Say What? American vs. British

Language, Derrida might say, is a slippery slope. It’s difficult to pin things down, to create concrete unmisinterpretable meaning (yes, I just made that word up).  That’s true enough when you speak a language fluently, but when you cross over into someone else’s linguistic territory, the ice you’re walking on becomes thinner and thinner, and the chances that you’ll make a dialect faux pas gets higher and higher. What do you do when diction damage has been done? Well, I blush, throw on my best Southern accent, and blame it on being from out of town. 

But, friends, I’m here to help prevent any such embarrassing flummoxes! Lest you commit a language gaffe, I have compiled a list of words and phrases which are not quite the same from America to Britain. I hope that this list prevents any future miscommunication, embarrassment, or insult.

We say ‘pants’ = they say ‘trousers’

We say ‘underwear’/’panties’ = they say ‘pants’/’knickers’

We say ‘sidewalk’ = they say ‘pavement’

We say ‘pavement’ = they say ‘asphalt’/ ‘tarmac’

We say ‘nerd’ = they say ‘boffin’

We say ‘hood’ (of a car) = they say ‘bonnet’

We say 'trunk' (of a car) = they say ‘boot’
We say 'I'm mad' = they say 'I'm cross'
We say "he's crazy' = they say 'he's mad'
We say 'she's a loony' = they say 'she's a nutter'

We say ‘I’m exhausted!’ = they say ‘I’m knackered’

We say ‘Bless Your Heart!’ = they say ‘Oh Bless!’*

We say ‘soccer’ = they say ‘football’

We say ‘football’ = they say ‘huh?’

I think this is a good start to keeping everyone from committing crimes against the English language. Hopefully, with these expert insights into our dialectical differences, we can move toward a greater understanding of our cousins across the pond.

Cheers!

______

* This confirms my theory that Southerners are really just Brits with better tea, and more charm. :)

Guy Fawkes Day

Remembrance

Armistice Day. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month . The end of war in Europe

Remembrance Day is a big deal here in England. Weeks before November 11^th, people begin wearing little red (and sometimes white) paper poppies as a sign of solidarity and remembering of those who were lost in the two Great Wars. It sweeps through the country, and all of sudden people are pinning poppies to their jackets and blazers, churches have displays where you can buy a poppy and there is a greater awareness of those who serve in uniform. It’s a different sentiment than how we celebrate Veterans’ Day in America.

Firstly, there is an awareness that Remembrance Day is not about the military in a narrow sense. It is about all people who died in wartime. Britain was bombed, and many, many civilians lost their lives during the blitzkrieg. Civilian nurses, aid workers and chaplains died throughout the Western front. Families were destroyed. Life was changed forever. Remembrance Day is about all the lives lost, both those who served in uniform and those who did not.

Secondly, there is still a major focus on the World Wars. They had a lasting impact on Britain – and Europe more broadly – that we just can’t fathom across the Atlantic. Pearl Harbor was horrible, but it doesn’t even come close to the kind of devastation places like Britain, France and Germany faced. It is a devastation that echoes in the land. It is real. It is tangible and you can still feel it. November is a gloomy month which ushers in the grey chill of winter. It is windy, cold and uninviting. It is the saddest season. How appropriate, then, that Britain pauses to stand in mournful awareness, in sober acknowledgement of the destructive power of the human will.

Unlike in America, where we parade around our veterans, celebrating their efforts and applauding their service, Remembrance Day is not about nationalism, but about history. In America, we invite veterans and soldiers to wear their uniforms to church, we sing nationalistic hymns, and we tip our hats to those who died “serving our great nation.” It’s bittersweet – the tart memory of the Vietnam War and the massive loss of life and unraveling of the American dream still fresh. It isn’t a long distance echo, but a clear current cry that we face in America. So, we dress it up, we celebrate the sacrifice and we forget just how devastating war is. We laud the uniformed but forget the many who died as unintended causalities of war. We turn a day of somber remembering  into an opportunity to be patriotic.

Perhaps this differing indicates a deeper chasm between America and Britain. It certainly shows the differing impact of the world wars for Europe than for America. It shows a gap in values, in emotional responses and, I think, in how we understand our relationship to both our country and our military. One isn’t better than the other; they are expression of the unique situations, experiences and personalities of the two countries. It just serves to remind me how different the world is.  

Trip to London, take 1!

A video update about my day trip to London. :)

Trinity Hall in waiting

So I have officially survived a month in Cambridge. There were a few moments that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it (in fact, the colder it gets, the less sure I am) but I have lived to see at least another day. There’s been much excitement afoot (including a trip to London and a black tie party!) but the most exciting news is that I have an official church attachment. Actually, it’s more like a chaplaincy placement. I’ll be a chapel assistant at Trinity Hall, one of the Cambridge colleges! So. Very. Exciting. !!

Not my photo, but a lovely shot. I'll take some pictures soon.

Trinity Hall (not to be confused with Trinity College, which is larger and more well-endowed) was founded in 1350 and is one of the oldest colleges at Cambridge (I think it might be third oldest, actually). It’s a small-ish college, with about 350 undergraduates and about 100(ish) graduates of different fields. It’s affiliated with the Church of England (I know, but everything is CoE around here). It’s sometimes called the “hidden hall” because it’s tucked away between two larger colleges (Trinity College and King’s college – which is ultra famous), and yet for all its obscurity it has a rather impressive history. Robert Runcie, a former Dean of the college, went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1980s. Consequently, there are two stained glass windows dedicated to him. It’s a neat little college, with medieval buildings and lots of personality.

Isn't the chapel gorgeous?! It's the smallest college chapel in Cambridge

At this point I am helping the two traditional Sunday services – which are Anglican, so I’m hoplessly lost – run smoothly. But, I hope to start a Bible study. I am going to work with the already active Christian Union to get to know the student body – undergrads and grad students. I’m being given a fair amount of freedom, which is exciting, but also nerve-wracking. I am really doing ministry. I am really going to be in situations where I’ll be asked theological questions I can’t answer. I will hear difficult stories. I will be a minister.

I am so excited! Being a university chaplain is my dream job, and this is an excellent opportunity to feel out the waters before being thrown in without a life jacket. I have a superb supervisor – his name is Rev. Dr. Stephen Plant and he’s the new Dean of the Chapel – who has every confidence in me (which is astounding as we’ve only met a few times). I am really excited to be working here, to be learning and growing in such a supportive and beautiful environment. Cambridge is lovely  - it’s hard not to fall in love with the place. The loveliness of the location reminds me that, even when I’m terribly homesick, God moves in mysterious ways to brighten my soul and remind me of my purpose.

Check out the Trinity Hall website! (http://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/)

Cambridge is the muggle Hogwarts?

Video tour, part 1

In which I give y'all a short tour of my "house" in Cambridge (it's like a mini college).
Enjoy!