from Heathers comment in another thread its clear that US/UK slang is still confusing as ever :) Its funny most of the time but sometimes it can actually cause a problem, and also with people whos first language isn't english - the way people say things can really effect the message you hear.... so - translation thread (or one to ask in if confused).
Two which I have to work hard at
'Thanks a bunch' for you 'mercans is, I *believe*, a sincere expression of thanks, while to us English (or at least, the ones where I come from) its a sarcastic comment used when sincere thanks would be a lie (as in - someone volunteers me to answer all noob threads for a month, I respond "wow - thanks a bunch" and walk away muttering "t*sser" under my breath)
Pissed. in the UK this means drunk more often than it means angry. Can cause confusion and/or people to question your mental state if used online.
ok - now it can descend into sexual slang comparison.....
when i met Heather a couple of years ago at Manchester i greeted her with "Hi Heather are you all right" which to me is a normal greeting and i was not aware at the time that i confused her and she was thinking that i was asking if she was ill
'Thanks a bunch' depends on voice inflection as to it being sincere or sarcastic in US-speak.
I get irritated by many figures of speech - American, UK or often now 'both' as we seem to cross-contaminate each other pretty often.
I have been watching a lot of product training videos lately, and am getting pretty irritated by people who seem to be unable to just 'do' something - seems the need to 'go ahead and' and 'do' it.
eg
"Now I am going to show you how to install the software"
"Now I am going to go ahead and show you how to install the software"
Onebloke used it about 30 times in a ten minute video - argghhh!
Yes, it is a small thing, but it is a small thing that will end up in some poor bugger receiving what he/she believes is an unprovoked sarcastic verbal assault just because they were the one that pushed me past 'tipping point'.
:sigh: ..... so many people to be angry with, so little time .....
Colin, you been talking to too many Welsh while you have been away?
I think they made you cross. Really its not a big deal.
Nicebloke, you got anything to calm him down?
you go ahead and tell us how you feel Colin <ducks>
cookery terms are a pita too. Half and half, rutebagas (took about half an hour discussion for us to work that one out a couple of years back) and why oh *why* do them across the pond drop the H on herbs? If I ever meet Barefoot Countessa I'm liable to deck her just for that....
The word "awesome" gets used far too frequent imho by Americans. The word AWE means it something that makes your jaw drop, blows your mind.
Lifts (elevators) don't have a ground floor in America, it's 1, very confusing.
Niche is not nich
Hundreds of these but it's a black/white thing.
What makes us right and Americans wrong?
QuoteWhat makes us right and Americans wrong?
Just to add insult to injury - some of the worst US 'twisting' of our language turns out to be no such thing.
eg 'Fall' instead of 'Autumn'
I turns out that Fall was the 'proper' old English word before we borrowed Autumn from the 'cheese eating surrender monkeys', so the best we can accuse you of is of not keeping up with our modifications the language - not a good strategy if we want to beat you up over the rest of the differences.
... and there are a load of other words in the same boat.
Yeah, thanks for loaning us the language.
We'll let you know when we're finished perfecting it.
When I go to England, I'm more uncomfortable than if I went to some place that spoke French. It's because I really feel like I should know what they said, since we are supposedly are speaking the same language. And they surely don't have an issue understanding me. (Maybe because when they sing they sound American?? Whats up with that BTW?)
Usually you'll just see me wearing my stupid American look while I'm there, which is usually elicited when I hear, "Hardy Bardy barty tit it what down" ...and know that the key to me getting my drunk a## back to my hotel room was all lost in that one line of gibberish, once I shook my head and said 'thank you', because I was too embarrassed to ask for clarification for a third time... that, and that I at least got the initial direction down, when they pointed:)
>When I go to England, I'm more uncomfortable than if I went to some place that spoke French.
Yeah, it's easier to understand non-Brit Europeans, since they get our TV.
Quotewhy oh *why* do them across the pond drop the H on herbs?
I've never understood why Brits sometimes drop the "H" on other "h-starting words" but not on "herbs"...?
And how come you all just say "hospital"?
In America: You go to THE hospital.
England: You go to hospital.
A small thing...perhaps, but I never understood if the "the" was intentionally dropped, if it was slang, or if it was an accident.
