What Are The Differences Of British English and American English ?
Which seems to cause a great deal of confusion for those who are in the process of lerning it.Today we will look at the differences between British and American English.When we say British English, What we are actually referring to is the way in which English is spoken in the United Kingdom. This includes Wales, Scotland, and Northem Ireland, where English is spoken widely. For some people the term 'British' is a misleading one. But the fack remains that this terminology is the usual one, when iit comes to describing the way in which English is spoken here in the UK. These days the term 'Standard English' is slowly being used less and less. Mainly due to the realisation that there is no real standard way of speaking English.The basic academic rules of English tend to be the same, Wherever in the world in being used.
What are the differences between the way English is spoken in England (&UK) and the way it is used in the USA??
Well, this is not an easy question to answer quickly. It would be better to break the differences down into sections differences between nouns, differences between spelling & grammar, differences between pronunciation. When it comes to word usage, there are a large number of words which differ between British and American English. Now we will take a look at some of these words. This list is not exhaustive (complete), but many of the words here are in common use.
General
words
|
|||
British
English
|
American
English
|
British
English
|
American
English
|
Flat
|
Apartment
|
(water)Tap
|
Faucet
|
Building
|
Block
|
Power
Socket
|
Power
Outlet
|
Pavement
|
Sidewalk
|
(Electricity
Loss) Power Cut
|
(Blackout)
Outage
|
Road
(map)
|
Route
|
Tin
|
Can
|
Motorway
|
Freeway
|
Shopping
Trolley
|
Shopping
Cart
|
Junction
|
fork
|
Shop
|
Store
|
(Road)
Roundabout
|
Traffic
Circle
|
Food
Shop
|
Grocery
Store
|
Phone
Box
|
Phone
Booyh
|
Corner
Shop
|
Convenience
store
|
Film
|
Movie
|
Sellotape
|
Scotch
Tape
|
Headmaster
|
Principle
|
Tippex
|
White
- Out
|
Caretaker
|
Janitor
|
Settee
/ Sofa
|
Couch
|
Photo
|
Snap-shot
|
Holiday
|
Vacation
|
Public
School
|
Private
School
|
Maths
|
Math
|
State
School
|
Public
School
|
Iced
lolly
|
popsicle
|
(Exam)
Marks
|
Grade
|
Crisps
|
Potato
Chips
|
Term
|
Semester
|
Sweets
|
Candy
|
Candy
Floss
|
Cotton
Candy
|
Cashpoint
|
ATM
|
Till
|
Cash
Register
|
Estate
Agent
|
Realtor
|
There are many ways of finding out the differences
between American and British English. Most English dictionaries now point out
these variations within their word definition listings, normally with the
alternative spelling being placed next to whichever word is being defined.
Parts
of a car or an automobile
|
|
British
English
|
American
English
|
Bonnet
|
Hood
|
Boot
|
Trunk
|
Petrol
|
Gas
|
Windscreen
|
Windshield
|
Number
Plate
|
license
Plate
|
(Gear
Stick) Gear Lever
|
(stick)
Gear Shift
|
Exhaust
Pipe
|
Tail
Pipe
|
Lorry
|
Truck
|
Fire
Engine
|
Fire
Truck
|
Caravan
|
Trailer
|
Police
Car
|
Patrol
Car
|
Estate
Car
|
Station
Wagon
|
Car
Park
|
Parking
Lot
|
Car
Journey
|
Road
Trip
|
Overtake
(movement)
|
Pass
|
Clothing
|
|
British
English
|
American
English
|
Trousers
|
Pants/
Slacks
|
Pant/
Underwear
|
Shorts/
Jockey Shorts
|
Pumps/Plimsolls
|
Gym
Shoes
|
Trainers
|
Sneakers
|
Polo-Neck
Jumper
|
Turtle-Neck
Sweater
|
Dressing
Gown
|
Bathrobe
|
Wellington
Boots
|
Galoshes
|
Jumper/pullover
|
Sweater
|
Nappy
|
Diaper
|
Waistcoat
|
Vest
|
Vest
|
Undershirt
|
The British slang word for a cigarette is fag. While
in American English this word has a very differenct and offensive meaning. It
is a derogatory and insulting word for a gay man, or homosexual, so asking an
American for a fag may at the very least cause some confusion and at the very worst,
a great deal of offence.
Perbedaan British Inggris dan Amerika Inggris
Past Simple - Past participle
The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the
past simple/past participle in both American and British English, However the
irregular form is generally more common in British English and regular form is
more common to American English.
