"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ~Toni Morrison

Sunday, April 7, 2013

E is for English

English!  What a fascinating language.  Even though I spoke the language, when I moved from Ireland to the United States, I had a lot to learn.
The most frustrating one was chips.  In Ireland, chips are what we call french fries in the United States.  Imagine my surprise when I ordered a hamburger and chips.  My plate arrived with potato chips, or crisps as we call them in Ireland.
The parts of the car were all wrong too.  The boot of the car in Ireland is the trunk in the United States, and the bonnet was now called the hood.
The first time I said something about a press, my husband was completely confused.  He didn't realize that I was talking about a cupboard.  What we call suspenders in the United States are braces in Ireland.
But the one that would have been most embarrassing was the word rubber; in Ireland, it's an eraser.  In the United States, of course, it is a condom.  Thank you YM for warning me about that one!

1 comment:

  1. Isn't it strange that there are still language differences even though we all speak the same language. Don't forget that the American 'pants' are English 'trousers', and English 'pants' are American 'underwear'.

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