Amusing language barriers and your favorite words

[werepossum]

Really? I'd think it's actually pretty easy to learn to speak.

Of course English is easy; we Americans wouldn't speak it if it weren't.

Hey, now, I only speak two languages: English and Bad English!

I can speak a bit of Spanish, enough to say "Donde esta el cuarto de bano?" (Although I prefer the Steve Martin version, "Donde esta el cuarto de pee pee?") Unfortunately I can't understand a word of the reply. I really need to learn to say "Please point me toward the bathroom" instead.

On a related note, our offices were at one point cleaned by a Korean immigrant who spoke something way below Engrish - I could never understand a word he spoke, and he probably had some fascinating stories. He did the thing Americans are always accused of - speaking louder in an attempt to be understood. When he went beyond "Hello" he'd soon be screeching at the top of his lungs. He even at one point trying writing out words on my thigh - real uncomfortable. Dude, I can't even understand English when some strange dude is touching my thigh!

 

[AnGeL.SLayer]

..I've never heard of scottish slang before...That's really interesting. *walks off to kidnap a scottish guy..perhaps irish too*


^_^

 

[stompy]

No, but the accents are damn awesome...

"Oi, Suzy!"... That never gets old..

 

[Strafe Mcgee]

If you like Scottish slang, you owe it to yourself to check out Rab C. Nesbitt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFPWbh4E6m8

Classic stuff in Scotland, though it's pretty much unknown in the rest of the world (including England). It's about a bunch of waters living in one of the roughest areas of Glasgow, and is far darker than any equivalent sitcoms. Also, check out Chewin' The Fat and Still Game.

These show's will tell you more about what life's like in Glasgow than rubbish like Braveheart ever could.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

..I've never heard of scottish slang before...That's really interesting. *walks off to kidnap a scottish guy..perhaps irish too*


^_^

make sure you wash LOTS after, i might suggest just totally disinfecting yourself after, it's safer that way

actually scottish slang is pretty close to english slang with some minor difference peculiar to their tribe

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Mate
Crumpets
Tea Time
James


4 British classics

Which only Americans really use when playing British.
(O.K., I do use mate a bit)

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Mate
Crumpets
Tea Time
James

Which only Americans really use when playing British.
(O.K., I do use mate a bit)

yeah mate is used a lot
tea time is used by mostly older brits (would be grandparents and older), from what i've noticed in my dealings with them
crumpets same as tea time, mostly the older crowd
james for a driver, sure i'll pin that on americans
jeeves as well can go into that pile


tho for distinctly british slang go no further than these two

bloody hell (can also be bloody 'ell)
and
bollocks

much like "eh" is a canadian thing, tho we don't say it as much as ppl would think. and the whole oot and aboot thing is mostly the newfies accent coming thru

yeah the newfies have their own accent and dialect that's sometimes harder to understand than a good glaswegian or irish accent

 

[Benny Blanco]

If you like Scottish slang, you owe it to yourself to check out Rab C. Nesbitt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFPWbh4E6m8

Classic stuff in Scotland, though it's pretty much unknown in the rest of the world (including England). It's about a bunch of waters living in one of the roughest areas of Glasgow, and is far darker than any equivalent sitcoms. Also, check out Chewin' The Fat and Still Game.

These show's will tell you more about what life's like in Glasgow than rubbish like Braveheart ever could.

Hmm.. I'm sure I remember Rab C. Nesbitt being popular down in London too... Albeit probably for different reasons. (the disproportionate number of Glaswegian homeless in London might explain it)

Doesn't the bloke from that have a new show out?

Glaswegian humour is usually pretty good, albeit a bit dark- a good example of this is Frankie Boyle's response to the self-immolating Islamic fundamentalist at Glasgow Airport:

"You want to bring religious war here? We've got a 400 year headstart and you don't even have a football team!"

It's consistently annoyed me that cleverlymadeup keeps mis-spelling "teutonic", as it somewhat undermined the authority of the otherwise good points he was making. Moreover, he failed to acknowledge Greek as a source of words in the English language.

My personal favourite word is "internecine", because it sounds better than a word meaning mutually destructive really should. Also I like "onomatopoeia", because it ironically doesn't sound anything like its meaning.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Bono estente. E bono estente Doctor Bubakles.
Footra habiento nukathes poo. Ankeros politikos scupatharos
democracia republika te biblitos militaria.
Neh. Po babitos una te babito kokeros. Mixa te babito dexteros kass e
popo in e fanteres e dubito ekonomikos. Bala tokanderos filandero
governmentia.
Mmmm. Tu pupentos stipendo abenesto pento banking?
Put betto. Ko kina testa niceros banko centrale futro kolokos nito
peseta financio.
Mm. De de. De de bah. Fallia-hella fallia-hella fallia-helle fallia-helle.
En, y bilitos a skalianto kapolo a trupo e ni pupulataros.
Hanatos. Enkila kobilos den e leth nik-ob-feta penitos kentalika
hethethethethethethetheth. Fuk-en-seta inflaytion.
Questa?
Inflaytion.
Inflaytion? Poula?
In-FLAY-tion!
INFLAYTION! INFLAYTION!
OH! QUI DI LUCKY SLANG! IN-FLAY-TION! OPPO DOKKO DOKLI! UNO
LUCKY SLANG! Oh, no! Mista Kuso - flamo!
EKKI LOKA!

Bouuutros, bouuutros gali!

And here's how it really sounds... [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YTnVBoZQ4rA&feature=related]
5:47 onwards.

 

[AngryMan]

lol personally I love it when people elaborate upon simple things. I tend to notice that Americans do this a lot. For example, I've heard many Americans use the phrase "Ice Hockey" or "Tuna Fish". This makes me giggle. I know that tuna is a fish, so why say it? Why do you need to through the "ice" on there? I can gather that it tends to be on ice, being a canuck and all

well, Ice Hockey is the version that's played on ice. The original game wasn't....

 

[Anarchemitis]

Pie is a fun word. Pie...

 

[RonaldBakbacon]

I enjoy using outdated slang. For example, saying the word "Tits" to mean something good or cool.

 

[Myan]

Sycophant - a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

Best...word...ever.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

I enjoy using outdated slang. For example, saying the word "Tits" to mean something good or cool.

are you sure you aren't canadian or just want to move here? that's an old saying up here already

up here in canada we don't follow the path, we carve it and sometimes throw up on it if we've had too much beer to drink

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I enjoy using outdated slang. For example, saying the word "Tits" to mean something good or cool.

 

[BuckminsterF]

When I went to Australia for a school type thing I ended up having to explain what a swirly (when someone sticks your head in a toilet an flushes it in an attempt to make your life worse) is. In return I learned the term technicolor yawn (throw up).

My favorite word is zephyr (a light breeze) though heliocentric is a close runner-up

 

[Melaisis]

I like the redundant ones like "PIN number" and "ATM machine."

I concur, slowly those types of acronyms on their own are morphing into new words, sort of like how RADAR turned into radar.