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UNDERSTANDING BENG-RE: Bridging the Gap Between the English Language and Its American Counterpart
 
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UNDERSTANDING BENG-RE: Bridging the Gap Between the English Language and Its American Counterpart (Paperback)

by Moore (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)


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Product Details

  • Paperback: 250 pages
  • Publisher: Citadel; Rev Upd Su edition (February 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0806519398
  • ISBN-13: 978-0806519395
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,329,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, packed with useful words and phrases., February 19, 1999
By A Customer
If you need to work with the British or are going there to live or visit, this is the book you've been looking for. It's packed with words from many sources, including not only common British words but military terms, slang, acronyms, common idioms, usage notes and even some gestures. The definitions are to the point and include examples where needed. The author clearly understands English on both sides of the Atlantic. The list of cockney rhyming slang in the appendix is worth the price alone. Buy it and read it from cover to cover.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No havering here, July 27, 2003
Margaret Moore's guide, 'Understanding British English: Bridging the Gap between the English Language and its American Counterpart' is an interesting, dictionary-style work which seeks to explain thousands of phrases which, while using words readily recognised by Americans, have a meaning or assumed context in British English (or other British variants, such as Australian or New Zealand England) that make the meaning quite different.

Many people are aware vaguely that there are different words for cigarettes or for falling ill in Britain that would give a quite different connotation. Using the slang terms from Britain would obviously be interpreted in a much different way in America.

Moore, in her forward, says that ever since Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, the British have had to make up for wounded pride, and that one of the best ways to do this has been poking fun at their former colonists' language while continuing to change their own.

While many words are familiar thanks to the relative success of the British mystery novel and various British films and shows (particularly on PBS), there is still a gap, especially of slang and common speech. American audiences will be familiar with boot and bonnet as ends of an automobile, but observe the subtle confusion of the following exchange I observed some years ago:

American: I'll call later, then.
Briton: Well, it would be best if you rang before you called.
American: <puzzled expression>

A very simple divergence of meaning -- Americans are familiar with the phrase 'to call upon' as meaning going somewhere, as opposed to telephoning, but the assumption that 'to call' means to telephone is American; British tend to use 'to ring'.

To say, 'I'm bushed' in America would mean 'I'm tired', but in Australian would likely mean 'I'm confused', or even 'I'm lost' (as in, out in the bush).

So, don't be cack-handed when using the language, and fall into a caddle. If you want to be sure of what's being said when someone asks you to play Noughts and crosses, asks if you are an OAP, needs to spend a penny, or is doing a real send up to set the Thames on fire, this is the book for you.

Moore has included a section on rhyming slang near the back, but as this is such a fluid part of the language, much of it is now dated. However, it is still interesting, and some of the expressions are still all harbour (i.e., all right). Rhyming slang was devised by the Cockney workers to befuddle Irish immigrants. One needs to find a phrase with a concluding word that rhymes with the word you want to use, and then use the first word of the phrase. A subtle and rather ingenious invention, actually.

Once again, the context becomes critical, for how is an American (or indeed, even a non-Cockney Briton) to know the context assumed by those using the rhyming slang to know which words have been joined and then substituted? Perhaps rhyming slang could be used as part of military coding?

This book represents fascinating linguistic and historical changes in the common language we share with much of the world.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A good reference, August 12, 1999
By A Customer
Informative, but in dictionary style; don't bother to buy it if you're interested in an entertaining, expanded presentation.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is a must if you want to understand the English. I took it with me to Britain and found it very useful. Its dictionary format makes it easy to find the term you need. Read more
Published on June 2, 2005 by SandJack

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent


This is a must if you want to understand the English. I took it with me to Britain and found it very useful. Read more
Published on June 2, 2005 by SandJack

4.0 out of 5 stars very good, though wee bit dated
The copyright is beginning to show wear on this one, dating it poorly, but still useful for the writer. Read more
Published on October 1, 2003 by Deborah MacGillivray

2.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned reference for the American-English speaker.
Has some good references for anyone who requires a translation of what can only be considered as 'Old English' into American-English. Read more
Published on January 10, 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Jolly good fun for Anglophiles.
As a reference book, this one is not as good as it could be, but it's lots of fun. Most of the words and phrases I need to "translate" from British TV and movies are in... Read more
Published on October 14, 2000 by MLPlayfair

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