imported>Ro Thorpe |
imported>Chunbum Park |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| == '''[[British and American English]]''' == | | == '''[[Reuben sandwich]]''' == |
| ''by [[User:Ro Thorpe|Ro Thorpe]] and others <small>([[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]], [[User:John Stephenson|John Stephenson]], [[User:Peter Jackson|Peter Jackson]], [[User:Chris Day|Chris Day]], [[User:Martin Baldwin-Edwards|Martin Baldwin-Edwards]], and [[User:J. Noel Chiappa|J. Noel Chiappa]])</small>'' | | ''by [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]], [[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] and [[User:Mary Ash|Mary Ash]] <small>(and [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]])</small>'' |
| ---- | | ---- |
| Between '''[[British English]] and [[American English]]''' there are numerous differences in the areas of [[lexis|vocabulary]], [[spelling]], and [[phonology]]. This article compares the forms of British and American speech normally studied by foreigners: the former includes the [[Accent (linguistics)|accent]] known as [[Received Pronunciation]], or RP; the latter uses [[Midland American English]], which is normally perceived to be the least marked American [[dialect]]. Actual speech by educated British and American speakers is more varied, and that of uneducated speakers still more. [[Grammar|Grammatical]] and lexical differences between British and American English are, for the most part, common to all dialects, but there are many regional differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, usage and slang, some subtle, some glaring, some rendering a sentence incomprehensible to a speaker of another variant.
| | {{Image|Ruben sandwich.jpg|right|200px|Reuben sandwich}} |
| | A '''[[Reuben sandwich]]''' is usually made with [[rye]] bread, [[corned beef]], [[sauerkraut]], [[Swiss cheese]], and [[Russian dressing]] [[or Thousand Island dressing]], and is griddled, grilled, or fried and served hot. The corned beef is sometimes replaced with [[pastrami]] or thinly sliced [[ham]]; the sauerkraut is sometimes replaced with [[cole slaw]]; and sometimes the bread is toasted. In these, and similar cases, the [[sandwich]] is then frequently called a Rachel. Although generally served hot, it can also be served cold. |
|
| |
|
| American and British English both diverged from a common ancestor, and the evolution of each language is tied to social and cultural factors in each land. Cultural factors can affect one's understanding and enjoyment of language; consider the effect that [[slang]] and [[double entendre]] have on humour. A joke is simply not funny if the [[pun]] upon which it is based can't be understood because the word, expression or cultural icon upon which it is based does not exist in one's variant of English. Or, a joke may be only partially understood, that is, understood on one level but not on another, as in this exchange from the [[Britcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]'': | | The Reuben sandwich is part of American food folklore and is often associated with Jewish food traditions even though all its variants combine meat with cheese and therefore are not [[kosher]]. |
|
| |
|
| Fraser: Did ya hear the story of the old empty barn?
| | === Origin === |
| Mainwaring: Listen, everyone, Fraser's going to tell a story.
| |
| Fraser: The story of the old empty barn: well, there was nothing in it!
| |
|
| |
|
| Americans would 'get' part of the joke, which is that a barn that is empty literally has nothing in it. However, in Commonwealth English, 'there's nothing in it' also means something that is trivial, useless or of no significance.
| | Conflicting stories exist about the origin of the sandwich. The two main competing ones—both involving immigrants with Jewish roots—are: |
|
| |
|
| But it is not only humour that is affected. Items of cultural relevance change the way English is expressed locally. A person can say "I was late, so I ''Akii-Bua'd'' (from [[John Akii-Bua]], Ugandan hurdler) and be understood all over East Africa, but receive blank stares in [[Australia]]. Even if the meaning is guessed from context, the nuance is not grasped; there is no resonance of understanding. Then again, because of evolutionary divergence; people can believe that they are speaking of the same thing, or that they understand what has been said, and yet be mistaken. Take adjectives such as 'mean' and 'cheap'. Commonwealth speakers still use 'mean' to mean 'parsimonious', Americans understand this usuage, but their first use of the word 'mean' is 'unkind'. Americans use 'cheap' to mean 'stingy', but while Commonwealth speakers understand this, there is a danger that when used of a person, it can be interpreted as 'disreputable' 'immoral' (my grandmother was so ''cheap''). The verb 'to table' a matter, as in a conference, is generally taken to mean 'to defer', in American English, but as 'to place on the table', i.e. to bring up for discussion, in Commonwealth English.
| | *The Reuben sandwich was named for Arnold Reuben, who, in the early part of the 20th century, owned the now-closed Reuben's delicatessen in New York. Reuben reportedly created the sandwich to honor Annette Seelos, an actress, in 1914. |
|
| |
|
| English is a flexible and quickly-evolving language; it simply absorbs and includes words and expressions for which there is no current English equivalent; these become part of the regional English. American English has hundreds of loan words acquired from its [[immigration|immigrants]]: these can eventually find their way into widespread use, (''[[spaghetti]]'', ''mañana''), or they can be restricted to the areas in which immigrant populations live. So there can be variances between the English spoken in [[New York City]], [[Chicago]], and [[San Francisco]]. Thanks to Asian immigration, a working-class [[London|Londoner]] asks for a ''cuppa cha'' and receives the tea he requested. This would probably be understood in [[Kampala]] and [[New Delhi]] as well, but not necessarily in [[Boise]], [[Idaho]].
| | *Alternatively, the sandwich was created by Reuben Kay, a Omaha, Nebraska, grocer, who made the sandwich during the course of a poker game. His sandwich then won a national contest the following year. |
|
| |
|
| ''[[British and American English|.... (read more)]]'' | | In order to clarify the [[etymology]] of ''Reuben sandwich'' for the ''Random House College Dictionary'', which cited New York City as its origin, Jim Rader thoroughly researched the two claims after a 1989 complaint by a Nebraskan reader but without arriving at a definite answer. |
| | ''[[Reuben sandwich|.... (read more)]]'' |
by Hayford Peirce, Peter Schmitt and Mary Ash (and Howard C. Berkowitz)
© Photo: Ben Frantz Dale, via Wikimedia Commons Reuben sandwich
A Reuben sandwich is usually made with rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, and is griddled, grilled, or fried and served hot. The corned beef is sometimes replaced with pastrami or thinly sliced ham; the sauerkraut is sometimes replaced with cole slaw; and sometimes the bread is toasted. In these, and similar cases, the sandwich is then frequently called a Rachel. Although generally served hot, it can also be served cold.
The Reuben sandwich is part of American food folklore and is often associated with Jewish food traditions even though all its variants combine meat with cheese and therefore are not kosher.
Origin
Conflicting stories exist about the origin of the sandwich. The two main competing ones—both involving immigrants with Jewish roots—are:
- The Reuben sandwich was named for Arnold Reuben, who, in the early part of the 20th century, owned the now-closed Reuben's delicatessen in New York. Reuben reportedly created the sandwich to honor Annette Seelos, an actress, in 1914.
- Alternatively, the sandwich was created by Reuben Kay, a Omaha, Nebraska, grocer, who made the sandwich during the course of a poker game. His sandwich then won a national contest the following year.
In order to clarify the etymology of Reuben sandwich for the Random House College Dictionary, which cited New York City as its origin, Jim Rader thoroughly researched the two claims after a 1989 complaint by a Nebraskan reader but without arriving at a definite answer.
.... (read more)
