When you’re an English speaker, it can be easy to forget that English is a very diverse language.
However, for North Americans who venture ‘across the pond,’ many experience the strange sensation of knowing the language but not understanding what’s being said.
That’s because the UK is rich with English dialects and accents, both of which have an impact on how a non-native speaker would comprehend what’s being communicated (more on the difference between accents and dialects here).
There are so many sayings – otherwise known as ‘slang or colloquialisms’ – that are unique to each region in the UK, which is home to the countries of Britain, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Test Your Knowledge of British Slang and UK Colloquialisms
If you want a taste of what it’s like to travel the UK while not leaving your home, you can take our quiz below and find out where you fall on the spectrum: From as ‘smooth as a native UK citizen,’ to ‘North American English only.’
You can listen through audio samples of some of the sayings and phrases that you might hear if you traveled through the UK, take a guess at their North American equivalent and see how you score – then challenge your friends to do the same!
Please note: These recordings have been completed by Voices voice over talent, and selected in consultation with a dialect coach. The accents of the UK are incredibly diverse – more so, than we could ever depict in one article, quiz or audio file. However, if you’d like to hear more, you can also travel the world of UK accents in our Accent Map.
Comments
Great fun quiz!
So glad you enjoyed it Heidi! Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Tanya well done!!! This was fun. I got 75%. Your work is brilliant.
Hi Julie! Thank you so much for taking the quiz & commenting! We really wanted to create engaging, fun content. Your score is also very impressive – good job!
English can really vary a lot, with accents
My apologize, but I don’t understand the concept of this game. Please advise.
Hi Jennifer!
In a nutshell, the concept plays on the fact that English speakers around the world may use very different words to say the same thing. For example, what an American may call the ‘trunk’ of a car, might be called ‘the boot’ by someone in England. We’ve rounded-up phrases like this from around the UK and have included the vocal files so you can hear someone saying them out loud. The object of the game, is allow those who are unfamiliar with UK phrases and colloquialisms, to guess what they mean. Plus, it’s fun to hear so many varieties of English!
75%! I’ll take it. Fun to hear these phrases.
Great work! Thank you so much for taking the quiz – we’re glad you had fun 😀
– Tanya
Hello. My name is Joyce Grey-Carter. I would like to enquire about sending you an audio demo reel.
I enjoyed the quiz. I am from London UK, born and bred. My parents are from Jamaica. I managed 81% on the quiz. Let it be known that because you are from the UK, it doesn’t mean you know and can understand the all the various colloquialisms. A Londoner for example wouldn’t be necessarily familiar with every regional accent in the UK.
I would love if you could do a quiz using English colloquialisms across the USA.
Thanks
Joyce
Great
Very interesting
Thanks. Great quiz
Where can I see the results?
You can see the results at the bottom of the post after answering every question in the quiz.
Great quiz
Cool quiz
Fun.
Fun
Good
Awesome! Quiz So Fun! My Favorite English Quiz Ever!