So I thought I'd do another fun update that isn't full of a million pictures of me seeing different monuments in England!
First and foremost, English. The language As I've been told on a weekly basis, English is from England, and in America we speak American English. There's differences in how we pronounce things, and what words we use for different things. This video is a pretty accurate representation of a number of conversations I've had since I've been here. I still can't get over fizzy drinks haha, just makes the soda vs pop argument completely invalid!
I've started picking up some of the pronunciations though, on random occasions, like status, and tomato. Though zebra is still ZEE-bra not ze-bra, and aluminum is NOT a-lu-min-i-um! And 'z' is zee, not zed :-p And there are still times when I'm like "what's _____?" and everyone thinks it's hilarious haha.
A general guide to British English:
And accents. Dear America: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BRITISH ACCENT. It's either English, Scottish, Welsh, or Irish, and a regional variation within that, but never British. I still can't recognise regional accents perfectly, but I can tell between those four and Northern and Southern English accents. Northern accents are generally heavier and can be harder to understand, but I like them. And there are far more variants of accents than the few that are used most in shows and movies we see in America- we usually hear really posh London accents or Cockney accents, and there are many more than that! (And people will laugh when the only version of an accent you can put on is a really poor Cockney accent).
Finally, here's a fun article about drinking tea :-) It's been heinously cold out the past few days and you would not believe the difference having a cup of tea will make!
I'll post soon about my trip to Ireland for St Patrick's Day and the first few days of my trip with my parents!
First and foremost, English. The language As I've been told on a weekly basis, English is from England, and in America we speak American English. There's differences in how we pronounce things, and what words we use for different things. This video is a pretty accurate representation of a number of conversations I've had since I've been here. I still can't get over fizzy drinks haha, just makes the soda vs pop argument completely invalid!
I've started picking up some of the pronunciations though, on random occasions, like status, and tomato. Though zebra is still ZEE-bra not ze-bra, and aluminum is NOT a-lu-min-i-um! And 'z' is zee, not zed :-p And there are still times when I'm like "what's _____?" and everyone thinks it's hilarious haha.
A general guide to British English:
- hoover = vacuum
- lift = elevator
- toilet, not bathroom
- toilet tissue, not toilet paper
- bin = garbage/trash can (I've been corrected on this one a few times, and I've adopted bin to my daily vocabulary haha)
- you have a shower, you don't take a shower
- but you take drugs, instead of do drugs
- hooned = wasted, as in drunk haha
- tomAHto, not tomAYto
- but it's still potAYto
- pah-sta, not pAHsta, bah-sil, not bAYsil, but stAYtus, not stAHtus
- colour, favourite, honour, neighbour, etc.
- organise, prioritise, etc.
- car park = parking lot
- pavement = sidewalk
- subway is an underground walkway, not a train!
- sport without an s
- but maths has an s!
- fizzy drinks = soda/pop
- biscuit = cookie
- ready meal = frozen dinners
- till = cash register
- jumper = sweater
- pants = underwear, not trousers!
- aubergine = eggplant
- rocket = arugula
- courgette = zucchini
- washing up = doing dishes
- washing up liquid = dish soap
- dinner is sometimes called tea
- but this isn't a perfect guide, just what I've observed and learned so far!
Finally, here's a fun article about drinking tea :-) It's been heinously cold out the past few days and you would not believe the difference having a cup of tea will make!
I'll post soon about my trip to Ireland for St Patrick's Day and the first few days of my trip with my parents!
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