English, the Language.

[iBender]

Those little sea creatures I call Prawns.
As seen here in Crisp form.

Not a potato chip or Skip.
But a Logo

that should look like; this.

...

Argh! or Ewl. 1 of the 2.

 

[RoJoHen]

They're not sea creatures, though.

 

[Miss Chicken]

They live on land and are quite small. Much smaller than prawns.

 

[iBender]

They're not sea creatures, though.

Those shallow water creatures, clearly you're an expert here, what are they, then?

They live on land and are quite small. Much smalerl than prawns.

I was just a' talking about ta' Shrimps and Potato Chips anyway.

 

[RoJoHen]

They live on land and are quite small. Much smalerl than prawns.

What she said.

 

[iBender]

Gosh darn it, I know.
My poetic picture piece about Shrimps and Potato Chips gone unoticed
I was talking about Shrimps and Potato Chips, not the bug.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Here is a photo of a woodlouse (slater, roly poly) being held in someone's hand. It shows the size better.

This photo is bigger than life size.

I am trying to work out why the British doing the Regional Dialect Meme are having so much trouble knwing what creature is being asked about. Woodlice seem to be quite common in Britain (about 35 species, of which 5 are common)

 

[iBender]

I've always thought those were Carpet Beetles, but that's another bug.

I wonder if in the future, they'll find fossilized Carpet Beetles in the remains of someone's home?
What came first, the Carpet or the Carpet Beetle?

 

[iguana_tonante]

I did this meme-thing some months ago. Just for fun, I'll put the word in Italian, and then the word I would use when speaking in English (I suppose it would be a mix of British English, American English and just plain wrong English).

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? No word in Italian for that, as it's virtually unheard of here (I discovered the existence of such a prank watching American teen movies when I was younger). I've heard Toilet-Papering used in English.

• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? No specific word in Italian for it, we just use the name of the brand. Soda in English.

• What do you call gym shoes? Scarpe da ginnastica in Italian. Sneakers or trainers in English.

• What do you say to address a group of people? Gente, ragazzi in Italian. People, folks, and guys in English.

• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? In my town they are called palanche (singular palanca), but it's a regional thing. No idea if there is a name for them in standard Italian. In English I've heard them called daddy longlegs.

• What do you call your grandparents? Nonno and Nonna. In English, I'd probably use Granpa and Granma.

• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? In Italian, carrello or carrello della spesa. In English, I'll call it a shopping cart, or cart for short.

• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? No word in Italian for that. In English, I've heard the term sunshower used for it.

• What is the thing you change the TV channel with? Italian telecomando. English remote.

• What is the bug that when you touch it rolls into a ball? In Italian they are called onischi (singular onisco). No idea how they are called in English.

• Do you think you have an accent? In both Italian and English. Ha!

 

[scotpens]

I guess another difference is; the date. The 31st of December, 1999 or December the 31st, 1999.

We Yanks still write “October 25 (or 25th), 1953” or ”10/25/53,” even though the day-month-year order makes more sense. However, the military and much of the business and academic community follows the European practice of writing the date as “25 October 1953,” with no ordinal suffix.

(My birthday, incidentally.)

• What is the thing you change the TV channel with? Italian telecomando. English remote.

I like telecomando. Sounds like a cyborg soldier in a sci-fi movie.

• What is the bug that when you touch it rolls into a ball? In Italian they are called onischi (singular onisco). No idea how they are called in English.

I’ve always called them potato bugs or sowbugs.

• Do you think you have an accent? In both Italian and English. Ha!

I don’t have an accent. Everyone else does!

 

[Kestra]

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
TP-ing

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
Pop

What do you call gym shoes?
Gym shoes

What do you say to address a group of people?
Guys

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
Daddy Longlegs

What do you call your grandparents?
Dadu (grandfather) and Dida (grandmother)

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
Shopping cart

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
Nothing

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
Remote

Do you think you have an accent?
I must, but it seems entirely normal to me

 

[thestrangequark]

Here is a photo of a woodlouse (slater, roly poly) being held in someone's hand. It shows the size better.

