'talk with' vs 'talk to'

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What is the difference between 'talk with' vs 'talk to'?

Thanks in advance.

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Type: Question • Score: 4 • Views: 1,413 • Replies: 31

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@tanguatlay,

Talk to could mean instruct, or admonish; and talk with most often means converse, though it could mean inquire of... Hope that helps.... Just to confuse matters, they could often be used interchangably for conversation... I talk to people on the phone since it is more purposeful, and I talk with people I meet at the YMCA... Or as they say: Shoot the Breeze or chew the fat... I once explained the phrase: Shoot the breeze -to some travelling French students in New York city... I told them it comes from another age and the American West where it meant conversation without a particular purpose as when a person shoots a gun without a target, and said shooting the **** comes from the same location and means the same thing from the habit of using cow pies for a handy target... They liked that one... Nice shooting the **** with you, and catch you later.

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@tanguatlay,

Talk with = same level; talk to = different levels usually upper level 'talk to' lower level.

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@talk72000,

Thanks, Fido and talk72000.

A friend of mine told me that 'talk with' is American English. It is not used by the British English native speakers. Is it true?

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@tanguatlay,

Oprah talks with us, Obama talks to us.

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@Finn dAbuzz,

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

Oprah talks with us, Obama talks to us.

Can I conclude that my friend is correct in asserting that 'talk with' is AmE?

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@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

Thanks, Fido and talk72000.

A friend of mine told me that 'talk with' is American English. It is not used by the British English native speakers. Is it true?

What the hell is British English speakers... Looking at it from a distance there is a third world country trying to hide behind a speck of culture on that island... You have your proper English speakers and everyone else...

1 Reply

@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

Oprah talks with us, Obama talks to us.

Can I conclude that my friend is correct in asserting that 'talk with' is AmE?

I don't really know. Both phrases are used by Americans.

1 Reply

@Finn dAbuzz,

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

tanguatlay wrote:

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

Oprah talks with us, Obama talks to us.

Can I conclude that my friend is correct in asserting that 'talk with' is AmE?

I don't really know. Both phrases are used by Americans.

Let us try to clarify... There is proper English... Gutter English which seems to be the common tongue of England, and there is American, and if I am not mistaken there is Blacklish, which is a language meant to exclude all but Black people, and which I doubt even most of them understand...Forgive my want of pc

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@tanguatlay,

You must realize that the Americans speak 16th Century English. The current British English changed since then. Huguenots came in from France and contributed Cockney. See the DVD Adventure of English

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@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

A friend of mine told me that 'talk with' is American English. It is not used by the British English native speakers. Is it true?

This is pretty much correct.

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@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

Can I conclude that my friend is correct in asserting that 'talk with' is AmE?

Yes.

1 Reply

@Fido,

Fido wrote:

What the hell is British English speakers...

Now I know you are a prick, Fido. If I ever met you, I would fill your mouth with blood.

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@Fido,

Quote:

Let us try to clarify... There is proper English... Gutter English which seems to be the common tongue of England, and there is American, and if I am not mistaken there is Blacklis

You've provided no clarification, Fido, just a short paragraph filled with absolute nonsense. What you are desperately in want of is knowledge.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

tanguatlay wrote:

Can I conclude that my friend is correct in asserting that 'talk with' is AmE?

Yes.

Thanks, Contrex. However, why is 'talk with' found in BrE dictionaries without their stating that it is AmE?

The following extracts from the following two dictionaries confuse me:

1. talk with: Everyone was busily talking with their friends.
(Macmillan Dictionary)

2. Parents should talk with their children about drug abuse.
(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

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@contrex,

contrex wrote:

Fido wrote:
What the hell is British English speakers...

Now I know you are a prick, Fido. If I ever met you, I would fill your mouth with blood.

In your dreams, gurly...

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@JTT,

JTT wrote:

Quote:
Let us try to clarify... There is proper English... Gutter English which seems to be the common tongue of England, and there is American, and if I am not mistaken there is Blacklis

You've provided no clarification, Fido, just a short paragraph filled with absolute nonsense. What you are desperately in want of is knowledge.

I know I speak English because it is the language of conquerors, and that English is 50% plus Latin because the Romans were great conquerors... None of the people in my blood line spoke either of those languages naturally, so for me, English is a weapon of war, to be turned against all that England and Rome stood for... How am I doing???

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@talk72000,

Can I tell you how much I appreciate your little histories: VERY MUCH!!!

1 Reply

@Fido,

You are welcome. I go to the library and get these dvds and they are very informative. Things I've always wondered about but had only superficial knowledge - Korean War, movies in the fifties, astronomy, etc.

1 Reply

'talk with' vs 'talk to'

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