In my time, I have found myself in many conversations with US citizens where we've spent more time explaining what each other has just said, than actually conversing. Keeping it brief and lighthearted, here's how one, very simple, interview question turned into more explaining from both sides.
I'll call the interviewer Sam for legal reasons.
Sam – Howdy, Jes. Are you having a good day?
Jes – Yes, thanks. I've just had my tea.
Sam – Tea! I prefer coffee myself.
Jes – No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean drinking tea. I meant tea as in dinner.
Sam – Okay. What did you have for tea?
Jes – Toad-in-the-hole.
Sam – Wow! Sounds French?
Jes – It's definitely not French. Very British! You've never had it, I take it?
Sam – Never heard of it. I've no time for tea. I just grabbed some corn-dogs on route.
Jes – And I've never heard of them. Are they like hedgehogs?
Sam – I'm not sure what a hedgehog is.
Jes – It's a small animal. It lives in hedges and fields. I assumed corn-dogs would be similar.
Sam – Oh, no no. It's made from sausages cooked in a batter mix.
Jes – Really? Well, it's the same as toad-in-the-hole then.
Sam – Wow! Isn't that awesome?
Jes – Well, if you say so. Have you got any fags? I left mine in the car.
Sam – No comment.
Jes – Hmm. This interview seems to have gone a bit arse about face.
I'm sure many of you know that a corn-dog does not resemble toad-in-the-hole, but my point is that sometimes, even when the confusion has been explained it can still be totally misinterpreted.
I wonder what my counterpart blogger, DB, in the US makes of all this.
DB's Reply:
First, I'd like to say that I truly love all things British. Sometimes their food isn't my favorite, but I love their sense of humor, their literature, and their television (when I can understand it). And I could listen to that snooty sounding accent all day long. However, I do snicker and sometimes ponder at the words they use for certain things.
We put things in the trunk of our cars, they put things in the 'boot'. Do they wear a pair of trunks to go out in the snow?
We take an elevator to the top of a building, they ride the 'lift'. Do they elevate an object when they pick it up to move it?
They go to a bar (a bar is American for 'pub', Jes) with a 'mate', we go there with a friend. Do they mate with their friends? Of course they do - they're British! (Sorry, just a distasteful joke - please - no hate mail)
We live in apartments, they live in 'flats'. This one really gets me. Who in their right mind would want to live in a flat? You might as well call it a 'hole' or a 'boring little box where I sleep'.
They look under the 'bonnet' to check the engine of their cars, we look under the hood. Do their babies wear hoods?
Everyone knows that 'football' is played with an oblong ball that really doesn't have anything to do with feet. And please, don't call them "American footballers", that just sounds like something dirty.
As far as 'toad in the hole' goes... if they want to eat toads, who am I to complain? They're disgusting little creatures. I say, the less toads in this world, the better. Eat all the toads you want, Jes. But aren't you a vegetarian?
Jes -
Well, if that's how you want to play it – guess what?
We never RIDE lifts for one thing.
Also you can lift something up or lift something down, so how can you go down in an elevator?
DB -
If we are going to nitpick, corn-dogs are made with hot-dogs, not sausages, and they are 'dipped' in batter before being deep fried. I saw it in a movie; how a woman went down in an elevator. Of course, we can't talk about that here. :P
Jes -
Maybe the point of my blog has been lost in translation yet again.
Some writers make a real effort with the language they use, so their stories will travel easily around the globe.
Other writers won't, and prefer their stories to be realistic to the location and language/slang of their characters making a more colourful read. These books do well on their own side of the Atlantic, but rarely travel well.
DB -
Ha! Spoken by the woman who wrote "The Krankies go dogging". :P I had to go to the internet just to find out what that title meant! Great book, by the way, Jes. Anyway, I do see your point. I try to keep my dialog true to the characters and where they live, but even then that can lead to the scratching of heads in my own country. I've lived on both coasts and in the heart of America and we all add a regional spin on dialect. But no one goes dogging here.
I'll call the interviewer Sam for legal reasons.
Sam – Howdy, Jes. Are you having a good day?
Jes – Yes, thanks. I've just had my tea.
Sam – Tea! I prefer coffee myself.
Jes – No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean drinking tea. I meant tea as in dinner.
Sam – Okay. What did you have for tea?
Jes – Toad-in-the-hole.
Sam – Wow! Sounds French?
Jes – It's definitely not French. Very British! You've never had it, I take it?
Sam – Never heard of it. I've no time for tea. I just grabbed some corn-dogs on route.
Jes – And I've never heard of them. Are they like hedgehogs?
Sam – I'm not sure what a hedgehog is.
Jes – It's a small animal. It lives in hedges and fields. I assumed corn-dogs would be similar.
Sam – Oh, no no. It's made from sausages cooked in a batter mix.
Jes – Really? Well, it's the same as toad-in-the-hole then.
Sam – Wow! Isn't that awesome?
Jes – Well, if you say so. Have you got any fags? I left mine in the car.
Sam – No comment.
Jes – Hmm. This interview seems to have gone a bit arse about face.
I'm sure many of you know that a corn-dog does not resemble toad-in-the-hole, but my point is that sometimes, even when the confusion has been explained it can still be totally misinterpreted.
I wonder what my counterpart blogger, DB, in the US makes of all this.
DB's Reply:
First, I'd like to say that I truly love all things British. Sometimes their food isn't my favorite, but I love their sense of humor, their literature, and their television (when I can understand it). And I could listen to that snooty sounding accent all day long. However, I do snicker and sometimes ponder at the words they use for certain things.
We put things in the trunk of our cars, they put things in the 'boot'. Do they wear a pair of trunks to go out in the snow?
We take an elevator to the top of a building, they ride the 'lift'. Do they elevate an object when they pick it up to move it?
They go to a bar (a bar is American for 'pub', Jes) with a 'mate', we go there with a friend. Do they mate with their friends? Of course they do - they're British! (Sorry, just a distasteful joke - please - no hate mail)
We live in apartments, they live in 'flats'. This one really gets me. Who in their right mind would want to live in a flat? You might as well call it a 'hole' or a 'boring little box where I sleep'.
They look under the 'bonnet' to check the engine of their cars, we look under the hood. Do their babies wear hoods?
Everyone knows that 'football' is played with an oblong ball that really doesn't have anything to do with feet. And please, don't call them "American footballers", that just sounds like something dirty.
As far as 'toad in the hole' goes... if they want to eat toads, who am I to complain? They're disgusting little creatures. I say, the less toads in this world, the better. Eat all the toads you want, Jes. But aren't you a vegetarian?
Jes -
Well, if that's how you want to play it – guess what?
We never RIDE lifts for one thing.
Also you can lift something up or lift something down, so how can you go down in an elevator?
DB -
If we are going to nitpick, corn-dogs are made with hot-dogs, not sausages, and they are 'dipped' in batter before being deep fried. I saw it in a movie; how a woman went down in an elevator. Of course, we can't talk about that here. :P
Jes -
Maybe the point of my blog has been lost in translation yet again.
Some writers make a real effort with the language they use, so their stories will travel easily around the globe.
Other writers won't, and prefer their stories to be realistic to the location and language/slang of their characters making a more colourful read. These books do well on their own side of the Atlantic, but rarely travel well.
DB -
Ha! Spoken by the woman who wrote "The Krankies go dogging". :P I had to go to the internet just to find out what that title meant! Great book, by the way, Jes. Anyway, I do see your point. I try to keep my dialog true to the characters and where they live, but even then that can lead to the scratching of heads in my own country. I've lived on both coasts and in the heart of America and we all add a regional spin on dialect. But no one goes dogging here.