Search from various English teachers...
Hope - Italian Girl
My Fair Lady movie and British Slang
At the beginning of the My Fair Lady movie, there is a monologue of prof. Higgins like this:
Hear a Yorkshireman, or worse
Hear a Cornishman converse
I'd rather hear a choir singing flat
Chickens cackling in a barn
Just like this one
"Garn"!
But, what's the meaning of this "Garn"?
Garn is a orthographic approximation to Eliza's pronunciation of the phrase "Go on"!
Go on, however, has little to do with the literal meaning of those words: it is a lower-class colloquial expression which dismisses what the previous speaker has just said as false, incredible, or absurd.
Other readers can no doubt provide more examples from recent British speech.
My Fair Lady is a 1964 American musical film. I like this movie and Audrey Hepburn so much! :)
Oct 4, 2014 12:07 PM
Corrections · 1
Such pleasant to see about Audrey on Italki, she will "Always" be there!
Is it possible to take a lesson with you? I cannot fond your teaching profile!
February 3, 2015
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Hope - Italian Girl
Language Skills
English, French, Italian, Spanish
Learning Language
English, French, Spanish
Articles You May Also Like

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
10 likes · 7 Comments

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
12 likes · 9 Comments

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
9 likes · 2 Comments
More articles