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London/British Habits

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  • 29-02-2012 4:45pm
    #1
    silvervixen84
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 6,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Lately I seem to be greeting people with 'Alright?' rather than 'Hi' or 'Hello', and I think I've picked up the habit at work.

    Has anyone else picked up habits/phrases since they moved here? :D


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    #2
    Playboy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭Playboy


    caught myself saying "innit" a couple of times unfortunately! Hopefully it never happens again .. I blame one particular friend!


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    #3
    growler
    Registered Users Posts: 2,188 ✭✭✭growler


    Playboy wrote: »
    caught myself saying "innit" a couple of times unfortunately! Hopefully it never happens again .. I blame one particular friend!

    i did this for a time being ironic, but then i found myself saying it without the irony, really hard to shake this once you start, it is a good way of saving on syllables after all , but you really need to be a native to use it.


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    #4
    bluedolphin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,421 ✭✭✭bluedolphin


    I read the Metro. I definitely never had that nasty habit before I moved here.


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    #5
    duffarama
    Registered Users Posts: 609 ✭✭✭duffarama


    I'm still confusing the locals by saying "howaya", "how's it going" and occasionally "story?" and being greeted with quizzical looks!

    I was home at the weekend, apparently I'm losing my accent...


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    #6
    exiledelbows
    Registered Users Posts: 657 ✭✭✭exiledelbows


    I say 'cheers' a lot when I mean 'thanks'. I use 'proper' as an adjective a bit and I've had to amend 'college' to 'uni' when talking about my university days.

    There is no justification for the use of 'innit', as you can take it out of a conversation without changing the meaning of that conversation.


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    #7
    BraziliaNZ
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 5,671 ✭✭✭BraziliaNZ


    silvervixen84 wrote: »
    Lately I seem to be greeting people with 'Alright?' rather than 'Hi' or 'Hello', and I think I've picked up the habit at work.

    Has anyone else picked up habits/phrases since they moved here? :D

    We've always said that in Dublin, I never found it an English thing?


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    #8
    silvervixen84
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 6,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭silvervixen84


    BraziliaNZ wrote: »
    We've always said that in Dublin, I never found it an English thing?

    I never greeted anyone in Cork that way, so I've definitely picked it up since I arrived here :D


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    #9
    clartharlear
    Registered Users Posts: 489 ✭✭clartharlear


    As a Corkwoman who has lived in both Dublin and London, I think the 'alright' greetings are very different!
    Nearly a year later, the London 'alright' still gets under my skin. I ALWAYS think they are questioning my 'alrightness' because they think there's something wrong with me. Something about the intonation, I guess.


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    #10
    afatbollix
    Registered Users Posts: 4,046 ✭✭✭afatbollix


    Ya but its not like we can say 'Whats the craic?' or 'Hows the craic?' or 'Wheres the criac?'

    Its all local slang and its now weird to hear Whats the craic when I go back home :(


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    #11
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    i said "ain't ya" once about 8 or 9 years ago, and still feel filthy because of it. copped it straight away too.

    as for the alright debate, there's a big, big difference between 'owoite' and 'alreeh', although both can sound vaguely threatening!


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    #12
    mathepac
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,991 ✭✭✭mathepac


    I bet ye're all puttin' the milk in the cup before ye pour in the tay, ye feckers, usin' the wan tay-bag twice over and the wan biscuit, probably corpse-house biscuits too. (My paternal Grandmother's name for Marietta or other plain biscuits).


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    #13
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    mathepac wrote: »
    I bet ye're all puttin' the milk in the cup before ye pour in the tay, ye feckers, usin' the wan tay-bag twice over and the wan biscuit, probably corpse-house biscuits too. (My paternal Grandmother's name for Marietta or other plain biscuits).

    :D

    feck no! i'm still importing tea from home!
    and found a cadbury's shop near where i work that sells purple snacks. they're few and far between over here. some shops sometimes have them, but it's hit and miss. this place always has them!


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    #14
    LadyMayBelle
    Registered Users Posts: 5,095 ✭✭✭LadyMayBelle


    I noticed and stopped myself dropping the 't' out of certain words; not quite dropping it sometimes but making it subtle..that's quite an English thing.

    I still say 'grand' A LOT which my colleagues think is gas and throw in the cupla focal, which is habit.


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    #15
    mathepac
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,991 ✭✭✭mathepac


    Interesting. Spoken English around London now seems to consist largely of consonant-free grunts. e.g. "Ge' ah' of i'. inni'" spoken as "Get out of it" in other parts.

    I remember years ago aunts & uncles coming "home" for holidays, all of them retained their various Irish accents, slagging the "wet week-enders" who quickly adopted the speech patterns and accents of their colleagues.

    Strangely enough before I ever lived in England I was a passable mimic of London accents.


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