So you think you know English?
One of the main reasons I chose London as my study abroad destination was because I wouldn’t have to learn a new language, or at least that’s what I thought. As soon as the group plane landed and we went to collect our luggage, words I’ve never heard before were being thrown at me.
“The luggage cart queue is over there, love.” Huh? Queue? What the…? Why are you calling me love, I don’t even know you!
It didn’t take me too long to realize that “queue” meant “line” and that “love” is used freely when talking to females. But as the days go by, there hasn’t been one that I haven’t learned something new (or been struck by a word so strange that the look on my face can’t be anything but utterly confused).
A favorite of mine is “lolly.” The Brits (and Australians I’ve come to discover) use lolly to describe candy. They think Americans are weird for using the word “candy” to describe candy. All I have to say is that as long as I can still eat it, I will call candy whatever I need to!
Some other good ones are “rubbish” and “chips.” For having very few rubbish bins throughout the city, I’ve never seen cleaner streets. In the U.S., we seem to have 6X as many trashcans, yet twice as much garbage on the streets. I still have yet to figure that one out… Chips are what we call french fries and crisps are what we call chips. Yeah, confusing, I know. However, on a trip to Manchester last weekend, my friends and I discovered an alternative to cheese fries – gravy chips! Pouring gravy over french fries is probably the most delicious (and fattening) snack I have yet to taste.
I will end this blog with a short story pertaining to my long days at work. While sitting at my desk, proofreading a story on Abu Dhabi, my coworker and desk neighbor started talking. Sadly I wasn’t paying complete attention to what he was saying until he busted out with, “They must think they’re the mutt’s nuts!” No one else in the small office seemed phased by that expression, so I tried to play it off as if I’d heard it a thousand times, but inside I was dying laughing.
So if you ever make it the U.K., remember what I’ve told you so that you’ll be prepared when you have a conversation with a native. Oh, yeah, and watch out for those humped zebra crossings, they’re killers. Cheers.
Courtney A. Schultz
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