Topic: research and resources

[kronette.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if we'd ever had a collection of websites or resources to help with Briticisms, spellings, grammar, research, etc. It seems every time I write a story, I have to research some aspect or other (first butlering, then a fob watch, now football). Would it be helpful to pool our resources so writers didn't have to hunt down things every time we write? Obviously, this would be for the non-Brits on the list, since we don't know the subtleties of the language. For instance, why in some instances would you say, "He was going to do something in the future," or would it be "He was going to do something in future"? Why is "the" dropped? Or is it just Americans who add it in? I thought the proper term was "in hospital" as that's what I've seen the most, but does that apply to all instances of "in the [blank]"?

Here are some websites I've found:

separated by a common language: jumpers, sweaters and the like

BBC SPORT | Football | Laws & Equipment | Pitch dimensions

The Septic's Companion - List of British Words For Insults (this is an awesome site :D)

Dictionary of English slang and colloquialisms

Comments

[ohliamylia.livejournal.com]

"In future" means "from now on". Whereas "in the future" can mean "at some upcoming point in time" and "from now on". I know that's supremely unhelpful as to why, but... the more you know?

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Personally I would always say "in hospital" unless referring to a specific type of hospital e.g. "the children's hospital".

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

This is so helpful. I've used that last one A LOT, *looks around*, when I was writing Harry Potter fan fiction. *shame*

[leyosura.livejournal.com]

Can I suggest posting your question to linguaphiles? It's a very useful comm for this kind of query.

[missflibble.livejournal.com]

I've beta-d for Briticisms in the past and am happy to do so in the future. Don't worry, I'm sure the Brits on this group will be more than happy to help! ^__^

[derien.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Now I'm obsessively reading these. THANKS.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

"Uphill gardener"?

Oh, I'll be reading this more later ...