You’re Speaking What?

There is something about the English accent that is both delightful and authoritative.  Winston Churchill said that even though we share a great deal in common, “Britain and America [are] two great countries divided by a common language.”

Shakespeare either coined or is recorded as the first to notate over 1,700 words.  As a writer, and I am fairly sure other writers down through the ages have felt the same, I am quite envious of (and yes, daunted by) this number.  If he were around today, I am very sure that the Bard would be able to have a great deal of fun given the differences between the two languages.

Many people are aware of certain differences in words that we use.  For instance, lorry, boot and lift for truck, trunk and elevator, perhaps even bloke, mate and chap for man, dude and (the third example even here in America really depends on where you live and might range from fella to bro or bra to guy).  So, do come through and we can make a start.  We have common words that mean different things.  In England crisps are potato chips while chips are French fries, nibbles on the other hand will cover any variety of snacks laid out.  Instead of going out for some nibbles for a party later on, one would pop out (to the corner shop, if available).  Fancy here means dressed up in some way, whereas across the pond, it could refer to the level of dress at a party, but it also signifies desire as in “I fancy a custard tart,” or certain romantic feelings:  Jack fancies Jill.

If Jack does fancy Jill and they start seeing each other the question then becomes “how are they getting on?”  But of course the phrase “get on” can be used when one has had to deal with something awkward or perhaps unpleasant as in “how did you get on?” for how did things go.

I do think that the only way we can know the world we inhabit is by language (the only way we can really know anything, actually, though there are the occasional exceptions).  There are words in other languages that cannot be directly translated into English, but one would certainly hope that within our common language, we don’t run into too many examples that don’t translate between British and American.

Now we’ve come to the bit about verb usage, so let’s press on.  In many instances, British will create a verb phrase to convey the same things we mean.  Instead of falling down, it would be referred to as having a fall.  In fact, the “having a…” construction can be quite versatile and used in many different situations such as having a clear out or a moan or a lie in; while we would think of these things as cleaning up, being depressed or sleeping late.  If someone is having a lie in, you might knock them up so you can make a move.  Knocking someone up there means to wake them up while here it has a very different meaning.

I was exposed to Brit-speak at an alarmingly young age when I first saw Monty Python’s Flying Circus so I thought it very amusing when I saw the notice on BBC America on how to turn on the subtitles so we might understand what they were saying.

Luckily for us, the boffins were smart enough to invent the internet so we can pop on line where you will find any number of websites that can provide a great deal of help in translations between American and British.  Take a look at a few of these sites since they provide you with much more information than I can here.  Try a few words on for size, maybe starting slowly, slipping them into conversations here and there.  In addition, there are a great many resources available via British television on DVD.  If you remember the kerfuffle over Madonna’s assumed accent, it would the dog’s bollocks keep from trying it.  Instead simply learn some of the vocabulary and impress your friends and colleagues.  If this goes well, you can really challenge yourself and start talking Scottish!

Here are a couple links to help you explore the differences between out two languages.

http://www.translatebritish.com/–This will help you with your translation needs.

http://www.effingpot.com/–A great little dictionary that is split up into various bits of life and travel.