Travel Writing group posting on GLOBOsapiens

English around the Globe

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rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2004-10-20 13:33:00    It amazes me how different our English is in this community and around the globe. Thats great! I would like everyone to continue writing as they have, nothing against that since we are very international and that makes GLOBO special. Note, some have suggested that English is my second language, but it isnt! Also, travellers like the outdoors most so usually dont master languages. American and British also international English are quite different and cause a lot of funny situations and even misunderstandings. Please also post your experiences here like: USA: cab, hood, trunk, butty, sandwich, bagel, bun, sausage... British: taxi, bonnet, boot, sandwich, burger, donut, cookie, banger... Funny, most countries have special words for things: South Africa: a taxi is a minibus (collectivo), a traffic light is a robot,you might see a roadsign [robot ahead!], a barbecue (unknown) is called a braai, sandwiches are sarmis (slang) Philippines: aw-aw is yes (positive!) Poland: curve is a prostitute! Don't use this when asking the way! Germany: My first order in a restaurant here was Hacksteak and got meatballs! For best examples see: http://www.peak.org/~jeremy/dictionary/dict.html http://www.travelfurther.net (fantastic private travellers site) [ This Message was edited by: rangutan on 2004-10-20 13:37 ] --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2004-10-21 09:59:00    Hi Rudi, I could not agree more. The great thing about GLOBO is that we are truly international. When I was in France (this happened a long time ago), I asked the shop assistant at the bread counter for a chaussette, (a sock) I got what I wanted; a chauson, flaky pastry filled with apple sauce. I always got what I asked for until, finally some one corrected me. The following also happened a long time ago, I was about 9 years old and did not speak any English. An English friend of my parents was staying with us. I liked to help my mother preparing breakfast and I was very proud that I could ask in English: Do you like a frightened egg? Again much later I realised what I had been saying. Marianne [ This Message was edited by: marianne on 2004-10-21 10:00 ] --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne   ravinderkumarsi Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 14003 Posts: 451 Posted: 2004-10-21 15:25:00    hii rudy i really dont understand what u wants to convey ..what i understood is that english words have different meaning ,i can say that english has taken many local words from the local area too.so the aisan english will be different from the european one. example...we say lakhs of dollar or carore of rupees instead of million or billion .. what matter is we convey our messages ravi --- at bangalore /back 2 globo after a long Reply    Reply with quote    Contact ravinderkumarsi   bear495 Joined: May 03 Points: 8634 Posts: 177 Posted: 2004-10-21 15:39:00    This is true in so many languages. Depending upon the country in which you tend to be located, the same word can have different meanings. An example is this: In the Spanish language, let's look at the word "pinche." In Venezuela, the word indicates that a person has pinched someone (as with the fingers). In Puerto Rico, the word means a bobby pin for the hair. In Mexico, the word is a profanity, with the adjective form of copulation. Yes, we have the same differences even in the United States in different areas of the country. One venomous snake is referred to as a Water Mocassin in some areas, but as a Cottonmouth in others. The mountain lion is called a cougar in some parts of the country and as a catamount in others. I believe that we are fortunate to share this diversity with so many others from around the globe. Thank you Andy for making Globosapiens available. Russ --- "Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." Alexander Solzhenitsyn Reply    Reply with quote    Contact bear495