(04-06-2010, 02:25 PM)Eve Wrote: I don't use colloquial English.
Every native English speaker uses some form of colloquial English, you can't help but do since it was all around you when you grew up, it just becomes your 'normal'.
As an example, I come from the Midlands of England, and when I moved down south last year I referred to something I was eating as a
Cob. Now to me, this is a perfectly valid name for what I was eating, it's what I've always called it and what everyone else around me has always called it; however these people had no idea what I meant... it was really quite confusing for me since I couldn't actually think of another word to describe it at the time.
I just checked Wikipedia, they actually have a whole article on Cobs due to the English having a load of colloquial words for them
Quote:A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.
There are many names for bread rolls, especially in local dialects of British English.
Cob, a bread roll of any kind in the West Midlands and East Midlands. The name originates from the resemblance to the shape and size of a cobblestone. In these areas the term "bread roll" often refers exclusively to a longer, hot-dog style roll.
While I was trying to explain this to someone, they suggested a 'bread roll', but to me that was wrong since as the article says, to me that means a longer roll not a Cob.