Street/day-to-day American English

Hi everyone,

I often wrote daily language used cultural points, referred to words that were pronounced everyday on TV, in the street, etc. fashionable words that might be forgotten within two months.
It's rather difficult to go to the States and speak or, worse, listen to people speaking. Except if the topic were tourism or your-way-to-the-capitol... it's bloody difficult.

Look at these words on Facebook:

Cathy (yes! her again )- Dear incompetent Subway person, if I order a BLT, and you end up with the sandwich in front of you with just the bacon, and ask me what I want on it.... It's a BLT for crying out loud, shouldn't you at least put like lettuce and tomatoes on it before asking...and not look at me like I'm some alien because I repeat "it's a BLT, what do you think I want on it"? Sincerely, a customer with half a brain.

To know what a BLT might be, you'd have to go to Subway often and order there regularly.
This statement from Cathy was followed by oodles of responses by American friends who continued on the same tone with as mysterious words:

Sari (I know Sari personally as I spent 4 days and especially 2 evenings, with her, a couple of years back - by the way, Sari keeps bothering people with good language on forums) You're expecting Subway employees to think? They're all told what they need to do, from bread to meat to cheese to toppings to condiments. I doubt they even think about what BLT means - they hear 6 inch, followed by whah whah whah whah.
...
Cathy - lol, and to make matters worse, this was a footlong!!!! OH! The confusion!!!
Sari - ‎Cathy, I don't want to know what went through their mind when they heard foot long!
Cathy - five dollar footlong.....
‎*cracks self up*
Theresa - And to think after reading these marvelous thoughts regarding a $5 footlong BLT from Subway.... I have to eat it for lunch tomorrow ..... I may have to switch to PB&J LOL

I don't know if you share my feelings about day-to-day language but -as you can see-, I'm fascinated by Facebook and its possibilities to get unusual language style (it's quite impossible to find another similar opportunity).

You're right Muriel except that on Facebook, they're from my friends and I can even respond and participate, in Live.

In addition, it's "instant language", I doubt you'll find "BLT" on EnglishClub.com.

I can also get any level of language on WordReference.

Muriel,

I've got lots of contacts in the USA :
- I was working in a French group with about 50% of our activity in the States
- I've been participating on American forums for more than 10 years (since about 1999) and I've been working with them all on computing threats daily since 2003.
In addition, I did meet most of them in Redmond.
- I've friends living in California
- I had an American girl-friend in Ohio-Kansas-Georgia. Her mother was British and we often spoke about differences b/w Am and Brit English and French due to
--- her mother and her acccent
--- a colleague of hers who arrived from England and who was making funny mistakes

Hi Muriel, hi everyone,

I don't think I'm schizophenic but I always have an eye or an ear on both the form and the content.

For instance, when I've to reach my hotel from SEATAC (Seattle Airport) to Bellevue, WA, my first act is not to try to share a limo with colleagues but to go to the bus stop and meet people there and drive across the suburban towns to watch and guess how they do and why they do so... poor Norma (my American teacher) has to respond to thousands of questions