A guide to the difference between American English and British English

8/9/2019 A guide to the difference between American English and British English

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A TO

ZED

A TO ZEE

GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN

BRITISH ND ME RIC N ENGLISH


3/128

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


5/128

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.


6/128

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

ST NL Y


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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

A T O

ZED ,

A T O ZEE

ST NLEY


9/128

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

• ST NLEY TOZED TO ZEE


10/128

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

P A R T T H R E E


11/128

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.)

STANLEY TO

ZED

TO

ZEE


12/128

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

A TO ZED A

TO

ZEE STANLEY

US

G

US G


13/128

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

4 •

STANLEY

A TO ZED A TO ZEE

US


14/128

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

A

TO ZED

A TO ZEE

ST NL Y

US

G


15/128

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

STANLEY A TO ZED, A TO ZEE

US

G

US

G


16/128

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

A TO ZED, A TO ZEE

STANLEY • 7

US


17/128

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)

8 • ST NLEY

A TO ZED, A TO

ZEE

US

US


18/128

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.

A TO

ZED,

A TO ZEE

ST NL Y • 9


19/128

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.

10 •

ST NLEY

A TO ZED A TO ZEE


20/128

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.

A

TO ZED,

A TO ZEE

STANLEY

• 11


21/128

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

12 •

STANLEY

A TO

ZED,

A

TO

ZEE


22/128

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

A TO ZED A T O ZEE

STANLEY • 3


23/128

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.

4 • STANLEY

A TO ZED, A

TO

ZEE


24/128

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.

A TO

ZED

A TO ZEE

STANLEY

• 15


25/128

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.

16 • ST NLEY

A T O ZED, A TO ZE E

US

US

US


26/128

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.

A TO

ZED,

A

TO

ZEE

STANLEY • 7

US


27/128

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.

8 • STANLEY

A TO

ZED,

A

TO

ZEE

US

US

US

US


28/128

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 .

TO ZED, TO ZEE STANLEY • 19

US

US

US

US


29/128

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.

2 • STANLEY

A TO

ZED,

A TO ZEE

US

US


30/128

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.

A TO ZED, A TO ZEE

STANLEY

• 21

US


31/128

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.

• STANLEY A T O ZED, A T O Z E E


32/128

P R T F O U R

A

to

Zed:

a GB US

lexis


33/128

A TO

ZED:

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


34/128

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

A guide to the difference between American English and British English

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