this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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Edit: I don't mean they sound the same I mean the word arse is pronounced how I figured British would pronounce ass with the drawn r rather than the way arse is pronounced (at least where I'm from) it's a hard r

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

arse is 100% pronounced differently to "ass"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You said the complete opposite, that it's "spelling not pronunciation"

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago

Yeah because arse just sounds like the British way of saying ass. Meaning it's not the pronunciation that's different it's the spelling. Arse sounds different because it is different.

Think of how the British accent sounds and which parts of the words are usually drawn out. If you didn't know they were too different words they should like every other word pronounced differently in British vs American English

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Surely no one actually thinks that's how Brits pronounce ass. Surely?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Ass is pronounced ass and arse is pronounced arse

They are generally used differently at least in the bit of the UK I'm from

Ass is the body part/animal and rarely used as an insult

Arse is primarily used as an insult "I don't like him the man's an arse"

I have zero clue how it evolved this way beyond (to me at least) calling someone an ass just sounds wierd.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ass is very rarely used to mean the body part in the UK

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I see, better double check were I live.

In all seriousness though where at its pretty common in the parts I'm at along the length of the forth and clyde canal

It's one of the fun things of living on an island with such a wide range of taking

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

My first encounter with the word “arse” was when I played Conker’s Bad Fur Day on the N64 as a kid. I thought it was just a funny-sounding way to get around censors back then haha

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel like parts of the UK have always said ass instead of arse. Like how some places say pants instead of trousers.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn't pants an American thing? Never heard that word used here to mean anything other than certain types of underwear

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Its another local accent word from nearish Manchester iirc that got taken over when colonists went to America. Its be like if mostly Yorkshire people went over as colonists and Americans used keks/kegs instead of pants.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That I did not know. Always learning

I did just remember 1 innstane of pants as trousers

Trevor and Simon on Saturday morning tv heh

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

They can't be arsed

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I used too 😅

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lmao. I love when Americans just make shit up about Europeans

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

We never do that. Now go back to driving around in your biscuit powered car.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Yeah these are two very different pronunciations in Standard American English. /æs/ versus /ɑrs/

As a result there is a difference in severity as well, akin to the difference between “damn” and “darn”.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

From what I'm gathering, they have very different pronunciations in British English as well. I'm not sure about this shower thought, it seems like OP might be the one that's mistaken?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That's a fair assumption lol I didn't learn for a long time that it wasn't just the English way of pronouncing ass. It flows perfectly with the other differences in word pronunciation that it never even crossed my mind they could be different words.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

/ɑrs/

I have never heard an American say /ɑrs/ for any reason if the were not hanging around with Brits or referring to/imitating some British thing.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Those words sound the same? I'm one of those Americans who did not know.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

Those words do not sound the same

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Not in the slightest in the UK. Source: in the UK.

Ass isn't really said, and more seen as an 'Americanism'. Arse is way more common.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Nope. They do not sound the same.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Not quite. Brits don’t pronounce the R before a consonant, but the vowel will be more similar to the vowel in “paw” than in “ash.”

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

To me arse just sounded like the British way of saying ass and I never really questioned it but I learned eventually

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've seen some Scottish and Irish comedians who lean into that 'r' like they're trying to kick a potato to Portugal.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

can confirm, that is how we talk!