-de-sac), and have a greater understanding if you were already stemming from experience in uk english. meanwhile american english is v much just. american.

[@elaineforan4751]

Interesting points Eleanor. I presume its mostly because of international exposure to AE. If companies are planning to do business in USA, its easier to speak AE. Also, native speakers of British English understand AE so there wouldn't really be a big problem. I'm Irish and I have no problem understanding what is meant by both, although UK and US speakers often don't understand my accent or usage, less so with the UK though. To give one tip, i would always write dates using the name of the month (use that default setting on documents). This avoids confusion 5th March is as obvious as March 5th but 05/03 isn't the same date on both sides of the Atlantic. It's very confusing when documents come from outside Brit or USA and you don't know which style they have used, you may have to look at several docs to figure out if it is US or UK usage. Take care.

[@someoldytaccount]

AmE was created to be more consistent and "straight-forward" in spelling and pronunciation (and to better declare independence), which makes it easier for first-time English learners. With BrE, it's a word-by-word basis really, and takes a good decade in a situation with spoken BrE to develop your own understanding of how a word should sound, based off of prior knowledge and context. This really just points out how the educational system around the world isn't really focused on actually teaching students the additional language/s, just that it's another thing they can tick off under "childhood development". If English was taught based on a given country's existing pronunciation and basis of articulation, it would indeed be much easier. But this would mean teaching alternative accents that aren't just BrE or AmE, and people like their status quo. Japan is a unique one though. Because you're right, they are taught using AmE, but I have the impression that British culture is much more prevalent, or at least celebrated and accepted in a way that's not just a reminder of WWII. In Asia, speaking BrE or studying abroad in England is like the upper of upperclass, and given Britain's historical influence throughout, I think it would make more sense to learn BrE. But maybe that's entirely why AmE is taught, because that history is tainted. I guess it's also related to some countries having better uni/bilateral ties with the US than Britain, so at least it works for them. Personally, I would love to teach people AusE, but I feel some countries may find our lingo too crude.

[@Velvetx4cove]

I'm sorry, we're just backwards af here with _everything_ we do.

[@sonofsarek]

“Root” and “rout” are both used in the US depending on where you are from. I’ve always called them “routs”. Many others say “roots”.

[@wyterabitt2149]

Rout not pronounced as "root" it can make another word pointlessly harder to mix up. Router in IT, the thing that sends data along it's "rout" back and forth. Router in woodworking is very different. If you pronounce Rout as root, then there are no issues between these two things. If you don't, then you pronounce both of these totally different objects the same way.

[@sonofsarek]

@@wyterabitt2149 native speakers are rarely confused by rout vs root. Southerners sometimes shorten it to: “rhut” rhymes with nut, hut, and shut. That is confusing.

[@astral_haze]

i never understood "petrol," because it's just a shortened versionof what it's made of, meanwhile, gas is short for gasoline, so you can clarify with the complete word if you have to also it's even funnier because "petroleum" means "rock oil," and they just removed most of the "oleum" part

[@Glitchyybean]

As an American (love from New York 🥰) I know these are big and confusing differences between the US and the UK... Often times though I prefer the English version of things than the American when I'm on the internet though because not only do I easier understand when I talk to someone from the UK (which I somehow do often, believe it or not), but I also want to visit the UK sometime and it's a great way to teach my brain the differences fluently ^^ (Though something weird I've found is that my parents never taught me this and neither have my teachers, but I spell things like "color" and other words like "colour", the word feels naked without the u. I think when I was maybe in 4th grade I was watching something where it was spelled that way, or maybe someone said that was the right way to spell it... The memory is fuzzy on how it even started but yea I spell it with a u and can't even remember when or how. Even my keyboard autocorrects it if I don't add the u, I can't remember if I set it to UK English or not but it just autocorrects it 😂) I also feel like it's not that hard to understand what an English person is saying, even if they use different words... I can't relate to some of the America stuff in this video, I don't know if I'm just more aware and considerate or just weird TwT I mean I know I'm only 17 but still, early preparation 😂 Besides, American English is basically broken English so yea lol

[@Glitchyybean]

*also there's less confusion and misunderstandings if I understand the English version of things too, it's easier if you understand both versions 😂

[@Flastew]

That was super fun and so true. You guys make a really cute couple. Your laughs are wonder and will make everyone laugh with you.

