Regional English Phase, Slang, and Meaning

[Kupotepo]

This thread is intended for people to share their phrases and words with different meanings.

Special thanks to @Cythera for the idea. Because the English deviate from the mother language to create a new English word or phrase which popular in some parts of the world.

This thread objective to help devs understand the phase has more than one meaning depends on where one is and avoid a long term of people think you being insensitive.

VARIOUS ENGLISH LANGUAGE DIALECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

British English is the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles. Slight regional variations exist in formal, written English in the United Kingdom.

American English sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States and widely adopted in Canada.

Australian English is a major variety of the English language, used throughout Australia. Australian English began to diverge from British English after the founding of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognized as being different from British English by 1820.
Arvo, Bogan, Fair Dinkum, Chockers, Mozzie, Ripper, Servo, Stubbie holder, Ta, and Ute.

Canadian English is the set of varieties of English native to Canada. English was the first language of approximately 19 million Canadians (57% of the population) the remainder of the population were native speakers of Canadian French (22%) or other languages (allophones, 21%).
LOONIE, TUQUE, DOUBLE DOUBLE, TWO-FOUR, MOLSON MUSCLE, MAY 2-4 WEEKEND, KNAPSACK, CHINOOK, and Bunnyhug.

INDIAN ENGLISH: Bungalow, Cushy, Doolally, Juggernaut, Prepone, Pukka, Punch, Pundit, guru, Pyjamas, and Thug.

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH: Balikbayan box, Batchmate, Bold, Carnap, Carnapper, Comfort room, Dirty ice cream, Dirty kitchen, High blood, and Salvage.

UGANDAN ENGLISH [Uglish]
Ugandan English has developed a strong local flavor. The speech patterns of Ugandan languages strongly influence spoken English.
Macrones, Pawpaw or popo, beeped, godown, Eating Money, and Now-now

More Regional words to get a headache:
Bet, Mom’n’em, Hella, Whoopensocker, Burk, Gabagool, Doodinkus, Jawn, and Jumble sale.

Newfoundland and Eastern Canada
b'y, scivey

Central Canada and the Prairies
Bunny Hug, jam buster, Canuck, The Hat, Takitish

British Columbia and Western Canada
Elephant Ear
Whale's Tail

header, beauty, ketchup potato chips, Mountie, mickey, snowbirds

 

[Cythera]

Yay! I think this could be fun, to share regional differences in the English language.
The biggest one I've personally encountered is that Canadians (I live in Canada but my family is British) don't use and rarely know the phrase ' bloody '.
It's used for emphasis and it's relatively common. And trying to explain it is a lot more difficult than I would have thought!
Some examples of usage: 'This bloody rain won't let up', 'Aw, bloody hell' (this is how I curse at home haha), and 'I'm so bloody confused right now'.

 

[Kupotepo]

@Cythera, my hypothesis would be that the Canadian English more influence by the American English due to its proximity to the US.

 

[Riazey]

@Cythera As a canadian I can confirm that we use american english, especially the more west you go the less of what the americans deem a "canadian accent" is present (still a bit different than a british accent/lingo).
Common british words like Bloody, Arse, Narky, Sherbet, Gutted, Ledge, etc etc etc are exclusive to non-north-american english! Buuut you may find MORE british influenced words in some places along the east coast of Canada! I.e. some older New Brunswick areas.

------------------------------------

One thing you might may find interesting here though, is the sheer difference even from state to state in the USA of the term for a carbonated drink. Most commonly in Canada it is referred to as "Pop" but a lot of places/states also say "Soda" which also makes sense. However a lot of southern/etc US states say "Coke" (a brand of carbonated drink) for any carbonated drink. You should look up a map for this it's hilarious.

I went to texas once and someone asked me if I wanted a coke, I said no thanks I don't like Coke, and then they came back with a Sprite which is my favorite!? Totally strange to me! I couldn't imagine being like "Hi can I get a Diet Coke coke?".

 

[slimmmeiske2]

I've moved this thread to General Lounge. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.

 

[Kupotepo]

Arse, Narky, Sherbet, Gutted, Ledge

What do those words mean?

Do not ask what BBQ means in the US? There are different from the state to the state.

 

[Cythera]

@Riazey Yes, close proximity definitely affects language! I've visited New Brunswick and someone there was actually familiar with the term bloody!
Hahaha, the pop bit! I see that too! I've worked in restaurants for a few years now, and heard pop, soda, sprite, and coke. Someone asked me "what coke do you have?" Uh, diet and regular? "You don't have sprite?!"
Took me a few seconds on that one

 

[Riazey]

@Kupotepo
Arse means butt/ass, Sherbets are like fizzy candies, Gutted in british english can aside from the common use also mean like bitterly disappointed etc, Ledge means legend. At least from what I know of watching British shows! xD There are an incredible amount of terms British speakers use that differ from north-american english, and I find it incredibly fascinating!


@Cythera
Lmao! Exactly that kind of situation!! My family is from a small town in New Brunswick so I picked up some of the language from them! My fiance makes fun of the way I say "bagel".

 

[Cythera]

@Riazey bay-gull or bag-ell ?
I say bay-gull
And if you want a laugh, I have never known how to say 'Sigil' for whatever reason. I guess a mix of British heritage and being around Canadian accent? I always say 'see-gull' - similar to the bird.

 

[Riazey]

@Cythera
Haha I actually love the term sigil (sih-jull)! At least you don't hear it very often since people are more like to use "emblem" but mnnf. Also I say bag-ell! xD Which is apparently wrong according to my fiance LMFAO.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

Do not ask what BBQ means in the US? There are different from the state to the state.

