左老师-AmericanJargonandBafflingIdioms.pptVIP

American Jargon and Baffling Idioms What are some examples of language proliferation in American English ? Old Terms Personnel Director Someone who is in charge of Insurance Salesperson New Terms Director of Human Resources Director of Risk Management Account Manager; Service Representative Why is American English so proliferated? Because it is full of: buzzwords, cusswords, puns, gags, show biz zingers, hyperbole, euphemisms, Latinisms, local colors, jargons, slang, and officialese. What does the sentence mean: “ It is clear that America faces a communications crisis that neither Berlitz nor bytes alone can solve” ? What’s the meaning of the following idioms? As nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs Flat as a pancake Safe as Fort Knox Old as Methuselah Funny as a rubber crutch Raining cats and dogs Flying by the seat of your pants Coming up roses Make waves Keep a low profile Leave someone out in left field Ballpark figure Get to first base Play for all the marbles A whole new ball game Get someone into hot water Don’t “Frenchify” your American pronunciation. Don’t show off by using the Latin/Greek equivalent of English expressions, such as per se, ad hoc, quid pro quo, and a priori, unless you are in the field of religion or law. Reasons: You may misuse or overuse them. You may embarrass your non-native English-speaking associates. You may mispronounce them. You may make grammatical mistakes when using them. Other points about “how” to say things: Tame the down-home accent and word choices. Beware of drawls and twangs. Speak at normal speed—not too fast and not too slow. Try to repeat sometimes. Respect the “silent period” among the Japanese during business meetings. Keep in mind that your words may be taken literally by your foreign counterpart. Jargons Most jargons die out quickly. Using yesterday’s buzzword today is as fatal a career move as rolling a Hula Hoop to the office. Jargons d