Thread: How do Americans feel about UK spelling?
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Old 09-30-2010, 06:58 AM   #188
mjhudston
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DTM View Post
Let's not forget

US<>UK
line = queue

I'll always remember this one, because back in the '60s my sister and I went nuts trying to understand a line from the Hollies' song Bus Stop. It speaks of a romance "beginning in a queue".

"'Beginning in a Q'? It sounds like, 'Beginning in a Q'! But what are they really saying?" Took me years to figure that one out.

By the way, an earlier post mentioned the use by Americans of our two-character postal abbreviations for states: MI, OH and the like. According to the US Postal Service, the above column headings are incorrect. "UK" is not to be used for the United Kingdom. It means Ukraine. The "proper" abbreviation for "United Kingdom" is...er..."GB".
There is an education issue here, as there is a distinct difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain.

Great Britain (GB) = England, Wales and Scotland
United Kingdom (UK) = England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island.

So for The USPS to state that the Abbreviation to The United Kingdom is GB, could lead to the people of Northern Island never getting mail from. the USA.
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