a guide to the difference between american english and british english
TRANSCRIPT
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A TO
ZED
A TO ZEE
GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
BRITISH ND ME RIC N ENGLISH
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A TO ZED A TO ZEE
A
GUIDE
TO THE
DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
BRITISH AND
AMER ICAN
ENGLISH
W R IT T EN
B Y
GLENN
D A R R A G H
PUBLISHED B Y
EDITORIAL STANLEY
LAYOUT
AN GEL A GOMEZ MAR T IN
FR ON T P G E DESIGN
DISENO IRUNES
©
E D I T O R I L S T N L E Y
A P D O 207 - 20302 IRUN - SPAIN
TELF
943)
64 04 12 - FAX.
943)
64 38 63
ISBN: 84-7873-346-9
DEP
LEG.
BI-930-00
FIRST EDITION
2000
PRINTERS
IMPRENTA
B ER EK IN T Z A
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ont nts
Preface
Introduction: Why are they so differe nt? v
Part one:
Spelling
Part two: Pronunciation
11
Part three: Grammar
and
Usage
19
Part four: A to Zed: a GB US lexis 27
Part five:
A to
Zee:
a US GB
lexis
75
Further Reading
121
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ref ce
T h i s book i s i n t ended fo r Amer i cans and
Br i t ons
w h o
w a n t
to
u n d e r s t a n d e a c h
o t he r be t t e r , and fo r f o re i gn s t uden t s o f
e i t h e r A m e r i c a n
o r
Br i t i sh Eng l i sh
w h o
w a n t to
f am i l i a r i se
o r
fam i l ia r i ze )
t h e m s e l v e s
with th e
o t he r ma i n va r i e t y
o f t h e l a n g u a g e . A c c o r d i n g t o
G e o r g e
Berna rd Shaw, th e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d
Eng land a re t wo
g r e a t n a t i o n s s e p a r a t e d
b y a c o m m o n t o n g u e . I n f a c t , m o s t o f
th e t i m e t he two
p e o p l e s u n d e r s t a n d
each o ther fa i r l y
well o r th ink
t hey
d o .
T he
accen t i s d i f f e ren t , o f cou rse , bu t i t
p r e s e n t s n o m o r e o f a bar r ie r than any
r e g i o n a l a c c e n t
w o u l d .
D i f f e r e n c e s in
g ramm ar , s yn t ax and spe l l i ng a re
re la t i ve ly minor .
T h e
m a i n d i f f e r e n c e s ,
and t h e y a re
huge,
a re
lexical
and
cu l t u ra l .
T h i s s t a t e o f a f fa i r s i s r e f l ec t ed i n t he
s t r u c t u r e
a n d
c o n t e n t
o f the
p r e s e n t
b o o k ,
w h i c h
m a k e s no p r e t e n c e o r
p r e t e n s e )
o f be i ng exhaus t i ve , bu t wh i ch
d o e s t r y t o b e c o m p r e h e n s i v e . S h o r t
i n i t i a l chap t e r s ou t l i ne
th e
h i s t o r i c a l
b a c k g r o u n d a n d t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n
p ronunc i a t i on , spe l l i ng a n d g rammar .
The ma in par t of the b o o k , h o w e v e r ,
co ns i s t s o f a d i c t i ona ry o f B r i t ish
v o c a b u l a r y
a n d
c u l t u r a l r e f e r e n c e s
w h i c h
s o m e o n e f r o m
th e
U n i t e d S t a t e s
m i g h t
h a v e t r o u b l e u n d e r s t a n d i n g ,
and o f a
d i c t i o n a r y o f A m e r i c a n v o c a b u l a r y a n d
c u l t u r a l r e f e r e n c e s t h a t m i gh t p rese n t
p r o b l e m s to s o m e o n e f r o m th e Br i t ish
Is l es . As t he book i s no t a i med a t
academi cs ,
but at
laymen
o r
l a y p e r s o n s ) w h o a r e c u r i o u s a b o u t
l a n g u a g e , p h o n e t i c d i f f e r e n c e s a r e
shown ,
w h e n
n e c e s s a r y , b y a f i gu red
p r o n u n c i a t i o n . T h e to ed s e c t i o n is
w r i t t e n
t o be
r e a d
b y
A m e r i c a ns , t h e / 4
to ee
sec t i on
by
Bri ton s. Final ly,
a
number o f o l de r t e rms have been
r e t a i n e d
in
b o t h s e c t i o n s
o f the
d i c t i o n a r y for the b e n e f i t o f the smal l
n u m b e r
o f
A m e r i c a n s
a n d
B r i t o n s
w h o
h a p p e n
to be
c o m p l e t e n o v i c e s
in the
s t u d y
o f Engl ish a s a
f o re ign
language.
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Introduction
Why are they so
different?
When
a B r i t on and an A m e r ic a n m e e t ,
even
t hough t hey
a re fa r
f r om mu t ua l l y
uninte l l i g ib le , each
is
s o o n a w a r e
o f
di f ferences
in the
s peech
o f the
o ther .
F i rs t , the a c c e n t is d i f ferent :
p ronu nc ia t i on , t empo , i n t ona t i on a re
d is t inc t i ve .
Next ,
d i f ferences in
vocabu la ry , i d i om and syn t ax occu r , as
t hey
w o u l d
i n a f o re i gn l angua ge :
ind iv idua l w o r d s a re
m i sunders t ood
o r
no t
u n d e r s t o o d
a t
a l l , me t apho r i ca l
exp res s i o ns
s ound b i za r re , sub t l e
i r regula r i t ies
become apparent
in the
way wo rds a re a r ranged , o r i n t he
pos i t i on o f wo rds i n a sen t ence , o r i n
th e add i t i on o r
omiss ion
o f w o r d s . It is
e s t i m a t e d t h a t s o m e
4 ,000
w o r d s a nd
e x p r e s s i o n s i n common use in Br i ta in
t o d a y
e i ther do not
ex is t
or are
used
d i f f e ren tl y i n the U S . T hes e d i f f e renc es
are r e f l e c t e d in the way B r i t i sh and
A m e r i c a n
Eng l ish a re w r i t t e n , s o
t ha t
va r i a t i ons i n spe l l i ng and punc t ua t i on
also
e m e r g e .
F inal ly ,
t he re a re i m m e n s e
cu l t u ra l d i ve rgences , rang ing f rom
d i f fe ren t t r adem arks f o r everyd ay
p r o d u c t s
to
d i f f e ren t i ns t i t u t i ons
a nd
f o r m s o f government . L i t t l e wonder ,
then, that even in th is age o f g loba l
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,
we a re s t i l l
ab le
to
misunders t and each o t her . Be fo re
ex amin ing each o f t hese ma jo r
d i ss im i l a r i t i es in de t a i l , i t may be useful
to consider how they have arisen.
In f ac t , many
of the
d i s t i nc t i ve phonet i c
f e a t u r e s o f m o d e r n A m e r i c a n E n g l i s h
ca n b e t r a c e d b a c k to the Br i t ish Is les.
To
take a s ingle example, the r at the
end o f wo rds i s p ronounced i n marked l y
d i f ferent ways in the s t andard va r i e t i es
o f
Amer ican and Br i t i sh Eng l i sh. In the
rece i ved p ro nunc ia t i on o f GB, i t is
barely sounded a t all, s o
tha t w o r d s
l ike
there
and water
are
p r o n o u n c e d
theah
a nd watuh.
T h i s pa t t e rn
is
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
o f
th e s o u t h - e a s t e r n p a r t o f Eng land,
w h i c h
i s where, in the ear l y 17
th
cen t u ry ,
t he f i r s t B r i t i sh co l on i s t s o r i g i na t ed .
