In the spirit of blogging just for the sake of blogging, here's a random post for ya. We Americans speak the same language as the British, but it's just a little bit different and therefore can be a whole new language. I listed "our English" first, then "their English" ;)
baking soda = bicarbonate soda
parking lot = car park
aluminum = aluminium
baking soda = bicarbonate soda
parking lot = car park
aluminum = aluminium
(they added an extra "i" for some reason)
snow peas = mange tout
snow peas = mange tout
(said with a French accent....by far the strangest one)
maple bars = iced buns
tourists = holiday makers
garbage can = rubbish bin
maple bars = iced buns
tourists = holiday makers
garbage can = rubbish bin
(or just bin...which is what I call it now)
saran wrap = cling film
saran wrap = cling film
(Martin even says it with an Indian accent....filim)
ground beef = ground mince
thank you = cheers (sometimes)
ground beef = ground mince
thank you = cheers (sometimes)
This is my favorite one and I haven't had enough guts to say it yet without feeling like I'm trying too hard to be British. But one day, I'll say it freely
back yard = garden
living room = lounge
bathroom = toilet or loo
sofa/couch = settee
television or tv = telly
gas = petrol
corn = sweetcorn
(nobody ever says just corn)
"teasing you" = "taking a Mickey"
(there are subtle nuances to using this that I still don't get)
"it doesn't matter or "I don't care" = "I'm not bothered" (best pronounced bah-vud)
(this one is my second favorite and I say it to make Martin laugh)
Well, that's a start. I have to go for now. Jorim is cooking spaghetti tonight and he is stressed out...so will go and give him a hand.
8 comments:
Ooh, i love learning new culture nuances. Thanks for sharing. The "teasing you" is a strange one for sure. I can totally see you adapting ever so nicely to your new English land.
I agree with Suz ~ the "teasing you" one is quite random. ;) But, I'm just jealous...I've always wanted to talk like a Brit.
i love it! what do they call soda/pop/coke there?
and do they really say pissed meaning drunk...he he he. (i think i said i was pissed off at someone in the vicinity of a british guy in college and he thought i was saying i was drunk :) which, quite possibly, could have been true. just kidding! :)
I haven't noticed what they call coke/soda/pop but they do have this thing called Squash that seems to get offered alot. "Would you like tea, water, squash?" What the heck? It threw me the first time I heard it. I can't say I've really heard pissed either. The cool, young people say wicked in place of when we would say awesome.
"mange tout"? That means "eat all"--which makes even less sense. I wonder where that one came from?
I'm going to have to look at the grocery store here and see what the French call them. I usually shop by the picture on the can/box, not by the name. :)
And a flash light is a torch and cookies are biscuits and shopping carts are trollies . . . where does the madness end?!? :o)
You make me laugh. Okay, sometime soon I'm going to call you and I want you to speak British English and I will speak American English. hee-hee.
Ok--so snowpeas are called "mange tout" because you "eat it all": the pea and the pod.
You learn something new everyday...
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