By: fallen angel

At times when i go to a movie. I ask myself do the locals understand the slang and expressions?. Once i ask my friends and they answered me, “oh we read the subtitles”. Ooook, so i thought let’s catch up on some American slang, expressions & phrases.

Common words

Ballpark figure - a good numeric guess, an estimate

Brewski – a beer, a bottle, a can or a glass of beer.

Dis – to insult someone (noun), or insult itself (verb).

Doormat – wear individual who is regularly insulted by others.

Haywire - broken, in a state of chaos, not workin.

Gibberish – Speech that doesn’t make sense; nonsensical words and phrases.

Hype - loud advertising and promotion.

Love handles – Unsightly fat that shows from the sides at the waist, usually on men.

Go bananas – To be irrational and wild; to lose control.

No-brainer – Something that is perfectly obvious; easy to do, requiring very little effort.

On cloud 9 - to be extremely happy, elated.

Uncle Sam – The U.S. government; a patriotic figure who symbolizes the United States.

Rookie – A beginner; one who is new to a profession or field.

Psyched – Very excited and ready to go; in high spirits.

I can go on and on but want to leave some space and move on to another category.

Words commonly use in the hood

Da bomb - Excellent, the best.

Blow it – to lose or waste something, to do poorly or fail miserably.

Crib -a person’s place of residence.

Later - bye, short for see you later.

Hangout – To pass time idly; to loaf with pleasure, at ease.

Hoodlum – A criminal or gangster.

Hooked – Addicted; to like something so much that you need it every day.

Klutz – A clumsy person; an awkward or physically incompetent individual.

Hung up on – To be obsessed about something or someone.

Phat – excellent, cool, the greatest.

Bounce – to leave.

Dawg – Slang for “my close acquaintance of an African-American ethnic background”

Ghetto – residential area of a city, usually troubled by a disproportionately large amount of crime.

Projects – Usually a group of dirty buildings made for really poor/homeless people to live in. Projects are dangerous,very dirty,filled with gangsters,drug dealers,pimps,hookers and such.

These are few common words you will hear black African American use in the movies. There are many more and the words will keep on growing. Back when i was in Brooklyn, i use words like break out which means leave or now they have change it to “bounce”. The slang/expressions constantly change all the time. These are just few words for your understanding.

Till next time…

Since i’ve been back for nearly 10yrs+, im sad to say i nearly lost my American slang. Well more like i’ve keep it inside of me. I can’t speak the way i use to cause people here just wouldn’t understand. They might seem like they do but they don’t. I was really frustrated when i first came back cause people can’t even understand when i ask for “water”. They would ask what? Oh.. wad ter is it ? or “restaurant” = res tau rant. Eventhough it’s the same word, it’s just the way people pronounce it. Everyone is entitle to have their country’s accent. I respect that. As the years gone by, i’ve caught up with the local slang or even the accent. As for the first 2 years i can’t really make out words they are saying or even understand certain words. Thank god that has passed.

Until now at times i’m still fighting within myself with certain words i should use or say. Not just because of the American slang, it’s also cause i hail from Brooklyn, and i have a lot of street language/expressions in. My words are just mixed up and jumbo up together in a certain way. At least now i can control it since i’ve been living here for a period of time. It will slip up sometimes, know what i’m saying

It irritates me sometimes when someone finds out that i came back from the states and they expect me to have an American slang. Hmm… would you understand “water” or wad ter? in fact there’s even more if i would have speak in a full sentence. I prefer to blend in the environment rather than to be arrogant just because i came back from the states. I have friends that tries really hard to keep their slang, be it American or British, come ON… it’s just not real. It sounds really made up/fake and no one sounds like that here, and it shows that you just want to prove something? I don’t, i guess these people do. It’s strange when people are having conversation and when you talk you sound white or at least you try to sound white. If you haven’t notice that you are in Asia and you are not white. So what cha saying?.

After living in Asia for a number of years, and been brought up in the states, having a cultural difference is not easy. I learn that no matter where you are, just get with the culture. You don’t have to be a certain way, just be yourself. I have fought with myself for many years wondering why i was having such a hard time adapting. It is simply because i had to learn a new culture and live in it. So far it’s been 10yrs +… not too bad. Of course i try to keep a little New Yorker in me from time to time. When i talk to westerners i still have my American slang, it’s something i learn to control and use it when it’s appropriate. On the other hand, my best buds in the states will laugh at me on my half American/British slang that i’m currently speaking. I don’t know what it is but it works

Till next time…