Their
pecul ia r t r ea tm en t
of the
f ina l
r
su rv i ves i n New Eng land and t he S ou t h ,
bu t i t i s except iona l in the US as a
who le . T he d i s t inc t i ve Amer i can r, a
kind
of
m u f f led g row l p rod uc ed near t he back
o f t he m outh, i s fu l l y so und ed. It is very
s imi lar
to the r st ll
p ronounced
in
pa r t s
of
the
w e s t
and nor th o f Eng land, and in
S c o t l a n d and I re land, and was a l m o s t
cer ta in ly
b rought
to
Amer i ca
b y
s u b s e q u e n t c o l o n i s t s f r o m t h o s e p a r t s .
S ince most o f the Br i t i sh set t lement in
Nor th
A m e r ic a
in the
19
th
century came
f rom t he no r t h and
w e s t
o f Eng land and
f rom I re land , esp ec ia l l y f r om
the
nor thern
count ies
o f U ls ter ,
rhot ic
speech , as i t i s ca l l ed , even t ua l l y sp read
a c r o s s
the
con t i nen t .
In
many o the r l i t t le
w a y s ,
s t and ard Am er i can E ng l ish i s
remin iscent o f an o lder per iod o f the
language.
F o r e x a m p l e , A m e r i c a n s
p r o n o u n c e either a nd neither-w i th the
v o w e l
o f
teeth
o r
beneath whi le
in
Eng land
t h e s e w o r d s h a v e c h a n g e d t h e i r
p ronunc ia t i on s i nce the A m e r i c a n
c o l o n i e s were f ounded and a re now
p r o n o u n c e d w i th
a n i n i ti a l d iphtho ng,
l ike
t he wo rds eye and nigh. ( F o r a
f u l l e r d i scuss i on o f t hese and o t her
p ronunc ia t i on d i f f e rences , s ee Par t 2 .)
I t i s sa id that a l l em igrant lang ua ges are
l i ngu i s t i ca l l y nos t a l g i c , p reserv ing
a r c h a ic p r o n u n c i a t i o n s a nd m e a n in g s .
T he
w o r d
vest p r o v i d e s a n in t e r e s t i n g
e x a m p l e
of one of the
w a y s
in
w h i c h
the
v o c a b u l a r i e s
o f
Br i ta in
and
A m e r i c a
w e r e to g r o w a p a r t . T he
f i r s t
r e c o r d e d
use
of the
w o r d o c c u r s
in
1666
( in the
d ia ry o f Sam ue l Pepys ) , re fe r r ing to a
s leeve less j ack e t wo rn under
a n
o u t e r
c o a t .
T he
d i rec t desc endant
o f
th is
usage i s the m o d e r n A m e r i c a n vest
A T O
Z E D ,
A T O ZEE
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mean ing wa is t coa t . I n t he i n te r ven ing
cen tu r i es , howeve r , the mean ing o f the
w o r d
ha s
sh i f t ed
in
Br i ta in,
so
t ha t
it
n o w app l i es to a p i ece o f c l o th ing
w o r n
on the top hal f of the body underneath a
s h i r t . Amer i cans have re ta ined a
number of o ld uses l ike th is or o ld words
w h i c h have died
out in
Eng land. The i r
use o f
gotten
in p lace of g ot as t he pas t
par t ic ip le o f get was th e usual form in
Eng land two cen tu r i es
ago;
i n mo dern
Brit ish English it survives only in the
e x p r e s s i o n
ill-gotten
gains.
A m e r i c a n
st i l l use mad as S h a k e s p e a r e
did
in the
s e n s e o f
angry ( Do n t
ge t mad ge t
eve n. ) , and have re ta ined o ld wo rds l ike
turnpike,
mean ing
a
t o l l r oad,
an d
fall
a s
the na tura l word fo r the se as on . The
A m e r i c a n
I guess is as old as
C h a u c e r
and w a s still cu r ren t in Eng l ish speech in
the
17
th
cen tu ry . The im por tan ce o f such
d ive rgences w a s c o m p o u n d e d b y t w o
pa ra l l e l p rocesses . Some wo rds
w h i c h
t he p i lg r ims and subse quen t se t t l e r s
b rough t t o the New W o r ld d id not
t r ansp lan t ,
but in
Eng land they surv ived:
e .g .
fortnight, porridge, heath, moor,
ironmonger.
Fa r mo re impo r tan t ,
however , was the p r o c e s s b y w h i ch ,
under the p ressure o f a rad ica l ly
d i f fe ren t env i ronment , th e c o l o n i s t s
in t r oduced innova t i ons , co in ing new
words
and
borrowing from other cul tures.
Many l iv ing t h i ngs , fo r e xamp le , we re
pecu l i a r to
t he i r
n e w
env i r onmen t ,
a n d
t e rms we re r equ i r ed to desc r i be t hem:
mud hen,
garter
snake, bullfrog,
potato
bug, groundhog.
O the r wo rds i l lu s t r a te
t h i n g s a s s o c i a t e d with
t he new
m o d e
o f
l i fe :
back country, backwoodsman,
squatter, clapboard, corncrib, bobsled.
This kind o f i nven t iveness , d i c ta ted b y
nece ss i ty , ha s o f cou rse con t inu ed to
the present
day
bu t
many
of the
m o s t
d i s t i nc t i ve Amer i can i sms we re in f a c t
fo rmed ea r l y :
sidewalk, lightning rod,
spelling bee.
low-down,
to
have
an ax
to grind, to sit on the fence, to saw
wood,
and so on. A t the same t ime ,
o the r wo rds we re be ing ass im i l a ted
r e a d y - m a d e
i n to
th e
l anguage fr om
th e
di f fe ren t cu l tu res
th e
se t t l e r s came in to
c o n t a c t
with.
Bo r row ings f r om th e
Ind ians inc lude
pecan, squash,
chipmunk,
raccoon, skunk, an d
m occasin ,
f rom th e F rench,
gopher,
pumpkin,
prairie,
rapids, shanty, dime,
apache, brave
a n d
depot; from
th e
Span i s h ,
alfalfa, marijuana, cockroach,
coyote, lasso, taco,
patio,
cafeteria
and
desperado; f rom th e Du t ch , cookie,
waffle, boss, yankee, dumb
( m e a n i n g
s tup id) , a n d
spook.
Ma ss ive imm igra t ion
in the
19
th
cen tu r y b rough t
n ew
w o r d s
f r om German
delicatessen, pretzel,
hamburger,
lager, check, bummer,
docent, nix],
f rom I ta l ian [pizza,
spaghetti, espresso, parmesan,
zucchini]
a n d
f r om o the r l anguages .
J e w s
f r o m C e n t r a l
Europe
i n t r o d u c e d
many Y idd ish exp ress ions
with
a w ide
cu r rency
in
m o d e r n A m e r i c a : chutzpah,
kibitz, klutz, schlep, schmaltz, schlock,
schnoz, an d
tush.
L ikewise , many
Af r i can i sms we re i n t r oduced by the
e n f o r c e d
immigra t ion o f b lack s laves :
gumbo, jazz, okra, chigger.
Even
s u p p o s e d l y
m o d e r n e x p r e s s i o n s l ik e
with-it,
do
your thing,
and
bad-mouth
a re
w o r d - f o r -w o r d t r a n s l a t io n s o f
p h r a s e s u sed in W es t A f r i can l anguag es .
Eventua l l y many o f t hese en r i chmen ts
wou ld c ross th e A t l an t i c back to
England,
but by no means a l l o f them.
T h o s e
t ha t
d id no t
c r oss back fo rm
th e
bas is o f the d i f fe ren t ia t ion tha t has
taken p lace be tween the Amer i can and
the Br i t i sh vocabu la ry (Pa r ts 4 and 5 , fo r
an exam ina tion o f cu r ren t l ex ica l
d i f f e rences
an d
e x p l a n a t i o n s
o f
many
o f
th e
t e rms c i t ed above ) .
