And here I thought we all spoke English ...

When I made the decision to up sticks and move to England, the one thing I didn’t have to worry about was language – we both speak English, right?

But – that’s just the thing – they do speak English, and not Australian. Whilst we might call it the same thing, there are key differences in everything from slang to pronunciation between the various English dialects, from the United States of America to New Zealand.

Lesson 1: Pronunciation

When I travel, I like to stay in hostels. However when the English travel, apparently they like to stay in hostuls (much like a Kiwi).  Australians pronounce it with two syllables - the second rhyming with ‘tell’; whereas to the English it’s mono-syllabic, almost like the word ‘hostile’.

Data is another word I didn’t realise we pronounce differently. I thought the difference was between the educated (most specifically, the toffee-nosed, plum in mouth brigade); or the Americans and the rest of the English speaking world. But apparently not. I pronounce it like ‘darta’ (as in, rhyming with ‘cart’ –a). The English pronounce it with a strong ‘a’ – ‘dAta’ (as in, rhyming with ‘mate’ –a). Haven’t got this one down pat just yet ….

 Lesson 2: New words

 ‘Proper’ has become my new favourite word. My understanding of ‘proper’ is that you can put it in front of just about any other word to provide emphasis – i.e. ‘I had a proper good time’ means someone had a really good time.

I’ve just about wiped the word ‘soccer’ from my vocabulary, at least whilst speaking to people within the UK. I get dirty looks whenever it accidentally comes out, and no one understands that in Australia we have at least four types of football, and the use of the word is dependent on what state you’re in (I.e. referring to ‘footy’ in Melbourne means AFL, whereas in QLD it would mean rugby league). It’s just easier to use the specific term in the first place.

And then there are the words the English are well-known for: ‘Cash-machine’. ‘Fabulous’. ‘Smashing’ (although this seems to be going out of favour’). ‘Half-five’. ‘Quid’.

Lesson 3: Slang

I called someone a gun the other day. I was a bit afraid I’d offended them, as they had no idea what I referred to. They did come close when they asked if it was something like a ‘sharp-shooter’ though.

In a status meeting, I told the team we had to reduce our dependencies on another team, as they were ‘getting smashed’. Whilst in Australia this has two contexts, one of which refers to being extremely busy, my English team mates looked at me and asked what the other team were doing drunk at 9am ….

Have you ever tried to explain what a ‘bogan’ is to someone who’s not Australian? (Reminds me of the time I had to explain what a ping-pong show was, but let’s not go there …!) It doesn’t help when you tell your colleagues they ‘wear flannies, a wifebeater, pluggers, stubbies/ruggers, and have a mullet’. Bringing the word ‘chav’ or ‘red-neck’ into the conversation helps, although they’re not a one-to-one match …