[@loverofmyths]

They're actually called eggplants because when they're babies they look like actual white eggs hanging on the plant. It's only as they age that they look long and purple. Seeing a picture of one really messed me up but it makes sense lmao

[@BullitenBoard7654]

Love your videos. First subscribed when you were at 100k

[@BullitenBoard7654]

:)

[@aznk7538]

Glad you guys are back! That reaction was hilarious.

[@Kalani_Saiko]

You should react to Australian english, it's basically a whole other language on its own lol

[@MissKuzara]

yup, when they were talking about potato chips, I was just like to us aussies it's all chips lmao

[@Kalani_Saiko]

@@MissKuzara Yeah, it's always interesting watching people get confused by our slang and lingo

[@BrandonshanesProductions]

Tbh Australian, British and American accents are still intelligible to average English Speaker but Caribbean accents are basically a diff language

[@Kalani_Saiko]

@@BrandonshanesProductions Not really, while we have similar words, we use them in different ways. Most of our version is context based rather than speech based.

[@someoldytaccount]

​@@BrandonshanesProductions Them being mutually intelligible to a certain extent is what makes them all accents of English, and not separate languages all together. Caribbean accents (and dialects) are easy enough to understand, but I guess AmE and BrE are much more removed from us "branches". They're just strong, direct, and have flexible intonation. Once you get used to that intonation, all's good. Knowing local Creole would help, too.

[@laurabel1724]

As a French it's easier for me to understand the amercican accent but for the vocabulary I do prefer the British version which is kinda similar to french depending on words, I think americans tend to make some words deviates from their original meaning and it's can be quite confusing.

[@hopew6979]

😅 I married an Englishman and there's always hilarious confusion when these little language differences pop up when we're spending time with our families. My mother-in-law loves to refer to the George Bernard Shaw quote, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language". The way languages evolve is pretty fascinating in general but I think it's funny how American English is actually closer to how English was spoken a few hundred years ago than present day British English. There are words that we use that Brits stopped using and vice versa.

[@nathanmerritt1581]

example the American English word for is the original Anglo-Saxon word. The British equivalent is French in origin. autumn.

[@hwren9845]

"It's funny how American English is actually closer to how English was spoken a few hundred years ago than present day British English" It isn't. That's a common misconception.

[@wyterabitt2149]

@@nathanmerritt1581 Autumn being used pre-dates the word "Fall" by a couple of hundred years in Britain. Fall never caught on because it sounded silly and almost nobody used it, so it died out. Britain didn't swap to Autumn, Autumn came first by a long time and never changed. Also Autumn is Latin in origin, followed by becoming old English - not French.

[@jlittlejohn97]

A bunch of these the examples of American English are specifically AAE (African American English/Black English) which is a dialect in the US that is also grammatically distict from American English. The pronunciation and word choice is different as well. The teach in AAVE as well as Standard American in Chicago school districts I believe.

[@KayPopKraze]

im from the united states but i have always been able to understand british english lingo. idk why some people have a hard time with it lol

[@ReptilianTeaDrinker]

Because they're dumb. lol XD I'm British, but understand American English well. I don't understand how people get so confused, plus they could always just use google and educate themselves. Honestly, I wonder why some people seem confused. It's not that difficult.

[@walkerlocker6126]

I guess exposure? Idk, I'm with you on that, but I also grew up on Harry Potter books and chatting with people online. I got used to different terms at a young age

[@bloodphoenixab]

I was waiting for a few of my favorites like water closet, party, private, crossed, row, and pissed but these were still great.

[@andresgreene4913]

Gas is an abbreviation of gasoline, which is what we actually put into our cars. Petrol/petroleum is the crude oil we extract from the ground.

[@wyterabitt2149]

No, Petrol is a specific word with the specific definition of being the refined version of petroleum. And it's origin pre-dates any form of the word Gasoline. And gasoline is actually just the result of America copying the original British brand name of Gasolene, and changing it slightly.

[@layedbackthomas]

A lot of the words people complain about America using came from the UK first I've learned. Like soccer for example.

[@kayleesmeaton6777]

As far as I know in the uk soccer has always been known/called football. I've always understood soccer to be the American version.

[@wyterabitt2149]

Kind of, it's become a manipulated myth by some Americans to justify things. Soccer did come from the UK first, but football pre-dates it by a very long time. Soccer never caught on in the UK, it sounded silly and faded away. So the word soccer technically did come from the UK, but the word football to refer to the sport is much older, also came from the UK, and was always the preferred name.

