English in Britain

Vocabulary

Slang (n.) – words that you use in informal situations, colloquial language

Alright – A synonym for OK, also used as a way of saying hello between young people

Cheers - An informal way to say thank you, also used before you have a drink when you touch glasses

Grand - £1000

To be skint (adj.) – to have no money

The English you learn in school is very good. Everyone will understand you when you speak to them,

 and it is probable that your English will be better than their Spanish. But what do British people 

sound like when they talk to each other? This question is difficult, because there are so many different

and interesting forms of English used in Great Britain. It is possible that if you visit Britain, you will 

hear words you don’t know being used all the time! This is something that happened to me when I first 

moved to Spain. If you hear a word you don’t know, the best thing to do is ask what it means, or write

 it down and look in a dictionary later.

Greetings & Thanks

A common and colloquial way of greeting someone is to ask them as a question ‘Alright?’ to which 

the answer is normally ‘alright’ or ‘alright, you?’  This is used mainly amongst young people who 

know each other, or who have met before. Hello, hi and hiya are also all common. When we say 

goodbye, we often say ‘see you’. When we say thank you, people often say ´cheers, and in very 

informal situations people sometimes say ´ta´. 

Mate -friend, bung -give/lend dosh - money, dog & bone - phone

Money

There are slang terms for some money related words.

Quid - £1 – ‘It cost 50 quid’ = ‘It cost £50’

Fiver - £5/£5 note

Tenner - £10/£10 note

A grand - £1000 – this works the same as quid, 

‘It cost 10 grand’ = ‘It cost £10,000’

Skint – to say ‘I’m skint’ means ‘I’ve got no money’ 

or ‘I’m poor (at the moment)’

Food

There are differences between what British people call each meal – sometimes this can be confusing 

even for English speakers!

Breakfast is always breakfast, but can be shortened to ‘brekkie’

Lunch, the meal at 12.30 – 1.30 in Britain, is sometimes referred to as dinner.

Dinner, the meal in the evening, is sometimes referred to as tea (like the drink).

Accent

There are many different accents in Britain. Each of the four countries of the UK (England, 

Northern Ireland,  Scotland and Wales) has its own accent, and within these countries 

there are lots of variations. The most noticeable accents in England (from my personal 

point of view) are the Geordie accent (Newcastle), the Scouse accent (Liverpool), the 

Brummie accent (Birmingham), and the West Country accent (south-west England).

English will be different wherever you go in the UK, but you will be understood wherever 

you go, and even if you don’t understand what someone is saying, people are always happy 

to repeat themselves or speak slower if you ask them nicely! Finally, don’t be afraid to practise 

your English, because it is the only way you will improve.

Other words you might hear:

Well - well can be used to mean 'very' e.g 'That exam was well hard'

Gutted - upset that something has gone wrong e.g 'I lost my phone today, I'm gutted' 

Dodgy - something suspicious, strange, doubtful e.g 'that man looks a bit dodgy'

Knackered - very tired, or physically exhausted

Questions

Limey - archaic word for a British person, Old bean - old-fashioned term of address

1. Name two colloquial ways of saying hello in Britain
2. Find the two different words British people use for their midday meal
3. How much is ‘fifty grand’?
4. Which other British accents have you heard of?

Helen Ullock