You say sidewalk, I say pavement

[adderslj]

As I work through these redlines, I can't help but be amused at the differences between British and American English. Often it's in phraseology as much as word choice. After four or five years of getting redlines from Americans, it still makes me smile.

There was one particular occasion when a developer was really sarcastic about something I wrote that made perfect sense in the Queen's English. I got a particularly satisfying apology for that once the misunderstanding became clear.

Comments

[nagaina-ryuuoh.livejournal.com]

One day I'll completely eliminate the use of passive voice from my writing and tame my addiction to em-dashes (which has been getting a lot better since the first draft of Road of Sin</> actually), and Matt will simply have to start picking on something else. ^_^

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Is "pavement" the standard UK English expression? I ask because it's mostly a regionalism in the US compared to the more common "sidewalk." In Baltimore, my hometown, pavement is what is most common, although in the local patois it's pronounced "pay-ment." Don't ask.

[sailormur.livejournal.com]

so is "pounding the pavement" a British term? I've heard it over here but never really understood how sitting and punching the road implies you're looking for a job...

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

There was one particular occasion when a developer was really sarcastic about something I wrote that made perfect sense in the Queen's English. I got a particularly satisfying apology for that once the misunderstanding became clear.

God, I certainly hope that wasn't me. Unless it was the "they as singular pronoun" thing, which I still think sounds silly in any English. :)

[kit-hartford.livejournal.com]

East Side vs. East End ... 'Nuff said.