Kym Hamer Got Lost in UK English

Image by Gustavo (lu7frb) via Flickr

 I recently joined SeededBuzz so I can help the blog along.
Digging around, I found Kym Hamer's writing, specifically Lost in Translation. She's from Australia, and speaks "Australian English," important to what I'll quote here, and has a crisp writing style.
Here's something new to me, from Lost in Translation:

"... when the English say 'It was quite good', what they mean is 'I was mildly disappointed'."

As a speaker of American English, I wish I'd known that when I lived in Switzerland and went around with  British friends! Now I'm trying to remember when, or if, anyone told me I did something that was "quite good" - and I was thrilled!

Bye for now: G'day, Gidday. Have a good day!


(c) 2011 Opinari and Jean Purcell {OWN} Quote with attribution.

Related articles

• Opinari Quarterly in prep (opinari-quarterly.blogspot.com)
• Tracing the origins of American English. (ask.metafilter.com)
• What American English sounds like to non-English speakers (elenasc.wordpress.com)
• -ize or -ise? : Oxford Dictionaries Online (oxforddictionaries.com)
• Blog for Foreigners Without Getting Lost in Translation :Blog Tips (web-workathome.com)
• New app published - Lost In Translation (socialebola.wordpress.com)