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Are you a traveling linguaphile? Many of us that are drawn to travel are also drawn to the study of different languages. Moreover, the seductive accents and quirky slang terms found within our own mother tongue can be endlessly intriguing.
If you can’t leave language alone, Adam Jacob de Boinod’s book The Wonder of Whiffling is certainly for you. The book is a tour of English around the globe. You’ll learn terms for a myriad of random and hysterical things, places, and situations.
Have you told your American friends that you really want to go out and giver this Saturday night? Have you complained that it’s so bloody hot in here? Or told them that your upstairs neighbour is so bloody wide? Have they told you to stop being such a whinger?
The book is bound to have you chortling and winnicking like crazy, and I’m not chippie-burdie-ing you!
After months of travel, if you think you might be crambazzled, ditch your shot-clog and take a break to give de Boinod’s book a read.
@Backpack Foodie & Kim:...
December 14th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Great post! I love picking up regional terms when I travel. I still say “no worries” from traveling in Australia, “bloody hell” from London, “bula!” and “high tide” from Fiji, and occasionally I still emit a “hai!” from Japan.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thanks for the tip! It’s a good idea to know a few regional words before you travel. Speaking “English” with others and listening to the different accents can be an adventure in and of itself. Sometimes you must “strain” to understand what a person’s saying. It’s a lot of fun and you can have a laugh.
December 17th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I find comfort in being in a common room at the hostel where sometimes 8 different languages are spoken! And literal translation just tickles my fantasy- one common thread can bring on a challenge to explain some of the simplest things! Which often leads to the best thing we can share as people- laughter!