from: Lynne Donaldson
2000/1/11
Dear Keiichiro-san,
I came across your website today (from a link on Jim Breen's page, I think)
and found it very interesting.
I'd like to make some comments on the Janglish sections. I'm British (but
living in Shiga-ken at the moment) so my comments are mainly about UK
English, though a few are German-related (I speak German too).
The comments on UK English that you already have on your site sound fine to
me, but here are a few additions:
Section 1
- "Bust" has basically the same meaning as breasts or bosom(s) in UK
English. A woman's chest measurement is her bust measurement; talking about
the bust has slightly less personal connotations than the other terms.
- "Pants" = UK English for underpants. We often say "knickers" for women's
and "underpants" for men's. "Briefs" is sometimes used too, but not really
in spoken English. (All are plural.) (There is also a colloquial expression
used by some people: if something is "pants" then it's rubbish, crap, no
good.)
- What you refer to as the pound or number sign is usually called "hash" in
English, but I have occasionally seen/heard it called "square" too. I think
that we don't really know what to call it because it's something the
Americans came up with (we just write "no." instead). I agree that "sharp"
makes more sense - in fact I think I've heard it used once or twice - and I
have no idea why the Americans call it "pound"!
- "Buggy" or "baby buggy" is sometimes used in the UK, but we generally say
"pushchair". (The chair that a disabled person uses is a wheelchair, just so
that you're clear on the difference.)
- "Ball pen" is sometimes used in the UK (as is "ballpoint pen") but we
often say "biro", which I think is (or was at one time) a brand name. "Ball
pen" is a bit ambiguous as it can also mean rollerball.
Section 2
- Yes, we usually say "windscreen" rather than "windshield".
- "Ben(t)z" comes from Mercedes-Benz. After a subsequent takeover it became
Daimler-Benz.
- "Puncture" is UK English. We also sometimes say "flat tyre", but to us the
"tire" (with an i) is a different part of the wheel - I think it's the metal
rim round the edge.
- "Rucksack" is used in UK English as well as German (though I think you're
right about the origin being German).
- "Viking" isn't used in UK English but I'm sure someone told me it comes
from Scandinavian-style "smorgasbord" (with a line through the first o)
buffet meals.
Section 3
- "Roentgen" is also the German word for X-ray, though it's not used in
English. Presumably Mr. Roentgen was a German.
- "Telephone box" is UK English.
- "Toilet" is UK English. (I don't know why Americans call it the "restroom"
or "bathroom" - you don't go there for a rest or a bath! In the UK, a room
is only a bathroom if it has a bath in it - or at least a shower, but then
it's really a shower room.)
- "WC" is occasionally used on signs in the UK, but nobody ever says it.
- I think that "energisch" is German for energetic, but I'm not in a
position to check at the moment.
I hope you find these comments helpful.
Regards,
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