|
|
| |
| |
| |
This comes from the influence of Irish English.*
''' It sounds odd in the ear of an American. Sometimes I have to explain.
The reason I've changed this usage and become accustomed to it is that the Americans and the Irish use these terms in an almost exact mirror-image way. The Americanism here is almost* as impractical here is the Irishism there.
To the American, "sorry" means "I apologize." But in Ireland, "sorry" means "excuse me" — whereas "excuse me" in Ireland seems to imply "forgive me."
"You don't have to excuse yourself," people might say — or at least imply.
So you learn. You just say "sorry" — and the Irish people excuse you.
| |
|
| Contact |
| |
The Dutch prepared me for this usage, when I lived in Amsterdam. They say "sorry" (with various alternative pronunciations of "r") to excuse themselves when they don't hear something in conversation.
I lived in the Netherlands a couple of times, once before I'd been to Ireland.
Return to top of page ...
| |
| |
* (The "almost" caveat is based upon the fact that the Irish are greatly more aware of U.S. culture than vice versa.)
Return to "almost" ...
| |