Reply 1
Original post by sprizzy
Hi, I'm an American student coming over for a semester, I want to make friends and also not be caught in the dark with British culture and norms. What slang or slang phrases do I need to know so I'm not out of the loop?
Hi,
About 1/2 of British slang is borrowed from American slang (e.g. Bad= good; Bro= brother/ mate; Hood= neighbourhood etc.), so you'll probably find you're familiar with a lot more than you think... especially if you're familiar with some Jamaican slang as well (I'm not necessarily talking about Patois)
There are some words that are British (e.g. guys are more likely to refer to a girl as a "bird" rather than a "chick"), but I'm pretty sure you'll pick them up pretty quickly (it's all about context and putting 2 & 2 together); worst case scenario, a friend will fill you in.
The one area you may get confused with is cars... apart from us driving on the CORRECT side of the road 😛 , almost every word to describe a car or part of a car is different (e.g. trunk = boot; stick-shift= manual car; gas= petrol; sedan= saloon; hood= bonnet; SUV= Off-roader etc. etc.)
Don't worry about it, and just enjoy your time here (P.S. Queen Mary Uni is only about 1/2 hour walk from Central London 😉 )
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 2
Original post by sprizzy
Hi, I'm an American student coming over for a semester, I want to make friends and also not be caught in the dark with British culture and norms. What slang or slang phrases do I need to know so I'm not out of the loop?
It really depends where you’re going in the UK. eg. North or South? They have pretty different slangs and accents which might be tricky to understand at first, especially in the North but you’ll defo (short for definitely haha) pick it up. Enjoy your time in the UK! I hope you love it and pick up some good little phrases. Let me know if you’re going north or south and I might be able to help more!
Reply 3
Original post by sprizzy
Hi, I'm an American student coming over for a semester, I want to make friends and also not be caught in the dark with British culture and norms. What slang or slang phrases do I need to know so I'm not out of the loop?
It's not specifically what you need to understand - it's some things you need to know not to say, no insult intended upon your American culture but don't say things like rad or buster ect - those are not words in circulation and you may not be taken seriously if you use them, words wise hmmmm, there's a few, fam (do not use this lol just know what it means) but tbf if your going to a private school for exchange most thinks will just be proper as opposed to slang, slang like fam/bruv will be at state schools ect - some quick ones you'll hear around: quid (pound) knackered (tired) cheers (thanks) skint (broke)OH ALSO we call what you call chips crisps - like salt and vinegar crisps and beyond that there sm more depends where ur going
Original post by BlueTiger55
It really depends where you’re going in the UK. eg. North or South? They have pretty different slangs and accents which might be tricky to understand at first, especially in the North but you’ll defo (short for definitely haha) pick it up. Enjoy your time in the UK! I hope you love it and pick up some good little phrases. Let me know if you’re going north or south and I might be able to help more!
I'm coming to QMUL, so whatever you hear normally on campus haha
Original post by Anonymous
It's not specifically what you need to understand - it's some things you need to know not to say, no insult intended upon your American culture but don't say things like rad or buster ect - those are not words in circulation and you may not be taken seriously if you use them, words wise hmmmm, there's a few, fam (do not use this lol just know what it means) but tbf if your going to a private school for exchange most thinks will just be proper as opposed to slang, slang like fam/bruv will be at state schools ect - some quick ones you'll hear around: quid (pound) knackered (tired) cheers (thanks) skint (broke)OH ALSO we call what you call chips crisps - like salt and vinegar crisps and beyond that there sm more depends where ur going
good to know! yeah i guess better info would be things NOT to say, good catch.
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