Friday was the one year anniversary of our move to London. It seems an appropriate time to reflect on some of the Australia / UK differences I've noticed. Interspersed are some recent photos from day trips out of London, to Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
England is not a new country to me, but there are things you only really notice when you live somewhere for an extended period of time (and to that I might add, live somewhere for an extended period of time as an adult). Here are some of them for me;
1. Different words, phrases and pronunciations.
There are the obvious words for food bloggers, like aubergine instead of eggplant, and courgette instead of zucchini. Then, there are the words that it really
matters to get right, like trousers instead of pants (which in the UK are men's underpants) and flip flops instead of thongs (I suspect no explanation is needed).
I've converted to pronouncing 'yoghurt' as
yog-urt (instead of the Australian
yo-ghurt) and am working on the English pronunciation of 'room', which is a mix between 'room' and 'rum' (in contrast to Australia's longer pronunciation of rooom). Most of the time I remember to say 'jacket potato' instead of 'baked potato'.
I don't think I'll ever say that I feel 'poorly', but it no longer sounds odd to hear others use it in place of 'ill' or 'sick'.
In a broader sense I'm better now at identifying accents from different parts of the UK, and London accents sound normal to me. When I hear an Australian, either on TV or on the street, their accent is simultaneously familiar but out of place. (I do appreciate I still sound Australian myself!)
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| Ickworth House, Suffolk |
