Professor Higgins in Pygmalion and My Fair Lady knew it. English and American have diverged so much that there are now occasions when we can't understand each other. Ann has been busy translating English terms into American ones on her blog, and I was reminded of a story a British journalist told on the radio.
He was talking to a woman from a southern state - let's say Kentucky, though I can't actually remember which one he said - and she expressed surprise that he spoke English.
"I didn't know y'all spoke English in England." He assured her we did.
"How long have y'all spoke English in England?"
He thought back to Chaucer and the Middle English of the 14th century, and said, "Oh about 600 years."
The woman replied, "Oh we've always spoke English in Kentucky."
He gave up after that.
Hey, I can't even keep up on American slang these days. I'm stilling using terms like "groovy", "far out" and "gnarly".
ReplyDelete*rofl* priceless. :D
ReplyDeletebut it's also full of stereotypes about americans, isn't it? ;)
Yes, it is definitely full of stereotypes about Americans, esp. the ones in the deep south.
ReplyDeleteWhich sadly, as this is a true story, this woman lived up to only too well!
ReplyDelete