The lingo lowdown
How many times have you formed an opinion of someone due to their accent alone? As a young, American female, I speak for the lot of us when I say how attractive and positively comforting "Queen's English" is to hear. Maybe it is the influence of British celebrities on our televisions that have captured the media and hearts of many - think Harry Styles, Daniel Radcliff, and Daniel Craig, among others. Or possibly, it's been the growing phase of inserting a voice actor equipped with a British accent in American airports, commercials, and instructional videos when administration wants the community to listen and feel calm. Does it work? I'd certainly say so, although this may raise a few eyebrows to native English readers.
One large aspect of British-English that intrigues Americans is the fact that we may speak the same general language, but the colloquialism has transformed so much of the conversation. Sometimes it can truly feel like a whole new game of understanding - and a bit of embarrassment for the wide-eyed foreigner who clearly remembers her "fiver" lesson of last week's letter. Alas, I'm learning as I listen on the tube, in the mall, and to my new classmates. I may never be able to develop my accent, but comparing vocabulary has been an extremely humorous event in which I'd like to share. Let's discuss my faux pas and findings which may enlighten some on the evolution of English after the 300 years following our country's "breakup" and individual evolution.
All I wanted was the toilet. I kept asking for the location of a "restroom" when entering various cafes and souvenir shops. Blank stares met my inquiry before formulating a response, to which I finally realized that "restroom" truly is a strange and unclear description of my desired destination. It still takes me a moment to remember to ask for the "ladies", but it is a much quicker response reflex in those times of need.
Pants. Here, they do not mean the long-legged material usually made out of denim that one throws on as casual outerwear. They solely mean knickers, and there is no beating around the bush for this one. There may be a group of individuals here that think I have issues of continence because I desperately wanted to go shopping for new pants during my first couple of weeks. Jeans, or the preferred word "trousers", anything else!
Courgette. Yes, this is originally a French word but is heavily used in England and my first encounter with it having never been to France. Americans may know its term better as zucchini. I love this alternative word, although the lesson only came about by holding up a catalogue, jabbing my finger into the veggie picture, and asking the teller at Lidl where zucchini was. After I learned the word "courgette", I mentioned how beautiful it was and insisted on this becoming a new baby name fad. Any takers?
Well. Instead of using it as an interjection, it typically precedes an adjective to mean "very". "Well jell!" as my classmate will comically say for when she is "very jealous".
Lollipop woman. Had to stand and laugh on the street for this one. The British version of an American "crossing guard". Someone who helps children cross the road with her "lollipop" hand signals.
These are only a few of my favorite new words to be inserted in the vocabulary and used appropriately. Britain, you have done the world a lot of good. I look forward in continuing my lessons.
Follow Lindsay on Twitter @Linds_Robins and Instagram @Linds_Robins
One large aspect of British-English that intrigues Americans is the fact that we may speak the same general language, but the colloquialism has transformed so much of the conversation. Sometimes it can truly feel like a whole new game of understanding - and a bit of embarrassment for the wide-eyed foreigner who clearly remembers her "fiver" lesson of last week's letter. Alas, I'm learning as I listen on the tube, in the mall, and to my new classmates. I may never be able to develop my accent, but comparing vocabulary has been an extremely humorous event in which I'd like to share. Let's discuss my faux pas and findings which may enlighten some on the evolution of English after the 300 years following our country's "breakup" and individual evolution.
All I wanted was the toilet. I kept asking for the location of a "restroom" when entering various cafes and souvenir shops. Blank stares met my inquiry before formulating a response, to which I finally realized that "restroom" truly is a strange and unclear description of my desired destination. It still takes me a moment to remember to ask for the "ladies", but it is a much quicker response reflex in those times of need.
Pants. Here, they do not mean the long-legged material usually made out of denim that one throws on as casual outerwear. They solely mean knickers, and there is no beating around the bush for this one. There may be a group of individuals here that think I have issues of continence because I desperately wanted to go shopping for new pants during my first couple of weeks. Jeans, or the preferred word "trousers", anything else!
Courgette. Yes, this is originally a French word but is heavily used in England and my first encounter with it having never been to France. Americans may know its term better as zucchini. I love this alternative word, although the lesson only came about by holding up a catalogue, jabbing my finger into the veggie picture, and asking the teller at Lidl where zucchini was. After I learned the word "courgette", I mentioned how beautiful it was and insisted on this becoming a new baby name fad. Any takers?
Well. Instead of using it as an interjection, it typically precedes an adjective to mean "very". "Well jell!" as my classmate will comically say for when she is "very jealous".
Lollipop woman. Had to stand and laugh on the street for this one. The British version of an American "crossing guard". Someone who helps children cross the road with her "lollipop" hand signals.
These are only a few of my favorite new words to be inserted in the vocabulary and used appropriately. Britain, you have done the world a lot of good. I look forward in continuing my lessons.
Follow Lindsay on Twitter @Linds_Robins and Instagram @Linds_Robins