Amber Jean

Coming to an English-speaking country seemed like an easy choice, but I didn’t know what I was in for. I thought “At least it will be easier since they speak English.” Not so. American English has drifted from British English. I’m sure none of the existing versions of English reflect its original form, but they’re still seriously different.

The hard part comes when someone refers to something with a familiar word, but means something completely different. The most obvious example is ‘Chips’ meaning ‘Fries’. But, there are so many more examples of culture clashes. I’ve decided to keep it super brief for you.

Cheers= substituted for Thank You
camp= gay
cuppa= cup of tea [yorkshire]
biscuits= cookies
quid= slang for pounds, like ‘bucks’
rubbish= garbage, or like saying our slang ‘crap’
bin= trash can
bin liners= trash bags
cinema= movies
dodgy= sketchy
mum= mom
fannie= the opposite of a girl’s butt… so don’t say that here
the shop= grocery store
car park= parking lot
trolley= shopping cart
a surgery= a practice [like 'doctor surgery']
queue= a line
query/inquery= question
biscuits= cookies [like tea and biscuits]
crisps= chips
fruit & veg= produce
jumper= sweater
trainers= sneakers/ tennis shoes
lemonade- basically a more lemony version of sprite.
mobile= cell phone
tyre= car tire [just spelled different. It's the same with 'fayre' meaning a fair]

Here’s some more phrases…
Knacked= tired [can also be used to describe something as drab]
mind the gap= watch your step
calling someone a Git= A completely ignorant, childish person with no manners.
you ‘tick’ a box, you don’t ‘check’ it
bloody hell
to go on holiday= go on vacation

I could spend all day naming them, but I won’t. There are also words you’d have to hear to notice the difference, because they may use the same word but pronounce the syllables differently. For example here it’s ‘weekend‘ instead of ‘weekend’.

There are other small things like the inflection in their speech. They ask questions differently, with a more inquisitive tone. I’ve been told by the majority of native speakers that Americans sound whiney to them. From what I’ve gathered American English is a very literal version of English. We pronounce our “R’s” and “T’s” and use our nose more than our throat to pronounce vowels. I’d have to point it out to you. I think that’s the key to why the English accent sounds so proper, or should I say… “Prawpa”. The stereotype of Americans being loud is true also. English people are quieter and I have to pay more attention when people speak. People who work in public transport also get on loudspeakers and aren’t…well… loud.

As I said before, if you hear someone behind you say “Sorry” it means they’re trying to get by. Either that or they just walk past you expecting you to move. I think that’s just because I’m living in LONDON.

Street signs are also different. Speed limit signs are just a number with a red circle around it. Yield signs say “Give way” instead. It’s still an upside down triangle, except they ALSO have a triangle on the road, as well. The obvious different is that they drive on the left side of the road. It’s said to be for historical reasons. They would ride or ‘drive’ on the left side of the road so they could quickly pull their sword out with their right hand. This is also where shaking with your right hand may have come from. Putting out an empty hand was a sign of good faith you weren’t planning to use the sword on your left side.

Well… until next time… That’s all folks