Day Ten of 'The Daily Post' (and it's not about laundry).
The difference between British English and American English is not just a question of accent. It's not just that we have different words for the same item: torch for flashlight, rubbish bin for trash can. It's the phraseology, the emphases, the tone, the whole way of speaking.
I'm English, but lived in Scotland for 6 years immediately before coming to the US. I have been intrigued to hear some of the colloquialisms from Scottish English in people's conversation here. Of course it isn't intriguing at all, really, but quite obvious. When Scots emigrated to America they brought their way of speaking with them, just as much as English people. Here are a few examples.
If you are English, you say "the cat needs feeding", or "the cat needs to be fed". In Scotland or over here, this would be "the cat needs fed". It sounds odd to English ears.
In England, you say "I would have gone". In Scotland, I often heard "I would have went", and I've heard that here too. Again, it sounds very odd to English ears.
But my favourite is a word that has no real English equivalent. Your bottom/bum/backside/butt/seat (that last one courtesy of my grandmother) in England, is in Scotland, your bahouki. I'm sure that must be where the American patouti originated from. I'm so glad the Scots brought their bahoukis with them when they crossed the Atlantic. It's a word that deserves to be passed on and preserved in another culture.
.
I love the English language and I lived in the States for 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI found it so frustrating the way it was spoken. At first I wanted to make corrections, but soon realised that that would futile.
Really liked the post and it's comparisons.
jo
Patouti -- at first I was asking myself...."Patouti?" Then I remembered the phrase "snooty patouti" -- or what we called the fancy-dancy restaraunt in town. I never made the connection it meant booty or butkis!
ReplyDelete:-) I've always spelled bahookie this way but I guess a word that is rarely written down has no real spelling.
ReplyDeleteI'd never noticed the cat needs fed thing, must try to say that in front of my English husband and see if he notices.
I have recently been saying that the "baby wants fed" a lot, but would usually say she "needs feeding", perhaps it's the sleep deprivation :-)
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on where you live in the States, though. If you live in California, you think people in some other states talk backward.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were living in Wiltshire locals said 'led down' instead of having a lie down. That always made me smile. Bahouki is a great word!
ReplyDeleteI vow to use bahouki in one of my following posts. Let's keep the magic alive!
ReplyDelete