Fill-turd Coffee. Fun with Language

Two countries divided by a common language. That George Bernard Shaw... he was so right.




I knew before I came I'd be learning a new language and yet, the English language can still surprise me daily. I've never been so cognizant of my choice of word or phrase on such a constant basis. The tone, the pronunciation, the volume... nothing like moving to a foreign country to make one hyper-self-aware. Even if they "speak the same language". There were words I knew in advance of course, and I read up on some of them, yet I still have some type of regular revelation.

•  Whilst. They do say it... I was hoping it was a myth. I already sense its going to start creeping into my vocabulary any day now. It will start with writing it in an e-mail, then it will come out of my mouth and sound awkward in my ears.
• I had a Rocket, Goat Cheese and Sun dried Tomato Pizza. They said Rocket was a leafy green. I thought it might be like Arugula. Rocket = Arugula. I figured right.
• "The faucet is dripping." "What?" "The faucet." "You mean the tap?" Faucet is not a word in British English. I got a laugh.
• Maths. I had my Maths exam. I'm not very good at Maths. This was a word surprise where I heard it and thought, lisp?  I did not know this one and in my opinion it just does not roll off the tongue. Say that ten times fast. They argue Mathematics is plural and therefore this is the correct word. I googled it, and this guy's blog  Separated by a Common Language has a rather lengthy defense of "Math" if you are curious.

 There have been a few timely articles on BBC News that have definitely hit home for me: Why do some Americanisms irritate people? Followed by the reader's input Americanisms: 50 of Your Most Noted Examples , and an American lexicographer's response Viewpoint: American English is getting on well, thanks (which is trying to be a little too 'clever' towards the end but he has some good points).

While I understand the annoyance in the creep of baseball terminology into the language of the English (ball-park estimate, touch base, out of left-field), I agree with Grant Barretts opinion --"The original version" is what Engel calls British English, which is like calling one's firstborn "the original child". English is, in truth, a family: American English and British English are siblings from the same parentage, neither is the parent of the other. They are two siblings among many modern-day varieties."

If the English language wasn't meant to evolve, we'd all be talking like Shakespeare right now. Which word choice or pronunciation is 'correct' is not the point. Although my new friends and colleagues are quick to quip that theirs was the original and therefore, correct!

Other things:

• This conversation happens about every other day:

"Kirsten is it?" "No K-R-istin...." "Oh Kristin, oh okay." This is usually followed with a "Sorry not a common name here so I keep wanting to say Kirsten" when they inevitably call me Kirsten again at some point.  Apparently my name does not roll off the British tongue.

• I bought my sheets and mattress topper (my bed is as hard as a rock!) at TK MAXX. No, you didn't read incorrectly. It's called TK MAXX here because someone apparently already had the T-J taken.
• The first time I ordered at Starbucks here, I asked for a cup of coffee and they said "Fill-tuhrd Coffee?" What? "Fill-Turd Coffee?" I nodded yes. Not knowing what they meant. They went to the coffee pot so I was satisfied I had communicated properly and then my eyes glanced to the board. "Filtered Coffee"... I've since learned that if you want milk in your coffee you order a White Filtered Coffee. The Fill-turd coffee is so strong it barely changes color with milk!  
•  The British keyboard is pretty similar with a few slight issues ... the Enter key is much farther over to the right and there are some other keys including the # key in between so when I first started using one, my typing looked like#  this whenever# I have a new paragraph# or second thought# in an IM window# or email. I'm getting used to it. Just like everything else...