Common Phrases
You alright? - similar to "Hey, How's it going" I know I've mentioned this one before but, it seriously catches you off guard if you're not ready to hear this every time you see anyone from England. So if you plan on heading over here, (Jayne Bauer this means you) be prepared!
Cheers - Thanks, I appreciate it, Please, ending of a message/letter, as well as for a toast - yes, it means all of these, I've been using it a lot lately, so don't be surprised if I say it to you when I get back
You lot - group of people
Can't be arsed - I just don't want to, translated I'm pretty sure it means I just don't want to move my ass
Bloody Hell - yes, people say it. But you have to pronounce it without the 'H' sound, more like "bluddy ell!"
At yours/ Come to mine - instead of your flat or my flat, you just say yours or mine
Having a lie in - sleeping in
Oi! - Hey!
I'm knackered - I'm exhausted
Let's have a look - let me see it
Innit though? - "isn't it, though" I'm pretty sure it's "a Leeds thing" because Lucy says it all the time
Proper - means like "the real deal"
Brilliant - super, great, awesome
Taking the Piss/Mick - making fun of you
Banter - just like sitting around laughing and making jokes
Cheeky - pretty sure I've mentioned this one before as well, but it means inappropriate. I've proper picked up on using this one ;-]
And what? - it's kind of like "come at me bro!" like a joking threat kind of thing
Ring me - call me, definitely have NOT picked up on this one. I always correct the girls when they use this.
Food
Beans on Toast - actually better than most people give it credit for. They're also really good on jacket (baked) potatoes
Biscuits - means cookies, they literally have no concepts of American biscuits. Being re-iterated, because it still throws me off.
Eggs - I still haven't figured out how to explain how I want my eggs cooked. They have no idea what over-hard or over-easy means. Also, they don't keep them in the fridge. They last for like 6 weeks.
Bread - It must be because they don't put many preservatives in it, but it lasts like a week and then gets moldy. It seriously blows.
Lager - The best way I know to explain it is yellow beer. Not the dark stuff like Guinness, but more like Budweiser or Bud Light. If you plan on coming over here (JAYNE), meet the drinking age requirement of 18 years, and have never seen any of the beer brands before, ask for a lager. I'm a Bud Light girl, and this is what I've learned: My favorite drink is "Cider and Black" which is whatever kind of cider they have on tap (usually Strongbow) with Black Currant, which is a fruit, I don't know I've never seen one or heard of it before I came here, but it's pretty good. Other good beers are Carlsburg, Tennents, and Fosters. As long as they're not busy, they have been pretty good about letting you try them if you ask nicely haha. As far as prices Preston (£2-3) is obviously cheaper than say London (£5-6), Paris (€6-7) or Dublin (€7-8) Hopefully this helps..
Pint - regular size beer, half pint is actually really small, I've only had them when they were free (=]), Don't bother ordering these ..
Maccy D's - awkward, but sometimes they say this meaning McDonalds. Obnoxious, I know.
Fries v. Chips - Believe it or not, I have learned that there is a distinction, thanks to McDonalds. Skinny fries are considered fries, and chips are more of the thicker ones.
Music
Dub Step - kind of like techno, but different..
Ed Sheeran - he's a ginger, but very attractive, pop music, with a guitar, good though
Olly Murs - very attractive, pop music
One Direction - getting big in America, younger version of mix of Backstreet Boys and Justin Beiber-ish, but better, mainly because of the British accents!!
Good Stores
Next - one of my favorites, not too expensive, but a little bit more than Forever 21
Top Shop - quite expensive, but very cute
Primark - basically like Walmart clothes, can be very cute, not the best quality, very cheap
Boots - Walgreens on steroids
River Island - pretty expensive (not as much as Top Shop), but very cute
Jack Wills - British Abercrombie and Fitch
Vocabulary
Boots - cleats
Boot - trunk of a car
Kit - jersey, includes shorts and socks, mainly used for football
Zed - how they pronouce "Z"
Haych - how they pronounce "H"
Not/Null - zero
Tea - dinner
Ring - as mentioned before, like call
Hench - like buff, muscular
Revision - studying, like prep for a test
Take Away - Fast Food
Work - homework
Washing Up Liquid - dish-soap, see Mom and Dad's trip, on my birthday when we went to Blackpool
Toilet Roll - toilet paper
Kitchen Roll - kitchen towel
Food Shop- grocery shopping
Tidy Up - cleaning up
Pram - stroller
Nappy - diaper
Pictures - movie theatres
Cinema - also meaning movie theatres
Poorly - sick
Rubbish - garbage
Bin - garbage can
Uni - University, not the same as "college"
College/Sixth Form - comparable to High School
GCSE - the test they take to decide which classes to take in college/sixth form
Were - was
Jumper - sweater/sweatshirt/hoodie
Joggers - sweat pants
Vest-Top - cami/tank top
Advert - ad or commercial
Mark/Marks - grade/points earned
Ickle - little, used kind of like baby-talk
Full stop - period, and boy do they think it's funny that this is what we call " . "
People
Lad - guy
Lass - girl
Bird - attractive girl
Birder - guy with a lot of girls
Slag - slut
Mate - friend
Names - some new ones that I've never seen before coming over here..
Imogen
Gemma
Issie
Aione
Other Important Things
Signing a message/text - always ends in multiple x's which means "kisses", depending on how close you are with someone, its funny though, because you can always tell how happy/mad someone is by how many they put
Post Codes - not zip codes, similar, but different
T=CH - pronounciation wise, this is key. youtube=youCHube, tuna=CHuna. Weird.
Spelling (Z=S, O=OU) - completely confusing while taking notes from a Powerpoint, analyze=analyse color=colour, favorite=favourite. Real weird.
Accents - extremely different around the different regions in England alone. Scouse, Jordie, Scottish, Irish, Northern, Essex, London -- all different
Right Spite, Left Love - when your ear itches, if it's the left one the person making your ear itch loves you and visa versa for the right ear
Shire - pronouced "shur" not "sh-eye-urr"
Out v. Out Out - They really are different, out out constitutes a club, while out just means a pub. Completely different wardrobe required.
Grading System - Trying to explain this is going to be hard and confusing, but here's my best go.. a First is the best you can get, translates to an A, but means 70% or above which is EXTREMELY hard to get. And I mean seriously. A "Two-One" is like a B and is a 60% and above, A "Two-Two" is a C, is most common and is anywhere in the 50%, 40% is passing. Like I said, very confusing. And getting a 66 back as a grade, knowing full well that it was a good mark, was probably one of the hardest parts of being a student here. Because to me, that's still a D in my book. But here, it's a damn good grade. And at Uni, your entire grade is based on two or three grades. That's all. So don't screw it up.
Well, now you can all be Proper English, just like me =] See ya in 13 days!
Cheers,
Katie
No comments:
Post a Comment