British and American English: Difference between revisions
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imported>Hayford Peirce (adding some more, quickly, to avoid an edit-conflict) |
imported>Hayford Peirce (some more; years ago, when I was writing, and still wanted to write Brit-type thrillers, I started a list -- I got up to several hundred then gave up; maybe I can find the list again) |
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| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
!British | !British | ||
!American | !American | ||
|- | |||
|aerodrome | |||
|airport | |||
|- | |||
|aeroplane | |||
|airplane | |||
|- | |||
|aeroport | |||
|airport | |||
|- | |- | ||
|autumn | |autumn | ||
|autumn/fall | |autumn/fall | ||
|- | |||
|bonnet | |||
|hood | |||
|- | |||
|boot | |||
|trunk | |||
|- | |- | ||
|braces | |braces | ||
| Line 22: | Line 37: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|crisps | |crisps | ||
|potato chips | |chips/potato chips | ||
|- | |- | ||
|curtains | |curtains | ||
|drapes/draperies/curtains | |drapes/draperies/curtains | ||
|- | |||
|drawing room | |||
|living room | |||
|- | |- | ||
|dustbin | |dustbin | ||
| Line 77: | Line 95: | ||
|rug | |rug | ||
|blanket | |blanket | ||
|- | |||
|saloon | |||
|sedan | |||
|- | |- | ||
|spanner | |spanner | ||
| Line 86: | Line 107: | ||
|sweetshop | |sweetshop | ||
|candy store | |candy store | ||
|- | |||
|tea (sometimes) | |||
|supper, dinner | |||
|- | |- | ||
|tin | |tin | ||
| Line 95: | Line 119: | ||
|trousers | |trousers | ||
|trousers/pants | |trousers/pants | ||
|- | |||
|windscreen | |||
|windshield | |||
|- | |||
|wing | |||
|fender | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
Revision as of 22:18, 19 March 2008
This article examines the differences between British and American English in the areas of vocabulary, spelling and phonology.
Vocabulary
Lexical differences are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| aerodrome | airport |
| aeroplane | airplane |
| aeroport | airport |
| autumn | autumn/fall |
| bonnet | hood |
| boot | trunk |
| braces | suspenders |
| car-park | parking lot |
| chips | (French/french) fries [1] |
| condom | condom/rubber (vulgar slang) |
| crisps | chips/potato chips |
| curtains | drapes/draperies/curtains |
| drawing room | living room |
| dustbin | trashcan |
| dustman | garbage collector/garbageman |
| film | movie [2] |
| flat | flat/apartment[3] |
| (Association) football | soccer |
| judgement | judgment |
| lift | elevator |
| full stop | period |
| lorry/truck[4] | truck |
| nappy | diaper |
| off-licence | liquor store |
| pants | underwear/underpants |
| pavement | sidewalk |
| petrol | gasoline/gas |
| road | road/pavement |
| rubber[5] | eraser |
| rug | blanket |
| saloon | sedan |
| spanner | wrench |
| sweets | candy |
| sweetshop | candy store |
| tea (sometimes) | supper, dinner |
| tin | can |
| torch | flashlight |
| trousers | trousers/pants |
| windscreen | windshield |
| wing | fender |
Spelling
The most striking differences between the spelling of AmE and BrE are in these suffixes (the accents show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes):
| British | - | American | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ence | defénce | -ense | defénse |
| aluminium | aluminum | ||
| grey | gray | ||
| lîcence noun[6] | lîcense | ||
| offénce | offénse[7] |
Notes
- ↑ Though strictly, these are two different shapes, chips being broader than fries.
- ↑ ‘Movie’ is nowadays normal in BrE when talking Hollywood.
- ↑ Increasingly heard in British English; in San Francisco, California, at least, a city of small, shared buildings, both "flat" and "apartment" are used, mostly interchangeably. Purists, however, distinguish between the two: an "apartment" is in a building that has a shared main entrance; a "flat" has its own outside entrance door.
- ↑ British trucks are traditionally small, and pulled, typically on rails.
- ↑ A pitfall for British visitors to America, where 'rubber' is a vulgar term for a condom.
- ↑ lîcense is the verb in BrE, cf. licensêe in both. Mostly -ence is used in both, as with fénce; but sénse, dénse and suspénse in both.
- ↑ In American sporting contexts, one may hear óffénse and dêfénse.