Vacation in Scotland

[Father Bill]

The pronunciation certainly.

But really it was the slang that incomprehensible. For example:

PISSED: USA = angry / UK = drunk
FAG: USA = pejorative for homosexual / UK = cigarette
BANG ON: USA = can't repeat that here! / UK right or correct

Many many more examples. The point being the words themselves, alone or grouped with other terms, have completely different meanings.

Add the different pronunciations to the mix, then it can get quite interesting. It did for me, at least.

You’ll have all of those UK meanings here in Canada too.

[Jock Scot]

The pronunciation certainly.

But really it was the slang that incomprehensible. For example:

PISSED: USA = angry / UK = drunk
FAG: USA = pejorative for homosexual / UK = cigarette
BANG ON: USA = can't repeat that here! / UK right or correct

Many many more examples. The point being the words themselves, alone or grouped with other terms, have completely different meanings.

Add the different pronunciations to the mix, then it can get quite interesting. It did for me, at least.

Actually, you are bang on, there are still different local words meaning the same thing used throughout the UK and the Black Country accent is still one of the most noticeable. Accents are not as broad as they used to be and these days the local accents and local terminologies, which were peculiar to quite specific areas are not quite as area defining as they used to be, due to BBC English that controlled the airwaves for decades, until fairly recently. Now regionalism is back with the broadcasters and I think we are better for it.Obviously a tad more tricky for visitors, but I like our local accents and local terminologies. When my hearing was rather better than it is now, I was pretty good at placing a British accent to the right County and often to the nearest 20 square miles.

I suppose we locals take it all for granted and the words of "Quists"(wood pigeons), "thripples", "ladders"(things added to the front and back of farm trailers to stop a load of hay/straw falling off), "trows", "troughs"(animal feeders and water drinkers for large animals) "rhines", "rhenes",(very large ditches), "pike", "pikle", "shuppick"( pitchfork) and so on, and that is just in agricultural terms in parts of three counties!

I am sure The UK is not alone with local accents and terminologies and even I can tell an accent from the Southern states of North America(I might even get the correct State) from a New York one!

[DCampbell16B]

I am sure The UK is not alone with local accents and terminologies and even I can tell an accent from the Southern states of North America(I might even get the correct State) from a New York one!

Ouch. I grew up in Upper York State (Upstate New York), and lived here pretty much all my life. NYC is 200 miles the other side of a mountain range. Both Kilted Red Leg and myself can attest that we sound nothing like someone from the "city". When I was in Scotland, most people took me for a Canadian (even without the "oot" for "out" words). We do have a few localisms here, which I won't get in to though. Except that I grew up in a small cross border area (NY/PA) which is the only place in the world that pronounces the "p" in Campbell. My grandfather was very insistent. I had to learn to drop it when I went off to college.

No offence taken, Jock! This is all interesting stuff.

[PassingW]

"I am sure The UK is not alone with local accents and terminologies and even I can tell an accent from the Southern states of North America(I might even get the correct State) from a New York one!"

To Jock's point, any New York accent, Upstate (North of New York City), or the City's borough accents, differ quite significantly from "Southern Accents".

I was born and raised outside Rochester, NY to parents from Huntington, West Virginia (Dad) and the hills outside Louisa, Kentucky (Mom). Those two towns were less than 40 miles apart, and their respective accents and colloquialisms differed from each other and certainly from any New Yorker or someone from the deep southern states.

[Jock Scot]

Ouch. I grew up in Upper York State (Upstate New York), and lived here pretty much all my life. NYC is 200 miles the other side of a mountain range. Both Kilted Red Leg and myself can attest that we sound nothing like someone from the "city". When I was in Scotland, most people took me for a Canadian (even without the "oot" for "out" words). We do have a few localisms here, which I won't get in to though. Except that I grew up in a small cross border area (NY/PA) which is the only place in the world that pronounces the "p" in Campbell. My grandfather was very insistent. I had to learn to drop it when I went off to college.

No offence taken, Jock! This is all interesting stuff.

PassingW.

I suppose these local variations happen all over the world. It is very easy when talking with visitors amongst locals to chatter away assuming that everyone knows what is being talked about, particularly as we are all supposed to be communicating in English! This thread should remind us that this is not always the case.

Interestingly, when I started on this website some of my English words and phrases caused a certain amount of consternation with the moderators! Somehow we now get along rather better these days, but I still do have to pick my words very carefully on occasion.

[PassingW]

Jock,

I fully understand the need for choosing words carefully - I have been known to cause consternation with both the written and the spoken word!

Cheers.

[EagleJCS]

I can assure the participants and readers of this thread that regional issues exist all over the world.

I studied Spanish for 9 years (long story there) and found out over time that there are colloquialisms (slang) in Argentina that can get yourself in deep waters in Spain or Mexico and vice versa. Sometimes even an innocent phrase (where is the bus stop?) in one location can get you in hot water elsewhere. Fortunately, most people are forgiving of an obvious extranjero (foreigner) trying to use their best school Spanish.

European Spanish is different from Latin American Spanish, both in pronunciation and vocabulary, though they are still mutually intelligible, and there are at least three different forms of European Spanish (Castilian, Catalan and Galician), each with their own pronunciation and vocabulary.


Back to spoken English, I once had the opportunity to spend some time with Scouts from across the state of Kentucky, and I detected six different accents among them. I would imagine there are several more accents to be found in the state, as the group I was with were just a small cross-section (36 youth). Some vocabulary was equally varied (e.g. 'pop', vs 'soda pop', vs 'soft drink', vs 'Coke').

[neloon]

I grew up in a small cross border area (NY/PA) which is the only place in the world that pronounces the "p" in Campbell. My grandfather was very insistent. I had to learn to drop it when I went off to college.

Slightly off topic.

I had never really thought about the "p" in Campbell. Apparently
"About 1390, Duncan Campbell witnessed a charter by Duncan, Earl of Levenax, and is believed to be the first namebearer to introduce a "p" into the name, influenced by the erroneous theory that "Cam(p)bell" comes from the Norman-French "de Campobello" i.e., "of the beautiful plain".
Read more: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Ca...#ixzz7cKEVCvRd

The debate about he name in Scotland tends to be about whether "twisted mouth" was intended as a description of a physical characteristic or inherent untrustworthyness!

Alan

[PassingW]

Thanks neloon -

Interesting history. I had a great uncle by the name of Campbell Neel. I don't recall anyone ever pronouncing the "p" when addressing him. He was a lifetime citizen of Huntington, West Virginia (USA) to add a region reference.

[LoE]

It is very easy when talking with visitors amongst locals to chatter away assuming that everyone knows what is being talked about, particularly as we are all supposed to be communicating in English! This thread should remind us that this is not always the case.

Hear hear! That was the point I was trying to make.

Lesson learned on my part.

I never expected to be on the receiving end of that lesson, traveling to a country where English is spoken as a first language. I didn't think it would be an issue. I figured I would understand most if not all.

Now I'm cognizant of it.

I wonder how many travelers have been the the same position visiting my country, roles reversed. I work with many foreigners. Here's me assuming they understand what I meant when they in fact didn't. Them getting tired of asking "what did you mean?" and me never questioning it.

I'm glad the board understands the point I was trying to emphasize.

It's weird, strange, and unexpected to be separated by a common language.