“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
We were so excited to get to England. After six months in South America, we realized how much our trip was impacted by not being fluent in Spanish. We missed the little things (and some big things) by not completely understanding the language.
Granted, we can’t expect to be fluent in the language of every country we visit. But this is the United Kingdom - we already know the language!
Or do we?
It’s all in how you say it
It is funny to say that English people have an accent because, well, they invented the language we speak. In truth, we have an accent. Semantics aside, however, there is a bit of a challenge understanding sometimes because of the differences in the way we pronounce things.
Berkshire is pronounced Barkshire. Edinburgh is Edin-bura (quick now, don’t drag it out!). Derby is always Darby. Leicester is Lester, of course. Loughborough is, naturally, Luffbura.
Not knowing how to pronounce a town or an area means you won’t find out how to get there. Same goes for streets and monuments.
Insider knowledge
Some things you just have to live here to know.
When our friends Chris and Hillary invited us to visit them in Yorkshire, we were pretty excited. We planned to head north to Scotland after our visit, so when Chris emailed asking us to let him know what we wanted to do “up north” we wondered if they were planning to go to Scotland with us. It wasn’t until we started suggesting destinations in Scotland that we learned “up north” means Yorkshire.
“Emmet” means a foreigner or tourist in the Cornwall area, and “grocket” means the same thing in Devon. Warren was even called a colonial in one pub! We were tuned in by friendly locals as to the meaning of these words. We laughed when we discovered that our new friend Nick, a 25-year resident of Falmouth, is still an emmet to his Cornish friends and neighbors. We think he wears this label quite proudly.
Being invited to a “knees up” is a good thing - it means you are going to a party. “Knackered” is how you would feel the morning after the party if you got “pissed” or “loaded.” In fact, you may need a cat nap, or a “kip” to recover. Just don’t let the “gaffer” catch you sleeping on the job.
You may think “cheers” is what you would say at a toast, but typically toasts are more varied than that. Cheers is usually used in a very general way as a goodbye or thank you. When bicyclists pass us on a path they say cheers. When we hold the door open for someone else, they say cheers. When finishing a chat you say cheers.
You might think that “cracking” means breaking, but it actually means great. Cracking gets used frequently as a superlative, almost as often as “brilliant.”
Faff is a great one. It means to veg around or to dilly-dally. This activity is often done by disorganized people who need to “get sorted.”
When Brits are upset, they are “gutted.” When they are surprised they are “gobsmacked.” Because “fanny” means the front bits and not the back, the English are gobsmacked when they hear us talk about our fanny packs. We are gutted to find out we’ve made such an embarrassing faux pas (whoops, that’s French).
“Pants” means crap, as in “oh pants!” My friend Sam tells me this is what you would say in front of your mother instead of what you really want to say. If something has gone wrong, it has gone “pear shaped.” I don’t know how pears got such a bad rap.
“Posh” is high-class, when referring to an expensive store or someone’s accent or even in a derogatory way if someone is putting on airs. Unfortunately, we have never been accused of being posh.
Even Superman can't get away with wearing a fanny pack (photo by DavidMartynHunt via Flickr)
A “pussy” is a cat, not a “fanny.” If you offer to show a “bloke” your fanny pack so he can see how much it holds, he might buy the next “shout” - or round - for you at the pub. Before long, you might be “snogging” - or making out - in a dark corner. Once you get him back to your “flat” and he finds out that you actually do own a cat, he may “do a runner” out the bathroom window.
Rubbish goes in the bin, which is probably where you should put your fanny pack just to avoid uncomfortable slips of the tongue.
“Starkers” is how Warren went swimming in Antarctica, and I hope he doesn’t give me cause to use the word again after this post.
Cookies are “biscuits.” The closest thing to a US biscuit is a “scone.” Scones should be eaten with jam and clotted cream. We have come to the conclusion that we can eat more “biscuits” in the UK than we could the same “cookies” in the US because the calorie count is lower. I mean, it’s just a biscuit, right?
School is for children, and “uni” is for college students. If you ask a young adult about school, they are likely to be offended that you think they are still in high school.
As for food, a “bap” is a roll, a “banger” is a sausage, “chips” are fries and “crisps” are potato chips, and you will find cilantro in the grocery store labeled as coriander. A “cream tea” is actually a snack consisting of tea, scones, and jam with clotted cream. A “curry” is a general term for any Indian or Indonesian food, and it is quite common to “go out for a curry.” A “filet” of any type is pronounced “fill-it.” The English pronounce the “h” in “herb.” “Mushy peas” are often served with “mash” (mashed potatoes). You can buy your liquor in a grocery store or an “off license” store, which sounds illegal, but it isn’t. “Pimms” is the base to a sangria-like concoction that is deceptively smooth - until you stand up. “Squash” is not a vegetable but a fruit drink made of concentrate plus water, or a cordial. I continually mispronounce my friend’s favorite drink as “splosh.”
