LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
When I set up the first page on the subject of language differences I had no
idea just how much interest it would evoke. This has resulted in me
receiving a great many contributions on the subject but, this in itself, has
given me somewhat of a problem.
I have been trying to think of a way to present all that information in an
entertaining and yet easy to use format, however, to date, I have not been
able to crack the problem. It is far too complex a subject just to create
lists and it has also become apparent that there are wide ranging opinions.
In view of all this I have decided to publish visitors' responses on pages
in the hope that others will find them of interest.
Dave has written
-
A Lift
in the USA is the thing in a service station/garage (car repair place) that
is hydraulic and "lifts" the car in the air to work under.
Garage is a car/truck repair place that does
not sell petrol/gasoline.
I have never heard a flagpole called a
flagstaff in the US, I'm on the west coast its always a flagpole.
A
spanner is also a wrench just an open end
type in the US, a box end is called a wrench or box end wrench.
Its a
shoelace here in the US too, never heard
it called a shoe string.
Class in the US (referring to school) is a hour
long in one subject. also called a period. "gym class" "English class" etc.
Parcel in the US is a letter or pouch envelope.
Package is a box being sent.
Lavatory is used in the US for institutions,
schools, etc. Restroom is used in general
public places, and bathroom is used in homes.
Flat in the US is a small one story apartment
also called a studio apartment. Apartments are
larger and consist of one story or more, two story apt. are also a town
house/home.
Trousers is used in the US and is normally a
suit pant or old persons pants, pretty much what the other person said.
Minced beef is much finer ground than hamburger
in the US.
USA, "Madam", is a formal generic variation of
Mrs. (Mistress), used to address a married woman, or a woman who is no
longer available for marriage. "Madam" is contracted to Ma'am, in which the
apostrophe stands for the missing letter, "d". The use of Ma'am, or Madam,
or Madame pertaining to the owner or manager of a house of ill repute finds
its origin in the fact that the, "Madame", was not for hire. The specific
formal usage of, "Ma'am", pertains only to a married female whose name
is not known.
Otherwise, "Mrs." (Misses) <surname>, is used. In the USA, "Miss", is a
formal and proper salutation for an unmarried virgin seeking a husband.
In The USA, an informal, business, or intentionally ambiguous female
salutation, primarily used among middle class feminists, is, "Ms." (Miz), a
mixture of, "Misses" and "Miss", meaning either Mrs. or Miss. The lower
classes, and upper class either use Miss or Mrs., but the middle class has
adopted Ms., especially in business relationships involving feminists,
lesbians, female judges, female lawyers, or female doctors.
The vast majority of US citizens, both male and female, prefer the
traditional salutations, Miss and Mrs..
In the USA, the word, "boot", means a sort of rugged or stylish, calf height
or higher footwear, especially with a raised heel. In UK, the word boot
refers to the USA meaning, but in UK the rear storage compartment of an
automobile is called the, "boot" also. The lid, or top hinged part is called
a, "boot lid".
In Wisconsin, USA, a public drinking fountain is called a, "bubbler".
Across the Wisconsin border, in Illinois, USA, it is called a, "drinking
fountain". If a Wisconsinite travels 10 miles into Illinois, and asks for
the location a bubbler, the people have no idea what he's talking about.
Among middle class Caucasian USA, "shoot the breeze", means "to make light
conversation", especially to consume excess time. The lower class uses,
"jaw", referring to the movement of the lower jaw when speaking.
Examples are, "We were just shooting the breeze." and "I was jawing with
them truckers." (semi haulers).
Among African American inner city ghetto dwellers, the term, "you
straight?", or "we straight?", means, "Do you feel your were treated
equitably?" or "Is everything between us equitable?", especially as a
courtesy gesture from a drug dealer to a client.
Also among African Americans, "horn", is a term used to define a device to
hold "crack" (free base) cocaine for smoking. If a suburban dweller abuses
crack cocaine, and seeks the drug in an urban African American community,
and the person doesn't know what a horn is, the drug dealers know they can
dispense small quantities for a given price, and the suburbanite won't know
he's being cheated.
Lower class USA slang for inflicting a wound with a firearm is, "Cap his
ass", originating in the name of toys from the 1970s, made to resemble a
real firearm, that used tiny packets of gun powder to make a sound like a
real firearm, albeit a much softer sound. In the United States, between 1940
and 1960, grade school aged boys frequently carried firearms with them to
school, because public schools offered classes to hone skill in the use of
firearms. There were no recorded firearm related injuries attributable to
this practice, but to foreigners to the USA, the concept of 12 year old boys
being encouraged to bring rifles to
school is unusual.
"Ripped off", in USA slang means, "cheated" in some way. But it does not
refer to "infidelity" between lovers or spouses, which is called, "cheating"
also. "He cheated on me!", means he had intimate relations with another girl
during a time he was supposed to be my exclusive lover, which is implicit in
Western style marriage.
