When we Brits went on holiday to Disney World in Florida we took the monorail, with our heavy bags. I was shocked to hear the announcement, "We will be stopping momentarily ..."
I shouted to my family, "Quick - pick up your bags and stand by the door. It's a very quick stop."
In a hotel I phoned reception for a porter. The Receptionist said I should ring housekeeping. I left a message.
The second time the receptionist answered, "Ma-am, we'll gladly send you one, if you can describe what it is."
I replied, "A man with a trolley, to move our suitcases. Luggage. Baggage. Carry bags?"
"Ah, ma-am, I believe you are seeking a bell-hop?"
My husband emerged from the bathroom and demanded, "What's taking so long?"
I replied, "Lost in translation. Sounds like they thought a porter was some king of cocktail. What we want is a bellhop or bellboy."
American - English
argue - row (rhyming with how)
bangs - fringe (hairstyle)
bell hop, bell boy - porter (in a hotel)
drug store - chemist
drunk - pissed (slang)
fanny pack - bum bag / waist pouch
good / I am good - well / I am well
good to go - (ready to go)
goose bumps - goose pimples
lawyer - solicitor (in an office doing paperwork, not in court)
math - maths
momentarily - soon, shortly, in a moment
oftentimes - often
period - full stop
pleased with yourself/proud/delighted - chuffed (slang)
raise (a child) - bring up
real estate - property
real estate agent - estate agent
regular - medium size
shopping cart - (shopping) trolley
take out - take away
zee - zed
English - American
bring up (a child) - raise
bum bag / waist pouch - fanny pack
chemist's - drug store
chuffed - pleased with yourself
estate agent - real estate agent
fringe - bangs
full stop - period
goose pimples - goose bumps
maths - math
medium size - regular
momentarily - briefly, only for a moment
my mistake, my fault - my bad
often - oftentimes
row (rhyming with now) - argue
pissed (slang) - drunk
shopping trolley - shopping cart
solicitor (in an office doing legal paperwork, not speaking in court) - lawyer
take away - take out
well (I am well) - good (I am good)
zed - zee
Useful Websites
Americanisms
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14201796
General Language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Language
About The Author
Angela Lansbury was born in london, England and is British. She has lived in the USA. She teaches English and runs workshops.
About the Author
Angela Lansbury is Vice President Public Relations of Braddell Heights Advanced, and Tampines Changkat Advanced, speakers training club which are part of Toastmasters International. The USA has several Spanish speaking as well as the English speaking clubs. You can pick up Spanish from buying or reading online their Spanish clubs welcome pages and manuals.
In The USA, UK, Singapore and worldwide, there are many clubs which are English speaking, as well as Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, French, Tamil, Malay.
The inauguration of Tampines Changkat Advanced was Tuesday 29 2021, online on zoom. Their meetings are on the fourth Tuesday evening of the month. They hope to hold meetings with a few people meeting physically, the others online, as soon as the Covid-19 conditions allow.
You can find the club through their facebook page as well as through Toastmasters International find a club.
https://www.facebook.com/tampineschangkatadvTMC
The meetings are free for visitors. Visitors can watch, and join in speaking by introducing themselves and volunteering to do a 2 minutes impromptu speech in table topics.
If you wish to join for a year, it costs about 190 US dollars, to have monthly meetings online, a mentor, a magazine, and one of the 11 Pathways, consisting of 14 projects. Each project starts with 3 speeches of your choice of subject, lasting 4 to 6 minutes, then 5 to 7 minutes. The Pathways include the most popular Presentation Mastery. I chose humorous speaking as my second Pathway, costing 20 dollars. Then my third was a leadership course. Come and see for free.
The club also has meetings in person in Singapore
You can also contact my other club, smaller Braddell Heights Advanced, which is a cosy little club with more chances to speak.
Login through bha.learncool.sg/meet/bha
That will link you through to Zoom or googlemeet. 2 pm to 5 pm.
BHA meets the first Wednesday evening each month, starting at 7 pm Singapore time.
Then an extra meeting on the 3rd Saturday afternoon, starting at 2 pm Singapore time.
To check your time zone,
https://24timezones.com/difference/singapore/
Meetings will be on Wed July 7th and Saturday July 17th.
Contact either of these or other clubs through Toastmasters International Find a Club.
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