A few nights ago I went to a pub with some coworkers to prep for the Euro 2008 qualification football/soccer match/game. Someone asked me what my husband did, and I told him my husband was still in school. He laughed and said I should probably say, "He's in college," unless I want them to think I'm doing something illegal with a minor. When I got home, I mentioned something about the game to Josh. "Match", he said. And the field is the pitch and cleats are called boots. And it's a football match, not a soccer game.
We all speak English, so why is this so difficult sometimes? I now have this underlying sense of dread that I'll say something in front of the wrong people and make a complete fool of myself. Honestly, I think it's only a matter of time...
Friday, November 23, 2007
English
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2 comments:
Last week, I was speaking to a woman from Australia who is studying at Berkeley. We were exchanging ex-pat stories and talking about language issues. She said that, In Australia, the word "fanny" is a very obscene word which references a particular part of female anatomy. She was very troubled recently when her Berkeley roomate asked her "Have you seen my fanny pack?"
that's funny, brad! I just found out fanny means the same thing here. And I didn't bring that one up myself- someone at work did when I asked who a quantity surveyor is (it's a cost estimator), leading to a conversation about american english.
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