[@NsTheName]

The 6th of November can can wrong because in England the dates are written 6/11/year but in America it's 11/6/year. So he might just buy tickets for a totally different day on accident.

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

In the U.S., when we speak about dates, we typically say the month name first, so writing the month first just comes naturally. We'll typically say "November 6th" instead of "the 6th of November".

[@NsTheName]

@@davidfrischknecht8261 I know. That's what I said above ^^ I'm an American who was raised in England, haha.

[@jeefsquaa]

best part about it is that we almost always fully understand each other and its just a feud the same way different branches of the military shitpost each other

[@flszen]

I was just looking at the Wikipedia (English) page for Aluminum today and they apparently have come to an arrangement where they spell it the British English way all the way through but other words, such as “color,” are spelled the US English way.

[@rebeca.mallowmilk753]

Yeah only usa spells it like colour while the rest of the English speaking countries call it colour

[@alondor8157]

Aluminum is actually the original spelling. Brits decided to change it. The word color also comes from Latin. Then was changed to Colur in Britain long ago, they since adopted the french spelling of Colour. So they're all correct technically. But America, like always, still use the original words.

[@banji7612]

Btw how he pronounced Adidas in the British way is actually the correct way to say Adidas and not "Adeedas". It's a German brand and I'm german

[@red.first.]

omg when last have i watched you're videos🥺. YOU GUYS LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL

[@bluesapphireymca]

As a Brit, what confuses me most about American English is that you call all types of pasta including spaghetti noodles. To me noodles are only the Asian type used in like Chinese, Japanese and Korean food. And spaghetti and other Italian pastas are either called pasta or the actual name of the pasta. First time I heard my american friend say it I was so confused, likewise they laughed at me for saying pasta

[@clarebear1309]

It's even more complicated since the UK has 4 countries in it and then regions within each country where words and pronunciations are soooooo different!! I'm Scottish and from Glasgow and whenever I'm down south, they look at me like I'm speaking another language 🤦🏻‍♀🙄

[@elaineforan4751]

...and don't forget the huge amount of accents and dialects within that. As an Irish person, i know that all Scottish don't sound like Begby and, just like Ireland, every town has it's own slang and way of saying things. It's actually a miracle any of us can understand each other at all. 🤣

[@Lulu-bw2fk]

when i moved to america my mom thought me to not to ask people if they are alright as a greeting but i didnt listen and like gotten sweared at by some peopel for it. and like im still struggling with words sometimes its been 7 years now lol. but gotten better im told i sound american now.

[@joechiasson8956]

Missed you two love you both don't be strangers

[@Nani-0613]

Even here in the states we have different accents depending on what state or city you come from. I'm from queens but my family are from all parts of queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and even jersey and Philly. We have distinctive behavior, slang, accents and yeah . I live down south and at times I'll say something and people have no idea what I mean

[@danvinndaniels9571]

I know the feeling, having a accent and then explaining something feels like trying to solve the mysteries of the universe 😔

[@champion3859]

Danvinn Why are you sad boo?🥲

[@sarar4270]

I'm from Guyana so we learn British English. When I moved to the US, my teacher deadass deducted points bc I used the British spelling 😭😭

[@EstherTalania-ti2uo]

My first reaction was like that too.. When he said about the pants thing, cuz in my country we use British English.

[@untalkableYT]

Very embarrassed sound effect from The Sims 4, very ironic😂 7:00 (But also funny)

[@Kishanta]

rubbish doesnt mean bitch here, it just sounds like he is saying 'a bitch' when said with the english accent. :P

[@ReptilianTeaDrinker]

Rubbish sounds nothing like bitch. I'm from England and it sounds NOTHING like that. lol If anyone mishears it as such, they have hearing problems.

[@Kishanta]

@@ReptilianTeaDrinker Well I do have hearing problems, my family is from england (like they carry british passports, I could get mine if I wished) and my mom is partially deaf so yes it would, thank you for your oh so helpful ablist addition.