A
fu r t he r impo r tan t change wa s to t ake
vi
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place, in the domain o f spe l l ing. In the
y e a r s immed ia te l y fo l l ow ing
th e
A m e r ic a n R e v o l u t i o n , m a n y A m e r i c a n s
sough t
to
dec lare the i r l ingu is t ic
a s
t hey
had
t he i r po l i t ica l i nd epen den ce . In
1780 , John Adam s, a fu tu re p re s iden t o f
th e
U n i t e d S t a t e s , p r o p o s e d
t h e
found ing o f an Amer i can Academy fo r
re fin ing , improv ing , and ascer ta in ing the
Engl ish Langua ge . The p lan came to
noth ing but i t i s s ign i f icant a s an
i n d i c a ti o n o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e A m e r i c a n s
w e r e
beg inn ing
to
a t t ach
to
t he i r
l anguage .
The more a rden t pa t r i o t s were
demanding the creat ion o f a d is t inc t ly
Amer i can c i v i l i za t ion , f ree o f t he
in f luence o f t he mother coun t r y . De fence
o f
t h is
a t t i t ude
was the
l i f e -work
o f
Noah W e b s t e r ( 1 7 5 8
1843) , au tho r
of
The Ame rican
Spell ing Book
f i rs t
pub l ished in 1783 and des t ined to se l l
an e s t i m a t e d 80 ,000 ,000 c o p i e s o v e r
th e
next hundred years. This wo rk , f rom
wh i c h coun t less imm ig ran ts l ea rn t t he i r
Engl ish, i n t r o d u c e d s u c h t y p i c a l
spe l l ings as ho nor color traveler
defense offense center theater ax
plow and jail. T he i n f luenc e o f
W e b s t e r s American Spel l ing Book a nd
of h is la ter American Dictionary o f the
English Language ( 1 8 2 8 )
w as
e n o r m o u s .
It is
t rue
to say
that
th e
ma jo r i ty o f d i s t i nc t i ve l y A me r i can
spel l ings are due to h is advocacy of the
pr inc ip les und er l y ing them . (The ma in
d i f f e rences a re ou t l i ned in Part 1 .)
Moreover , some o f the charac te r i s t i cs o f
Amer i can p ronunc ia t ion mus t a l so
be
a t t r i bu ted to Webs te r , espec ia l l y i ts
re la t i ve homogene i t y ac ross so vas t a
con t inen t and i ts t e n d e n c y to g ive ful ler
va lue to the unaccen ted sy l l ab les o f
words ( see Par t
2 ).
As regards the bas ic g rammar and
st ructure of the language, t here are
surp r is ing ly few m a jo r d i f fe ren ces . On
the who le , however , Am er i cans , as
though impe l led by an u rgen t nee d to
e x p r e s s t hemse lves , appear l ess
cons t ra ined by the ru les o f g rammat i ca l
fo rm. Fo r i ns tance , they ten d to bu l ldoze
the i r
w a y
a c r o s s d i s t i n c t io n s b e t w e e n
the var ious par ts
o f
s p e e c h .
N ew
n o u n s
a re c o m p o u n d e d f r o m v e r b s a n d
p r e p o s i t i o n s : fallout blowout workout
cookout
th e
runaround
a
stop-over
a
try-out
. N o u n s are u s e d as v e r b s to
author
to
fund
to
host
to
alibi
( an
ear ly e x a m p l e
o f the
p r a c t i c e
w as
to
scalp]
and
v e r b s
are
used jus t
as
casual ly as nouns: an assist a morph.
Any number o f new ve rbs can be
c r e a t e d
b y add ing the suf f ix iz e to a
noun or to the root o f an ad ject ive:
standardize fetishize sanitize
prioritize diabolize. I f t he exub eran ce
of Amer i can Eng l i sh i s r em in iscen t o f
anything, i t is of the l inguist ic energy o f
the E l izabe than s. In the e ar ly par t o f the
20
th
century , H .L. Mencken
w a s
a l ready
making the po in t . A me r i can E ng l ish , he
sa id , s t i l l s h o w s a l l the c h a r a c t e r i s t ic s
tha t marked the common tongue in the
days o f
E l i zabe th
I , and i t cont inues to
res is t s tou t l y the po l i c ing tha t i roned ou t
Standard Engl ish
in the
s e v e n t e e n t h
and
e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s .
T he p resen t geopo l i t i ca l , t echno log ica l ,
f i nanc ia l and commerc ia l sup remacy o f
t h e U n i te d S t a t e s u n q u e s t io n a b l y
under l i es the exp ans ivene ss and sp read
o f i t s l anguage , nowhere more so than
on th e l eve l o f co l l oqu ia l o r popu la r
spee ch . Oc cas iona l l y wo rds in B r i ti sh
Engl ish b e c o m e f a s h i o n a b l e e n o u g h t o
c r o s s
t he A t lan t i c , bu t the vas t m a jo r i t y
o f w o r d s l ike the vas t m a jo r i t y of
f i lms ,
t e l e v i s i o n p r o g r a m m e s , b e s t
se l l e rs ,
n e w s m a g a z i n e s ,
and pop
mus ic
ly r ics
which convey
t hem
no longer
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t rave l w e s t w a r d s , bu t eas twards. Th is
s i tua t ion
is not
w i t h o u t i rony .
In the
1780s ,
some pa t r i o t s w e r e p r o p o s i n g
tha t Eng l ish
b e
s c r a p p e d a l t o g e t h e r
a s
the na t iona l language a nd r e p l a ce d b y
another : F rench, Hebrew a nd G r eek
w e r e cand idates. The las t o f these was
r e j e c t e d o n t he g rounds tha t i t wou ld
be
mo re conven ien t
for us to
k e e p
the
language
as i t
was ,
an d
m a k e
th e
Engl ish s p e a k G r e e k . T wo hundred and
some years la te r , i t seems fa i r ly obv ious
t h a t
th e
Am e r i ca n s
will
keep
a n d
deve lop the i r var ie ty
o f
Eng l ish jus t
a s
t hey p lease , and the Br i t ish will have to
adap t
a s
best they can.
It is a
p r o c e s s
tha t is a l ready we l l under way, wit
t hou s and s
o f wo rds a nd exp ress ion s
tha t w e r e e xc lus i ve l y Amer i can a few
y e a r s ago now
par t
o f the w r i t t e n a nd
s p o k e n
l anguage
in
bo th
it s
var ie t ies .
B ut
t here is no reason to dep lore t h is
f a c t . I t is s imply a s ign that the language
is do ing w h a t i t has a lways done: it is
chang ing and rev i ta l i z ing i tse l f .
Viii
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P A R T ON
P A R T T WO
Spelling 2
1. The co lo r /co lour group 3
2. The
center
/
centre group
3
3.
The realize / realise group 4
4.
The edema / oedema group 5
5. The fulfill / fulfil group 6
6. One letter differences 7
7. Miscellaneous 8
Pronunciation 9
1. Pronunciation of r 9
2.
Pronunciation
of a 10
3. Pronunciation
of o 10
4.
Pronunciation
of u 11
5.
Pronunciation
of t 11
6.
Pronunciation
of
particular words
12
7.
Stress and articulation 14
T R
Grammar
and Usage 5
1 . Irregular verbs
16
2. Use of Past Simple
and P resent Pe rfect tenses 17
3.
