British and American English: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
imported>Ro Thorpe |
imported>Ro Thorpe m (→Vocabulary) |
||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
|chips | |chips | ||
|(French or french) fries <ref> Though strictly, these are two different shapes, chips being broader than fries.</ref> | |(French or french) fries <ref> Though strictly, these are two different shapes, chips being broader than fries.</ref> | ||
|- | |||
|condom | |||
|condom/rubber (vulgar slang) | |||
|- | |- | ||
|crisps | |crisps | ||
| Line 44: | Line 47: | ||
|off-licence | |off-licence | ||
|liquor store | |liquor store | ||
|- | |||
|pants | |||
|underwear/underpants | |||
|- | |- | ||
|pavement | |pavement | ||
|sidewalk | |sidewalk | ||
|- | |||
|petrol | |||
|gasoline/gas | |||
|- | |- | ||
|road | |road | ||
|road/pavement | |road/pavement | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rubber<ref>A pitfall for British visitors to America, where 'rubber' is a vulgar term for a condom.</ref> | |rubber<ref>A pitfall for British visitors to America, where 'rubber' is a vulgar term for a condom.</ref> | ||
|eraser | |eraser | ||
|- | |- | ||
|sweets | |sweets | ||
| Line 65: | Line 68: | ||
|sweetshop | |sweetshop | ||
|candy store | |candy store | ||
|- | |- | ||
|trousers | |trousers | ||
Revision as of 18:33, 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 |
|---|---|
| autumn | autumn/fall |
| car-park | parking lot |
| chips | (French or french) fries [1] |
| condom | condom/rubber (vulgar slang) |
| crisps | potato chips |
| curtains | drapes/draperies/curtains |
| film | movie [2] |
| flat | flat/apartment[3] |
| full stop | period |
| (Association) football | soccer |
| lift | elevator |
| lorry/truck[4] | truck |
| nappy | diaper |
| off-licence | liquor store |
| pants | underwear/underpants |
| pavement | sidewalk |
| petrol | gasoline/gas |
| road | road/pavement |
| rubber[5] | eraser |
| sweets | candy |
| sweetshop | candy store |
| trousers | trousers/pants |
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 |
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.