How to Understand British Slang
When anyone (not from Britain) hears a British accent, they instantly fall in love with the poshness and grandeur that comes with it. When anyone hears an American accent, well, let’s say the reception can go one of two ways. On the one hand is for the person to say, “how unfortunate” and automatically write you off as a McDonald’s lover, opinionated, and a loud talking individual. On the other hand, is for the person to say, “Oh wow I love the US. I’ve always wanted to go, you are so lucky, wait, can you say, ‘oh my god?'” and then you connect over sharing your life stories. I have had both situations happen to me and let’s say I’m partial to the latter. As you probably figured out, I have an American accent, a Californian one at that, yup can you picture/hear it? It’s been an adjustment to come to a country that speaks English, but at the same time, we don’t speak the same English. I’ll say something, thinking I make perfect sense and all I get in return are blank stares and the usual “Pardon me?”, and then I either have to repeat myself or say, “oh nothing” and give up in general.
But honestly, these interactions are usually my favourite, and I look forward to speaking to as many people as possible because each time I find something new about British slang. So, to help my fellow international scholars I’ve created a list of some common phrases that we might be overlooking.
(You) alright?
It took me eight weeks to understand that people aren’t asking me if I’m alright, that this is their way of saying “hi” “how are you” “what’s up”. It’s one of the most confusing phrases because it can mean everything and nothing. Simply put it’s another greeting and nothing else. This one is essential to living in England because for eight weeks every time someone would ask me this I would try to answer back about how my life or day was going and people would stop and look at me like I was insane for replying. If you’re asked this and believe me you will be asked this question multiple times a day, just smile and say “yes” or “alright”.
Pants
Do not tell people you love their pants. I cannot stress how important this is. For three weeks, I was walking around amazed and in love with everyone’s sense of style. It’s on a whole other level over here. So, because I’m the type of person who will tell people that I like their clothing, I would say “Oh, hey I love your pants” and believe me I got so many strange looks. People would stop look down and then walk away quickly. In my head, I was thinking ‘wow, these people need to learn how to take a compliment’. Well, not exactly, you see”pants” in England means underwear (not trousers as I thought). So, I was complimenting everyone on their underwear and looking back I would even ask them where they bought their “pants” because I wanted a pair exactly like theirs. Not the best first impression. It took a brave soul one day to pull me aside and let me know about the mistake I was making. So, because I don’t want anyone to go through the same embarrassment I went through, when you want to compliment people on their lower half you would use “trousers” or”jeans”.
The Boot
“Hey, open your boot!”. The incorrect response to this would be to unzip the boots that are on your feet. I literally tried to unzip my shoes once and the person I was with looked at me very questioningly. The correct response would be to open the trunk of your car because obviously, everyone knows boot and trunk are the same things, right? It took me a couple of mess ups to really get that in my head. I’m still not positive why a trunk is called a boot, but for them, it works, and it’s important to adapt to the local phrases and slang when coming to a new place. This way when you need to have your Uber driver open the trunk you are in the lingo and can simply say “Alright, can you open the boot?” and boom the trunk will magically open without any questions or need to explain that no, you don’t want them to open your door, but you want the “boot” opened.
I want to say that I am now part of the ‘proper’ English speaking Britain. I can understand more than 75% of the slang here, but by no means all of the strange words. I still make mix-ups, and mistakes daily. I also use my slang from back home and let’s say there is always an added minute of explanation to most conversations. However, I speak loud and proud with my accent because as you will find out when you get here, most people want to talk to you and understand the differences. I’ve made most of my friends by saying something completely wrong and them laughing and helpfully correcting me and vice versa. It’s an excellent starting point so, believe me, don’t be intimidated, ask questions and when you make mistakes go with it and laugh it off.
Gianna has just graduated in MA in English Literature and Culture.