British
English
|
American
English
|
|
Burn
|
Burnt
|
Burned
|
Dream
|
Dreamt
|
Dreamed
|
Learn
|
Learnt
|
Learned
|
Smell
|
Smelt
|
Smelled
|
Spell
|
Spelt
|
Spelled
|
Spill
|
Spilt
|
Spilled
|
Spoil
|
Spoilt
|
Spoiled
|
Present Perfect Tense
There are some slight differences For example :
British
English
|
American
English
|
I've
lost my wallet
|
I
lost my walllet
|
Possessive
Clauses
There are two forms to express possession in English
Have or Have Got
- Do you have a car ?
- Have you got a car ?
- He hasn't got any friends - He doesn't have any friends
- She has a beautiful new home - She's got a beautiful new home.While both forms are correct in both British and American English
‘Have
got’
‘Have
you (got) ?’
‘He/She,
Hasn't got’
|
are
generally the preferred forms of British English
|
While most speakers of American English use
"Do
you have ?"
"He/She,
doesn't have"
"They
don't have"
|
The verb "Get"
The past participle of the verb'get' is 'gotten' in American English. For example
British
English
|
American
English
|
He's
got much better at playing tennis
|
He's
gotten uch better at playing tennis
|
There are some words which are unique to American English. A good example is the word Bushboy which means a person in a restaurant who collects the dirty plates and cutley(knives,forks,spoons) from the tables. Not to be confused with a waiter, who takes the orders and serves the food.
There are some differences between the spelling of
British and American words. For example :
words with ending with E-R
British
English
|
American
English
|
Centre
|
Center
|
Metre
|
Meter
|
words ending with C-E such as
British
English
|
American
English
|
Licence
|
License
|
Defence
|
Defencse
|
Words ending in I-S-E such as
British
English
|
American
English
|
Minimise
|
Minimize
|
Partronise
|
Patronize
|
Prise
|
Prize
|
Recognise
|
Recognize
|
Specialise
|
Specialize
|
words ending with..O-U-R such as
British
English
|
American
English
|
British
English
|
American
English
|
Colour
|
color
|
and of course, words such as
|
|
Favour
|
Favor
|
||
Flavour
|
Flavor
|
Coloured
|
colored
|
Recognise
|
Recognize
|
Favourite
|
Favorite
|
Honour
|
Honor
|
Dishonour
|
Dishonor
|
Neighbour
|
Neighbor
|
Neighbourhood
|
Neighborhood
|
There are some differences in the way prepositions
are used.
For example ;
British
English
|
American
English
|
At
the weekend
|
On
the weekend
|
In
the team
|
On
the team
|
Write
to me soon
|
Write me soon
|
When it comes to word definitions, there are not
that many serious variations between words used in England and those used in
the USA. It is not as if you are having to learn two new languages. Sometime
when someone says mailman, they mean postman. freeway is motorway, pants are
trousers. When it comes to basic grammar, British and American English are
almost the same. It is also worth remembering that word usage can vary, even in
one country. A word in one part of the USA may not be use in another. The same
rule is also true in the UK.
More
General Words
|
|||
British English
|
American English
|
British English
|
American English
|
(Building)
Property or land
|
Real
Estate
|
Helliopter
|
Chopper
|
Supermarket
Assistant
|
Clerk
|
Injection/Jab
|
Shot
|
Bank
Cashier
|
Teller
|
Waste
Bin
|
Garbage
Can/ Trash Can
|
Postman
|
Mailman
|
Mobile
phone
|
Cellphone
|
Chemist/Pharmacy
|
Drugstore
|
TV
Aerial
|
Antenna
|
(Clothing)Label
|
Tag
|
Wardrobe
|
Closet
|
Rubbish
|
Garbage/Trash
|
Curtains
|
Drapes
|
Mortuary
|
Morque
|
Coffin
|
Casket
|
(Jail)
Prison
|
(Jail/Prison)Penitentiary
|
Mum
or Mother
|
Mom
|
Child
|
Kid
|
Queue
|
line
|
Toilet/
lavatory
|
washroom(canada)/
mensroom, bathroom (usa)
|
Believe it or not, English is one of the easiest languages to learn. But it can be one of the most confusing. The differing uses between Brtish and American English may appear to make the language very complicated, but in oral English the differences are far fewer.
The British slang words for toilet are 'Bog or Loo'
While the American slang words for toilet are 'John or Can'
Ok,, That is all today
Thanks and Haave a nice day
bye..........