People often ask me what the difference is between Mexican Spanish and “Spanish Spanish” (we language nerds call that “Castillian”). And I always tell them that it’s like the difference between British English and American English. The accents, intonations, and a decent amount of the vocabulary are all different. (Also, with Spanish, Castillian uses the 2nd person plural which they don’t use in Mexico...)
Well, before last weekend, I had never actually been to England to verify this, but I was pretty sure I was right. Here are some words I learned while I was there. Always the teacher, I’ll put it in quiz format and you can test your British English abilities.
Translate the following British words to how they should really be said… hee hee. I’m going to assume you know the ones that I did like loo, flat, lift, tube. (That’s bathroom, apartment, elevator, subway if you were wondering.) Scroll down for the answers.
1. pudding
2. jelly
3. way out
4. fag
5. take away
1. dessert
2. jello
3. exit
4. cigarette
5. carryout (to go)
Now see if you know how to say these American words in British.
1. french fries
2. cookie
3. weird
4. vacation
5. potato chips
6. trunk of car
1. chips (you knew that… fish and chips)
2. biscuit
3. curious
4. holiday
5. crisps
6. boot
And if you haven’t had enough here is an example of a British dinner conversation (read aloud with your best British accent):
Mary Stafford: Are you going to holiday in Spain this summer?
Edward Campbell: Yes, it will be lovely. Last summer was fab… even a bit warm.
Waiter: Is everything nice?
Mary Stafford: Yes, very nice. Thank you.
Edward, how lovely! Have you got any family there?
Edward Campbell: No, but I’ve got some mates that will be going, too.
Mary Stafford: Oh! That’s just brilliant.
By the way, don’t let the prim and proper accent deceive you. The Brits use the “F-word” like it’s going out of style. It is less offensive there than in the U.S.
Well, it’s official. I’m a language nerd. All this stuff just fascinates me. I wonder how languages evolve and become so different from one country to another!? Anyway, if you’ve had enough with this nonsense, go to my Flickr website to see my pictures and read about what we did. Bye bye now, Love.
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3 comments:
Interesting Amanda! If you want to know the origin of languages, the American Heritage dictionary has a fascinating history lesson on linguistics. I'm not sure that it's a good thing that I'm admitting to reading the beginning of a dictionary, but it really is good. From an English major with an interest in linguistics!
Like the word bloke. I'm going to use it interchangably with dude from now on.
Amanda, This is your cousin Alison and I'm laughing hysterically. Here's a British one for you to translate: "Are you alright mate?" It sounds like you had a great time in England!
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