Monday, January 21, 2008

same language, or so i'm told

it's easy to find references for the grammatical differences between american english and british english. but none of these are helpful at all on a day-to-day existence. idioms are one thing; but, even though i've lived here before, and learned a lot of the seemingly small variations in the seemingly inoffensive phrase, 'are you alright?', i CANNOT get used to the husband asking me this question!

if you're asked this question by an american, or in the states, it usually means, 'holy god, you're bleeding profusely from the head, are you alright? do you need medical care?' or 'you seem like you're having a mental breakdown, are you alright? do you need a bottle of whiskey?' you know, something like that. just used when someone seems in need of actual care or attention--blood, sweat, tears kind of querie...

the british usage--from what i can gather, closely resembles the tried and true phrase, 'hi, how are you?' or sometimes, 'hey, you look low on tea, would you like another cup?' but being american, when someone asks me 'are you alright?' it instigates a small tinge of panic.

i usually try and find a mirror to make sure my appearance isn't that out of the norm--hair relatively calm, no blood dripping from my nose i didn't know about, etc. when that seems fine, i reply with, 'yeah, everything is fine, why?' to which the british person just kind of makes a confused face, shrugs, walks away. i've learned to just reply, 'yeah.' but god forbid anyone saying, 'no, i'm not alright.' that response is met with equal confusion/disdain/ambivalence. in that case, the brit isn't asking how you are, or if you want tea--they're really just trying to make a pleasantry, much like an american would say, 'hello!'

this might not seem like that big a deal, but this phrase is asked of you wherever you go, by strangers, shop assistants, flatmates, husbands, friends, over and over and over and over! i can get used to it in public, get used to friends, but the husband--every time, it makes me uneasy and defensive. i guess it's just one of those things.

11 comments:

Mary Jane said...

This is the one of the things I can't get used to here in the UK (and I'm sometimes tempted to actually reply with how I'm actually doing!).

Sigga

Richard said...

in defenCe of my fellow countrymen, bethany almost always has the "you seem like you're having a mental breakdown, are you alright? do you need a bottle of whiskey?" expression on her face.

:p

Richard said...

ps. she is married to me though, so that probably explains it!

Unknown said...

So, are you alright or not?
What is the proper way to inquire about someone whose ears are bleeding something awful?

Betty said...

"holy shit, your years are bleeding! are you alright? do you want to turn off the horrible euro-pop shite? that might make the bleeding stop..."

Cate said...

I need to learn this "I need a bottle of whiskey" expression.

Unknown said...

I think Geo was making that expression on one of his Wolfe Tone pics...
Richard, here in the states, 'Are you alright?' from your spouse is usually followed by 'We need to talk', which means your whole evening/weekend is about to spiral into an argument. That could explain why B looks like she needs whiskey when she hears that!

Brian said...

I like how things translate myself...Nancy learned English attending England schools in Qatar. So, she speaks English well but think the phrased are a mix between Gulf Arabic and English. I am getting use to knowing what "eye eggs" and "white hairs" are and using the expression "half-past" when referring to "#:30".

Once when I was on the phone and mentioned the lights were dimmed at my house, she said, "you're being romantic with yourself..." To mean only means one thing and I shouldn't be standing in front of the window...

Gigamatt said...

The "are you alright?" bit may also be an old east-coaster thing, since I grew up with it. My dad, being a midwesterner, however, got sick of my mom always asking, and there was an early end to that. I almost never hear it anymore, unless someone has that look of needing a bottle of whiskey. And that's usually in the company of my family.

Betty said...

brian: here, it's simply--'half six' and i never know if that means half to six, half past six, etc. i'm slowly, pathetically, learning it's half past...

matt: i'm hoping my situation is like your first--i can't answer anymore. maybe the first time, but the 5 min later question only receives a roll of the eyes...

Brian said...

I think I may think "half six" would mean 3:00...and be really early...