Auxiliary
and
modal verbs
18
4. Expressions with have and take 19
5. Position of adverbs 19
6. Use of
real
as an
intensifier
19
7. Collective nouns
20
8. Prepositions 20
9. Use of
one
21
10. Other usages 22
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P A R T
O N E
Spelling
A
complete
list
of spelling differences
between American
and
British English,
assuming such a list could be compiled,
would be a daunting and not particularly
useful thing. For example, among many
other factors, it would have to take
account
o f
differences
of
hyphenation
an d spacing in compound words US
antiaircraft/GB
anti-aircraft, US
bookkeeper/GB book-keeper,
US
ultramodern/GB ultra-modern, and so
on). Since American English tends to
drop
the
hyphen much faster than British
English, this factor alone would make
the
list
potentially endless.
The
difficulties arising from hyphenation
also illustrate
the
complexity
of the
subject
in general, for not only do
variant spellings exist for many words on
both sides of the Atlantic, often the
authorities in each
country-i.e.
the
dictionary-makers -are
in
disagreement
as
to
which
spelling of a word is to be
preferred over other possibilities. Rather
than attempt a complete inventory of
spelling differences, then, we have
chosen
to identify a number of broad
categories. The following lists are
illustrative rather than exhaustive.
One
important point should
be
noted:
if two
versions of a
word
are
given
a s
accepted
US or GB spelling, the
first
is the
preferred
spelling and the second a
variant. (Our authorities are Merriam-
Webster s Collegiate Dictionary for
American words and the Concise O xford
Dictionary for British.)
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1 The
color
/
colour
group The center/centre
group
Most
G B words
ending
in
-our
end
in -or in the
US. This
di f ference is
also
apparent
in
derivatives.
Most GB w ords ending in -tre usually
deriving from French end n -ter in the
US.
This difference is
also
appa rent in
derivatives.
arbor
ardor
armor
armorer
armory
behavior
behavioral
candor
clamor
color
demeanor
enamor
endeavor
favor
favorite
favorit ism
fervor
f lavor
glamor
glamour
harbor
honor
humor
labor
misdemeanor
neighbor
neighborhood
odor
parlor
rancor
rigor
rumor
savior
savor savour
splendor
succor
tumor
valor
vapor
vigor
arbour
ardour
armour
armourer
armoury
behaviour
behavioural
candour
clamour
colour
demeanour
enamour
endeavour
favour
favourite
favourit ism
fervour
f lavour
glamour
harbour
honour
humour
labour
misdemeanour
neighbour
neighbourhood
odour
parlour
rancour
rigour
rumour
saviour
savour
splendour
succour
tumour
valour
vapour
vigour
accoutre accouter
accouterment
accoutrement
amphitheater
cal iber cal ibre
center
centerfold
fiber f ibre
fiberbo rd
fibrebo rd
f iberglass
f ibreglass
goiter
liter
luster
maneuver
meager meagre
meter
miter mitre
niter
ocher ochre
philter
philtre
reconnoiter
reconnoitre
saber sabre
saltpeter
scepter
somber sombre
specter spectre
theater theatre
accoutre
accoutrement
amphitheatre
calibre
centre
centrefold
fibre
fibreboard
fibregl ss
goitre
litre
lustre
manoeuvre
meagre
metre
mitre
nitre
ochre
philtre
reconnoitre
sabre
saltpetre
sceptre
somber
spectre
theatre
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3 The realize / realise group
In
this group,
di fference s
between
GB
and US spelling are far f rom systema tic.
Some ve rbs,
regardless
o f the
country,
can on ly
have
-ize capsize, seize)
while
in others
only -ise
is po ssible
ad vertise,
advise,
su rprise).
Dictionaries in bo th cou ntr ies prefer the
suffix
-ize in w o r ds
such
as apologize,
legalize
a nd
realize. Many Britons,
however, no t to men tion the spe lling
checke rs of popu lar
word-processing
programs)
do no t
agree
with
the
dictionary-makers
and in GB these word s
are still usually written with -ise.
aggrandize
Americanize
apologize
burglarize
capitalize
categorize
charac ter ize
colonize
criticize
dramatize
emphasize
equalize
extemporize
finalize
liberalize
mobilize
naturalize
normalize
organize
popularize
realize
recognize
satirize
stabil ize
standardize
symbolize
vaporize
aggrandize, aggrandise
Americanise,
Americanize
apologise, apologize
burglarise, burglarize
capital ise, capital ize
categor ise, ca tegor ize
character ise,
character ize
co lonise, co lonize
criticise
cr i t ic ize
dramatise, dramatize
emphasize, emphasise
equa l ise, e qual ize
extemporise,
extemporize
f inal ize, f inal ise
liberalize, l iberalise
mobilise
mobilize
natural ise, natural ize
normal ize, normal ise
organise, organize
popular ise, popular ize
real ise, re al ize
recognise, recognize
sati r ise, sati r ize
stabil ize, stabil ise
standardise
standardize
symbolise, symbolize
vapor ise, vapo r ize
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4
The
edema
/
oedema group
In words
of G reek
origin,
G B
En glish
has
oe-
where
US
English
has
e- or
less
commonly
oe-.
Similarly, word s
with
an
ae combination in GB
English
orthopaedics, anae sthesia)
are spelt
without the a in US English.
anemia
anemic
anesthetic
anesthetist
cesarean
diarrhea
edema
enology
oenology
esophagus
estrogen
estrus
fecal
feces
fetal
fetus
gonorrhea
gynecology
hemoglobin
hemophilia
hemorrhage
hemorrhoid
leukemia
maneuver
orthopedics,
orthopaedics
Paleolithic
Paleozoic
anaemia
anaemic
anaesthet ic
anaesthetist
caesarean
diarrhoea
oedema
oenology
oesophagus
oestrogen
oestrus
faeca l
f a eces
foetal
foetus
gonorrhoea
gynaecology
haemoglobin
haemophilia
haemorrhage
haemorrhoid
leukaemia
manoeuvre
orthopaedics
Palaeolithic
Palaeozoic
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5. The
fulfill/fulfil group
A certain number of disyllabic
verbs
stressed on the second syllable are
written
in
British
Eng lish
with
a
single
but in American E nglish with
-II.
This
affects
the spelling of derivatives .
appall, appal
distill
distil
enroll, enrol
enrollment
enthrall, enthral
fulfill fulfil
fulfillment
install
instal
installment
instalment
instill
instil
skillful
willful wilful
appal
distil
enrol
enrolment
enthral
fulfil
fulfilment
install
instal
instalment
instil
skilful
wilful
In
American spelling, when
you add a
suffix like -ing -ed or
-er to a
word,
y ou double th e
final
consonant
only
if the
stress
falls on the second
syl lable o f the root word. Thus, as in
British
English, the
verb
pat-rol gives
patrolling
and
patrolled .
On the
other
hand, the
verb
trav-el
becomes
traveling , traveled , traveler G B
travelling , travelled , traveller ). Some
further
examples:
canceled,
cancelled
counseled, counselled
equaled,
equalled
fueled, fuelled
groveling, grovelling
leveled, levelled
modeling, modelling
quarreling quarrelling
worshiper, worshipper
cancelled
counselled
equalled
fuelled
grovelling
levelled
modelling
quarrelling
worshipper
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6 One letter differences
An
interesting group
is
comprised
of
words
which
are spelt
with
a single
different
or
additional
letter.