[@fatimah8961]

Its 12 am in Sweden right now😂

[@bibixdidi1566]

Same Belgium

[@mattc2824]

I went to England when I was 13 with my soccer team and the British adults kept referring to us as "chaps" and I thought they were making fun of us for some reason. I asked 1 of my friends why they were calling us that and he said it's just their word for kids 😆

[@hwren9845]

Chaps is a slightly posh or dated way to refer to a group of men. Definitely not another word for kids. I'm guessing you were an all-boys team?

[@Tiffany-wy1tg]

3:16 I mean we also call it Tipp Ex in France 🤣 because it’s the brand’s name haha

[@calipop_9253]

I’m American and we had a family friend from Liverpool. When we were little we used to make him say, “Little metal bottle caps.” He was a good sport. 😂

[@patrickthompson8142]

Reminds me of the time an English lady came up to me when I worked at A&F and asked where the jumpers were….had no clue she meant rompers.

[@soul_asmr]

people in the US say both version of "rowt" and "root" (route) AND "eether" or "eyether" all the time LOL. No one would be confused really, I think he just met a jerk 😂😂

[@wyterabitt2149]

That sounds like it would be worse to swap the two. A router, as in the device to connect multiple computers, is pronounced differently to the power tool for what should be obvious reasons if you pronounce route the British way (root).

[@bracejuice7955]

How is side walk vs pavement an oversimplification? The friggin road is paved too

[@Barnesi94]

Studying abroad in the US I once asked my art class if anyone had a rubber I could use... fun times.

[@zoew_]

0:30 we arent that stupid lol i mean at least ik what half ten means

[@ladycobrana852]

Also with other words lmao. We aren’t that stupid. Well at least people I know

[@brbapappa]

In Dutch half ten is 9:30. Because it's not completely ten but half. In English half ten is half PAST ten.

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

I didn't know what he meant. I had never heard that turn of phrase before.

[@alondor8157]

I mean. We can figure out what it means. But we definitely don't ever say it here.

[@cookies6455]

I''ve always thought it's quite frustrating that you learn one form of English throughout school and then later in life from it's a mix from different TV/films/music and such. Cause learning it as a non-native means we mix american and british words and pronounciations a lot. :D haha! It's not consistently one kind of English, it's a mix. We learnt British as a standard at first. But at university it's a mix, and of course watching TV and listening to music means we get influences from both countries. And sometimes other English speaking countries too,...

[@jinijinxer97]

& then as a Singaporean our mind goes numb & world crashes ascwe use both interchangeably, & we suddenly can't remember how we talk.

[@humairali6504]

Is it just me or the 'hii kidss' is so 💗 bec she knows, many age groups watch these videos and she tries her best to keep it child friendly

[@MikeRees]

Can confirm the bo'oh'o'wo'uh thing has run a little thin, now. Like it's a common enough joke you'd expect them to understand BrEn uses glottal stops by now, but nah.

[@alexia3552]

“Distracted…” me too, girl

[@PhoenixHealing]

Mike Jeavons who is also a KZbinr did this fun song called “English to American,” check out the 2016 version it always brightens my day 😊

[@laia444]

Hi hi I love your videos!! You girls should react to worlds strictest parents 💪😎 it’s pretty crazy and the teenagers will drive you insane lol

[@stormageddon2223]

The Aluminum and Aluminium thing is because the guy who named it called it Aluminum, but changed it later to Aluminium to match the ium ending other elements had. US just kept the old spelling. Lots of different spellings between the countries. US color UK colour, US realize UK realise, and more. In fact most UK words that end in ise are spelled with ize in the US.

[@ashley4889]

I missed you guys so much!!! Much love from Canada!

[@champion3859]

Ashe I miss you too I’m from Canada 🇨🇦 as well😘

[@softmoonlight7993]

As a person who lives in a country that uses both English I can relate to those Tik Toks a lot.

[@jennah94]

Being from a non-native English speaking country, growing up watching US tv shows but had to learn UK grammar at school. My vocabulary and grammar are all messed up :DDdd Because most of the vocabulary I learn is from US English but then at uni, we had to use UK English while writing a thesis... I still have to use Grammarly all the time to make sure my English is consistent and I don't put "specialize" (US) and "specialise" (UK) in same document

[@justinwill7420]

This was a fun one!

[@sophiechoy2005]

have the same experience LOL learned English the British way in Hong Kong and in my first year in the states studying I had to change all my vocabulary, slangs and spelling. I still use “toilet” from time to time LMAO Not to mention I still can’t really understand Fahrenheit