Need Britain words like 'mate' 'cheerio' for school drama?

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extra body,depth and ripeness

I think your teacher needs a lesson on econmics. We have a proper state benefit system in England and therefore have not got areas of poverty as you have in the USA. Even if you live on a very small income in Britain you still have a wonderful education system, free healthcare and many opportunities to further your education and job prospects.

I'm not saying that poverty doesn't exist here but nothing on the scale of the USA.

Try learning phrases such as NHS or Welfare State.

CAE

A. You are about to get beat up because economic success is very possible in a modern and western culture like the UK.
B. Poverty exists here in the US
C. This play sounds ridiculous as does your teacher.

Google British slang.
PS England is one country making up the UK/Britain. Maybe your teacher should abandon the play and get you all back in the classroom for some basic cultural understanding and studies in geography.

dumberthangeorgebush

Haddaway wi' ya man, ya divven' ken

colloquialisms differ vastly in different parts of Britain : Geordie, Cockney, Scouser, etc`

I'm not sure I've ever heard anybody say Cheerio

FYI Britain is England, Scotland and Wales

The best way of learning English "youthspeak" would be to get hold of a current British film or tv series - something like Skins.

PS. The American Dream is a myth, a person from a working class background in Britain has as much chance to reach the top as an American working class person. It may have been true in the past, but the class system doesn't exist in Britain as it used to. So in Britain you have as much chance of making it, and you have less chance of falling into abject poverty. The American Dream was an idea that existed when there were lots of independent companies, these days the globalisation of huge brands (started in America) have stifled the ability to succesfully set up your own business - you can still rise from the bottom - but it's a lot harder now than it used to be.

PPS. Poverty in Britain is not on the same scale as America, there are a few people who slip through the welfare net, but most people are given enough to survive (it's not great but better than the American system).

PPPS. I really hope your teacher doesn't teach human geography.

Derke N

What part of Britain are they from? Like the US we are not a homogenous culture.

Who wrote this play? Modern Britain isn't generally in poverty, we are a G8 country, and those who are poor and unskilled wouldn't qualify as an immigrant.

No Britain (actually the country is the United Kingdom) is England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a few smaller islands.

You should concentrate more on or take extra Geography classes my young, slightly dim witted friend...

Watch 'Mary Poppins' for reference. Dick Van Dyke does an excellent portrayal of an impoverished working class chimney sweep.

'Gor blimey guvna' etc

Hereward the Wake

..as soon as he stepped foot on american soil he realised his american dream was a nightmare, and turned tails and headed back home too good old blighty, cricky chocks away.

Orla C

No love, Britain doesn't mean England. England is part of Britain, as is Scotland and Wales. Britain is the name for the entire island, England is only a section of it.

Not sure that a lot of people will agree with you that compared to the USA, England is poor. But however.

Addition: Contrary to what many people think, Northern Ireland is not part of Britain; it is, however, included as part of the United Kingdom, so the UK, Britain and England are not the same .....

music_lovin_miss

Whereabouts in Britian does he come from?

Northern Ireland?
Scotland?
Wales?
England?

All these places would have very different colloquillisms.

Please specify

ps, cheerio is a very common greeting in Northern Ireland

bernie25uk

people don't really say cheerio much now. you Could look up cockney rhyming slang if you want to know the words people say in london.

try this site

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/

or try this one for general american to english translations.

http://septicscompanion.com/index.html

different areas have their own colloquialisms , and accents vary from town to town.

Bianca

lol slang in the UK varies regionally.
there is so many words but i just cant be bothered typing them all out.
these can easily be looked up elsewhere. just google "british slang" or whatever ..

also it depends what era you're talking about. a british boy from 1809 talked completely different from modern day english.

Mike C

DON'T say cheerio it's a stereotype i grew up in london and never heard it said unless we were making fun of the upper classes
mates good. what sort off year is this play based, in the seventies most london kids said wotcha (hello) seeya (bye)
but mostly now it's alri-bruv and laters be'ave yerself (don't be silly)
easy tiger/fella (be careful/watch out) can't really think of anything else
you're av'vin a bubble (your taking the piss/you're lying)

You must have enough people in the US from all walks of life to ask.
So go round your area there must lots to ask these questions.

luddite

Dear oh dear. I don't know what they are teaching you at your school, but the assumption that Britain and England are interchangeable, that achievement and social advancement are impossible in the UK and only possible in the USA, and that there is a specific language for 'poor people in Britain', tells me that your school is teaching you nothing, apart from how to stereotype, have a narrow world view and, most of all, how to insult and patronise.
What is the name of this play? I'm curious.

candiiPOP

It would be useful if you gave a time period in which you play is set, and i can assure you, being english, that cheerio is not used by young people in todays time. lol.

jamiemcc89

love - at the end of everhting you say to a person

ya alright love? got the time love?

you should google cockney rhyming slang!

Beatnick

UK and explaining it is complicated. We don't salute the flag and we never say God Bless England - blimey, cannot think of anything worse.

You must think of yourself in the role of a Cockney Londoner. You can find out more about the Rhyming Slang and vocabulary at the link[s] below.

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/

When using Cockney Rhyming Slang, you do not need to say the whole phrase - for example, "apples and pears" = stairs - all you say is, "up the apples" or "down the apples".

Don't worry about an accent, just use the words. One of the most difficult things to do is the 'full glottle stop' used by all us Londoners.

For example, the word BOTTLE is pronounced without sounding the 'Ts' - almost impossible to explain really - bohhle - is about the closest I can explain it - somewhere in the back of the throat. Just don't try. Stick with your own natural born American accent but use London slang.

CHAV - what is a chav? A chav is a low person, something like the people who live in trailer parks in the US - trailer trash etc.

See, you've got one new word already. Just throw it into the dialogue - "they are just a bunch of chavs" etc.

Also, since we Brits drink endless cups of tea [if only] you may as well get the word right - it's CUPPA = cup of tea. . .Oil ave a cuppa - I'll have a cup of tea.

And remember, it's WIV and not WITH - never pronounced the TH at the end of a word and never ever pronounce the letter H at the beginning of a word either.

The London Underground here in London is called "The Tube" but pronounced as CHOOB.

Blimey, you'll get it eventually.

Like I say, stick with your own accent, but use Cockney words.

At this next link you can translate English into Cockney Rhyming Slang. . .
http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/rabbit

. . .and remember, it's GAWD and not GOD.

At this next link you can take a BUTCHER'S HOOK [Look] at London's famous Trafalgar Square. . .
http://www.camvista.com/england/london/trafalgarsquare_streaming.php

Here's a famous Cockney to explain how to speak Texan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXJ-oAq2XZg

Good luck - a Londoner

mela

raining cats and dogs = raining alot
fag = cigarette
chum = friend
Ole Blighty = England
a pint = beer
What ya like = an expression to mean something similar to ' you're crazy'
cuppa tea = tea
laddie = young man

firemanhank

How about "bloody well betta"?

Tom Cruise

Scottish:
Fit like? (How are You?)
Chavin awa (Fine thank you)

Large Rat

Skint
Boracic lint (skint)
Wonger (money)
Mucker (friend)
Chavs (council house tenants)
Over the pond (going to America)

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