THE CHATTER BOX

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"English" questions by MMMmmm... on 21 October 2008 6:50pm

It starts with a trivia fact post:

What does eagle eye really mean?

Eagle eye means that if you had the vision of an eagle, you could read a newspaper from across a football field.

"Not bad, eh?" Says a jokingly bespectacled eagle...
"Where's my tea? I always like to have a delightful, fragrant cuppa while I peruse the paper... "

"Margaret! Where's my tea!"

..........................................

Now I know I'm starting with a "talking" eagle, but the "English" questions are:

Would it have to be "'whilst' I peruse the paper," and is "cuppa" broadly used, or is it more regional?

Re: "English" questions by bathsheba on 21 October 2008 6:57pm

eh?

Re: "English" questions by MMMmmm... on 21 October 2008 7:14pm

Re: "English" questions by perfectbitch on 21 October 2008 7:24pm

I'm not sure about while or whilst but I would use while. I'll look it up when I get the chance. "Cuppa" is broadly used and only for tea.

Linz

Re: "English" questions by MMMmmm... on 21 October 2008 7:26pm

Thank you Linz! (Good to know :)

Re: "English" questions by perfectbitch on 21 October 2008 7:30pm

Found this:-

n American English whilst is not normally used. In British English while and whilst are more or less interchangeable when the meaning is although or whereas.
Whilst many people agree that boxing is dangerous, little has been done so far to ban it.
It will remain cold in the west, eastern areas should be noticeably milder.
In the meaning of when, whilst is significantly more formal and may appear archaic. Compare:

I first met her while I was working for a company in the Midlands.
I first met her whilst working for a company in the Midlands.
Similarly amongst and amidst are more formal and literary than among and amid, although in one or two phrases, for example amongst others, they may occur quite frequently. Incidentally, one American source dismisses these as “Briticisms or archaisms”.

Hope it helps.

Linz

Re: "English" questions by MMMmmm... on 21 October 2008 7:39pm

Yes! Thank you! I like that we have both British English and American English. It's more interesting that way.

I like how English culture and language is more artful in it's own way.

There's a place for Shakespeare and Humphrey Bogart. (And Michael Palin, Monty Python, all-inbetween, Etc., of course!)

Re: "English" questions by peripatetically on 21 October 2008 11:02pm

Americans don't use "cuppa", unless they specify what . For example: Let's have a cuppa coffee(tea, hot chocolate, cocoa). But many Brits just say, "Let's have a cuppa", and leave it it dangling.

"Whilst" is more often used in literature, but not daily conversation.

Re: "English" questions by mrsthing on 22 October 2008 2:56am

When Americans say "cuppa", what we really mean is "cup o'" (cup of, with the f left off). It sounds the same, but it's written differently. ;-) And Patti is right: most Americans wouldn't use "cuppa" as a noun. We'd say "I wanna cup o' coffee".

Some of the people on Cleese's forum use "whilst" in their posts, and I think that's just natural for them. They're a much younger crowd over there, though. The next youngest member who's active is in her early 30s; the rest are in their 20s.

Re: "English" questions by MMMmmm... on 22 October 2008 3:10am

Yes, and for some reason in my imagination, this bespectacled eagle became a "British/English" eagle (do you have eagles?) If not, he or his parents must have flown across the pond... :)

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