"Beat up", is USA slang for being on the receiving end of battery, or
assault without use of weapons. "He got beat up!"
MasonCide
Hey, I just
wanted to include some of the language differences. I'm from CA, but I'm
pretty sure most of these are general.
Keeper/Goalie: Whenever Brits talk about
soccer, they say keeper. That's never used in America, it's always goalie or
goal keeper.
Some American Words:
Hella: This is used pretty much only in
California, and in different ways.
"Those are hella (a hell of a lot of) hot dogs!"
"I had a hella (hell of) good time last night."
"You're hella (very/really) funny!"
Snogging: I've read this in Harry Potter, in
America we would say "making out" or "frenching" like french kissing.
Slag: We say skank or "ho". Ho and whore are
not the same. Ho is much less offensive and usually used in a joking manner,
whore is a more serious insult synonymous with hooker. Hooker, whore and
call girl are people who are paid to have sexual intercourse with men. Skank,
ho, tramp, or slut are usually used to describe girls who fool around or
dress scantily and can even be used in a joking manner or
semi-affectionately.
A homeless person who lives on the street is a
tramp,
beggar, or hobo. Hobo is also used for extreme rednecks.
A
redneck is an uneducated, extremely
conservative person (politically) who is usually middle class or blue
collar. It is applied more to men than women when used as a noun, but can be
used to describe anything. Kissing cousins, big trucks, guns, homophobia,
unintelligence, overuse of the American flag, questionable dental hygiene,
beating children, bad manners and fried food are all things that are very
redneck. Calling something redneck is not a good thing-it is insulting
usually used to highlight the ignorance or discrimination of someone or
something. A town, a family, an object, a store, a law, a style of dress-
all of these things can be called redneck.
Californians do not call San Francisco Frisco, nor do we call California
Cali. We use NorCal and SoCal-because there is a difference. San Francisco
is called 'The City' by those who live near it, and the area around it is
'The Bay Area'. Los Angeles is L.A.
Hapa/Hapanese: Someone who is half Asian, first
used for those that are half Japanese.
F.O.B.: Fresh off Boat asian-someone who has
adopted very little or few American customs and is still almost comically
traditional or uninformed about American culture.
Vamanos: Let's go! This is often used when
asking people to come in California- we do have a large Spanish population.
Douche/Douchebag: First used to describe
someone who dressed or acted ridiculously, it now means the same thing as
ass or asshole and is mainly applied to males.
Sketch: Something questionable-on the verge of
being ghetto. Usually used to describe a place or situation.
Manwhore: A less flattering word for playboy.
Garage: A garage is what you have at your house
where you park your car. A Parking Garage is a building in the city used
solely for parking cars. If your car is broken, we usually say "it's getting
fixed" or "it's in the shop".
Emo/Scene: Not usually flattering, these words
are used for kids with 'punk' like hair and manners who try too hard to be
hardcore. They ARE different from punks and goths-those words are not nearly
used as often, but usually have a more respectful tone.
Indie/Hipsters: Usually these people shop at
Urban Outfitters or American Apparel- they're not interested in being
mainstream. Their dress is very bohemian and reminiscent of hippies. They
listen to bands no one has heard of and are passively in favor of gay
rights, animal rights, and other very liberal political sentiments but not
politically active.
A lot of these terms are things the younger generation uses, hope this
helps!
Chiara
I'm from California. I have to correct the person that
said the term "pants" is used by the younger
generations as an adjective. As someone from the younger generation (17), I
promise that no one would say "That film was pants." If they did, they would
get laughed at.
I think it really needs to be stressed on this website
that the term fag or faggot should NEVER be
used in the US, especially when referring to a gay person. It is the MOST
offensive term used to describe a gay person. It would be the equivalent of
calling a black person a nigger. It is only used by homophobic bigots.
I have never heard flagstaff
refer to anything other than the city in Arizona. It is always flagpole.
Grade can either refer to
the specific year someone is in at school (i.e. 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc.)
or it can refer to a letter grade used to determine how well you perform in
school (i.e. A, B, C, D, or F).
Class can refer to your
year at school or a lesson in a particular subject (i.e "He's in my
class"/the class of 2011 or "I just went to English class.")
What the UK calls college,
we call high school. In high school, the grade levels are freshmen (9th
grade), sophomore (10th grade), junior (11th grade), and senior (12th
grade). In the US, college refers to university. This can become confusing
because many colleges will have the term university in their title (i.e.
Yale University). Having the term university in the title does not in any
way indicate the prestige of the school. For example, Harvard is called
Harvard College, not Harvard University, and is one of the most prestigious
schools in America.
Fanny is a polite way to
say butt.
At least in my generation, when someone is drunk, they
might say they are hammered, smashed, or wasted. Pissed and pissed off
both mean angry, but pissed is used more
commonly.
