王应宽 转帖 Wang Yingkuan Beijing, China 2015-08-09 FOOD Butty The British do not refer to a sandwich as a “butty” unless they’re talking about a “chip butty”. A sandwich is a sandwich or maybe a “sarnie”. A chip butty is simply two slices of buttered bread with potato chips in between. It originates from the North of England and is traditionally eaten with fish and chips. My husband ALWAYS has a chip butty when we have fish and chips. Like he doesn’t have enough carbs (carbohydrates) with all those chips! It makes me feel ill. Cuppa (colloquial) You will hear this word in this expression: “Fancy a cuppa?” You are not likely to hear it on its own. People refer to a cup of tea as a cup of tea unless they are offering you a cup. More on ‘fancy’ later. Fairy cake Yes we use this but cup cake has become more common now. Peckish “I am feeling rather peckish. I think I’ll get something to eat”. Peckish means a little hungry. If you are really hungry you would say ‘I’m starving or ravenous‘. CLOTHING Muffler I have never heard this word used to describe a scarf, even though it is accurate. We say scarf. So don’t go into a clothes shop and ask for one as you will get blank stares from the assist ants! We use ‘muffler’ to describe the automotive device in an engine to silence the noise. We also call it a silencer. Pants We also call them “underpants“. INSULTS A note of warning: Insults are notorious ly difficult to get right context-wise in a foreign language. USE them at your peril. You have been warned. Knobhead This word is used but you will also hear “dickhead”. ‘Knob‘ and ‘dick‘ refer to the male reproductive anatomy. Radge One of my readers, Louise Robertson has told me what “radge” means. Here is the explanation: “The word radge is a Scottish slang word, so probably not commonly heard south of the border. It is, however, widely used up here! It used to describe someone who is deemed to be a bit crazy or has done something that others consider to be crazy. ‘You’re a radge’ meaning you are a bit crazy is, while not a polite thing to say to anyone, very commonly used.” Plonker Oh yes, this is quite commonly used to refer to someone who is not terribly clever. In other words, an “idiot”. Sod Off If you tell someone to sod off you are telling them to go away. You’re either angry with them or you are joking. The seriousness of the insult depends on the situation. Some people will say it jokingly and others will be very serious. It used to be a taboo insult. Over the years it has become more acceptable in spoken English (within reason). The British also use ‘piss off’. Slapper/Slag Both term s are extremely derogatory, insulting or disrespectful to describe a woman who is thought to be too easy. Please do NOT use them. Tosser/Wanker Once again, these term s are highly insulting and NOT to be used unless you want to be hit! SLANG Dog’s Bollocks Mmmm, yes…I’m afraid you will hear this when someone is describing how fantastic something is. “The new Maserati is the dog’s bollocks“ You may also hear the word ‘bollocks’ in the following ways: ‘That’s just bollocks‘ meaning “That’s just rubbish”. ‘He got a bollocking from his boss” meaning “He got told off by his boss” Both term s are vulgar and not to be repeated. You might hear them, though. Fancy (not strictly slang) The verb “to fancy” means to “like” or “desire”. It’s frequent ly used by the British. You will hear it everywhere. “Fancy a cuppa?”, “Do you fancy going to the cinema tonight?”, “Simon really fancies Greta”. Gutted When someone say they are ‘gutted’ it means that they are disappointed or upset. This is often used.“He was really gutted he missed his uncle’s funeral” Kip Yes, this word is used to mean a nap (short sleep). I love my afternoon kips. “You will feel so much better once you’ve had a good kip.”Knackered/Zonked If you’re knackered you are extremely tired. Zonked can be used although ‘knackered’ is more common.Splash Out “Tim loves to splash out when he is trying to impress Jane”. Another common expression. Waffle There is always one person who loves to waffle on in business meetings. It’s always so difficult to get them to stop.
英论阁 Enago 博文目录 在国内的时候，从来没有注意过英式英语与美式英语的差别。只是在看电影“大腕”的时候，里面有个台词：楼子里站一个英国管家，戴假发、特绅士的那种，业主一进门，甭管有事没事都得跟人家说： May I help you ， sir ？一口地道的英国伦敦腔，很有面子 …… 当时觉得英式英语跟美式英语的区别就只是在于口语上的区别。到了英国之后，才逐渐发现英式英语跟美式英语在写作上也是有一点区别的。 首先是一些词汇拼写上的区别。有一些常见的例子： 美式英语以 ter 结尾 , 英式英语以 tre 结尾。比如： center （ centre ）， meter （ metre ） 美式英语以 or 结尾 , 英式英语以 our 结尾。比如： honor （ honour ） , color （ colour ） 美式英语以 og 结尾 , 英式英语以 ogue 结尾。比如： dialog （ dialogue ）， analog （ analogue ） 有一些是轻微的变化： analyze （ analyse ）， licence （ license ）， enquire （ inquire ）， defense （ defence ）， instal （ install ）。 记得在这个问题上，导师曾经说过很多遍。如果你的文章是发表在国际期刊，比如美国，就要使用美式的词汇。但是如果文章发表在英国，那么用英式英语会让人觉得更加亲切一些。一开始的时候，听也就听着，并没有放在心上。当时只是觉得这是民族自尊心原因。好歹英国作为曾经的世界领袖，着实风光了一阵，坚持着自己的文化也是可以理解的。但对于咱们这样的外来人员，似乎不需要这样。然而每次修改文章，这些细微的单词拼写问题总是被 mark 出来。还附上一个邮件说明这个单词是来源拉丁还是希腊。次数多了，才逐渐意识到，这个不仅仅是民族自尊心的问题，更多的是一种习惯。就像我们在读一篇中文文章的时候发现里面都是别字，虽然不会造成歧义，但是很影响心情。所以后来也就慢慢注意起来，但是要完全改正过来，那不是一朝一夕就可以做到的。毕竟从小到大，国内学习的都是美式的词汇。 还有一些语法上的差异，不过是非常细微的。比如： (1) the 的用法。这个在我最初的文章里面被改的非常多。总是不该加的地方加了，该加的却没有加。记得以前学语法的时候，老师说，名词前面是要加一个 the 的。但是在英国，是说，如果你特指是那个东西，那么你就加 the ，如果只是一个泛指的话，就不用加 the 。 (2) 介词的使用。最初我总是写 in the university of XXX ，但是总是被改成 at the university XXX ； XXX result is shown as Fig. X 总是被改成 XXX result is shown in Fig. X. 还有一些例子这里就不一一举出来了。 英文论文修改 除了用词跟语法上的一点差异之外，英式英语跟美式英语在写作上还有一些，比如时间的写法，写信的 title 的区别等等。 在不同国际期刊发文章前，根据英式或美式不同语言习惯修改一下文章还是有必要的，不然有时候编辑会认为文章语言表达不标准。 --- 英论阁 Enago 作者的英论写作经验交流 上一篇： 流畅英文的重要性 下一篇： 论文中时态的使用 博文系列一： 英论写作发表 博文系列二： 用英语写论文 英文润色 英论阁 Enago 博文目录
标签: 英式英语