Lost in translation
It can be a little tough to follow a conversation, what with the English “accent” and all the new words and strange phrases, but our new friends have been delightfully patient with the poor colonials so far. We’re all learning more about each other through the different turns of our shared language.
Because it is all new to us, we are paying attention. We listen to what our new friends say, ask questions, and clarify so we won’t make an error in the future. We also share our terms for certain foods/activities/places and discuss the similarities and differences as a way of getting to know each other better. In short, we make an effort to understand so we can be understood.
This has parallels to being in a romantic partnership.
In a new relationship we pay attention to everything about our new mate. Our lover’s moods, habits, and preferences are top priority for us to learn, and we adjust some of our behavior and actions to please him or her. We are gobsmacked every day to be snogging with our new love, and we think of him or her even when we aren’t starkers together.
But over time we think we “know” the other person and pay less attention to each word, concentrating only on the general meaning of the sentence. Maybe later we even tune out portions of the conversation altogether.
English is our common language with England, but more than two centuries apart have created some pretty stark differences in speech patterns and meaning.
You know where this is going, right?
When we were on the M/S Expedition we were shown the Osmosis Room, which is actually where they desalinate the water. Warren joked that it should be the room where spouses can go for better understanding of their mate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that easily.
For the next week, I challenge you to listen to your mate as if he or she was a Brit (or from the US or Australia or Canada or whatever “opposite” works for you). Do you really understand what he or she is saying, and is your meaning coming across clearly as well? Are you separated by an ocean, or can you laugh at a few little different turns of phrase?
Last but not least, throw the fanny pack away. Seriously. It isn’t doing you any favors.
About Betsy
As my boyfriend is a Brit (and I’m an American), I encounter your challenge daily! You forgot one of my favorites- “chuffed,” or a huge pet peeve of mine- when he refers to himself in the plural- “Give us a bell when you’re done” (even when he’s the only one in the room.)
Chuffed is a great one! For those who don’t know, it means really pleased (“He was quite chuffed to get the award.”)
Steph, I think if your boyfriend is the only one in the room asking for someone to call him it speaks of a deeper problem.
Good luck with the ongoing translation!
Fun article and interesting parallel to communication between partners/couples. But how about body language or unspoken communication? Are they similar between Brits and Americans? Jack and I just talked about yesterday that some people here in Colombia would do a particular shoulder shrug + hand flick motion and we can’t really tell whether it means uncertainty in what he’s currently saying or something else…
Anyway, I’ d do anything to be able to ‘go out for a curry’ right now.
Jill, we noticed much more of this in South America than here. In some areas there nodding no means yes and pointing or using the “ok” sign is offensive. Also using your hands to gesture “come here” or “go there” has to be done a certain way. I’m not sure about the gesture you are referring to - anyone else know?
We haven’t noticed much of that here, though I would also say the Brits we’ve met so far are not nearly as physically demonstrative when talking as the South Americans. It’s one of the things I loved most about South America!
I can barely understand my English cousin from Kent..can’t believe we are both speaking the same language…that said, I’m constantly at odds with my husband over “serviette vs napkin”, “dinner vs. supper”, “pop vs. soda”…we’re both Canadians but I’ve a British background…at least we agree “z” is pronounced “zed”.
Thank goodness for the healing power of “zed.”
We actually had the same discussion - dinner vs supper - within our own family. Mom says “dinner” means lunch and “supper” means the evening meal, and I think “lunch” is midday and “dinner” is in the evening. It makes for some interesting discussions when trying to plan a family get-together!
As a Canadian who’s lived in the US for 20 years and in Europe before that, and traveled extensively in NZ, my “native” English is seriously messed up. Half my words get a Canadian/Brit pronunciation, and half an American. Canadians think I sound like a yank, and Americans immediately know I’m from Canada (or Minnesota). Europeans know that I’m from America but can’t tell between Canada and the USA.
And, for me, Breakfast is breakfast, lunch is lunch and supper & dinner both mean the same thing - the evening meal. Of course, in NZ that meal is “tea” and happens around 6pm. Which seriously messed me up when I was going to meet some people “after tea” (which meant mid-afternoon to me) and ended up a little annoyed that they didn’t show up. I sorted it out after it occurred to me to ask the bartender what “after tea” meant, and had another few hours of being a tourist..
Almost everyone I traveled with on my recent trip to SE Asia ended up being British, but a few weeks with one group of guys was the worst. It took about a week before I had to stop asking “what does that mean” every other sentence!
