Wow, talk about mucho confuso.
Fish + Chips would mean something different to you that it does to me!
Not really. Fish and Chips in America is still the same as Fish and Fries. It is just wierd. 
If I said “fish and Chips” to you, you would think of
and
unless I explained it!
Not me. I have eaten fish and chips in restruants before. I know what Fish and chips are.
Soda vs Fizzy…
Yes, another excellent example.
They basically mean the same thing, though “soda” can have more than one meaning. But if you’re in the US and you say “I’m thirsty, I want a soda”, you’re talking about any generic drink with carbonated water (ie, a “fizzy” drink in the UK world). But there’s also “soda” as a flavor (as in “cream soda” flavor) – though when someone says “I want a soda,” unless they specifically
say “cream soda” or “soda-flavored”, they just mean a fizzy drink.
Also, the term was used ages ago, back in the days when there were “soda fountains”, and of course “soda water” (also known as seltzer). So in the US, if you say you want a “soda,” it means you want a carbonated drink. Could be Coke, could be Dr Pepper, could be 7-11 (if you want just plain soda-water you have to say “soda-water”, or “seltzer”)… but sadly it wouldn’t be Scheweppes Bitter Lemon – because for some stupid, unknown reason the US seems to be the only country on earth where you can’t buy it! (insert rant here…)
As far as Coke being a generic term, it’s the same here. “Coke” is also generic for “cola” (the same way “xerox” is for “copy” or “kleenex” ia for “tissue.” Or for that matter, “google” for search).
Question: does anyone outside of Asia (ie, NOT Hong Kong, Singapore, etc) where English is spoken, use “air-con?” In the US, it’s “air conditioning” or “A/C” for short. “Air-con” is used a lot in Asia, in both English and non-English speaking countries, but not really in the US. Just wondering if it’s used at all (outside of Asia) wherever you live.
RE: “full-stops.” Interesting. That’s one I didn’t know!
RE: Musical terminology differences. Yes! YES! NO one in the US (unless you’re a professor, you trained outside the US, or research music from an academic standpoint rather than a performing standpoint) knows the UK-world terms for music (such as minim or semiquaver) – myself included! I’m a professional musician who went to a good music school, and I wouldn’t even have heard of the British terminology if not for a running joke about them a while back. (But even today, I don’t know which is which, corresponding to the US terms. I have to look them up). What’s weird is that for most things where British or US English is used, even if one side doesn’t use the other side’s terms, we at least usually know what they mean. So the average American will know what someone on “holiday” means even if they use the word “vacation” themselves… but there is none of this in the music world. If you’re talking about musicians who are performers (not professors or music academics) who have trained and work in the US, almost none of them would know the British terms. Just curious, for those who learned music in UK English countries, do you know the US terms? (sixteenth note, half note, whole note, dotted-quarter note, etc).
EDIT: I don’t even know for Canada. Does Canada use the UK or US music terms?
we don’t say a “fizzy”, we genarally just say “pop”
miafka- But if someone were to say, ‘I want a soda’ at a restaurant or something, how would they know what particular soda they were going to end up with? 
OMGZ, you don’t have Schweppes Bitter Lemon? It’s by far my favourite drink of the summer (aside from a glass of Pimm’s, of course).
I’m a musician, and I’ve never heard of the American terms for the notes, but by the sounds of things, the American terms a more clearly related to the values of the notes. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that this is how they match up-
Double whole note- breve
Whole note- semibreve
Half note- minim
Quarter note- crotchet
To be honest, I never knew that there even was any alternative terminology- I just thought it was a universal language or something. That is weird because, as you said, you usually know what other people mean when they use other words to mean the same thing. I guess this isn’t the case in music.
well our musique terminology is italian, but I find the amercan terminolgy easier.
Oh, now I see! Since Al made some Japanese references in Toy Story 2 (“Is that in yen?!”), you used him as the user of that example. LoL It’s neat that you could actually relate to my example of Japanese-English confusion. 
