23913 posts 4/29/2013 7:39 am
Last Read:
5/1/2013 9:59 am
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English Studies.
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Working on it. LOL.
Oscar Wilde once said, "We have really everything in common with America nowadays - except, of course, language" - and it's still true. On your first trip to Britain, you'll find plenty of linguistic surprises.
I'll never forget checking into a small-town bed-and-breakfast as a on my first solo European adventure. The landlady cheerily asked me, "And what time would you like to be knocked up in the morning?" I looked over at her husband, who winked, "Would a fry at half-eight be suitable?" The next morning I got a on the door at 8 a.m. and a huge British breakfast a half-hour later.
Travelling through Britain is an adventure in accents and idioms. Every day you'll see babies in prams and strollers, sucking dummies as mothers change wet nappies. Soon the can trade in their nappies for smalls and spend a penny on their own.
"Spend a penny" is British for a visit to the loo (bathroom). Older British enjoy candy floss (cotton candy), naughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe), big dippers (roller coasters), and iced lollies (Popsicles). are constantly in need of an Elastoplast or sticking plaster (Band-Aid), which their parents buy at the chemist's (pharmacy).
In a stationery store, you can get sticky tape or Sellotape (adhesive tape), rubbers (erasers), and scribbling blocks (scratch pads).
At garden shops, those with green fingers (a green thumb) might pick up some courgette (zucchini), swede (rutabaga), or aubergine (eggplant) seeds. If you need a torch (flashlight), visit the ironmonger's (hardware store).
In Britain, fries are chips and potato chips are crisps. A beefburger, made with mince (hamburger meat), comes on a toasted bap (bun). For pudding (dessert), have some gateau or sponge (cake).
The British have a great way with names. You'll find towns with names like Upper and Lower Slaughter, Once Brewed, and Itching Field. This cute coziness comes through in their language as well. You'll visit brilliant (wonderful) sights that'll give you goose pimples (goose bumps). Your car will have a bonnet and a boot rather than a hood and trunk. You'll drive on motorways, and when the freeway divides, it becomes a dual carriageway. Never go anticlockwise (counterclockwise) in a roundabout. Gas is petrol, a truck is a lorry, and when you hit a tailback (traffic jam), don't get your knickers in a twist (make a fuss), just queue up (line up).
The British never say they have a two-week vacation, but many locals holiday for a fortnight, often in a homely (homey) rural cottage or possibly on the Continent (continental Europe).
They might pack a face flannel (washcloth) and hair grips (bobby pins) in their bum bag (never a "fanny" pack - which refers to a woman's nether parts). If it's cold, they wear a warm mackintosh (raincoat) or an anorak (parka) with press studs (snaps).
If you get settled into a flat (apartment), you can post letters in the pillar box or give your mum a trunk (long distance) call.
If you reverse the charges (call collect), she'll say you're tight as a fish's bum. If she witters on (gabs and gabs), tell her you're knackered (exhausted) and it's been donkey's years (ages) since you've slept.
After washing up (doing the dishes) and hoovering (vacuuming), you can have a plate of biscuits (cookies) and, if you're so inclined, a neat (straight) whisky.
Too much of that whisky will get you sloshed, paralytic, bevvied, wellied, ratted, popped up, or even pissed as a newt.
(For a longer list, see Chris Rae's<b> witty </font></b>book about British slang, The Septic's Companion.)
Then there is the question of accents. In the olden days, a British person's accent indicated his or her social standing. Eliza Doolittle had the right idea - elocution could make or break you. Wealthier families would send their to fancy private schools to learn proper pronunciation.
But these days, in a sort of reverse snobbery that has gripped the nation, accents are back. Politicians, newscasters, and movie stars have been favouring deep accents over the Queen's English.
While it's hard for American ears to pick out all of the variations - and some accents are so thick they sound like a foreign language - most Brits can determine where a person is from based on his or her accent.
All across the British Isles, you'll find new words, crazy humour, and colourful accents. Pubs are colloquial treasure chests. Church services, sporting events, the Houses of Parliament, live plays featuring local comedy, the streets of Liverpool, the docks of London, and in parks are playgrounds for the North American ear.
One of the beauties of touring Britain is the illusion of hearing a foreign language and understanding it - most of the time.
This sounds like a good place to go. Who is in??
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This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
 
  
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2624 posts 5/2/2013 2:28 pm |
I'll recommend the hotels and pubs for when you all get to Glasgow.
These are the Aims and Objectives. Please read. of the group, Bloggers United! which I moderate. And a link to a post about my home town, Glasgow ,I hope you enjoy it!
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50414 posts 5/1/2013 9:59 am |
Quoting spunkycumfun:
Also us Brits take a lift not an elevator and we ask 'where are the toilets?' not 'where is the restroom?'.
I have great problems understanding the Glasgow accent in the UK!
We sometimes call it the rest room.
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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41171 posts 5/1/2013 9:29 am |
Also us Brits take a lift not an elevator and we ask 'where are the toilets?' not 'where is the restroom?'.
I have great problems understanding the Glasgow accent in the UK!
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50414 posts 5/1/2013 9:04 am |
Quoting sexysixties2:
I think you could get in to serious trouble on this side of the pond pet....bring a dictionary!!! 
Love I looked I don't think the have a dictionary for that. You have to learn it first hand. That would be my right today
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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50414 posts 4/30/2013 5:23 pm |
Quoting sexysixties2:
I think you could get in to serious trouble on this side of the pond pet....bring a dictionary!!!
how about a mac??
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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39750 posts 4/30/2013 9:05 am |
I think you could get in to serious trouble on this side of the pond pet....bring a dictionary!!!
"Age does not protect you from love, but love, to some extent, protects you from age."
~~Anais Nin~~
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3608 posts 4/29/2013 7:45 pm |
That was awesome. Thank you.
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50414 posts 4/29/2013 5:32 pm |
Two of My aunts were war brides. man did I have a hard time understanding them at first. I thought it was a totally foreign language and I was just beginning to speak Canadian. 
They would call me willy Nelli.
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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50414 posts 4/29/2013 3:10 pm |
Quoting marysia4u:
I would love to go back for a holiday.
We also use words here that mean different things.
The first Australian that spoke to me was a teller in a bank. I had no idea what he was saying. 
Yes they have a total different accent. I hope you did not agree with him and just nod you head. A Canadian would say eh?? LOL
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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15417 posts 4/29/2013 2:03 pm |
I would love to go back for a holiday.
We also use words here that mean different things.
The first Australian that spoke to me was a teller in a bank. I had no idea what he was saying.
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50414 posts 4/29/2013 11:28 am |
Oh that would be good hit Ireland on the way. It might be a three month trip.
This is not meant to offend any one in any way.
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13175 posts 4/29/2013 11:16 am |
Love to go and then motor up to Scotland and tour the distilleries.
If you see me in the real world, come say "Hi Justskin."
I always behave. Preferably not well.
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