h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

not sure if the pronunciation thing holds true in all instances, lyric. probably true in some cases tho. i personally accent the first syllable of 'perfume'... also of 'kerosene' and 'parrafin'.

there are alternate pronunciations of many words tho, that's true enough.

Sure thing broelan, anytime
On the syllable thing, it doesn't always work. I've been thinking about that one myself, but I can't bring any examples to mind right now of how Americans accent the first syllable where Brits accent the last. There are quite a few though, and I'll try to remember to write them down if I come across them or recall any during the day. Here's an odd one though - in some American accents, the word 'mirror' has only one syllable, because it just becomes 'mrrrr'

If Americans eat donuts, does that mean they make their bread from do?

while we're on the subject of edibles, can anyone tell me what 'treacle' is?

Seeing as we've strayed into the thorny topic of pronunciation, how about the bizzare way you pronounce words such as 'missile'. As far as I'm concerned a 'missal' is a prayer book, and is thus a rather ineffectual thing to fire at your enemies, unless you're just trying to hint that it's time they made peace with their maker.

And Colin Powell can't even pronounce his own name properly...

Treacle is a dark sugar syrup, similar to molasses. It tastes foul, but is great for baking fruitcakes and making toffee. Golden Syrup is much nicer, and technically known as 'partially inverted refiner's syrup'. It is best when eaten on bread with clotted cream, a traditional Westcountry treat known as 'Thunder and Lightning'. Unfortunately I cannot describe the effect it has on one's mouth without using the word 'orgasm', so I won't...

US ranch = UK bloody big farm

speaking of which... this just occurred to me
uk garden = us yard

and gosho, i just thought of one of those words... garage.

Interesting choice of example, broe, because we have two pronunciations for the word, depending on class and locality:
Garage rhyming with mirage, or
'Garridge'

Plus I know a great many houses with yards. "Garden" rather indicates the presence of flowers, or at least grass and trees.

We do use yard in the UK in the context of the space around houses. It would be a space that is say concreted over and most certainly does not have flowers and stuff in it.

UK cinema = US theater
Althought I think the Americans call theatres "theaters" as well.

Your cinema/theatre translation got me thinking about some pronunciation. My friends from Durham pronounce a film a "fil-um", which cracks me up every time

I do that, too, but that comes from listening to too much Mark and Lard.

An American friend once berated me for the way I pronounce 'garage' (garridge), so I asked her if she'd be packing her luggahj for a weekend at the cottahj, where for dinner she might cook some cabbahj

In Noo Yawk we pawk da caw in da grahdj. And I'd pack my luggidj faw a weekend at da coddidj, where for dinna I wouldn't cook some cabbidj.

there's the whole either/either neither/neither thing over here. what happens about that in America? do people all pronounce it the same or do people from different places pronounce it differently?
^. .^
= ' =

As a Brit, I say "eether" and "neether"

UK laundrette = US laundromat
UK match (as in cricket match) = US game (baseball game)

Most of the Americans I know call a back garden a backyard, whether or not it's grassed and flowered, unless there's some serious acreage (acreahdj?) involved. The 2-up 2-down houses in the street where my grandmother in Liverpool lived had a yard - a small, concreted or paved area with high walls around it, and maybe a few flower beds, but no room for a lawn. Speaking of 2-up 2-down, what's the American term for a terraced houses? Like the ones in the cross streets of NYC - all joined together. A town house row?

im reading a good book partly about this by bill bryson, called mother tongue. i need to hurry now, but soon ill get some gems for yuo lucky lucky people

I thought they were just townhouses ...

And I'm with Gosho on the "eether", "neether" thang ...