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dolorosa_12I am losing my language.
It's happening slowly, but it's happening all the same, a slow erosion caused by the necessity of making myself understood.
And now it's trousers, not pants, crisps, not chips, sofa, not couch. I had to say flip flops instead of thongs to avoid embarrassment. I still say zucchini and eggplant, not courgette and aubergine, but that's only because I so rarely eat them that it's never been an issue. I caught myself saying pepper the other day instead of capsicum, without even noticing. I say cash point, not ATM.
Oddly enough, the one phrase that's holding out in the face of British linguistic oppression is tomato sauce instead of ketchup. No idea why a bottle of Heinz sauce should be so tenacious in insisting on its Australian name.
It makes me sad in some insignificant and yet oddly profound way. The words are falling from my mouth, and very soon I'll forget that I ever lived in a place where people drank lemon, lime and bitters, ate mandarins, thought this vegetable (or rather fruit) was a pumpkin and drove utes along dusty country roads.
It's happening slowly, but it's happening all the same, a slow erosion caused by the necessity of making myself understood.
And now it's trousers, not pants, crisps, not chips, sofa, not couch. I had to say flip flops instead of thongs to avoid embarrassment. I still say zucchini and eggplant, not courgette and aubergine, but that's only because I so rarely eat them that it's never been an issue. I caught myself saying pepper the other day instead of capsicum, without even noticing. I say cash point, not ATM.
Oddly enough, the one phrase that's holding out in the face of British linguistic oppression is tomato sauce instead of ketchup. No idea why a bottle of Heinz sauce should be so tenacious in insisting on its Australian name.
It makes me sad in some insignificant and yet oddly profound way. The words are falling from my mouth, and very soon I'll forget that I ever lived in a place where people drank lemon, lime and bitters, ate mandarins, thought this vegetable (or rather fruit) was a pumpkin and drove utes along dusty country roads.