It is a great way to get to know about people, even if it is a bit aggravating to constantly have to ask what the heck they are talking about!
Obviously I have read way too many British novels and watched far too much Monty Python and Black Adder, I recognized nearly all of them! Except the fanny thing, that was a new one on me : )
We’ve invested in a company with British owners so we’ve learned several new words in the last few months but we continually surprise them with how many British colloqualisms we understand. That’s a great part of travel in a country where you do speak the language is that there’s still something to learn.
Black Adder! We just watched our first episode with friends and learned a bit about British humor. It was really weird seeing Hugh Laurie as an effeminate prince and not the dark, brooding Dr. House he plays on US television.
You are so right, Michelle. There is always something to learn, even when you speak the same language.
Hi - I’ve been reading about your adventures since about 6 months before you left, sorry not to have commented before!
As a Brit I have been looking forward to hearing what you think about our little island and this post was hilarious and spot on! We (Brits) are exposed to so much American language on TV, in films and on the internet, and as a result I think we understand American English so much more than the average American understands English. I had an American boyfriend for about a year in my 20s - we were in Japan, so not in either of our home environments - and had to translate what I was saying for him all the time. Even ‘water’ (as I didn’t say ‘warder’) confused some confusion. We could never see eye to eye on pancakes though - have you had British pancakes yet? Similar to the French crepes and not at all what he was hoping for when I made them…
Just wait till you get further north and eventually to Scotland - if you don’t understand the language, at least you have the excuse of not being British - it’s so embarrassing as a southern Brit to have to ask someone with a northern or Scottish accent to repeat themselves several times because you can’t understand them!
I hope you continue to enjoy what we have to offer - and I look forward to reading more about it!
Liz
PS - one little comment - “going out for a curry” tends to mean all sorts of South Asian food (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi etc), but not normally Indonesian, that I’ve heard.
Liz, you bring up a great point. I think our movies have made it easier for other English speakers to understand us. We have been pretty avid British TV and film watchers for a while (nerd alert: one of my biggest pleasures last weekend was watching a new Dr. Who episode written by Neil Gaiman at the actual time it aired and not weeks or months later on DVD or BBC America), and having read lots of English books in my lifetime I do think it helped me understand a bit better. Though reading it and hearing it are two different things!
We have not had the pleasure of the British pancake yet, but since crepes are just about Warren’s favorite thing on earth, I think we’ll have to seek some out now. Thank you for the suggestion. We are currently staying in Yorkshire and some of the broad accents here are very hard to understand. I expect it get harder as we go north and hope for patience from the Scots! We were just in a pub over lunchtime and Warren made the comment that it was like being in South America and understanding about half of every conversation we overheard.
And thanks for the heads up on the curry - my friend Chris has also informed me that I misspelled “grockle” as the Devon term for foreigner.
One of Pete’s favorite hobbies while traveling is talking to Brits about the differences in our languages - and the first thing he does is try to get them to say “almond” because the pronunciation is so different.
Maybe we have to skip England (I’m getting tired of that conversation).
Almond? Hmm. I don’t think we’ve heard that one yet, though aluminium was a new one.
England has been a really nice surprise for us. We expected to enjoy it, but having friends here makes it even more fun. When are you going to Ireland? We’d love to see you guys while we’re in the same general part of the world.
I ran into the same problem when I was living in England. Don’t forget that pants also means underwear, trousers = pants. Other differences purse=wallet and handbag or pocketbook=purse.
Yes, knickers and underpants instead of panties. I do have to admit it sounds a little bit nicer to say knickers or underpants, mainly because you can’t imagine any kind of lewd comment or joke being made with such a prim-sounding word.
It’s funny there are so many differences! This is quite handy for us as Brits in the US at the moment. We have to remember not to say cheers instead of thank you. And you really don’t pronounce the h in herb?
Another one is that eggplant is aubergine in the UK.
No, Erin, we don’t pronounce the “h” in herb. At least not anywhere I’ve ever lived. Thanks for the tip on the eggplant - I’d hate to miss out on that at a restaurant!
As for saying “cheers” - I think you can get by with that in the US. People will think it is charming. Have you seen the movie “Love Actually?” There is one character with a strong Essex accent and he strikes out with all the women he meets. He flies to the US and lands in Milwaukee, where he becomes the stud of the town because of his accent.
Oh, and have you been offered a “fag” yet?
As someone from the Southern US, to be labeled a “Yank” (not a Colonial) was insulting, but understandable in the context of being in Britain! Grin and bear.