The
difference
affects pronunciation.
aluminum
a-loom-in-um)
behoove
carburetor
kar-boor-ate-er)
check in banking)
divorce/divorcee
di-vor-say)
doodad
mom
plunk
putter
specialty
spesh-al-tee)
tidbit
aluminium
a-lyoo-min-yum)
behove
carburettor
k ar-boor-et-ah)
cheque
divorcee
di-vor-see)
doodah
mum
plonk
potter
speciality
spesh-ee-al-it-tee)
titbit
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7
Miscellaneous
Important
spelling
differences
not
already
noted
are listed
below.
airplane
analyze
artifact
ass
ax, axe
balk
bisulfate
caliper
catalog, catalogue
catalyze
chili,
chile, chilli
connection
cozy, cosy
crayfish, crawfish
curb
a t
edge
o f
road)
czar,
tsar, tzar
defense
dependent,
dependant n.)
dialogue, dialog
dialyze
disk
disulfide
doughnut, donut
draft
draftsman
font
furor
gray,
grey
jeweler, jeweller
jewelry
judgment, judgement
karat
aeroplane
analyse
artefact
arse
axe
baulk
bisulphate
calliper
catalogue
catalyse
chilli,
chili
connection,
connexion
cosy
crayfish
kerb
tzar,
czar
defence
dependant n.)
dialogue
dialyse
disc ex cept in
Computing,
where disk
is
also employed)
disulphide
doughnut
draught air
current, liquids)
draughtsman,
draftsman
fount,
font
furore
grey
jeweller
jewellery
judgement
carat
ketchup, catsup
license,
licence
license, licence
licorice
matinee, matinee
mold, mould
molt,
moult
mustache,
moustache
naive, naive
naught, nought
night, nite
offense, offence
pajamas
panelist
paralyze
peddler,
pedlar
persnickety
pickaninny, picaninny
plow
practice, practise
practice, practise
pretense, pretence
program, programme
program
reflection
scalawag
skeptic
skeptical
smolder, smoulder
snowplow
sulfate
sulfur
through, thru
tire
on a
vehicle)
tonight, tonite
vise
whiskey, whisky
ketchup
license v.)
licence n.)
liquorice
matinee
mould rot)
moult
moustache
naive, naive
nought
night
offence
pyjamas
panellist
paralyse
pedlar
pernickety
picaninny
plough
practice n.)
practise v.)
pretence
programme v.)
programme n.)
except in
com-
puting,
where
program is
also
used)
reflection,
reflexion
scallywag
sceptic
sceptical
smoulder
snowplough
sulphate
sulphur
through
tyre
tonight
vice
tool)
whisky
as a
generic name)
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P A R T T WO
Pronunciation
The f irst point to settle in any d iscussion
of pronunciation d ifference s is: which
pronunciations are we talking about?
Although a dialect is defined in terms of
grammar
and
vocabulary while accent
is
a matter
of pronun ciation, differe nt
regional accents gene rally coincide
with
dialect regions. It is therefore worth
bearing in mind that phonologists have
identified 16
modern dialect regions
in
England
alone
with
others in Ireland,
Scot land and Wales) and 26 in the
United States. This being so, it is
obvious that the distinctions descr ibed
below are by no means absolute. They
apply
mainly
to those abstract notions,
Standard American English or GA
General American) and Standard Brit ish
English or RP Received Pronunciation).
1.
Pronunciation
of r
One of the most not iceable dif ferences
between
E nglish and American
pronunciation is the
treatment
of the r.
In RP , this sound has d isappeared
except before vowels. It is not heard
when it
oc curs before another
consonant or at the end of a word
unless the next word begins with a
vowel,
as in
Clear
away
those
papers.
In the US, eastern New England, New
York City
a nd most of the
South follow
th e
English pract ice Am ericans joke
about New E nglanders who pahk the
cah in the yahd
or New
Yorkers
who
feed de holds in de
pahk ,
but
elsewhere in the States the r is
pronounced in all posit ions. In R P, lord
has
th e
same sound
as
laud, while
in
words l ike car or there
th e
r is not
sounded at all but replaced b y
indeterminate vowels at the end. The
Amer ican
r, on the
other hand,
is
pronounced before vowels and
consonants
and
also
at the en d of
words: air are arm
hear, beer, more,
care, deer,
fear
hair, or,
peer,
pure,
wear, work, etc.
In
phonetics,
this
phenome non -the pronunciation
of
postvocalic
rs- is
known
as
rhoticity.
Ap art f rom
the
south-west
and
some
northern areas , England is non-rhotic,
while Scot land and Ireland are rhotic.
The
first
pilgrims
to
arrive
in
Am erica
in
1620 were mainly from the
Midlands
and
East
Anglia. Presum ably, the non-rhotic
speech in the New England area today
ultimately derives from
them.
If this is so,
later colonists from the West Country,
Scotland and Ireland are responsible for
the rhotic speech heard in most of the US
today.
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2. Pronunciation of a . 3. Pronunciation of o .
Another m ajor difference
is in the
pronunciation of the vowel sound in
such words as laugh,
fast path grass
dance, branch, de ma nd, can t,
half.
Short in US speech in British spe ech it
is
long and firm:
Returning from
the
daaanse claaase, she ran a baaath.
Near
the end of the
18
th
century
southern England began to change from
what is called a f lat a to a broad a in
these words i.e. from a sound like the
a in man to
one
like
the a in
father.
The
change affected wo rds
in
which
the
vowel occurred before f sk sp, st, ss, th,
and
n followed by certain conso nants. In
parts of New England the sam e change
took place but in most other parts of
the country the old sound was
preserved
and
fast path etc.
are
pronounced
with
the
vowel
o
f man.
This the f lat a must now be regarded
as
the
typical American pronunciation.
Although highly distinctive however the
difference between the broad a and the
flat
a
proba bly affects fewer than
250
words in common
use.
The
pronun ciation
of the o in
such
words
as
not ot hot top dog hod pot
is also noticeably different. In England
this is still an open o pronounced with
the lips rounded a nd the tongue at the
back of the mouth. In Am erica however
except in
parts
of New
England
it has
comm only lost its rounding and in most
words has become a sound very similar
in qua lity to the a in father, only
shorter. This illustrates
a
general
tendency in American speech tow ards
the neutralisation of vowel sounds. Non-
essentials are dropped so that wo rds
like
don
and
dawn
are pronounced
identically. In England vow els tend to
retain their sharpness.
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4 Pronunciation of u . 5 Pronunciation of t .
The
u in
wo rds l ike mule mute mutual
cube butane Houston is pronounced
identically on both s ides of the
At lant ic,
i.e. with an ma ginary y inserted before
it: m yool myoot myoo-tyoo-al etc. In
t he US, however, such wo rds a re
exce ptions; the usual pronunciat ion is
without the y sound. Thus, new nude
tune student duke Tuesday are
pronounced noo no od toon stoodent
dook toosday.
In England, these w ord s
are
all p ronounced with the y sound,
and
this
is
ge neral ly
the
case .
Except ions
exist,
of
course, such
as
assume
suit lute which
a re usu ally
pronounced assoom soot
loot .
It m ay
be
noted, however,
that
English stage
actors a re
still
t rained to say
assyoom
syoot lyoot.
In
British English t is usual ly pronounce d
quite c learly but in many instances of
Amer ican speech , when
i t is not the
init ial
consonant
in a
word ,
i t may
either
b e
p ronounced l ike
a d o r it m ay
disappear
entirely. When the t occurs
be tween tw o vowel sounds, it is of ten
pronounced as d:
bitter latter shutter
water wait ing
writ ing
etc. In Britain,
on
the
other hand,
th e
pronunciat ion
of
such pairs as
bitter/bidder latter/ladder
shutter/shudder waiter/wader writing/
riding
I
eaves
n o
room
fo r
ambiguity,
even
when
th e
context
is
unknown.
T he
t in Amer ican speech tends to
disappear
af ter n asal sounds like m n
an d ng. Thus, w ord s l ike den tist
twenty understand intercontinental
become dennist twenny unnerstann
innerconninennal.
The only comparable
phenomenon
in
Britain,
in
wel l -def ined
areas
like
C ockney
London, Glasg ow in
Scotland, or Ballyme na in Northern
Ireland, i s the use of the g lottal stop to
rep lace
the t in
w ords l ike butter
matter water
and so on.
