Americanese should be an official language.
Americans speak English because the United States was colonized by the British in the 17th century, and English became the dominant language. The colonies used British English as their main language and it evolved over time to become American English.
On the other hand, language is determined by culture, and the United States is a melting pot of cultures with various languages spoken by different groups of people. Hence, there is no particular language that can be called "American." However, American English has some unique features compared to British English, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling, which make it distinct and recognizable as an American variety of English.
Elevator (American English) vs Lift (British English)
Trash (American English) vs Rubbish (British English)
Cookie (American English) vs Biscuit (British English)
Sidewalk (American English) vs Pavement (British English)
Gasoline (American English) vs Petrol (British English)
Apartment (American English) vs Flat (British English)
Vacation (American English) vs Holiday (British English)
Pants (American English) vs Trousers (British English)
Faucet (American English) vs Tap (British English)
Soccer (American English) vs Football (British English)
It was James' first visit to the USA and he was excited to explore the country and meet new people. Little did he realize that his scant knowledge of American English would make it difficult for him to communicate at times. When he first arrived he asked for help to get his luggage out of the boot of his car. Everyone around him was puzzled, until he pointed to the trunk of the car. When he entered the hotel, he asked if there was a lift to reach his floor. The confused receptionist asked him to repeat the word. Finally, he saw what he was looking for and pointed to the elevator.
"Strange people," he thought to himself, "I thought they spoke English here."
James changed and went to brush his teeth, but he struggled to turn on the tap. In his room he noticed a rubbish bin that hadn't been emptied. He took it downstairs to the receptionist.
"My rubbish bin hasn't been emptied," he said.
The puzzled staff member looked around for clues, and seeing the trash can realised what he was on about.
"I'll empty that garbage for you," offered the man.
"Thank you. Now, I have been having trouble turning on the tap', he complained.
"Tap?, You are a tap dancer, perhaps?" offered the receptionist, and then realising the British accent, suggested, "in America it's called a 'faucet'."
"Okay," said James, misunderstanding, "I'll go back and force it."
Next, James tried to ask for directions to his friend's flat, and showed an address on paper to the receptionist.
"Ah, yes, this apartment is over here —"
"No, no, He lives in a flat. What is apartment?" protested James.
"In America we call them apartments," explained the man, who continued, "Just go down this sidewalk —"
"This — what?" asked James, "Sidewalk?"
"Uuum sorry, To you, that's pavement," said the diligent recepionist, adding, "Are you feeling cold today? I see you have a sweater on."
Mishearing, James protested, "What do you mean I'm sweating? I'm not, and anyway I like this jumper."
James left the hotel, and strolled down the pavement. 'Ah, sidewalk!' he told himself, 'what a silly word, no one walks sideways unless they have crab feet!'
He needed a torch in case there was a power cut at night, and seeing a hardware shop, he popped in and asked for a torch. A simple enough request, but the American shopkeeper was convinced he was talking about setting something on fire. James wandered around the shop until he saw what he wanted and used his new communication tool, his finger. He pointed at the torch.
"Ah, flashlight," said the shopkeeper, "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
Back in the street, he spotted a kiosk and asked for a packet of crisps.
The man in the kiosk looked baffled.
"Oh, not again," sighed James, this time using his finger to point at what he wanted.
"Potato chips. Here you go", said the vendor.
Next, he stopped in a cafe, sitting at a table, and ordered tea and biscuits. The tea arrived but the biscuits didn't.
"Excuse me, I asked for biscuits" said James, trying his best to be polite.
He got blank looks.
James pointed to someone else who was eating what he wanted.
"Cookies!" exclaimed the cafe owner.
A little later James went into a clothing shop to buy a new pair of trousers. When he asked the salesperson if he had any pairs of 'trousers' in his size, the man looked confused. He told James that they only have 'pants' in the store. James could only chuckle to himself. 'What a silly place!', he thought, 'Pants are what you wear under your trousers!'
Following that, he thought he'd try the museum. He stood in a queue for the museum for so long, he could hardly move.
"When's this queue moving?" he asked.
But sadly, nobody understood what he was talking about.
Later, he learned that it was called a line in America.
To cap off his day, James decided to watch a football match, or at least that's what he thought.
As he asked for directions to a 'football' stadium, he was told that in America it's called 'soccer'.
Back in the hotel he mentioned that he was expecting a delivery from a lorry, but people looked at him as if he had three heads. They knew no one called A Laurie.
A passing Brit, realised the problem, and told him "they call it a truck in America."
The next day he needed to fill up his rental car with petrol, but he couldn't find any petrol stations. Then, he saw a sign that read "gasoline", and wondered it gas might be petrol? James had never heard it referred to as gasoline before.
He was surprised that the word he thought was universally understood had a different meaning in America.
James had a good laugh at himself as he realized how different the meaning of words can be between two countries that share the same language.
As he continued his trip, he tried to learn more American English words to avoid confusion. He asked for directions to the nearest 'restroom' instead of 'toilet', and ordered a 'soda' instead of 'fizzy drink'.
Overall, James had a great time exploring America and trying to speak American English words. He learned that language is constantly evolving and changing, and that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you're willing to learn and adapt.
And then, of course, there is Scottish, and neither the English nor the Americans can figure that out!
Oor language is ar ain an’ we're no gonnae change fir aebody. So awa’ an’ bile yer heid. A wiz in America years ago an’ met a lass fi Paisley (Am fae Auld Reekie masel’)an’ got tae bletherin as ye dae. While we sat a yank went past an’ said “ I realize you're Speaking English but have no Idea what you're saying “ He wid probably’ve got some of it but the twa of us were haverin sae fast it wid mak yer heid birl an’ ye wid huv tae hae a sit doon. Dinnae be sae an eejit asking sae dippit a question, it maks ye sound a richt gowk.
No comments:
Post a Comment