Terminology

Right, well, as I'm sure you know (since all the people who read this are people with whom I communicate fairly regularly), I am now in a world filled with entirely new words, words that seem nonsensical to my American ears. So starting tonight, every post I put up will include a new term or two, so that if I start using them in my regular speech, it won't be completely crazy sounding, right? To that end, this post will be a list of most of the stuff I've picked up since I moved here (or, at least, the stuff I can think of as I write this). So let's dive right in, eh?

queue - a line; "Are you in the queue?" (Are you in line?) This is a very common one, as it is used nearly any time I go anywhere, as most everywhere has people queued up to purchase stuff.

go 'round the shop - to go to the store; "I need to go 'round the shop." (I need to go to the store.) I actually think I prefer the way this sounds to the American, it's very proper sounding.

mate - friend; "I was out with some mates last night." (I was out with some friends last night). This is a great one, and I've actually been saying it for several years, despite the weird looks I get from people when I do. In their faces!

cheers - thank you; (upon receiving goods or services) "Cheers!" (Thanks!) It's actually hard for me to express this one properly, as it's never as exuberant as the exclamation point makes it seem to be. The way people here say it is actually quite subtle, and I feel like a complete idiot everytime I try to say it. So I prefer to use...

ta - thank you; (upon receiving goods or services) "Ta." (Thanks.) This was explained to me by a British mate (see above) of mine as being what children are taught when learning to speak in the northern regions of Great Britain (I assume this includes northern England, and most of Scotland, and even parts of Northern Ireland and Ireland, though Ireland not actually part of Great Britain). His explanation was that "ta" is easier for small children to say than "thank you" when they're learning to speak. This is my favorite new term, and I rarely say "Thanks" anymore; it has been replaced by "Ta."

ken - you know?; "It was raining really hard, ken?" (It was raining really hard, you know?) This one is the strangest of all the ones listed in this post. I heard a women working in a shop use "ken" about a dozen times when explaining to a customer that she couldn't take something out of the box (I'm not sure why, I got hung up on her use of the word "ken"). But this seems to be used like we in the states would use "you know," so if, in speech, you replace "you know" with "ken," you'll be well on your way to speaking like a Scot.

arse -ass; "Kiss my arse." (Kiss my ass.) I don't really need to explain this one, do I? Actually, I do; I've heard people saying "I can't be arsed with cooking tonight," meaning "I can't be bothered to cook tonight." So that's interesting, but I don't think I'm going to pick that one up.

sussed - examined; (as on the health posters around the school) "Think you're ill? Get it sussed!" (Think you're ill? Get it examined!) I have no idea where this term comes from, but it's interesting to hear from folks.

sorted - worked out; "I just need to get my schedule sorted." (I just need to get my schedule worked out) I do rather like this one, and I used it a lot when I was trying to get my cell phone set up. Which leads me to the next word....

mobile phone - cell phone; I'm not going to provide an example, just replace the word "cell" with "mobile" whenever you use it regarding your phone, and you'll have it sorted.

Alright, that's it for now, everyone. I hope this was enlightening, and I will be sure to put up a couple new words every week.

Peace.