This is our second week hosting a soccer coach for the Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp. It is one of the most rewarding experiences and tons of fun getting to know someone from another country and sharing a week of our American life with them. Last week we hosted an Irish lad named Cian (pronounced Kee-an). This week, a Brit named Lawrence.
I’ve been observing our guests and really listening to how they speak so I can flavor my dialogue with authentic bits of dialect and word usage. Although not set in Great Britain, my novel has a handful of characters from Scotland, Ireland and England.
Here’s a wee bit of what I’ve picked up:
- Cheers can mean thanks or good-bye.
- Something that’s really good is brilliant or class.
- If I call you on the phone, I ring you.
- Instead of putting garbage in the trash, you put rubbish in the bin.
- When you ask how someone is, you can say how are you keeping?
- If you are going somewhere right away, you are going straight away.
- Friends are mates.
- Little =’s wee, among other things.
Cheers…
