Multi-national cultural expressions and idioms

el henry said:

In Pittsburgh, “yinz” is short for “you’uns”. As in “Are yinz going to Worlds in Montreal”

Click to expand...

In Australia the equivalent is 'youse'. Usually without an auxiliary verb attached, so here your sentence would be, 'Youse gunna Worlds in Montreal?' Even urban Aussies veer a lot closer to Strine* than they like to think a lot of the time!

And that makes me think of another habit we have: elisions. 'Libry' for library, 'Wensdy' for Wednesday, 'Febry' for February, etc. Anyone else have something similar?

*Stereotypical 'Outback Aussie' speech, think Crocodile Dundee, 'Emma Chizzit?' for 'how much is it?' etc.

Pasdedeux said:

When my husband disagrees with our kids, he says “not so, Boston.” Palindromes are fun, even if I have heard this one 100000 times!

Click to expand...

Ah, but is it a real palindrome, given that there is a comma in there? :think:

Look at us getting all philosophical now!

Hey, now that I think of it, the final Palindromium of the 2020's (22[SUP]nd[/SUP] February 2022, i.e. 22/02/2022) will be two days after the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The next one after it won't be until 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] February 2030 (i.e. 03/02/2030). So, I hope you and other members will take the opportunity to have an extra celebration.

In case you are wondering what on Earth I am on about, back in the early 2000's, I remember a humourous column in a UK newspaper making a big deal of the fact that 10[SUP]th[/SUP] February 2001 (i.e. 10/02/2001) was going to be a palindrome, because it had been so many centuries since the date was last a palindrome (I think the previous one was 29[SUP]th[/SUP] November 1192, i.e. 29/11/1192). And the writer referred to the day as being the "Palindromium".

Sabrina said:

I have a question for British speakers. When I started learning English as a kid (long time ago), I knew that children from grade 1 to grade 12 are pupils/school girl or boy, and become students when they enter a University. I know what I learned was British English. But I don't know if this nomenclature has changed in time everywhere, or it's just N America that calls all kids in school students. Does pupil has any meaning now?

Click to expand...

Have to be honest, I have never understood the grade system that is used in North America. It is all gobbledygook to me (really shocked that you have never heard that term, elektra blue).

But, yeah, kids at Primary School and High School are called "pupils", and they become "students" when they go to University.

Putting the words "school" and "student" together (as in "Primary School student" or "High School student") just doesn't sound right at all. It is just wrong on all levels!

el henry said:

My maternal grandfathers family all emigrated straight from Cornwall (like Demelza Poldark, my people are all from “Luggin” [Illogan] ) and I have never ever heard “dreckly”:shocked: to my experience, that’s the American rural South.

ETA: but of course Cornwall 120 years ago is not Cornwall today, and I thank @WednesdayMarch for the post.

Click to expand...

Mmmm. Demelza...

Still think Eleanor Tomlinson looks a lot like Miki Ando.

el henry said:

In Pittsburgh, “yinz” is short for “you’uns”. As in “Are yinz going to Worlds in Montreal”

Click to expand...

Harriet said:

In Australia the equivalent is 'youse'. Usually without an auxiliary verb attached, so here your sentence would be, 'Youse gunna Worlds in Montreal?' Even urban Aussies veer a lot closer to Strine* than they like to think a lot of the time!

Click to expand...

We use "yous" as well (but normally spell it without the "e" at the end)!

Although we don't use "yinz" or "you'uns", we do use "yousins" for the same thing.

I'm getting vibes of the influence of Irish people on the development of the language in your parts. I'm not sure whereabouts in Australia you are, Harriet, but I remember previous conversations when el henry was talking about a big Irish influence on language in and around Pittsburgh.

So, to test this, is "weans" (short for "wee ones", i.e children) used in your parts?

CaroLiza_fan

CaroLiza_fan said:

I'm getting vibes of the influence of Irish people on the development of the language in your parts. I'm not sure whereabouts in Australia you are, Harriet, but I remember previous conversations when el henry was talking about a big Irish influence on language in and around Pittsburgh.

So, to test this, is "weans" (short for "wee ones", i.e children) used in your parts?

CaroLiza_fan

Click to expand...

I'm in SA. A bit less Irish, a bit more Cornish (and German). But as far as I know 'weans' isn't used anywhere in Australia as a general thing. We say kids, nippers, littles or littlies, bubs, anklebiters, and I'm sure there are a few others I've forgotten too.

gizmo said:

Even for native English speaker, there can be communication errors..... I am not a native speaker but had lived briefly on both sides of the Atlantic. On one occasion, I found myself tranlsating between American and English, explaining sneakers and trainers, trucks and lorries....and of course rubber can mean totally different things.....