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6 Pronunciation of
particular words
Other d if ference s
in
pronunciation are less
important, since they concern
only individual words
or
small
groups of words. For example,
in Britain been
has the
same
sound
as bean, but in Am erica
it is
like bin.
In
Britain,
the
last
syllable of wo rds like
fertile,
sterile and missile rhymes
with aisle.
In the US, the
vowel
is much shorter, or a
mere vocalic
I - fert-il
ster-il
miss-il or
miss l. Americans do
not
suppress the final t of
trait
as Britons do, or
pronounce
an
f in
lieutenant.
The
following table show s
examples
o f
such m inor
differences,
but it should be
borne
in
mind
that
relatively
fe w words are pronounced so
differently as to cause any but
the most fugitive confusion.
Nor are these examples
restrictive: in the US leisure
is
pronounced both with a long
vowel (leezhure]
and to
rhyme
with
pleasure
(lezhure],
but
the former is more common.
WORD US G
address
advertisement
agile
alternate a d j . )
apricot
aristocrat
asphalt
ate
ballet
bitumen
buoy
Byzantine
Caribbean
charade
chassis
chimpanzee
cigarette
clerk
composite
cordial
cremate
croquet
debris
detail
dislocate
dynasty
figure
frustrate
garage
inquiry
interesting
jaguar
laboratory
ah-dress
ad-ver-tize-ment
a-jil
ault-er-n t
a-pri-cot
a-ris-to-crat
as-fault
ate
bal-ay
bi-too-men
boo-ee
biz-an-teen
k -rib-ean
sha-raid
oha-see
chim-pan-zee
sig-a-ret
klerk
k m-pos-it
cor-jil
cree-mate
cro-kay
d -bree
dee-tail
dis-lo-cate
die-nas-tee
fig-yer
frus-trate
ga-rahzh
in-kwi-ree
in-ter-est-ing
jag-wah
lab-ra-tor-ee
a-dress
ad-vert-tis-ment
a-jile
aul-tern-et
ay-pri-cot
ar-is-to-crat
as-felt
et
bal-ay
bich-er-men
boy
bi-zan-tine
kari-bee-an
sha-rahd
sha-see
chimp- n-zee
sig-a-ret
klark
kom-p -zit
oor-dee-al
cr -mate
cro-kay
deb-ree
dee-tail
dis-lo-cate
din-as-tee
fig-ger
frus-trate
gar-ij
in-kwir-ee
in-trest-ing
jag-u-ahr
la-bor -tree
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WORD US GB
lever
lieutenant
literally
marquis
migraine
omega
perfume
premature
premier
privacy
process
produce n.)
progress v.)
recluse
renaissance
route
schedule
semi-
status
strychnine
tomato
trait
trauma
vase
vitamin
Z
lev-er
loo-ten-ant
lit-er-al-ee
mar-kee
my-grain
o-may-g
per-fume
pree m toor
pr meer
pry-va-see
praw-cess
pro-doos
pro-gres
rec-loos
ren-a-sens
rout
sked-ule
sem eye
stat-us
strik-nine
tom-ay-doe
trayt
trah-ma
vayz
vy-ta-min
lee-ver
lef-ten-ant
lit-ral-ee
mar-kwis
mee-grane
o-m -g
per-fume
pre m tyoor
prem e
pr iv-a-see
p r o - c e s s
praw dyoos
praw gress
re-cloos
re-nay-sens
root
shed-ule
sem ee
st teUS
strik-neen
tom-ah- toe
tray
trau-ma
vahz
vit-a-min
zed
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7
Stress
and articulation
It
will
be no ticed
that
in several of the
examples given above,
the
difference
in
pronunciation is chiefly one of stress. In
wo rds l ike address,
ballet,
cigarette,
detail .garage,
perfum e, Americans
and
Britons stress different syllables. These
differences
stand
out in
conversation
but they are of minor im portan ce from
the point of view of und erstanding. They
are relatively few in number and in
context they a re alw ays easily
comp rehensible. A more remarkable
difference is the g reater clarity with
which American pronou nce unaccented
syllables. George Bernard Shaw said
he
once recognized an Am erican because
he accented the third syllable of
necessary, and the tendency of
Americans
to
keep
a
seconda ry stress
on one of the un acc ented sy llables of a
long word is a consequence of
their
effort
to
pronounce
all the
syllables. This
distinctive pattern of Am erican speech,
the due
em phasis given
to
e ach syllable
of a wo rd, can, in part, be attributed to
the
influence
of
Noa h W ebster s spell ing
bees (see
the
introduction). W ebster
quoted Sheridan
with
approval : A good
articulation consists in giving every letter
in a syllable its due pro po rtion of sound
... and in making such a distinction
between syllables, of which a word is
composed, that the ear shall
without
difficulty acknowledge their number.
Words ending
in
-ary, -iry
and
-ory tend
to be
longer
in
Am erican English than
in
British. Thus,
the
Am erican
has
sek-ret-
air-y instead o f the British sek-re-t ry
r
ne-cess-0/r-y m stead of ne-cess- ry,
\ab-ra-tor-ee instead of la-bor -tree.
As we see
from this last examp le,
the
suppression
o f
sy llables
in
British English
has
been accompanied
by a
difference
at t imes in the po sit ion o f the chief
stress. S peech, of course is much more
than
the
qual i ty
o f the
sounds: there
is
also pitch, tempo, intonation. Generally,
Am ericans speak more slowly
and
with
less variety of intonation, and t is again
m ay
be partly a ttributed to their
disposition
to
articulate each syllable
of
a word.
The
Victorian novelist, Ca ptain
Marryat, observed that:
The
Americans
dwell upon their wo rds
when
they speak
- a custom arising, I presume, from their
cautious, calculating habits; and they
have
a lways more o r less of a nasal
twang.
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P R T
T H R E E
r mm r
and Usage
In grammar and syntax American and
British English
are
remarkably similar.
Examples
of the
main differences
a re
listed below.
The
influence
of
American
English on
British English however
is
constantly growing
through films
television pop music the internet and
so
on - so
that even such contrasts
as
these
are
likely
if not to
disappear
at
least to diminish in importance. It should
be noted
that
in many of the following
cases
tw o different forms a re possible
in one
variety
of
English
while
only
one
of the
forms
is
normal
in the
other
variety.
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1 Irregular verbs
A number o f ve rbs can be either regu lar
or i rregular
in the Past S imple. How ever,
in the US and in GB the form s
m o s t
common l y used are no t the
same.
Where two fo rms are
g iven
in the
fo l lowing list,
the
f i rs t
is the
more
commonly em p loyed . It w i ll be seen that
in A m erican E nglish, the regular form is
usual ly
preferred,
and in British English
the
irregular.
burned, burnt
d ived, dov e
dreamed, dreamt
kne l t, knee le d
leaned
leaped,
leapt
learned
smel led, smel t
spe l led
spi l led, s p i lt
spo i led , spo i lt
wo ke , wa ke d
burnt, burned
dived
dreamt, dreamed
knelt
leaned, leant
leaped, leapt
learned, learnt
sme l t , sm e l led
spe l t , spe l led
spi l t, s p i l led
spo i lt , sp oi led
wo ke
The ve rbs
fit
uit
an d
regular in British English, but
i r regular in Am er ican . In the c a se
of quit a nd wet however,
Amer ican
usage
is now
we l l
on
i ts way to replacing B ritish in G B.
f i t - f i t - f i t
quit quit -qu i t
we t - we t - we t
fit - f i t ted - f i t ted
quit
-
quitted
-
qu itted
wet wetted
wet ted
In Am er ican
E nglish, the pa st
part ic ip le
oiffet\s either gotten o r got except in
the s t ructu re ha ve got
used
a s an
al ternative to have which is the
s ame
as
in
British E nglish.
