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Saturday, 31st July 2010

 
A view from the USA

Jackie Taylor

 

Jackie Taylor, nee Pointer, grew up in Kenilworth and now lives in Newport News, Virginia, USA. This week she begins an occasional column about the American way of life, and how it compares with living in Kenilworth.

Tripping over a language barrier
I am often asked what I found to be the biggest challenge when arriving in the USA.
Apart from the obvious, which I hope to address in future missives, I’d have to say, language!
What? I hear you ask. Surely, Americans speak the same language as we Brits. Well, yes and no. Bare with me here, remember I live in what is considered a Southern State.
Why even ‘those Yankees’ bring a phrase book when they visit, so what chance did a Warwickshire lass have?
Even after 20-plus years, there are still times when I wish I had my own personal interpreter. Not only is the southern vernacular hard to understand, but word meanings can vary greatly, and oft times get us into trouble and cause embarrassment, (or laughter).
My daughter Sharron had an amusing experience on her first day of American High school. As an adorable 15-year-old English girl, dropped into what must have seemed like a scene from the movie Grease, she was anxious to be accepted.
She’d not even made it into the classroom before her first ‘faux par’. In the tedious task of filling out the required two million forms in the school office, she turned to the young man sitting next to her and innocently asked if he had a rubber.
After he’d turned all shades of red and recovered from a fit of mild hysteria, my husband decided to step in and explain to my bemused daughter that rubbers in America were actually condoms, and she’d need to ask for an eraser in future.
There were many more similar incidents such as this. At one point I decided it might be better just to keep my mouth shut altogether.
There are some words and phrases that absolutely crack me up still today. Maybe because of limited space, it’d be fun just to list a few here for you, to better help you understand the challenges we face .
So, here listed are some of my favourites. Who knows, maybe this may help those planning a trip to the Confederate states overcome the language barrier.
Ambolance: A four-wheeled vehicle used to convey the injured to a hospital. “That boy’s hurt bad. Better call an ambolance.”
Bablist: A religious denomination found in great profusion in the south. “Ah hear the Bablist preacher man run off with the choir director.”
Bowut: A small water craft. “Where’s the motor for this bowut?”
Lar: One who tells untruths. “Not all fishermen are lars.”
Dite: What people do to lose weight. “Bout time I went on a dite”.
Spearmint: Something scientist do. “I did a spearmint in science lab today.”
Collie flare: A white vegetable. “Lots of boxers have collie flare ears.”
Shainteer: Absence of a female. “Is the lady of the house in? Nope. Shainteer.”
 
 

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