I Want A Talking Elevator

Finally! This post is all about Irish words, phrases, differences, and similarities. But, A WORD OF CAUTION: this post is rated PG-13 as some content may not be suitable for younger children.

So, aside from the accent (which is very prominent at first, especially the Derry one, but now I don't even notice it) the Irish also have different words that they use for certain things.
The first word in the list is what the Irish (could be different depending on certain locations such as Derry, Belfast, or Dublin) use and the second is what we would say in America (or at least in California to make that clarification).

lollies --- popsicles
car park --- parking lot
red sauce --- ketchup
brown sauce --- I still don't know what this is
pavement --- sidewalk
takeaway --- to go
pitch --- field (as in football)
yer man --- what's his face
tele --- TV
mind --- watch (as in "minding the children")
lead --- leash
bobbin --- hair tie
cinema --- movie theater
runners --- tennis shoes
plait --- braid
ring(er) --- call someone on the phone/the phone itself ("give me a ring" or "turn off your ringers" )
queue --- line
slashin' --- pouring rain

Ok now these can be a bit confusing (especially when said quickly). Ready?

chips --- fries
crisps --- chips
half to three --- 2:30
half three --- 3:30

And these are just really funny (for Americans that is)

bump --- pregnant belly (ha! I saw this on the cover of a magazine and it said "She's got the bump!!")
craic (pronounced "crack") --- news, fun (So, if someone asks you "where's the craic?", they're really asking  "where's the fun?")
mucker --- friend (Well, that can definitely sound like something else if you didn't hear them correctly!)
humps --- speed bumps (so when you're driving on the road, there are signs that say "Humps for 450 yards")

Now these can either be funny or offensive towards the Irish.

trousers --- pants
pants --- underwear (You might get a look of shock if you accidentally used the word "pants" in a strange connotation)
lift --- ride (do not ask a taxi driver, or anyone really, for a "ride"...)
bum bag --- fanny pack
fanny --- a woman's parts (yikes!! Good thing the Irish have a sense of humor and are most likely going to laugh so hard that they begin to cry if you say this word.)

The Irish also say words like "wee", "loads", "grand", and "aye" whenever possible (although some people from certain areas do not say these words and have different words that they use, like "lovely").

There are some other differences as well. Obvious ones are the change from degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius and being on the left side of the road. The street signs here are also not on a post on the corner of a street, nor are they hanging from signals. They are mounted on the side of the buildings. Many times, there aren't any street signs on the buildings so you have no idea what street you're on. Speaking of buildings, most building are joined, not separated. I also get a kick out of going up or down the elevators. They talk!! "Door opening", "door closing", "ground floor", "first floor", "second floor"...just imagine these phrases in a robotic English accent = ). And speaking of floors, the "ground floor" is actually the equivalent to the "first floor" in America. Then the "first floor" is actually the "second floor" in America and so on. So upstairs is really considered the "first floor" here.

Ok then, hope you enjoyed that! If you want to know about any more differences or have questions (queries...ha!) of your own, just let me know (that was literally just a handful of them)!

Here's a side note. I am very excited to say that my piece for the choreography class that I'm in has been chosen to be performed in the end of semester show!! Only two third year student pieces were chosen and mine was one of them! I'm excited to be able to say that a piece of mine will be performed in Northern Ireland.
Speaking of choreography, I have a choreography reel that I recently uploaded on youtube. It contains clips from some of my works from the years 2005-2010. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d41ouMSWTcA

I shall be in Germany starting on Thursday!! I'm so excited for this trip especially because I will be visiting my grandpa's (who's currently 98 years old) hometown where he grew up!!

Until then. Cheers.