Anglo American Cultural Exchange - with New Friend Ian

Having only ever lived in England (and one small part at that), my experience of other cultures is – shall we say, much more limited than Heather’s. However the other culture I know the best is probably American. (Admittedly this is mainly through watching The Sopranos and 24. Though my Aunt is American). Despite having a reasonable grasp of ‘Americanisms’ there is still the odd occasion when Heather and myself don’t quite get what the other person is saying. For example;

English / American
Anti-clockwise = Counter clockwise
Trousers = Pants
Pants = Panties
Courgette = Zucchini
Aubergine = Egg Plant
Manual car = Stick shift car
Ground floor = 1st floor
Chips = Fries
Large Coke = Small Coke
Petrol = Gas

(Pronunciation)
TomARto = TomAto
OrigARno = OrEGGANNo

The ground floor / first floor caused some confusion, with Heather telling me she had purchased a 4th floor flat, and me thinking to myself, “but the block only goes up to the 3rd floor”. And I will confess to wandering round the supermarket for at least 10 minutes looking for an Egg Plant, without realising what I was supposed to be getting.

With Heather teaching me about American culture and language, I have also tried to educate her with regard to Essex culture. ‘Essex Man’ and ‘Essex Woman’ came to prominence during the 1980’s when Mrs Thatcher made Essex very rich (and simultaneously made a lot of other places very poor). Characteristics of ‘Essex Man’ and ‘Essex Woman’ include the following;

* A desire for designer goods – though tacky rather than quality.
* Hard working – will do anything for a bit of extra money.
* Lack of subtlety – say it as it is at high volume.
* A habit of starting to produce babies in their teens.
* Politically right wing - with a fierce dislike of immigration.
* Big fans of fast food and cheap drink – and all the associated health related issues this brings. (As Heather found the other week when she wanted to buy a size 10 – only to find a lack of size 10’s but plenty of size 16’s and above).

As with all stereotypes – they are exaggerations but based on truth. Heather will often see an especially bad example of Essex Man and comment that they are “my people”. Well….. Yes, I suppose they are! But Essex isn’t really that bad. I wouldn’t live here otherwise.

So hopefully, as the years roll on, Heather will continue to teach me how to speak ‘American English’, and I will continue to try and convince her that not all Essex people live up to their stereotype. It will be fun!

New Friend Ian