British versus American phrases, words, spellings

Sarapva · 8 Jun 2007

As someone who grew up in a household with one British and one American parent, I've heard a lot of the differences in words and phrases and pronunciation. My parents like to tell a story of when they were first married: They were in a car and my mother was driving. My father told her to "Mash the gas", and she didn't know what on earth he was talking about. "Mash" might be a southern American expression for "push" or "press". The "gas" was the accelerator.

There are other differences that I've found from other sources - I didn't know that the British expression for "long distance" (telephone) was "to make a trunk call" until I saw the movie "Murder On the Orient Express"! Americans say "I'll call you", and British say "I'll ring you". Americans use the word "elevator" and the British "lift".

Anyone else know any other differences?

nice gaijin · 8 Jun 2007

as far as expressions go, the differences are innumerable. Vocabulary usage is also very different, as shown by your examples. Pronunciation and spelling differences are also common, but far more predictable. Examples of the latter can be found here.

To compound the problem, there are vast differences among the different dialects within American and British English. The different general term for carbonated drinks is a common example in American English.

EmperorHirohito · 8 Jun 2007

Sarapva there are loads of differences lol, I will just name a few to get us started :-
What you call a Sidewalk, we call a Pavement.
What you call a Lawyer, we call a Solicitor
What you call Gas, we call it Petrol.
What you call French frys, we call Chips,
And what you call Chips, we call Crisps lol.
Ok who is getting confused now?

Anohito · 9 Jun 2007

On an automobile, what Americans call the trunk, the British call the boot. What Americans call the hood, the British call the bonnet. There are a couple of of British expressions (at least a couple) that would sound rather ribald to an American (although one of them may be going out of use in Britain).

MeAndroo · 9 Jun 2007

My favorite colorful British expression that we don't use in the States is "taking the piss" when making fun of someone. I remember when I first watched "The Office," I had more than a bit of trouble following everything, so we turned the subtitles on.

Goldiegirl · 9 Jun 2007

cookies (us) = biscuits (uk)

baby stroller = pram

biscuits = scones

suspenders = braces

Great fun comparing the "same" language!

ArmandV · 9 Jun 2007

John, restroom, toilet (US) = loo (UK)
Butt, *** (US) = bum (UK)
Telephone, phone (US) = telly (UK)

Sarapva · 9 Jun 2007

Thank you - those are all good examples! Nice gaijin, that list covers about all the word differences I could think of. These are some different American words for "carbonated drinks" I can think of: soda, pop, soft drink, soda pop (together), coke. I think I remember my English aunt saying "fizzy drink" for "soda". (I never liked sodas even as a kid, so I never had problems translating this!)

I remember my English relatives saying "boot" for "trunk" (of the car), "biscuits" meaning "cookies", "petrol" for "gas", "crisps" for "chips", "lorry" for "truck". My sister and I got used to making translations when we visited my relatives in England, and it also seemed that people talked faster than we were used to. My cousin once told us the name of her horse, "Cobweb", and she said it so fast we had to ask her to repeat it at least twice. In Virginia we're on the border of the American "south", and people seem to talk slower the further south you get. I often felt like one of the "Beverly Hillbillies" when visiting my English relatives!

Another difference I remember - we were taught to say "You're welcome" when someone said "Thank you." In England I noticed people saying "Don't mention it," and I got the feeling they were taken aback if I said "You're welcome." "Ta" in England also means "thank you" in a casual way (I don't know if that's a "proper" word, though).

Anohito - Are the expressions you mentioned something you could put in a post?

undrentide · 9 Jun 2007

In Japan American English is dominant, and in Tokyo the underground railway used to be called "subway" for a long time. (Several years ago when it was privatized it changed its name to "Tokyo Metro", though.)

So when I went to England when I was a university student - I had never been abroad before - I was curious when I found a sign "Subway" in the middle of a suburb, rather a deserted area. (Just a road, no shops around, just a few houses.) I went down the stairs, follow the path that goes under the road, then I found myself on the otherside of the street.

Then I realized that "subway" is just a "sub" way, nothing to do with tubes/underground (railway)! It was a mild culture shock for me.

Same goes with "chips" for "fish and chips".

> ArmandV
I think telly means television.
Talking about phone, people say "mobile" in UK while in the US they say "cell".

