A few weeks ago, Zach wrote, as the first of “Three Things I Have Learned:”
1) Americans speak English better than the English.
I must immediately add a qualifier. We speak English more correctly than some of the English, specifically those from Northern England.
I came here prepared to concede that since it was English, the English had it right and we did not. But after a month of being unable to decipher what bus drivers and waitresses are saying, I have concluded that they are actually speaking it wrong.
I intentionally used the word “better” in the heading in case some of my new English friends wished to disagree. Go ahead, say “better.” Ah ha! Where is the rule that says the double ts are silent? “Be'er.” Listen to people from the Yorkshire talk. If there is a hard consonant in the middle of a word, they often leave it out. Also, I haven't been able to figure out a rule yet, but they seem to drop prepositions from sentences. “Let's go to the cinema” becomes “Let's go cinema.” Besides these things, we simply enunciate better.
Sarah Lewis had a different perspective:
Speaking English
Just because I know how to speak English, it doesn’t mean I know what anyone is saying in England. I have come across a variety of terms, and compiled a few of them here.
First there is the word mingy, or minger. Mingy is used to describe something basically unpleasant or nasty as in the phrase “Brown sauce is Mingy”. Another way to describe something unpleasant is the word rubbish. Rubbish basically means trashy. The trashcan however is called the “bin”.
When calling someone your friend, you have a few options. Mate is one way. Bloke, which I thought English people didn’t actually use, is also used a lot. You can also call someone a lad or lass, depending on the gender. Women are referred to as “birds”. If you’re a female you can also be a duck as in “ducky” or a hen. I have also learned some slang to describe what my generation would call a young male who is generally an ass. Here, these boys are called “Chavs”. You can spot a chav because he is wearing an Addidas sweat suit, has large headphones, and a hat on backwards or to the side. Avoid Chavs at all costs. They are also called scoobies.
Cars also cause some language barriers. They are not turn signals they are indicator lights. If you’re talking about loading up a truck, people will just look at you like your crazy. Instead it’s a boot. Gasoline or Gas doesn’t exist either. Petroleum or Petrol is the proper term.
The words used for clothing is also very entertaining. Tennis shoes are not tennis shoes, they are trainers. It makes sense, because you don’t necessarily use them just while playing tennis. Sweat shirts or long sleeved shirts are “Jumpers”. This makes me giggle because it reminds me of nasty one piece overalls that women in the 80’s wear. Trousers are worn instead of pants, because pants are used to describe underpants. Use caution while talking about a stain on your pants.
So, there is a basic crash “module” in how to speak ENGLISH English. In all honesty it’s best to comply; after all they spoke it first. You may have to ask them to repete themselves twice or five times, but most people don’t mind. Its an interesting and imaginative language, and overall, pretty entertaining.
As is true of Minnesotans loving the Minnesotan accent (even while they make fun of it), people of Yorkshire love to caricature the way they talk, or the way their countrymen, especially rural countrymen, talk. You'll find below a few of the words Sarah talked about in her piece, as well as the happy disregard for basic enunciation Zach mentioned. So it's not a caricature, really. "Os" has all sorts of meanings depending on how it's pronounced.
An Os
From Paul Thornton
I was walking down the street t'other day when ah met me mate.
"Hows tha bin"? he asked.
"I feel like an 'os" ses I
"An 'os" ses he
"Aye lad, Champion".
One that I was told back in the day spoke of Scottish butcher standing in his shop with his back to the roaring fire. A customer comes in and asks: "Is that your Ayreshire bacon?" to which he answers, "No, I'm just a warmin of me hands."
No comments:
Post a Comment