In the US, homely does
mean ugly. It refers to someone being so plain that they are ugly. We use
the term homey to refer to something cozy or unpretentious. This is not to
be confused with "homie," which is an outdated, ghetto slang term used to
refer to a friend (i.e. "He is my homie").
I have only every heard Mickey
Mouse when referring to the animated Disney character.
"I have the s****" would also refer to having diarrhea
in the US.
Gas can refer to gasoline
or passing wind. (i.e. "I filled my car up with gas" or "I have gas"/ "I
just passed gas").
On the west coast, we would never say shoestring.
Restroom can be used in
all contexts, including in homes, and is often considered to be more polite
than bathroom.
People my age don't say they are going to "chill
out" when referring to relaxing, but it is common to hear someone use
the shortened version, saying they are going to "chill." Chill can also be
used as an adjective when referring to someone who is calm or laid back
(i.e. He is a really chill guy, or He is really chill). When we say "chill
out," we are usually telling someone who is being annoying or is getting
frustrated to calm down. For example, if your mom starts yelling at you, you
might tell her to "chill out," or take a chill pill. This would be
considered rude.
On the west coast we say "soda."
Pop and soda-pop are used in the Midwest, but everyone would
understand what they are referring to. If you ask for lemonade you are going
to get a drink made by mixing lemon juice, sugar, and water. We put ice in
all of our cold drinks.
In the UK, I think you guys say "take
the piss" when making fun of someone. We say "I'm messing with you,"
or "I'm just kidding," or "I'm just messing around." If you were to say that
you were "taking a piss," that would mean that you are urinating.
I don't know if these phrases are only used in the US,
but if we are really hungry we might say "I could eat a horse." If we just
ate and are full, we might say "I'm stuffed.".
If the car behind you gets really close to the back of
your car for an extended period of time, they are "tailgating"
you. This is usually a display of anger toward you, often times warning you
to go faster. We also "tailgate" which is a party before a sports game where
people barbecue and drink. This is most common before football games.
"Pregaming" refers to
getting drunk or drinking before going to an event or party.
Danielle
As far as the 'pop', 'soda', 'lemonade' thing
goes, in the east coast, 'pop' is used. I traveled South to Texas and while
in a restaurant, I asked what kind of pop they have. "Excuse me?" the
waitress said. "Pop..." I said. "Excuse me?!!"-Waitress "Pop!.."-Me (Then I
thought) "Oh, soda!"- Me "Oh!, well, we have (whatever she said)". I have
personally never heard someone say 'coke', referring to all pop/soda
beverages.
Some American terms that may or may not be different from U.K. and
Australia:
Toilet Paper
French Fry
Potato chip
Busy signal (I heard it's called an engaged tone somewhere) -
Here in the UK we say 'engaged'
Can/ Tin can
Sweater
Cookie
Biscuit (bread)
Hood (Neighborhood)
Bum (Homeless Person)
Sneakers (Shoes)
Pissed and pissed off are used interchangeably
Coaster (Circular cork mat used under a glass/can/bottle)
*In the South, people are polite and respectful; they say Ma'am and Sir.
Usually, up North (or just the East Coast) people don't usually address
people. You basically skip that part of the sentence , i.e.:
South- "Yes Ma'am/ Sir"
North- "Yes" (Or more common) "Yeah" (Or if you're truly lazy), "Mmhm"
Oh, I don't understand why we can't be as polite!
(Of course, this doesn't apply to EVERYONE in the U.S. People are different,
and that can be a good OR bad thing...)
Sophi
I'd just like
to expand on the -ise/-ize distinction, which is far more complicated than a
simple UK/US divergence. Originally, -ize was used in British English too,
for words with Greek roots.
But not for words like advise, despise,...
And let's not forget that nobody bothered too much about spelling
consistently in the bad old days. But, when people started publishing
dictionaries:
- Noah Webster in the US standardized on
the -ize form (phonetic)
- The Oxford University Press (publishers
of the OED: Oxford English Dictionary) also preferred -ize for words of
Greek origin, for phonetic and etymological reasons
- The Cambridge University Press
(publishers of the CED... you guessed it) preferred -ise and it's become
predominant in the British press. One advantage is that you don't have
to worry about all the exceptions to the -ize rule. Essentially, the
logic is that it makes sense for words that came to us via French, which
modified the z to s. Others object to this logic because many of the
words were imported to English before the French made the
switch...
However, for me, the most fascinating aspect is that while most people think
that the -ize form is an American innovation, it is in fact the older form
of the language that is persisting.
Another example of the "colony" maintaining older grammatical forms: the
subjunctive is far more widely used in the US than in the UK.
I only became conscious of this after moving to France (over 30 years ago).
The French are very aware of a similar divergence between French French and
Canadian French: the language of the ex-colony tends to advance faster as
far as vocabulary is concerned but to lag behind on grammar.
Les Brown
I live in England, London, and 'pissed' can now either mean angry or
drunk. It depends on the situation, really.
Elena
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