While English is spoken throughout Ireland, I have encountered a few colloquialisms that have thrown me through a loop.
When I was in undergrad, the first time I ordered something "to-go" got me a blank stare from the barista. When I explained that I wanted to take my coffee away with me, the blank stare turned into recognition and I was promptly told that I meant "take away." It sadly took me another go around to cement that one in my head.
The difference of counting floors also got me a bit lost on my first day of class. I had class on the first floor and I was one floor up from the lowest floor, so I figured I was on the second floor. A fellow lost American classmate and I went downstairs, but quickly realized that that couldn't be right. Turns out we had been on the 0 floor and the floor below us was -1 (which, don't even get me started on calling floors negatives), so we had to go up a floor. We did manage to get to class exactly on the dot, but I'm sure I'm going to forget this one again when I need it most.
I also had some struggles with going through my apartment's inventory. Admittedly, some of this may just be not knowing what certain kitchen things are called, but I had to ask reception what some things meant. What was an egg flap (eggs in the fridge a special spot and a flap to come down over them like my fridge at home has for butter)? What was a grill pan (this I found through googling and I'll put a picture below so someone can tell me if I just didn't know what this was called)? I was also just amused that egg cups were a necessity that were given to us but a mixing bowl wasn't.
Today I learned of a different way of talking about weather alerts. In the US, there were levels of warnings and levels of watches. Here, things are color coded. There was an orange alert for wind disturbance (and while the college doesn't close unless it's a red alert we were both told that class wasn't cancelled and we should go to class, but we shouldn't come to campus which I found very confusing). No massive confusion with the phrasing, but I just wondered why the system was different.
I remember a false one that I was told when I was in undergrad. I was told that I absolutely had to ask for wellies when I went to get rain boots or no one would know what I was talking about. When I asked for wellies, I got a bit of a confused look. When I said I wanted rain boots, I was taken to an aisle where the sign said 'rain boots.'
I've also noticed that people pretty commonly say, "Hiya" as a greeting rather than "Hi" or "Hello." I actually rather like the sound of "Hiya" and might start using it.
There is also, the use of the words grand and gorgeous. People say they're grand or you'll be grand in place of where I'd often say fine. E.g. "My insurance is only for 12 months, is that okay or do I need to get more right now?" "Oh don't worry, you'll be grand." I remembered this from when I was an undergrad, so this one hasn't caused any confusion. I've also heard people use gorgeous in ways that I wouldn't expect to hear in the US. I've heard people call a cup of tea or soup gorgeous. I'm used to hearing gorgeous be used to describe the physical beauty of someone or something. Here, it seems more to describe the pleasure one got from something or how it was just what you needed. This hasn't caused any confusion, mind you, but it's just something that hits my ears as different.
I'm sure I'm going to encounter some more as time goes on. I've also begun to wonder if I'll end up saying these things without thinking. I do make an effort to say take away (but actually when I've said to-go here in Galway, there hasn't been any confusion). I think "Hiya" will probably be the first to slip in without me trying, but I can see grand following. Not sure I'll ever get used to the floor counting though. Let's hope I just don't get lost again.
(Prompt by Betsy Rubin)
When I was in undergrad, the first time I ordered something "to-go" got me a blank stare from the barista. When I explained that I wanted to take my coffee away with me, the blank stare turned into recognition and I was promptly told that I meant "take away." It sadly took me another go around to cement that one in my head.
The difference of counting floors also got me a bit lost on my first day of class. I had class on the first floor and I was one floor up from the lowest floor, so I figured I was on the second floor. A fellow lost American classmate and I went downstairs, but quickly realized that that couldn't be right. Turns out we had been on the 0 floor and the floor below us was -1 (which, don't even get me started on calling floors negatives), so we had to go up a floor. We did manage to get to class exactly on the dot, but I'm sure I'm going to forget this one again when I need it most.
I also had some struggles with going through my apartment's inventory. Admittedly, some of this may just be not knowing what certain kitchen things are called, but I had to ask reception what some things meant. What was an egg flap (eggs in the fridge a special spot and a flap to come down over them like my fridge at home has for butter)? What was a grill pan (this I found through googling and I'll put a picture below so someone can tell me if I just didn't know what this was called)? I was also just amused that egg cups were a necessity that were given to us but a mixing bowl wasn't.
Today I learned of a different way of talking about weather alerts. In the US, there were levels of warnings and levels of watches. Here, things are color coded. There was an orange alert for wind disturbance (and while the college doesn't close unless it's a red alert we were both told that class wasn't cancelled and we should go to class, but we shouldn't come to campus which I found very confusing). No massive confusion with the phrasing, but I just wondered why the system was different.
I remember a false one that I was told when I was in undergrad. I was told that I absolutely had to ask for wellies when I went to get rain boots or no one would know what I was talking about. When I asked for wellies, I got a bit of a confused look. When I said I wanted rain boots, I was taken to an aisle where the sign said 'rain boots.'
I've also noticed that people pretty commonly say, "Hiya" as a greeting rather than "Hi" or "Hello." I actually rather like the sound of "Hiya" and might start using it.
There is also, the use of the words grand and gorgeous. People say they're grand or you'll be grand in place of where I'd often say fine. E.g. "My insurance is only for 12 months, is that okay or do I need to get more right now?" "Oh don't worry, you'll be grand." I remembered this from when I was an undergrad, so this one hasn't caused any confusion. I've also heard people use gorgeous in ways that I wouldn't expect to hear in the US. I've heard people call a cup of tea or soup gorgeous. I'm used to hearing gorgeous be used to describe the physical beauty of someone or something. Here, it seems more to describe the pleasure one got from something or how it was just what you needed. This hasn't caused any confusion, mind you, but it's just something that hits my ears as different.
I'm sure I'm going to encounter some more as time goes on. I've also begun to wonder if I'll end up saying these things without thinking. I do make an effort to say take away (but actually when I've said to-go here in Galway, there hasn't been any confusion). I think "Hiya" will probably be the first to slip in without me trying, but I can see grand following. Not sure I'll ever get used to the floor counting though. Let's hope I just don't get lost again.
(Prompt by Betsy Rubin)
Comments
Post a Comment