The Language Barrier
For two countries that speak the same language, I swear it’s like Lexxie and I are from two different planets. She’s fluent in pig Latin and I’m a native Gibberish speaker. I spend a great deal of my time using context clues during my conversations with Lexxie just to figure out what the heck she’s saying!
Today, we thought we’d tried to break some language barriers for you while sharing some snippets from Misplaced Princess and Misplaced Cowboy.
A barn is the US is called a shed in Oz.
From Misplaced Princess: Annie carried a Vegemite sandwich wrapped in a paper towel to the shed for Hunter. She’d panicked a bit when she’d come to the kitchen for breakfast this morning and discovered he wasn’t there. She was typically a fairly self-reliant person, but she felt like a fish out of water in Australia. Having Hunter around made things easier, less intimidating.
Hazel had put her at ease almost instantly at the breakfast table, entertaining her with funny stories about life at Farpoint. At least, Annie thought they were meant to be humorous. Mrs. Sullivan’s Australian accent was rather thick and she tended to use some colorful expressions. Annie was still trying to piece out exactly what “dry as a dead dingo’s donger” meant. She certainly had her suspicions, but still. It had been a bit shocking to hear, coming from the older woman’s lips. She’d have to use that line with Monet one night. Her girlfriend would love it.
A ranch in the US is called a station in Oz and a cowboy in the US is called a stockman in Oz.
From Misplaced Princess: “I’m writing a four-part series about life on a cattle station. And I’m supposed to interview a real live Aussie cowboy.”
She looked at him hopefully—and he knew he was in trouble.
“I’m a stockman, Annie. We’re called stockmen over here, or grazier, if we’re being more formal. Which we’re not.”
“Oh. Okay. Then I need to shadow a stockman.”
“Me?”
She lifted one shoulder as if to ask why not. “I’d intended to interview Dylan, but he’s not here and likely won’t be for a while. The first piece is due in three days and once I start, I sort of need to stick with the same cow…er, stockman.”
She really expected him to take her back to the cattle station? Let her follow him around for two weeks watching him work? How was he supposed to keep his hands off her if she was under his roof and his bloody brother was half a world away?
Dylan better get his arse back Down Under, and quick.
Otherwise, this was not going to end well.
A lake in the US is called a billabong in Oz.
From Misplaced Princess: “Oh look,” she said, pointing to her right. “A lake.”
Hunter glanced over his shoulder. “That’s where we’ve been heading all this time. And love, that’s a billabong.”
He directed the horse toward a clearing. Hopping down, he reached up for her. Annie leaned forward, placing her trust in Hunter as he caught her, delivering her safely to the ground. He kept his arms around her as she struggled to find her footing.
“My legs are wiggly.”
He laughed at her description. “You’re not used to spending so much time on horseback. It gets easier.”
Once she’d gotten her sea legs back, Hunter released her, grabbing their lunch and a large blanket from the pack.
Annie walked closer to the water, enjoying the fresh, clean air and smell of wet earth. It was a welcome change after several days spent in the dry heat surrounding the homestead.
“It’s beautiful here.”
Misplaced Princess is available for preorder on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Check out Lexxie’s blog to break down some more language barriers and for some sneak peeks at Misplaced Cowboy, which will release at the end of August.
And don’t forget to check out our Misplaced Scavenger Hunt (details in the previous blog post). One lucky winner will receive a Kindle! The scavenger hunt runs until June 30.