Yeah, it really blows (and you don’t hear me use that expression often) that we can’t get Bitter Lemon here in the States. Great soda, actually tastes like lemon (instead of sugar water). Don’t know why it’s not available here. I once even emailed Scheweppes about it but only received a form reply along the lines of “we have no plans at this time, blah blah blah.” Just about anyplace else in the world you can find it, but not here in the US.
rachelcakes1985 talks about NZ and South African accents…
Well for me it’s the Scotish accents. I’m pretty good at plowing through accents, but I have to tell you, I spent a short time in Scotland once, and felt really bad that I couldn’t understand what the kids were saying. At all. Adults know in their head that they’re talking to a non-local, and know to make their speech foreigner-friendly. Kids never bother to think about this stuff though, and I remember having kids repeat stuff to me 3 or 4 times and I still couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“Tuck shop.” Interesting. Of course we woudln’t use “canteen” either (that’s UK world English). We’d use “cafeteria” (as in “school cafeteria”). Oh, and adding to your excellent baby list (crib/cot, pacifier/dummy, etc) don’t forget “pram” (UK) and “stroller” (US). I’m guessing “Pram” comes from the word “perambulate” (just as “stroller” comes from “stroll”).
Like lizardgirl said, how would you know if the US whether someone wanted to order a soda, or soda water, or cream(ing) soda?
Well, when it comes time to order, you become more specific. Saying “I’m thirsty, I want a soda” is like saying “I’m hungry, I want to eat.” When it comes time to order, you wouldn’t say “give me a soda”, you’d say “give me a coke” (or other specific soda). “Soda” is just the generic term. As for rachelcakes1985 not liking Bitter Lemon… I’m sure it can be cured, you know. 
Or better yet, just send it all here.
Music terms: yeah, that’s what’s so strange. There’s no teaching of the UK music terminology here at all, and vice versa. Heck, a lot of music terminology comes from Italian, but for the terms that doesn’t, you’re exactly right. We never get taught “crotchet” or “semiquaver” and it seems you lot don’t get taught “half-note” or “dotted-quarter.” Well, I guess when you play, the terminology doesn’t matter (except in rehearsal). At which point, it becomes "when in Rome… "so you just learn the local way of saying the lingo I suppose.
We get tauht the americain terminology, but use the italian more.
You just have to look at my username to see which stand I take. 
So, I’d guess that makes my username sound kinda posh? Cool! 
so THAT’S what a pacifier is!
also I was in blackpool today and in the pleasure beach it said fries.
I’m going to throw two curves at you here.
In the USA, there are many different dialects as well. Some people from Queens can’t talk to people from Tennessee. Where I live, there is a whole, recognized separate language called Gullah. It is English, Ghanaian, French, with some native American thrown together with French syntax.
Then there is American Sign Language and British Sign Language. Where as an American and a Brit can talk to each other enough to understand one another, the sign languages are incompatible. ASL is based on a sign language the Apaches developed.
Yeah, that’s a good point, Dieseldan. My mum and all of her friends use BSL, but it took me a while to realise that it wasn’t universal. I didn’t realise that ASL was based on a sign language that the Apaches developed, though! That’s very interesting.
And I heard about Gullah (at least, I think it was Gullah) watching Stephen Fry’s programme about travelling all around America. It sounds like a pretty cool language.[/b]
I watched that too, LG.
In America, we’re always taught that when we have an abbreviation that uses periods, to put a period after each letter – including the last one. Of course many abbreviations don’t use periods (like “VCR” is “VCR” not “V.C.R.”). But in those cases where periods are used, we’re taught to put periods after all the letters, including the last one. So it would be “V.C.R.” or “C.I.A.”
But in much of the world (especially in countries where English is not the main language, from Europe to Asia) it seems to be common practice not to put a period after the last letter (I see it like “V.C.R” and “C.I.A” all the time – where periods are used for the other letters, but not for the last letter).
I was just wondering… is this a UK-world thing as well? Or do you follow what Americans do, and (when periods are used), put a period after each letter, including the last one?
What’s the rule where you live?
Over here, It depends on the person writing it.
We are taught
V.C.R. (FULL STOP, not period. Period to me means length of time 
)
I like to use VCR, but it varies.
I’m fine with scottish accents.