Click to expand...

Ha ha yes... never ask for a rubber in the US indeed!

My personal favourite is "roots" which means something very different in Australian colloquial. We're always having a good laugh over here when the US sports news talks about "rooting" for your team. To say nothing of the Canadian shop "Roots Kids" oh dear...

Then there was the slogan for the Catholic World Youth Day one year "Rooted in Jesus"...yikes.

anonymoose_au said:

Ha ha yes... never ask for a rubber in the US indeed!

My personal favourite is "roots" which means something very different in Australian colloquial. We're always having a good laugh over here when the US sports news talks about "rooting" for your team. To say nothing of the Canadian shop "Roots Kids" oh dear...

Then there was the slogan for the Catholic World Youth Day one year " Rooted in Jesus"...yikes.

Click to expand...

I had been living in Australia for a couple of years (I'm from Canada) before I came across that term! I put on a hoodie after my dance class (which has lots of kids in it) and headed out to the washroom, passing by several of the girls' moms on my way. When I came back, one of the moms was like, "What does your hoodie say??" in this aghast voice. I was like, "What? Roots? It's a famous Canadian company. You know, like your roots - your country, culture, hometown, family, etc." Then, I got quite the explanation of what 'roots' means in Australia! I have never worn that hoodie to class again - although I do still wear my sweatpants with 'Roots' written on the leg in much smaller writing (beside the beaver image, which just compounds the problem).

That is just too much!

hanyuufan5 said:

TontoK, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the mental image of a bunch of frat boys warring over which soap opera to watch.

Click to expand...

Nawww, bro! Don't touch that dial. We're watching Days. You can go watch your Hospital story with the grannies at the Old Folks Home!

Tonto, throw me another brewski. Anybody got the cheat notes for the frosh Bio exam?

CaroLiza_fan said:

....
I'm getting vibes of the influence of Irish people on the development of the language in your parts. I'm not sure whereabouts in Australia you are, Harriet, but I remember previous conversations when el henry was talking about a big Irish influence on language in and around Pittsburgh.

So, to test this, is "weans" (short for "wee ones", i.e children) used in your parts?

CaroLiza_fan

Click to expand...

I need to fess up, I know Pittsburgh from incredibly frequent travel, and from family, but not a native of the western part of our great Commonwealth (there are four states in the US that call themselves Commonwealths, and PA is one ) But in no part of the state have I heard "weans".

Then again, like my own Cornish and Irish ancestors, it was well over a 100, heck 150, years ago that we had a great Celtic immigration, so much of the language would be lost.

However, one quirk to Pittsburgh, but not to the rest of the state, is that they swap a gerund for the past participle after "need". A house doesn't need cleaning, it "needs cleaned". A shirt doesn't need ironing, it "needs ironed".

Does that come from anywhere else? Or just from the three rivers itself?

CaroLiza_fan said:

Have to be honest, I have never understood the grade system that is used in North America. It is all gobbledygook to me (really shocked that you have never heard that term, elektra blue).

Click to expand...

the things you learn on this forum!

Mathman said:

About the phrase "That takes the Cake!", here in Detroit old-timers sometimes say (same meaning) "Well, ain't that a Hattie McDaniell?!" This refers to the famous character actress form the 1930s (Gone With the Wind), but I never met anyone who could tell me exactly what was so "Well, ain't that somethin'!) about McDaniell.

Click to expand...

My guess is that it refers to Hattie McDaniel winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for GWTW. 1939. The first African-American ever to win it, male or female. I don't think she was expected to win, even though everyone knew she deserved it. So, "ain't that somethin'!" or "Well, don't that beat all!"

I think of it also like a comment Clint Eastwood made ... but in reverse .... decades later. He said "they'll never let" Steven Spielberg win the Oscar, because "he has too much power." Of course, within a year or two, Spielberg did win for Schindler's List, very deservedly. Eastwood was talking about the politics of the voting/award, and so, I think, were people who didn't think McDaniel could possibly win in 1939.

So it's great for all of us who hope for better future outcomes. Quite a victory for rewarding merit, not shenanigans from those in power. It also makes me think of people, especially older African-Americans who kept saying, after Barack Obama was elected President, "I never thought this would happen, in my lifetime."

Related: I'm currently reading Road to Tara, a bio of Margaret Mitchell (author of GWTW). Apparently, Susan Myrick, the Georgia woman who was hired as dialect coach for so many of the cast, including Vivien Leigh, had to teach Ms. McDaniel the relevant dialect, but also the differences in the ways a black woman was expected to behave and even move. McDaniel was born in Kansas and grew up in Colorado, so it was a completely different culture.