H is tennis ha s go t ten o r g ot) much better.
I ve g ot ten to know him o ver the years.
I ve
got a
terrible heada che.
H is tennis has go t much be tter.
I ve got to know him o ver the years.
I ve
got a
terrib le heada che.
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2. Use of
Past Simple
and
Present Perfect tenses
In American English these
two
tenses
are
often interchange able in ond itions
where only the present perfect can be
used
in
British English.
For
nstance,
when
an
act ion
in the
pas t
has a
result
now (as in the first e xam ple below ), the
present
perfect is normally em ployed.
Other
typical cases
a re
with
w ords l ike
just
already
and
yet
and with
ever
and never
when
referring to a period of
t ime that continues
until
now.
I ve lost my ke ys. Have you seen them?
or 1
lost
my
keys.
Did you see
them?
John isn t here. He s gone to the bank.
or
John isn t here.
He
went
to the
bank.
I m not hungry. I ve just had breakfast.
or I m not hungry. l jus t had breakfast.
You can t speak to him. H e s already left.
or
You can t spea k
to
him.
He
already left.
Have
you finished that letter yet?
or Did you finish that letter yet ?
Have you ever read Macbeth?.
or
Did
you
ever read
Macbetffl.
I ve never se en this man before in my life.
or | never saw this man before in my life.
I ve lost
my
keys. Have
y ou
seen them?
John isn t here. He s gone
to
th e bank.
I m not hu ngry. I ve just had
breakfast.
Y ou can t speak to him.
He s a lready left.
Have you f in ished tha t le t ter
yet?
Have you ever read
Macbeth?
I ve never se en this man
before in my life.
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3 Auxiliary and modal verbs
In
British
English,
shall and its
con tracted negative
shan t can be
substituted
for
w ill,
indicating
the
future, when used with
the pronouns /
and we. In Am erican English shall s
unusual. Where shall is used in G B to
ask for advice, should ̂
employed
in
the US.
US GB
We
will
p robab ly g o t o
Florida.
l
won t
be
here tomorrow.
Which bus should l t a ke?
We
will
o r
shall)
probably go to Florida.
won t
(or shan t) be here
tomorrow.
Which
bus
should or
shall)
l take?
In both varieties of En glish, t is
possible
to use
can
and
could
with
verbs
o f p erception, i.e. see , hear,
feel, sme ll,
an d
taste ,
but
this
practice
is much more comm on in
British English.
l saw Alan coming up
the hill.
l
smell
something
burning.
l could see Alan coming
up
the
hill.
l
can smell
something
burning.
In British English needn t is often
substituted fo r don t ne e d to, but in
America
needn t
is unusual.
We
have plenty
of
time,
we don t need to hurry.
We
have plenty
of
time,
we don t n eed to hurry
or we
needn t hurry).
In subjun ctive constructions, for
example after
verbs
lik e sugge st,
recommend,
demand,
insist,
etc.,
should is often used in British
English.
In Am erican English this is
unusual.
What do you suggest l
do?
l
recommended
that he
be
fired.
I t s vital that
he be
informed.
What
do you
suggest
l
(should)
do?
l recommended that he
(should)
be fired.
It s vital that he (should)
be informed.
In British English,
but not
Am erican,
do can be used
alone as a
substitute
verb
after
an auxiliary
verb. In such
cases,
the auxiliary verb is
stressed.
—Will you go to the party?
—I may. I haven t decided ye t .
He didn t
pass
the
test,
but he
could have if he had studied a
little
harder.
—Will
you go to the party?
—I may
(
or\ may
do).
I
haven t
decided yet.
He
didn t pass the test, but he
could have
(or he
could have
done)
i f he had studied a
little
harder.
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4. Expressions with have and
take .
In a
small number
of
expressions,
British English prefers have
to US
take.
All l
want
is to
take o r
have) a shower and go
to
bed.
W hy d on t you
take
a
bath now and
then?
All l
want
is to
have
a
shower
and go to
bed.
Why don t you
have
a
bath
now an d then?
5. Position of
adverbs.
Certa in adverbs, known a s mid-
position
a dve rbs
e.g
sometimes
always
never often
definitely
certainly] a re usually placed after
auxiliary verbs
a n d
before other
verb
s : He has
certainly don e
it .
However ,
when
we
wish
to
emphasize the auxiliary verb, we
put most mid-position
a dve rbs
before it instead of after: He
certainly has done it In
British
Engl ish
this second construction
is
a lways emphatic. In American
English, however, the adverb is
frequently placed before the
auxil iary,
even when there
is no
intent to
emphasize.
She
probably has
arrived
by now. normal)
It
probably will
lead to a
vote, normal)
She h as
probab ly arrived
by
now. normal)
She probably h as
arrived
by
now. emphatic)
It will probably
lead
to a
vote , normal)
6. Use of real as an intensifier.
In
informal American English, real
is often used before adjectives
and a dve rbs
where British English
insists on
rea lly.
That was a
real
nice
meal.
He
dr ives
real fast .
That was a
really
nice
meal.
He
dr ives real ly
fast .
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7
Collective nouns
In
British English,
collective
nouns like government,
staff,
com mittee,
company,
firm, audience,
family,
team,
etc.,
can take
either
a
singular
o r a plural verb. In
American
English such
nouns usually take
a
singular
verb.
The same is
true of certain proper
nouns,
for example the
names
of
countries
or
companies.
8
Prepositions
The use of
prepo sitions
occasionally varies,
especially
in
adverbial
expressions.
When a
preposition
is
used
in
one variety of English
but not in the other,
this
is
signified
by -). Here
are some
well-known
examples:
The government intends to
cut
taxes.
The
committee hasn t made a
decision yet.
Italy
is
scheduled
to
play
Brazil in the opening match.
Air
France
has announced
additional
flights.
The government intends or
intend)
to cut
taxes.
The
committee hasn t
or
haven t) made a decision yet.
Italy
is or
are)
scheduled
to
play
Brazil
in the
opening
match.
Air
France
have
or has)
announced additional flights.
It s
twenty
of
twelve,
I ve
got to go.
They arrived
at ten
after
two.
What time is it?
It s half
past
nine.
His
was
different
from or
than)
mine.
I d
like
for you to go
now.
How many people
were
in
the
course?
What do you do on the
weekend
or on
weekends)?
She
lives on the same
street.
I ll
w r i te
(-) you as
soon
as
l get back.
They met
with the
directors
to discuss i t.
The
boss
wants
to
talk
with
you.
My
aunt came over to
see us.
He
parked
in back of
the
restaurant.
You ll have to do it over.
It s twenty to
twelve,
I ve
got to go.
They arrived
a t ten
past
two.
What
time
is it?
It s half
(- )
nine.
His was
different
from
or-to)
mine.
I d
like -)you
to go
now.
How
many people
were on
the
course?
What
do you do at the
weekend
or
at weekends)?
She
lives
in the
same
street.
I ll
write to you as
soon
as
get back.
They
met (-) the
directors
to
discuss it .
The
boss
wants
to talk
to
you.
My aunt came round
to see us.
He
parked
behind
the
restaurant.
Y ou ll have to do it again.
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9 Use of
one .
The pronoun
one,
used
to talk about people in
general
including
the
speaker
and the
listener,
is
much
less
used in the US than in
GB.
When it is used in
American English,
however, he him and
s are generally used
later in a sentence to
refer back
to it
where
British English would
continue to use one or
the
possessive
one s.
One cannot prosper unless
he
works.
One should always be kind to
his
mother.
One
cannot prosper unless
one
works.
One should always
be
kind
to one s mother.
