It's evening. Brian is chatting online with David, a new friend from New York.
David: Hi Brian! How are you doing?
Brian: Good, thanks! We have been asked to write a report on Asia. I would like to ask my Chinese friend some questions about colours in China. Maybe I'll ring him up tonight.
David: Ring up? What do you mean? Phones don't go up when they ring. They can't fly!
Brian: “To ring up someone” is the British way of saying to call someone on the phone.
David: That's different. There are quite a few differences between your English and my English.
Brian: That's true. Sometimes we describe the same thing in different ways or use different words. We say “in a team”, while you say “on a team”. And you use “washroom” or “bathroom” instead of “toilet”.
David: You have “autumn” instead of “fall”, and you spell color “c-o-l-o-u-r”.
Brian: There are also some differences in pronunciation and even in grammar.I remember asking my cousin to translate things for me when I first came to Canada.“Are we speaking the same language?” I asked myself.
David: Ha ha! Did you know that there is American English, British English, Australian English and even African English? They are different, but they are all English. By the way, some Canadians use the word “eh” at the end of their sentences. It's pronounced like the letter“A”. What does it mean?
Brian: It is a friendly way of saying “Do you understand” or “Do you agree?”
David: Oh,I see. That's interesting, eh?