Mycernius · 9 Jun 2007

As I feel this is about the English language and differences between various dialects I think it would be useful in the lawerning English Forum for any of our members who are either laerning English or are trying to improve their English.

One which always struck me as funny was from my Canadian cousin. When she was in the UK she mentioned that she had fallen down and hurt her fanny. She didn't really understand why we thought this highly amusing until I had to expalin it to her. In Canada and, as I can gather, Fanny means your bottom. In the UK it is used as either a refernce to a woman 'A bit of fanny' or to the vagina (sorry, simplist way to put it). She was a little shocked, to say the least, when she found that out.
Others that throw a fwe Americans:
Fags - In UK slang for cigarette, not a homosexual
Faggots - A type of spicey meat ball in the UK, "I like faggot and peas for my supper", again not a homosexual
Gay - a fairly recent usage in UK teenage culture that now means bad, lame or uncool "That music is so gay" A DJ on radio 1 recently had complaints about his usage when talking about a mobile ringtone beacsue older listeners tought he was being homophobic
Pavement - In the UK the path, in the US the road. I was a little shocked when I first went to Canada and saw the sign 80 km/h on wet pavement. Images of pedestrians diving out of the way.

KirinMan · 9 Jun 2007

Question here...do you "Brits" call the 1st floor of a building the ground floor and then count the 2nd floor as being the 1st floor? I.E. a 10 story building in the US would be a 9 story building in England.

Goldiegirl · 9 Jun 2007

Gay means the same in the US...uncool etc, but it also means a homosexual person. You have to take in to account how it is being used. It was a popular slang word in high school, but it could get you in trouble as much as curse word. I never could understand that. Anyway, I remember in Scotland I learned that "pants" did not mean slacks or trousers, but your underwear! Oh and "to let" in the uk means "to rent" in the us. In the us we have parking lots and in the uk you have car parks! I like the differences, between the two countries, but there is just as much difference in english between states...Does anyone know what a "bubbler" is....?it's a very Wisconsin word. I bet it is the same way in the UK.

Mycernius · 10 Jun 2007

Obeika said:
Question here...do you "Brits" call the 1st floor of a building the ground floor and then count the 2nd floor as being the 1st floor? I.E. a 10 story building in the US would be a 9 story building in England.

Yep. Your 1st floor is our ground floor, Your second floor is our 1st floor. Must really screw up someone who is superstitious. Which floor do you avoid calling the 13th floor?

EmperorHirohito · 10 Jun 2007

To add further input as regards to buildings, in Britain we sometimes say our houses have a 'Cellar', ours is quite large and frequently floods as we are sitting on reclaimed marsh land, but in America its a 'Basement'.

Yet another simple difference between our languages.

Anohito · 10 Jun 2007

Sarapva said:
[snip]
Anohito - Are the expressions you mentioned something you could put in a post?

Yes, but I am not sure what Jref might censor. In one of my Japan Diary posts, an entry contains the word m - o - r - o -n in reference to an officer I did not like. Jref censored it. But, here goes.

What an American would call an eraser, people in Britain used to call a "rubber", which is, of course, American slang for a condom. This is the usage that I suspect is disappearing in Britain.

In a bed & breakfast in Britain, if you want a wake-up call in the morning, the proprieter might offer to "knock you up" at the proper time, which is to say that he or she will knock on your door at the appointed time. In America, knocking someone up means to get them pregnant.

made of stone · 10 Jun 2007

What a fascinating thread!! This one certainly could run and run, there are so many subtle and not so subtle differences between our versions of English!

Sarapva said:
...I didn't know that the British expression for "long distance" (telephone) was "to make a trunk call" until I saw the movie "Murder On the Orient Express"! Americans say "I'll call you", and British say "I'll ring you"...

I don't think the British expression for 'long distance call' is 'trunk call', i've never heard it myself. We'd say the same thing here. I think the change over time might possibly have something to do with the huge changes in telecommunications over the years - for example, is it even possible to send a telegram anymore? :?

Here near London you'll hear 'call' or 'ring' just as often as each other I think (and I get the impression ring may be going out of fashion slightly). We also use 'bell' as a synonym, is that common in the US? As an example, we'd hear 'i'll give you a ring/call/bell' or the request or instruction to 'call/ring/bell me'.