I've said for years that even living in a different US state can transport you to a radically different culture. Recently, I was tickled to hear someone confirm it -- one of the creators of "Smallville" said on commentary that Clark Kent would have been a completely different person if he'd grown up in another state, not Kansas!

ice coverage said:

When I think of Hattie McDaniel, I think of her superb eloquence and dignity as she accepted her Academy Award in 1940:

https://youtu.be/e7t4pTNZshA (1:40)​

:luv17:

I first saw this footage in 2006, and it has remained a powerful memory for me.
Always makes me emotional. :sad4:

Click to expand...

Sometimes you need to be very careful. Especially on corporate meetings. I have a Polish accent, of course, so when during my presentation I was saying "We need to focus" everyone chuckled.... And I leave to English speakers here to figure out why. And it took me a while...

anonymoose_au said:

Ha ha yes... never ask for a rubber in the US indeed!

My personal favourite is "roots" which means something very different in Australian colloquial. We're always having a good laugh over here when the US sports news talks about "rooting" for your team. To say nothing of the Canadian shop "Roots Kids" oh dear...

Then there was the slogan for the Catholic World Youth Day one year "Rooted in Jesus"...yikes.

Click to expand...

So you are telling me that if I invited an Australian to "The Roots Picnic" in Philadelphia

http://rootspicnic.com/philly/

A music festival hosted by Philadelphia's own "The Roots" ( a hip hop band that among others, is Jimmy Fallon's house band)

they might be expecting a different kind of entertainment:shocked:

anonymoose_au said:

Then there was the slogan for the Catholic World Youth Day one year "Rooted in Jesus"...yikes.

Click to expand...

What's so yikes about it?

Manitou said:

What's so yikes about it?

Click to expand...

Google “roots Australian slang”. I did, as I had no idea.

Yikes:shocked:

lol i wonder how many people will stop using the word root in sport context for a couple of months at least.

This page has a number of words and phrases that are apt to cause disagreements between Australians and Americans. I did not realize "fanny" was more offensive in Australia, for one thing.

https://sites.google.com/site/oshea...mericans-should-avoid-saying-to-australasians

And it reminds me that mince is hamburger rather than the filling of your Christmas pie.

Harriet said:

I'm in SA. A bit less Irish, a bit more Cornish (and German). But as far as I know 'weans' isn't used anywhere in Australia as a general thing. We say kids, nippers, littles or littlies, bubs, anklebiters, and I'm sure there are a few others I've forgotten too.

Click to expand...

In Cornwall, we call them "tackers". Or "shrieky, sticky things"...

Incidentally, for the Poldark fans (which is pronounced "Pol-DARK" rather than "POL-dark" or "Poledark", the Cornish have another version which you can find on YouTube by looking for Poldark Proper Version. It's overdubbed to be more realistic to the indigenous population...

WednesdayMarch said:

In Cornwall, we call them "tackers". Or "shrieky, sticky things"...

Incidentally, for the Poldark fans (which is pronounced "Pol-DARK" rather than "POL-dark" or "Poledark", the Cornish have another version which you can find on YouTube by looking for Poldark Proper Version. It's overdubbed to be more realistic to the indigenous population...

Click to expand...

I have heard 'little tackers' before, but not 'tackers' on its own. Great to know where it comes from!

And I shall have to look up the Proper Version of Poldark!

dorispulaski said:

This page has a number of words and phrases that are apt to cause disagreements between Australians and Americans. I did not realize "fanny" was more offensive in Australia, for one thing.

https://sites.google.com/site/oshea...mericans-should-avoid-saying-to-australasians

And it reminds me that mince is hamburger rather than the filling of your Christmas pie.

Click to expand...

It has the same meaning over here in the UK as well, it's 100% called a bum bag and not the other thing!

Here in Wales we have a variety of quirky (stupid) sayings that many of my English friends cannot grasp. The first of which is the replacement of the word "are" with "to", i.e. "where to you now?" (where are you now), "where to you going?" (where are you going), and then just because, "pull the door to" (close the door).
And my favourite phrase of them all "now in a minute". Many people don't understand, how it can be now but also in a minute? But it just means you'll do it now as in it's your next priority/task, but you'll get to it in a minute
Oh, and "butt" doesn't refer to the body part, but to another person/friend, "alright butt"

el henry said:

I need to fess up, I know Pittsburgh from incredibly frequent travel, and from family, but not a native of the western part of our great Commonwealth (there are four states in the US that call themselves Commonwealths, and PA is one ) But in no part of the state have I heard "weans".

Click to expand...

Thank you. I just love the way that I learn so much from your stories. For example, I didn't realise that some states called themselves "Commonwealths".