I don't know, but I think I say hospital when talking generically (eg; it doesn't matter which hospital the person gets to - just go to one) and the hospital when its specific (eg; we spent all morning at the hospital waiting to be seen)
Or that could just be me justifying something entirely random.
holidays and Christmas takes some getting used to for me. Do 'holidays' officially encompass the period of Thanksgiving and Christmas, or do 'holidays' mean whatever's next - is Easter a 'happy holidays' moment, for example?
>>When I go to England, I'm more uncomfortable than if I went to some place that spoke French.
Dogboy has it right. In many ways visiting the UK is more stressful for Americans than visiting the Continent. After about two weeks of British immersion you start to understand better, but then it's time to go home. On the Continent, you know you don't stand a chance of understanding or being understood so you just consign yourself to your Fate with a small hope that drinking beer will just make it all better.
QuoteDo 'holidays' officially encompass the period of Thanksgiving and Christmas,
The "Happy Holidays" movement in the US started when people were trying to be PC and recognize that we don't just have Christians in this country (nor do we have an official religion)...
In addition to Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, we've also got Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Canadian boxing day, Yule, and many others I don't even know.
SO...
"Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" usually means "All the holidays starting with Thanksgiving up to and including the New Year's holiday.
'Holidays' came about as part of milquetoasty Political Correctness and marketing. Merchants tried to call Christmas 'Xmas' decades ago but it never caught on. Some schools are afraid to call Easter, Easter so they call it 'Egg'. It all makes you want to pound your head against the wall.
>go ahead and
You guys say "doesn't it?" a lot. A speaker will assert a point and then say "doesn't it?" at the end of it like he needs confirmation -- I guess it is used mostly when trying to make a point. I hear it a lot in interviews.
Examples:
Says it all, doesn't it?
it makes you sick, doesn't it?
A few years ago, Matchbox 20 released a single called Bent, with a chorus that started:
"Can you help me I'm bent"
Apparently no one from the record company bothered to mention that in the UK 'bent' is well-known, and slightly derogatory, slang for 'gay'. Needless to say it didn't pick up much radio play.
Quotein the UK 'bent' is well-known, and slightly derogatory, slang for 'gay'.
Which brings us to smoking.
Seriously. When you say you're going out to "have a fag" I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying
"Hey. Two or more consenting adults *hand up* whatever."
No fags? Smerky tabs or Benson & Hedgehogs it is then. :)
QuoteI've never understood why Brits sometimes drop the "H" on other "h-starting words" but not on "herbs"...?
Words that originate from French and have a silent 'h' there, usually have the silent 'h' in English too - ditto the use of 'an' or 'a' before a word beginning with 'h'.
I am really in conflict with myself on English usage and grammar - part of me wants to go round 'slapping' correct English into ignorant strangers in the supermarket - the other part is all too well aware that one of its strengths is that it is a living language, and if enough people use it 'wrong' in the same way, it becomes right.
One thing I am sure about, English people who use that total 'upper class' invention known as 'received pronunciation' should be chained to the radiator in my local Holts pub for as long as it takes for the locals to kick it out of them.
How about once and twice (UK english) versus one time and two times (US english)
A two time in the UK is not good!
> have a fag
and smoking a fag.
> all right
I've confused a few young Canadians with this, 'yeah' being the unsure reply.
'Mad' is another one. In North America...someone who's mad is just annoyed. In the UK, it means they should be in an institution.
"I am not saying they are inbred, but there was def a greater chance of it happening there than in the city!
For the record, the town was also my idea of heaven"
:o
>You guys say "doesn't it?" a lot
Or use "yer".
DaveN is notorious for ending every sentence with yer. "You just need 10 links to rank that sites, yer?"
Gets me every time and I have to constrain myself not to say yes every time. It's as if you want me to reassure you that you're right.
Kind of like when the US guys say "you know" (which they do a lot) :)
To me, US english is a lot easier to understand and speak. Just comes a lot more natural to me that the british english.
Think I got some redneck blood Dras?
I think Redneck is part of of Viking DNA, yer?
Heard this on British show on TV: "Sod off!"
Americans only know of sod as in "poor sod" but that used rarely and sod like rolls of lawn grass.
>>DaveN
I get a kick out of Dave on the podcasts, but I have a hard time understanding what he is saying, somehow accent and slang combine to make him hard to understand.
>somehow accent and slang combine to make him hard to understand.
Add in a few drinks and he might as well be speaking Arabic. Sure is entertaining though!
>Redneck is part of of Viking DNA, yer?
Think yer right.
>>Sure is entertaining though!
Yer. ;D
Love it when he gets on a roll about something.