I thought it would be fun to note some of the differences between "British" English and "American" English:
- Here, they don't call medical shots "shots." They call them "jabs." So, you get a flu jab, not a flu shot. I like saying I got a jab. It seems much more dramatic.
- They don't use the word "the" in front of hospital. So, they say, "Elizabeth went to hospital today" instead of "Elizabeth went to the hospital." This sounds incorrect to my ears, and I don't like it much.
- The ER (emergency room) is referred to as "A&E" here. I am not sure what the "A" or the "E" stand for - maybe ambulance and emergency?
- A trash can is a rubbish bin. I think rubbish bin sounds much fancier, especially with the English accent.
- When they move, they say they "move house," as in "I am going to move house this week." This one makes me laugh, because I am a very visual person and always imagine a house being picked up and moved, rather than the contents of the house being moved.
- They refer to acne as "spots," so instead of acne, pimple or zit cream, you buy spot cream. I like this - it sounds much less gross to be treating your spots than your zits.
- Eggplant is aubergine. Zuchinni is courgette. Potato chips are crisps. French fries are chips.
- Baked potatoes are referred to as jacket potatoes. People here like to put baked beans on their jacket potatoes. It is a staple in the cafeteria of my office. I often consider trying the jacket potato / baked bean combo, just to see what it is like, but haven't had the courage to do so yet.
- They refer to the bathroom as the toilet or the loo. I do not like saying I am going to the toilet. That seems very vulgar and crass to me. The loo sounds like a cutesy nickname one might teach a child (along the lines of cutesy names for body parts like hoo hoo, etc).
- They refer to pee as wee. I had a conversation with a doctor recently, and she kept talking about my wee. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.
- An elevator is a lift; an apartment is a flat.
- Your rear end is your bum. Your a$$ is an arse. I like the word bum and have incorporated it into my vocabulary. I think arse sounds horrible, maybe as bad as the c-word.
- There are some fun words like "poncy" and "wonky" that I like. According to the Urban Dictionary, poncy means "someone, something or somewhere which is overpriced, over styled, over rated, or thinks more highly of itself than it deserves." "Wonky" is something that is all messed up, as in "my computer is wonky today." I have already incorporated "wonky" into my volcabulary, and will use "poncy" as soon as I have the opportunity.
- Powdered sugar is called icing sugar.
OK, that's all I can think of for now. I know there are many other differences, so I'll try to update the blog with them as I discover them.
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