This is news to me, lol, I thought it was bar-be-que (BBQ) in every state.

@Riazey I can confirm the Coke thing. I grew up in Texas and I remember as a kid we called all soft drinks 'Coke'. Since I've been around the US though, I see mostly that people use either 'soda' or 'pop'. Understandable, IMO, since the original term is 'soda pop' or 'soft drink'. Where I live now, almost everyone uses the term 'pop'. I still say 'soda' though. It makes more sense because we still use the term 'soda fountain' to describe the 'soft drink' stations in restaurants.

 

[Kupotepo]

@HumanNinjaToo,

1. Barbecue in North Carolina,
2. Kansas City-style barbecue,
3. Memphis-style barbecue,
4. Santa Maria-style barbecue,
5. St. Louis-style barbecue
6. East Texas style, which is essentially Southern barbecue and is also found in many urban areas;
7. Central Texas "meat market style", which originated in the butcher shops of German and Czech immigrants to the region;
8. West Texas "cowboy style", which involves direct cooking over mesquite and uses goat and mutton as well as beef; and
9. South Texas barbacoa, in which the head of a cow is cooked (originally underground).

Nationally and regionally sanctioned barbecue competitions occur. State organizations like the Florida Bar B Que Association often list competitions taking place throughout any given year. Visitors are welcome to visit these contests, and many of them hold judging classes where it is possible to become a certified barbecue judge on site.

It is different meats and sauces. lol, The cookers cook different coals and cans. I mean you get the idea, but when you get the BBQ is going to be different methods.

 

[Frostorm]

I noticed that Boba is called Bubble Tea on the east coast. I find that so weird as a Californian.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

@HumanNinjaToo, Barbecue in North Carolina, Kansas City-style barbecue, Memphis-style barbecue, Santa Maria-style barbecue, St. Louis-style barbecue
East Texas style, which is essentially Southern barbecue and is also found in many urban areas;
Central Texas "meat market style", which originated in the butcher shops of German and Czech immigrants to the region;
West Texas "cowboy style", which involves direct cooking over mesquite and uses goat and mutton as well as beef; and
South Texas barbacoa, in which the head of a cow is cooked (originally underground).

It is different meats and sauces. lol, The cookers cook different coals and cans. I mean you get the idea, but when you get the BBQ is going to be different methods.

Okay, sorry I misunderstood. Yes, every region in the US has it's own style of BBQ. I thought you meant a literal interpretation of the acronym. Oops

 

[Kupotepo]

@HumanNinjaToo, I am delighted that you understand me.

@staf00, I think a Californian just calls the same way as the creator of the product.
The fast-growing drink trend, called “boba,” that originated in small tea shops from Taiwan during the 1980s has made its way across the Pacific Ocean to America and is gaining popularity rapidly.

 

[Riazey]

@staf00 Where I am from in western-canada we also call it bubble-tea (but I've seen both in NY)! Although just knowing what bubble-tea is is a feat of its own tbh as it's not super common.

Taiwan created "Bubble tea" which the Chinese word for the tapioca pearls is bōbà (as a side-note, the "bubbles" originally actually referred to the literal air bubbles created when shaking the tea, but later came to mean the tapioca pearls). In Tawain for english they refer to it as "Bubble Tea" and in chinese "bōbà nǎichá". Technically they are saying the exact same thing just one is half-translated and one is completely translated! Also an interesting fact, in chinese boba is slang for a woman's chest sooooo-

 

[Kupotepo]

I do not know all of those slang words on top of this thread. Is anyone want to take a guess?

 

[Riazey]

@Kupotepo
Bungalow, cushy, Juggernaut, Pyjamas, and thug are all terms used in american/canadian english so I am not sure if they actually have different terms in Indian english. As for those canadian english terms:




Loonie: Is our currency lmao. A loonie is a canadian dollar coin. It has a loon depicted on it (at least the common/non-special edition ones). Additionally, a Toonie is the two-dollar coin.


A tuque is a hat/cap usually made out of prevalently knitted materials like wool but also extends to any similar winter hats. This is very common in all of canada.


Double-double is something you order from a coffee joint (usually the canadian version of dunkin' doughnuts: tim-hortons). It means two sugars two creams. A triple-triple is three creams and three sugars. A single-double would be as you can surmise from the prior applications. xD You could just as easily say "two creams two sugar" and they would understand.


Two-four is a case of twenty-four cans/bottles of beer/liquor.


A chinook is a very unused term in most places, though they teach it to you in school across canada. They are warm winds that come off of mountain onto plains and thaw snow/ice, obviously wouldn't be used in places there are no chinooks mountains/snow which is a lot of canada/states.


May 2-4 weekend: Uuuuh I've never ever heard this term before, only May long weekend which is common in canada/america for the second last saturday/sunday/monday in may. In canada it includes victoria day and in the states it is centered around memorial day, those three days are considered to be days most businesses are closed or you would receive holiday pay for working or as vacation days.


Knapsack is a backpack, similar to rucksack (the term used in every farming game for a backpack). Very unused in western canada as you usually just say, well, backpack.


Molson-muscle/bunnyhug: I've never heard of either, might be an eastern canadian or rural thing?

 

[Cythera]

Double double double cupped.
A part of me dies when I hear this.

 

[Riazey]

Always ask for a second/double cup, because those thin paper cups aren't going to protect your poor hands from that hot liquid.