We don’t smoke, so no fags have been offered. But we have been nicely labeled as Yanks, Colonials, and “the Americans” as well as Emmets, and we are fine with all of them. It’s all in good fun. I’m from New Mexico, and after I moved to the East Coast for a few years my family started making jokes about me being a Yankee as I slowly lost my drawl (which was even funnier considering I had migrated up to Red Sox territory, where those would be fighting words!).
Julie, I LOVE Bill Bryson! His “Short HIstory of Nearly Everything” was a great read. We’ll have to pick this one up since we still have quite a bit more time in the UK. Thanks for the tip.
My daughter clued me in to this funny video about English words (from England)!
http://www.youtube.com/user/charlieissocoollike?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/12/UnhzA9GrF1o
Cute, Julie! Have you checked out the Team Marco Polo site for kids? It is all about world history and travel, and they have a picture or video up each day. I’m way past their demographic and I still love to check in over there: http://www.teammarcopolo.com/ - they sent us a video about Scotland on our Facebook page to prep us for our next destination.
Has anyone mentioned that brilliant term for speed bumps?……”Sleeping policemen”!
Oh, we haven’t heard that one yet! We also haven’t seen as many of these as we have roundabouts - they seem to be everywhere. Between those and the left-side driving thing, I think I’d better stay on foot so as not to crash into anyone.
If you’re walking, just remember to look right, not left first as you step off the pavement.
Lynn, I love it that there are signs painted into the pavement to instruct people to look the right way before stepping into the street. Apparently I’m not the only one who has trouble with this.
Does beer mean beer? ‘Cause if so I’m all set!
Beer is easily translated!
We are having at least a pint a day each and have not yet been misunderstood when ordering.
I loved the list! I think you hit most of the major ones.
This definitely makes me miss England, even more than normal.
When I lived in London my new British friends used to make me say certain words, just to have a laugh… oregano, basil, aluminum/aluminium. I was the parlor trick!
They used to accuse me of sounding like Britney Spears (I do NOT, at all - f0r the record)… However, the only American accent that they could do sounded like a Clint Eastwood/Texas drawl. My British accent, however, is spot on! (Posh and common).
Oh, and back when I lived there (10 years ago), saying “shut up”, even casually (as we Americans tend to do), was HIGHLY offensive to my British friends. My Essex boyfriend and I had a huge “row” because of the amount of times I said “shut up” to him. (I was in my early twenties, what can I say?! It was definitely part of my vocab).
Someone else mentioned body language and gestures… have you been introduced to the “up yours” (v-sign) gesture yet? Much more common than flipping the bird - if you ever, ahem, need to communicate that.
~
Ha! And I think the same when our friends say oregano, basil, and aluminium!
Speaking of the V-sign, I read that Winston Churchill accidentally used it the wrong way for a while at the beginning of the war, which was obviously a different meaning than victory!
For those who don’t know the history of the gesture, you can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign
I like working British phrases into my regular vocabulary. My favorite is ‘flat’ instead of apartment.
We are renting a flat in Edinburgh next! I’m pretty sure it is exactly what we would call an apartment, though.
Oh, the fanny pack cracked me up. On our first trip to England, my husband was the butt of ALL the jokes in a comedy club we went to in a small town in the countryside because of his bright red fanny pack (and the baseball cap didn’t help either).
The last time we were there, at Quiz Night in a bar they asked “what type of bread do Americans put a hot dog on,” and were counted wrong for answering “bun.” They said the right answer was roll! Hilarious! We tried to tell them that we’d never in our lives heard an American say “hot dog roll” but they would have none of it.
Angela, we were told in Cornwall that “buns” could mean “breasts” to certain people and to not say it. So I say “roll.” Warren has said “buns” several times and no one makes fun of him. So I don’t know if I was being put on or not. But the red fanny pack - ayiyi! Over here it would be called a “bum bag” but it is still going to be the “butt” of jokes. (oh, I know, that was bad!)
We feel this way a lot of the time here in Hawaii with so many people from everywhere.
And then there’s the pidgin! We also have roundabouts…our round about goes round and round the entire island though! ~ Aloha
Good one, Kate! I can’t even pronounce the street names where you live, much less know what they mean.
Aloha!
ah-ha-ha…I’ve chuckled through this post with my toast this morning…Especially as the first words my daughter uttered on her arrival at my sister’s house were, ‘Here’s a bit of rubbish. Where is your bin?’ My 6-year old niece didn’t understand her and my sister posted on FB about Phoebe’s cute accent. (Really? I didn’t realise she had one!)
Have fun you too…watch out for the boot (the back end of the car not your shoe) and make sure you top up with petrol for the car not gas (something altogether stinky, though this is frequently called wind.