On the subject of telephones, in the US do you say (for example) 'call me at 604-3001'? In England we'd use 'on' here - i've noticed that prepositions in particular differ within phrases between our respective forms of Anglais.

One more question for our North American friends....could someone please define exactly what 'standard' American English might be? In British English we have the tradition of RP, Queen's English, or 'BBC English' (although this is changing somewhat). On the other side of the Atalantic you have...?

(Please please may it not be President's English - or at least Vice-President's English - I am still wondering how many 'potatoes' Dan Quayle has on each foot!! j/ks)

Goldiegirl · 10 Jun 2007

Yep you can get a telegram still...it gets hand delivered to your door and the delivery guy reads it to you, and they will call you with it as well....

made of stone · 10 Jun 2007

Goldiegirl said:
Yep you can get a telegram still...it gets hand delivered to your door and the delivery guy reads it to you, and they will call you with it as well....

Really? Wow!! I don't mean to drag this thread off to other places, but why would one send a telegram now, when other forms of communication are so easy, cheap and prevalent?

The only example of a telegram i've ever personally come into contact with was when I was born - and only came across that earlier this year!

Lol, I didn't make my point very well here I think. What I meant to suggest is that telecommunications have developed so much, and in such a rapid fashion (in the last ten years particularly), that former descriptions become obsolete extremely quickly...where once telegrams were an absolutely essential, relatively expedient, and an economical part of communication, they are now unnecessary (for the most part, presumably)...

:?

Goldiegirl · 10 Jun 2007

I got the telegram from my ex-mother in law. It's a long dull story. But it was really cool to get a telegram. I thought it was a joke at first! I think she could have just sent me a letter...or called. I guess that was just what she knew. Oh and I understood what you were saying with communication changing so fast, I think you raised a good point; with technology changing our vocabularies are changing rapidly.

EmperorHirohito · 10 Jun 2007

mos guess what telegrams do still exist in this country, except they call them telemessages now.

My wife got sent one not so long ago.

made of stone · 10 Jun 2007

EmperorHirohito said:
mos guess what telegrams do still exist in this country, except they call them telemessages now.
My wife got sent one not so long ago.

I welcome the fact that they still exist! My question is why!?!??

And, i'm still looking for answers to my other questions in my posts above!!

EmperorHirohito · 10 Jun 2007

All I know mos, is that when certain credit companies and so forth, are trying to get in touch with someone and telephone calls dont work, the good old yellow envelope with BT Telemessage arrives through your letter-box.

I find it strange in this day of e-mail and text message and such like that there is still the need for telegrams to be sent, after all in some parts of the county a letter can take 4 days to travel 20 miles........

Grammarsaurus · 10 Jun 2007

Even just between the US and Canada, there are startling differences between the languages. "Fanny" is not often used, at all really. That's an old thing, like saying something is swell, or neato.

Most noticable difference between the US and Canada would be the spelling of certain words. Being that we were an off-shoot of Great Britain until WW2, we still retain the "proper" spelling of many words.

Canadians call soft drinks "pop," while Americans call it "soda." It makes for humourous conversations with my brother-in-law (my sister married an American). There are also many different accents in Canada and the United States, which I can only imagine makes it very confusing to learn English as a non-native speaker. For example, in Texas they refer to everything as coke. Even if you're drinking a 7-Up, they'll call it a coke. (Really bizarre to hear for the first time.)

Using "gay" to refer to something "uncool" started on South Park in the late 90s, and is still used to this day. By no means is it unique to the UK.

EmperorHirohito · 10 Jun 2007

The word 'pop' can mean father or dad in the states, it is hardly used any more here in the UK. However 'soda' over in the UK is a plain carbonated water that you can add to spirits, for example whiskey.
Also the word 'coke' has several meanings in the UK, it is a type of coal that you can burn without too much smoke, it is a soft drink made by Coca-Cola, and most people would say ' I'll have a coke to drink please' or words to that effect. 'Coke' is another word for the drug Cocaine.

Goldiegirl · 10 Jun 2007

Sorry but if you go to certain states in the US they look at you crazy if you ask for soda...they say pop as well. When I go to my horse shows through Indiana and Kentucky it's called pop. As for the word "gay" starting from South Park....nope, I was a kid in the the late 70's and 80's and we used the term already!

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