This photo is bigger than life size.

I am trying to work out why the British doing the Regional Dialect Meme are having so much trouble knwing what creature is being asked about. Woodlice seem to be quite common in Britain (about 35 species, of which 5 are common)

Where I grew up that's a potato bug.

 

[trampledamage]

Here is a photo of a woodlouse (slater, roly poly) being held in someone's hand. It shows the size better.

This photo is bigger than life size.

I am trying to work out why the British doing the Regional Dialect Meme are having so much trouble knwing what creature is being asked about. Woodlice seem to be quite common in Britain (about 35 species, of which 5 are common)

I don't know if what I would call a wood louse isn't one or something, but I've never associated them with the bug that rolls up in a ball (which I've only seen on the Miss Spider kids show)

I was going to post a picture of what a wood louse looks like to me but just googling it is giving me the heebie-jeebies

But to me, wood lice are a very pale colour, small and oval in shape, they scuttle and hide but I've never seen one roll into a ball.

 

[Kestra]

Stop quoting pictures of bugs!

 

[Trilliam]

Yeah, starting to get the "creepy crawlies".

 

[Canadave]

Here is a photo of a woodlouse (slater, roly poly) being held in someone's hand. It shows the size better.

This photo is bigger than life size.

I am trying to work out why the British doing the Regional Dialect Meme are having so much trouble knwing what creature is being asked about. Woodlice seem to be quite common in Britain (about 35 species, of which 5 are common)

Where I grew up that's a potato bug.

That's what I'd call it as well.

 

[Thestral]

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
Toilet papering/TP-ing

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
Soda. Not pop.

What do you call gym shoes?
Sneakers

What do you say to address a group of people?
Y'all, folks, (you) guys

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
Daddy Long Legs

What do you call your grandparents?
Different name for each. Grandaddy, Grandmother, Pappy, Grandma.

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
Shopping cart, or more often just cart

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
? Never heard a special name for it

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
Remote, or clicker

Do you think you have an accent?
I'm sure I do, but I don't hear one unless I'm tired


Also, that bug's a pillbug, or maybe a rolypoly.

Who was it upthread talking about making "are" and "our" sound the same? I usually do that.

Does anybody else here call fireflies "lightning bugs"?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
----- TP'ing

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
----- Soda

What do you call gym shoes?
----- Sneakers or Tennis Shoes

What do you say to address a group of people?
----- Guys (informally) and Ladies and Gentlemen (formally)

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
----- Daddy Long Legs

What do you call your grandparents?
----- Grandma and Grandpa

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
----- Shopping Cart (cart for short)

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
----- Never really called it anything

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
----- Remote control (remote for short)

Do you think you have an accent?
----- Everyone has an accent from someone else's perspective. Mine doesn't have the stereotypical (and fairly rare) Californian Valley or Surfer accent that I'm aware of, and to me it's most similar to the newscasters/midwestern General American accent (sort of the American version of Received Pronunciation). Though I do use some of the surfer lingo.

What do you call the bug that rolls up into a ball?
----- Roly Poly (my Mom called it a pillbug)

How do you write out the date?
----- May 14, 2011 or May 14th, 2011 or 5/14/11

What do you call a baby frog?
----- Tadpole

 

[BlobVanDam]

Another question could be 'what do you call the young of a frog'. I assume that they answer would be either a tadpole or a polliwog depending on where you live.

I heard both growing up. I'm not sure what preference there might be for it back home.

Only tadpole is used in Australia. I think I was an adult before I even heard the term 'polliwog'.

I was 25 when I first heard the term, ie. just right now . Polliwog? Really?

 

[lurok]

Common pill woodlouse

But has anyone seen the giant woodlouse? Like something out of a b-movie...