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Tuesday, November 09, 2010

British-Speak

As into travel and culture that I am, I am surprised to realize that I know almost nothing about the other English-speaking cultures like the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  I love language and the linguistics, and it's been fun and fascinating to learn "new" words that use the same English language.  These are my three most notable for different reasons:

"Pants" is apparently underwear in the UK.  I sound inappropriately intimate when talking about someone's "pants" when I really intend to focus on their "trousers."  #1 spot because it comes up in conversations more often than not and so I actually say "trousers" now.

"Rude Boy."  Now I know what Rihanna's song is talking about.  Apparently this is a slang name for gangster bad boys in the UK.  #2 because it was like a revelation for me.  Yes, I focus on the important things in life.

"Bird."  I was the most thrown off by this one, actually!  It's slang for a female, of all things!  As in, "Who's that bird?"  I asked if it was meant in a derogatory manner and my British friends gave a negative on that. #3 because I had never, ever heard of this term before and it made me laugh.  I'm a bird?!

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