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1
Other usages
Most of the differences we have
mentioned
are small and easily
understandable
in
context, even
if
they
sound amusing or quaint, as shan t and
ought do in the US, or as gotten and n
back of do
in
GB. Many usages,
it is
true,
occur
in
only
one
variety
of the
language and are not generally
understood
in the
other.
To
visit with
for
example,
is
used
in the US
meaning
to visit, but it has the
additional
meaning
of
being
with
another person
virtually, so that it is possible to visit
with someone by phone. This usage is
unknown in Britain. (Many similar
examples are discussed in the dictionary
section of this book.) But the usages
that give American and British English
their peculiar characters belong to the
first category.
Only
an American would
say
I sure could use a drink or I need
to use the bathroom . A Briton would
find some equivalent
but
subtly different
linguistic
formula, such as l m dying of
thirst or I have to go to the loo . If, as
Shaw said, Britain and America are
divided
by a
common language ,
perhaps the
main element
of
division lies
precisely
in
such subtle distinctions
as
these.
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P R T F O U R
A
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A TO
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A GB / US L E X I S
M OTHER
A M U S E M E N T
A R C A D E
A.N.
OTHER, n - an
unnamed person. Used
in
team
lists,
etc.
to
indicate that
a
place
re-
mains
to be
filled.
A S H A R E S p/ n - ordinary shares in a com-
pany which carry restricted voting rights.
A -LEV EL , n -
an exam generally taken at age
18 in
three subjects.
It is the
advanced level
of the General Certificate of Education,
needed
fo r
university entrance.
What were
your
A-level
subjects?
He
failed
A-level
German.
A n
A /S-LEVE L
is
similar,
bu t
with
a
smaller course content than
an
A-level.
ABATTOIR, n - a
slaughterhouse,
packing-
house.
A C C O M M O D A T I O N n - in the sense o f lodgings,
always singular in GB usage.
A C C U M U L A T O R n - 1. an
automobile storage
battery. 2. in horse racing, a collective bet
or parlay, in which the winnings on each
successive race
are
carried forward
to be-
come the stake on the
next.
A C E
adj (col) - first-class, excellent. She had
a
real gift
fo r
political organization
and was
an ace campaign manager.
ADAM S
A L E
n
(col)
-
water.
A D M I R A L T Y
BOARD, n - a department of the Brit-
ish
Ministry
o f
Defence, responsible
for the
administration
of the
Royal Navy.
The
equivalent of the
Navy
Department in the
US.
A D V E N T U R E P L A Y G R O U N D n - a children s play-
ground containing
building
materials,
slides, climbing structures, etc. Often found
in city parks.
A D V E R T
n
(col)
-
short
fo r
advertisement, like
ad.
A D V I S E R n -
a subject
specialist
who
advises
school principals on current teaching meth-
ods and
facilities. Similarly,
an A D V I S O R Y
T E A C H E R
is one who
visits schools
to
advise
teachers on curriculum developments
within
a
particular subject area.
A E R I A L
n - antenna.
A F T E R S n (col) - dessert. What s for afters?
A G G R O
n
(col)
-
Short
fo r both
aggravation
and
aggression,
it
signifies aggressive
behaviour, rough stuff , especially
by
street
gangs.
It has
also acquired
the
more
generalised meaning
o f
irritation
and ex-
asperation.
I
don t need
th e
aggro. Postpon-
ing new
hospitals
and
roads causes
fa r
less
aggro than firing superfluous municipal
workers.
A I R
M A R S H A L n - a
senior
R AF
off icer, equiva-
lent
in
rank
to a
general.
A I R C R A F T M A N
n - the most junior rank in the
R A F equivalent to airman.
A I R E R
n - a
collapsible apparatus
fo r
drying
clothes outside.
A IR IN G C U P B O A R D n - a warm closet, usually
built
around
a hot
water tank, where clothes
that have been washed and partly dried can
be
dried completely.
A I R Y - F A I R Y
adj
(col)
-
fanciful, unrealistic,
head-in-the-clouds.
I m
sick
of
your airy-
fairy
schemes to make money - just go out
and
find an honest job.
A L D E R M A N
n -
until 1974, when
the
post
was
abolished,
one of the senior members of a
local council, elected by other councillors.
A L L adv (col) -
especially
in the
expression
A N D A L L added to the end of a statement
and meaning: as well, too. And you can
wipe
that silly grin off your face and all. A ll
also combines with some other words
to
add emphasis, e.g. damn all, bugger all,
sod all, fuck all,
all
meaning
absolutely
nothing .
A L L IN , adj - 1.
(col) completely exhausted,
tired out.
2.
all-inclusive, i.e. with
any
other
costs or
service charges included
in the
price:
The
flat
is
£400
a
month
all in.
A L L O T M E N T n - a small plot of land rented by
an individual, usually
a
city-dweller,
for
growing vegetables
and
flowers.
We
start
digging our
allotment
in early
spring.
ALSATIAN, n -
a German shepherd dog.
A M B E R
n - an
amber traffic light used
as a
warning between green and red. A n A M B E R
G A M B L E R
is a
driver
who
races through
the
lights when they are at amber.
A M U S E M E N T A R C A D E , n - a Covered area
With
coin-operated
game machines.
ST NL Y
A TO ZED, A TO Z EE
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A TO
ZED:
A GB US
L X I S
N E S T H E T I S T
C K E N C H E R
A N A E S T H E T I S T ,
n - an anesthesiologist.
A N C I E N T M O N U M E N T , n - a historical building or
th e remains of one, usually da ting from the
medieval period or before, that has been
designated as worthy of preservation and
is often in the
care
of a
government
de -
partment.
A N G E L S - O N - H O R S E B A C K n - a ish Of Oysters
wrapped in slices of bacon and served on
toast.
A N K L E S O C K S , pi n -
anklets.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Or abbr) A G M H
the statutory meeting of the directors and
shareholders
of a
company
or of the
mem-
bers o f a society, held once every fiscal
year, a t which th e annual report is pre-
sented.
A N O R A K , n - a parka. The word is Eskimo.
A N T I C L O C K W I S E , adj adv -
coun terclockwise.
A R E N T ,
v - in interrogative sentences and
question tags, the usual contraction of am
not . W hy can't I decide? I'm the manager
of this
firm,
aren't I?
A R G Y - B A R G Y , n (col) - a wrangl ing argument
or a lot of fuss about something. Why did
she
leave?
She
ust couldn't stand
all the
argy-bargy
at
home.
A R M Y LIST,
n -
an official list of all serving
commissioned
off icers of the
army
and re-
serve officers
liable
fo r recall.
A R R O W S , n (col) - darts. Ho w about a game o f
arrows?
A R S E ,
n
(col)
-
ass, fanny.
To
A R S E A B O U T
is to
play the fool or act stupidly. A n A R S E L IC K E R
is
a brown-nose.
A R T I C L E D C L E R K ,
n - a person who is being
trained as a lawyer while working in a legal
office.
A R T IC U L A T E D L O R R Y , n - a trailer truck.
A S S E N T O R ,
n - one of the eight voters legally
required to endorse the nomination of a
candidate in a parliamentary or local elec-
tion in
addition
to the nominator and the
seconder.
A S S E S S O R ,
n -
an insurance claims adjuster.
A S S U R A N C E , n -
l ife insurance. Similarly,
the
verb
A S S U R E :
to
insure against loss
of
life.
A T H L E T I C S , pi n - track and field, as in an ath-
letics team. An
A T H L E T E
is a competitor in
track
and field events.
A T T A C H E ,
n - a junior member of the staff of
an embassy or legation.
A T T A IN M E N T T A R G E T
or (abbr) AT, n - a general
defined level of ability that a student is ex-
pected to achieve in every subject at each
key
stage
of the N A T IO N A L C U R R I C U L U M .
A U B E R G I N E ,
n -
an eggplant.
A U N T