Hey, I'll have to be clearer in future when talking about the (British) Commonwealth, and the (British) Commonwealth Games.

el henry said:

Then again, like my own Cornish and Irish ancestors, it was well over a 100, heck 150, years ago that we had a great Celtic immigration, so much of the language would be lost.

However, one quirk to Pittsburgh, but not to the rest of the state, is that they swap a gerund for the past participle after "need". A house doesn't need cleaning, it "needs cleaned". A shirt doesn't need ironing, it "needs ironed".

Does that come from anywhere else? Or just from the three rivers itself?

Click to expand...

Yes. That is exactly the way we speak in Northern Ireland. Haven't really noticed if it is common elsewhere in the British Isles, though. I'll have to listen out for it.

Harriet said:

I'm in SA. A bit less Irish, a bit more Cornish (and German). But as far as I know 'weans' isn't used anywhere in Australia as a general thing. We say kids, nippers, littles or littlies, bubs, anklebiters, and I'm sure there are a few others I've forgotten too.

Click to expand...

Ah, you're from SA. One of the Cypriot skaters I have adopted (Laura Farran) has a lot of family connections there.

How cute is "littlies"?! :luv17: That's actually the only one of the terms you mentioned that I hadn't heard before (probably because I have been watching Aussie soaps since I was a youngster). And I think "anklebiters" is so funny!

gizmo said:

Even for native English speaker, there can be communication errors..... I am not a native speaker but had lived briefly on both sides of the Atlantic. On one occasion, I found myself tranlsating between American and English, explaining sneakers and trainers, trucks and lorries....and of course rubber can mean totally different things.....

Click to expand...

"Sneakers" is one of those words that makes me cringe. It's nothing to do with it being an American term for what we call "trainers"; I just don't like the sound of the word.

And trucks and lorries are two different things.

gizmo said:

and of course rubber can mean totally different things.....

Click to expand...

anonymoose_au said:

Ha ha yes... never ask for a rubber in the US indeed!

Click to expand...

Over 24 hours later, and I still haven't worked this one out...

Incidentally, while we're on the subject, "eraser" (I assume this is what Americans use for a rubber) is another word that just doesn't sound right to me.

anonymoose_au said:

My personal favourite is "roots" which means something very different in Australian colloquial. We're always having a good laugh over here when the US sports news talks about "rooting" for your team. To say nothing of the Canadian shop "Roots Kids" oh dear...

Then there was the slogan for the Catholic World Youth Day one year "Rooted in Jesus"...yikes.

Click to expand...

el henry said:

Google “roots Australian slang”. I did, as I had no idea.

Yikes:shocked:

Click to expand...

Oh. My. Goodness!

Thank you for bringing it up, anonymoose_au, and thank you for encouraging us to do the search, el henry. I was already familiar with one rude definition for "root", but now I know that Australia has a different, even ruder definition to the one that I was familiar with (a little used term for a certain part of the male anatomy).

dorispulaski said:

This page has a number of words and phrases that are apt to cause disagreements between Australians and Americans. I did not realize "fanny" was more offensive in Australia, for one thing.

https://sites.google.com/site/oshea...mericans-should-avoid-saying-to-australasians

And it reminds me that mince is hamburger rather than the filling of your Christmas pie.

Click to expand...

Ah. I didn't know that that word had a different definition in America. And I hadn't come across the term for a bum bag that is derived from it either.

I suppose this would explain something that has been puzzling me for nigh-on 20 years - how on Earth a song with the lyrics "shake your whammy fanny" made it into "Sabrina The Teenage Witch". Because it was really shocking over here hearing that on a children's programme.

Reading through that page, a lot of the Aussie terms listed are actually British derived. Such as the mince that you picked out. Although, there were a few that are not.

Dr. Jenn said:

I had been living in Australia for a couple of years (I'm from Canada) before I came across that term! I put on a hoodie after my dance class (which has lots of kids in it) and headed out to the washroom, passing by several of the girls' moms on my way. When I came back, one of the moms was like, "What does your hoodie say??" in this aghast voice. I was like, "What? Roots? It's a famous Canadian company. You know, like your roots - your country, culture, hometown, family, etc." Then, I got quite the explanation of what 'roots' means in Australia! I have never worn that hoodie to class again - although I do still wear my sweatpants with 'Roots' written on the leg in much smaller writing (beside the beaver image, which just compounds the problem).

Click to expand...

Oh, I feel so sorry for you! It must have been so mortifying when you found out.

Just when you mention the beaver logo, that reminds me that that is the literal translation of Katya Bobrova's surname. And the giggles that were caused a few years ago when one of our Russian members of the forum started referring to her and Dmitri as "Team Beaver".

Boys, but I love this thread!

CaroLiza_fan