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It's a matter of pronunciation. QZTRALIA, MELBIN for MELBOURNE------Got it?

Why do americans say ass instead of arse? speech defect they cannot pronounce their r's properly.

Because there are only three letters in ass, easier to spell.

Yanks have no problem pronouncing R's. Just listen to someone from Boston.

Arse isn't used primarily because ASS is what is seen in most print that Americans read ,also, Phonetics has something to do with it. We hear ASS and not ARSE.

Or could it be Americans are calling people donkeys?

Now.....about the Oz thing, the Australians have a quaint way of embellishing the English language, they call themselves Aussies, so it's not such a big step to shorten that to Oz ?

I believe it's more a case that the original settlers were not exactly literate & the level of future literacy followed suit, as can be seen by most Spellcheckers, constantly highlighting words that we know to be spelt correctly.

Lon;1493551 wrote: Yanks have no problem pronouncing R's. Just listen to someone from Boston.

Arse isn't used primarily because ASS is what is seen in most print that Americans read ,also, Phonetics has something to do with it. We hear ASS and not ARSE.


That's what I just said they can't pronounce their r's properly that's why they hear ass instead of arse. I read somewhere it's a hangover from the english settler who in the main could not pronounce their r's. Also they used to talk about the erse irish

Erse | Define Erse at Dictionary.com

(gaelic/bog irish) it was an insult morphed in to modern day english although that is only my opinion and I don't claim to be an expert in linguistics. Makes sense though many early sttlers would have had a prejudice against the irish. Calling someone a backside is not much of an insult thoiugh there are plenty of references to erse irish. Ameican fascination with anal sex does seem a little odd if not to say perverse you're an arse is just not much of an insult arsehole seems to suggest some kind of wishful thinking.

A lot of english people can't either southern english sound stupid to someone (I believe they calll it estuary english now) from the north because they speak so slowly (they also sound effeminate) americans from the deep south sound stupid to a nertherner because they speak slowly maybe people assume rate of speech reflects on the speed of the underlying thought processes. Language changes over time and with regions when did wicked come to mean good and sick the same, rap used to mean to strike something with your knuckles people from just fifty years ago would have trouble following a modern teenage english conversation

Calling somebody an arse is NOT much of an insult ?

I would disagree.

As I understand it the colonials stuck more faithfully to the English that was spoken at the time they left than we did at home so, as we moved on, their idiom and pronunciation became more and more old fashioned to our ears.

Posted by bryn mawr

As I understand it the colonials stuck more faithfully to the English that was spoken at the time they left than we did at home so, as we moved on, their idiom and pronunciation became more and more old fashioned to our ears.


Bit of that as well I suppose the way they pronounce words like complex and produce always sounds odd to me as well

Bruv;1493634 wrote: Calling somebody an arse is NOT much of an insult ?

I would disagree.


Not really no - you're a bottom come off it it just makes me laugh. Wanker, tosser, are worse at least they have the virtue of being descriptive. Just my opinion though, I've got to the point in life where someone trying to insult me doesn't bother me very much after all it's up to me how I react mostly I just don't care.

gmc;1493654 wrote: Not really no - you're a bottom come off it it just makes me laugh. Wanker, tosser, are worse at least they have the virtue of being descriptive. Just my opinion though, I've got to the point in life where someone trying to insult me doesn't bother me very much after all it's up to me how I react mostly I just don't care.


You are far too polite gmc.

What is arse really short for ? It is for the part of our body that excretes waste matter, not the bit you sit on,I am struggling here to keep it clean, we are not in some public bar.

Bruv;1493657 wrote: You are far too polite gmc.

What is arse really short for ? It is for the part of our body that excretes waste matter, not the bit you sit on,I am struggling here to keep it clean, we are not in some public bar.


It's also the bit you sit on so's a bottom, the part you excrete from is called the anus or in common parlance the arsehole so I still maintain calling someone a bottom is not much of an insult. Are you now agreeing calling someone an arse is not much of an insult compared to others that are available? It's only an insult if you're an american and they really don't know how to insult people properly and have been known to take umbrage at the least imagined insult. I have had insults hurled at me on numerous occasions by people that think I'm actually going to care what they think I've got an extensive repertoire of my own that i can use if I feel it warranted but calling someone an arse is really not up to much either way.

Poor lon this could stop him asking questions ever again. maybe he thought he woukld get a sensible answer:-3

My point was that calling someone an arse is really a shortened term for arsehole, I tend to think the Americanism 'ass' is calling someone a donkey, or slow witted.

We all have the ability to take umbrage at imagined slights or even a strange look, I will agree the Americans have taken it to the next level though, but of course they do have a lot more to be embarrassed about.

Bruv;1493665 wrote: My point was that calling someone an arse is really a shortened term for arsehole, I tend to think the Americanism 'ass' is calling someone a donkey, or slow witted.

We all have the ability to take umbrage at imagined slights or even a strange look, I will agree the Americans have taken it to the next level though, but of course they do have a lot more to be embarrassed about.


:yh_rotflI couldn't possibly comment

Ass has been used in English Language as a derogatory term for years - often in pretentious 'what-ho' Englsih Literature, such as the Famous Five ("Oh, you are a silly ass"). Come to that, there is also the term "Goose", used in the same context ("Oh, you are a silly goose"), and the term "Goose" has also taken on a totally different meaning.

Bruv;1493665 wrote: My point was that calling someone an arse is really a shortened term for arsehole, I tend to think the Americanism 'ass' is calling someone a donkey, or slow witted.

We all have the ability to take umbrage at imagined slights or even a strange look, I will agree the Americans have taken it to the next level though, but of course they do have a lot more to be embarrassed about.


I think I should take umbrage with something here.

ZAP;1493821 wrote: I think I should take umbrage with something here.


Let us know when you have worked it out.......................................

:pBruv;1493822 wrote: Let us know when you have worked it out.......................................
:p