你是不是常常為聽不懂老外說的英語而感到無比受挫?其實，即使是說同一種語言的的英國人和美國人交談時也會遇到聽不懂的尷尬情況。就像在中國，一個北方人聽不懂南方方言一樣，英語中也存在諸多差異。對這些差異，你知道多少呢?下文就我們一同來了解英式英語和美式英語中那些有趣的差別。

Sorry, but Do You Speak English?

對不起，您說的是英語嗎?

Not long ago, an American friend was driving rather too vigorously in the west of Ireland when he was pulled over by a Garda (police officer). “What would happen if you were to run into Mr. Fog?” the Garda inquired gruffly1) in his thick Irish brogue2). Stung by this patronizing3) query, my friend replied with heavy sarcasm, “Well, I guess I’d put Mr. Foot on Mr. Brake.” Whereupon the officer stared at him rather strangely and growled, “I said mist or fog.”

My friend, as it happens4), is an anthropologist. For one enthralling5) moment he thought he had stumbled upon6) a tribe in the west of Ireland which personified aspects of the weather, speaking of Mrs. Hailstorm, Master Sunshine and so on. But it was just another case of international miscommunication.

Most people know that when a British schoolteacher asks his pupils to take out their rubbers7), he is inviting them to produce their erasers, not about to give them a lesson in contraception8). British people who live in flats9) do not set up home in burst tires. The word “bum10)” in British English means buttocks as well as vagrant11).

People in Britain do not usually say “I appreciate it,” have a hard time, zero in12), reach out to13) other people, stay focused, ask to be given a break, refer to the bottom line or get blown away14). The word “scary,” as opposed to “frightening” or “alarming,” sounds childish to British ears, rather like talking about your buttocks as your bottie. Brits tend not to use the word “awesome,” a term which, if it were banned in the States, would cause airplanes to fall from the sky and cars to lurch15) off freeways.

本文選自英語中學生2014年6月刊點擊購買

Using the word “aggressive” positively also sounds strange across the pond. In Britain, it sounds almost as bizarre as complimenting someone on being as ugly as sin16). The habit of using the word “like” every four seconds, widespread among American youth, has now caught on17) in Britain as well. Perhaps it has to do with an attempt not to sound dogmatic18). “It’s 9 o’clock” sounds unpleasantly authoritarian, whereas “It’s, like, 9 o’clock” sounds suitably tentative and nondoctrinaire. It is rumored in Europe that you can now find tombstones in the U.S. reading “To Our Beloved Son, Brother and, Like, Husband.”

The phrase “to feel comfortable with” is quintessentially American. The British would not usually say “we feel comfortable with using this taxi firm,” any more than they would feel comfortable with being scourged19) until the blood ran down their thighs.

Americans tend to say “Excuse me” when they accidentally get in your way, while the British say “Sorry.” Americans say “Excuse me” even when they are 10 paces away from you, since they are accustomed to a lot more space than we are in Europe. One knows one is back in the U.K. when everyone is constantly saying sorry for no reason whatsoever.