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Travel 101: Speaking English in English-speaking nations
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An international English lesson (illustration clip art, Bing, public domain)
America. Canada. South Africa. England. Australian. New Zealand.
All these countries consider English to be their primary language, yet people from these nations don't always make themselves clear -- even to other English speakers.
With that in mind, following is a mini translation guide with some tips on how to communicate from American English to English elsewhere.
* In England. Consider Cockney slang. This is actually a rhyming game where locals have been weaned on the rules and where outsiders are left to their own devices and a lot of educated guesses. To help demystify, a sampling of what these colorful Brits are actually talking about follows: In Cockney terms, apples and pears means stairs, back and eggs are legs, biscuits and cheese are knees, carving knife is wife, dog and bone is phone and Cain and Able is table If someone mentions an elephant's trunk they are really talking about a drunk and if they refer to Lillian Gish they are really talking about fish.
Meanwhile, in typical British English, the following terms are translated from American to Brtish: A roll-on is a light weight girdle, an estate agent is a Realtor, a ladder is a run in a stocking, braces are suspenders and the intermission of a play is called an interval.
* In South Africa: Some particular words and phrases also have their own code when spoken by a local South African. Many are not all that difficult to figure out while some are impossible to discern. For instance, in some parts of this African nation, Old Year's Night refers to New Year's Eve whereas a monkey's wedding means the simultaneous occurrence of both rain and sunshine, a curious phenomenon that occasionally happens in picturesque South Africa.
* In Australia, a dill is a fool, a grasshopper is not just insect but also a tourist (usually one touring the Bush), a ratbag is a troublemaker and a heart starter is the first alcoholic drink of the day. Also, if someone refers to your "old man" he or she is probably not talking about your significant other, but rather to a fully grown male kangaroo.
* In New Zealand, a davenport is a writing table, a block of ice is an ice cube, a tap is a water faucet, wag means to skip school and a trunk call is a long-distance telephone call. In addition, the cooker is not a person who makes your meal but the stove on which it is cooked. Also, don't necessarily expect a vegetable to be put on your plate if someone offers you a squash as you will might be served a soft drink instead.
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