tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post4099628721952801508..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: blinkers and indicatorslynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-11159638101973752192020-08-25T14:21:39.471+01:002020-08-25T14:21:39.471+01:00Um, that is what the post said, so I'm not sur...Um, that is what the post said, so I'm not sure what the full caps and exclamation point are about. I'll just say: no need to mock people's differences.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72285349196895686472020-08-25T08:02:20.302+01:002020-08-25T08:02:20.302+01:00Blinkers is 100% NOT an English word. We always sa...Blinkers is 100% NOT an English word. We always say indicators as they indicate the direction of travel. We mock the American term ‘blinkers’ a lot! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34102989452882399102019-05-13T14:33:13.808+01:002019-05-13T14:33:13.808+01:00Do you indicate or blinker your intention to turn?...Do you indicate or blinker your intention to turn?<br />I hate the blinkers for indicators, because most drivers use them like blinkers on a horse!<br />I am Australian.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17280787820629642734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-66566102963933948642008-06-08T20:48:00.000+01:002008-06-08T20:48:00.000+01:00That's sweet :)Though having lived with a New York...That's sweet :)<BR/><BR/>Though having lived with a New Yorker flatemate for this academic year, such dialect accommodation gets somewhat confusing when we start using each other's "pants" (the word, not the garment, mind!).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-10252417065526373712008-05-26T13:26:00.000+01:002008-05-26T13:26:00.000+01:00Is dialect accommodation the definition of true lo...<I>Is dialect accommodation the definition of true love?</I><BR/><BR/>As an American linguist married to a Scot linguist, I must say <B>yes</B>!<BR/><BR/>:-)Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03636303514258251849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7378142607834598892008-05-23T19:57:00.000+01:002008-05-23T19:57:00.000+01:00To my BrE ears, 'indicators' sounds impossibly for...To my BrE ears, 'indicators' sounds impossibly formal. You'd only call them that if you were quoting the highway code or a car spares catalog(ue). Otherwise they're winkers, not blinkers.AndyGraveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14188827383750366474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91452717596664747932008-05-19T04:39:00.000+01:002008-05-19T04:39:00.000+01:00I (in Canada) might understand blinkers on a car t...I (in Canada) might understand blinkers on a car to be the <I>hazard lights</I> or <I>four-way flashers</I>, but I wouldn't use "blinkers" for the turn signals, even though they are the same light bulbs.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60781797290547745342008-05-18T19:48:00.000+01:002008-05-18T19:48:00.000+01:00Don't know about the rest of the country, but we d...Don't know about the rest of the country, but we don't say "blinkers" in California. Blinkers sounds rather British to me actually.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-68730615132442776832008-05-15T18:59:00.000+01:002008-05-15T18:59:00.000+01:00Well, BH followed his statement with "Did you like...Well, BH followed his statement with "Did you like my American English?", so he apparently does perceive it as AmE.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29415478440536927332008-05-15T15:12:00.000+01:002008-05-15T15:12:00.000+01:00As a BrE speaker, I've got to admit I don't think ...As a BrE speaker, I've got to admit I don't think of 'blinkers' as particularly American. I use the word without sensing any American influence (after all, it's not a word that comes up often in American movies or T.V. programme imports!), and so do many Brits. The COED (11th ed., 2004)does not mark the usage as 'Am.', which it usually does for adopted expressions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-66960344730685192452008-05-14T11:48:00.000+01:002008-05-14T11:48:00.000+01:00...which is short for directional indicators, as i......which is short for <I>directional indicators</I>, as is <I>indicators</I>.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21611618051283881072008-05-14T02:30:00.000+01:002008-05-14T02:30:00.000+01:00And in New England, they're "directionals."And in New England, they're "directionals."hoberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13696733270691815060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50400315106276098632008-05-11T07:34:00.000+01:002008-05-11T07:34:00.000+01:00No, you're right, JB. Horses wear blinkers in bot...No, you're right, JB. Horses wear blinkers in both dialects.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33606084781788187572008-05-11T05:15:00.000+01:002008-05-11T05:15:00.000+01:00mollymooly: the horsey sense of "blinkers" remains...mollymooly: the horsey sense of "blinkers" remains at least vestigially in AmE, in expressions like "blinkered vision" and so forth. (Or have I read so many BrE texts that it's part of <I>my</I> dialect, and I'm confusing that with AmE?)Jonathan Bogarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12642591944483957225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-37735935869237161462008-05-10T18:28:00.000+01:002008-05-10T18:28:00.000+01:00My favorite bumper sticker of all time is "Visuali...My favorite bumper sticker of all time is "Visualize Using Your Turn Signals".Fnarfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15022243603033471232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26990787915625315432008-05-10T14:50:00.000+01:002008-05-10T14:50:00.000+01:00BrE blinkers = AmE blinders, for horses.BrE blinkers = AmE blinders, for horses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23599899526016921622008-05-10T10:12:00.000+01:002008-05-10T10:12:00.000+01:00Anon, if you were being polite, should you have sa...Anon, if you were being polite, should you have said <I><B>paraffin</B> tin</I>? (BrE <I><B>paraffin (oil)</B></I> = AmE <I><B>kerosene</B></I>; In AmE <I>paraffin</I> only refers to the waxy form.<BR/><BR/>Jo, I love the word <I>snarky</I> because there's something really satisfying about the /sn/. I just started writing a lot about it, but I'm going to move it to another post...lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-79939880614106046692008-05-10T09:32:00.000+01:002008-05-10T09:32:00.000+01:00(By the way, had you run into the geeky AmE "snark...(By the way, had you run into the geeky AmE "snarky" to mean sarcastic? I'd always wondered where that word had come from, and now I think I see a family resemblance.)Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100406023875777671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71148501353486973322008-05-10T03:38:00.000+01:002008-05-10T03:38:00.000+01:00Is dialect accommodation the definition of true lo...<I>Is dialect accommodation the definition of true love?</I><BR/><BR/>Nah, but it <I>is</I> polite. I (an American) remember one day working with a British woman (in a third, non-English-speaking country). When she asked me for the flashlight, I told her that it was next to the kerosene tin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com