Differences in the English Language - American English + British English

Lappy_1 · August 1, 2008, 6:12am

Hi everyone! :happy:

Seeing as we have a lot of English speakers here, I would like to ask all of you for your input on this topic.

Which words have different pronunciations when comparing American English and British English? And which objects are termed differently?

An example would be the letters H and Z in the alphabet.

   AE (American English) - H is pronounced as AITCH /eÉªtÊƒ/

   BE (British English) - H is pronouned as HAITCH /heÉªtÊƒ/

   AE (American English) - Z is pronounced as ZEE /ziË/

   BE (British English) - Z is pronouned as ZED /zÉ›d/

And here’s an example of an object that is termed differently:

   AE (American English) - Wrench

   BE (British English) - Spanner

Do you know of any other words that are pronounced or termed differently? :rolleyes: We can probably use your input to create separate categories for AE and BE for Little Reader, slideshows and other free downloads.

KL · August 1, 2008, 7:36am

I’ll start!

For differences in terms:

US vs UK

Sweater vs Jumper
Wrench vs Spanner
Sneakers vs Trainers
Chips vs Crisps
Fries vs Chips

Just off the top of my head! There are plenty more! :biggrin:

Nikita_1 · August 2, 2008, 1:35am

I was taught british English, and it was aitch, but in Australia it’s Haitch. In australia, nappy not diaper, dummy not pacifier, cot not crib (I think UK is the same), pram and stroller not pushchair (UK), mum not mom, and colour not color, neighbour not neighbor. Bathers, swimmers, togs, bathing costume… runners, trainers, sneakers…panties vs knickers/undies (my kids have a giggle when they hear panties), aussie is jumper not sweater. Thongs not zandals (I think they are in NZ) or flip-flops (in Vanuatu where I grew up). Marker pens (US), aussie Textas, Vanuatu (felts)

Pronunciation is different. I say Dahnce, not DANce (the British way), but most Aussies say DANce, fRANce, adVANtage (I say adVAHNtage, circumSTAHNcE)…to rhyme with aunt, the way aussies would say it (ahnt) not the US way (ant).

I’ve got some kids story ideas, but this issue is a problem!! Especially in rhyming, you cant just substitute dummy for pacifier, it doesnt rhyme with mummy!!

Nikita_1 · August 2, 2008, 1:40am

Thanks for the tipper on crisps though… I always have a problem when I talk about chips with the kids, and have to say “hot chips” to differentiate them from the cold crunchy packet ones.

Star jumps, jumping jacks(US)
See-saw (Aussie) (as in see-saw, margery-daw, johnny shall have a new master… the nursery rhyme)…teeter-totter (US)

Eggplant-aubergine(US)
Zucchini-courgettte(US)
abseiling (southern hemisphere) -rapelling(northern hemisphere)

Nikita_1 · August 2, 2008, 1:47am

Vacuuming (aussie) - hoovering (UK)

Fridge (aussie) -refridgerator (US) (Aussies like to abbreviate… washer is starting to replace washing machine)

Aussie (going to the toilet) (US…going to the bathroom) (we have a separate bathroom without a toilet)

Using the toilet/dunny/loo (aussie), US… Lavatory

Aussie Laboratory (lab-oh-rah-tri) US lab-rah-tor-ree

UK etc Primarily (prime-rilly), US Prime-air-illy

Nikita_1 · August 2, 2008, 1:51am

US and UK i think…kiwi > that’s a NZ bird, so down here we use Kiwifruit… they probably do in NZ too!

Kiwifruit/kiwi…some people somewhere call them Chinese Gooseberries.

nhockaday · August 2, 2008, 2:14am

This is why I won’t buy Babybit. There were several differences in words on the lesson that I saw. I don’t want to confuse Gabriel.

Nikita_1 · August 4, 2008, 10:54am

You’d be just adding to his knowledge. Which could be confusing or beneficial… especially if he travels later on. We have a lot of US shows so we have no choice but to be familiar with US dialect.

I found the remote control and got babybit working a little, then the remote died, but Train was Metro, and an exercise book was a notebook, but the picture had a spanish word on the book. Not that I mind, I have the Spanish babybit too. It’s all very repetitive.

Aust… drawing pin. US Thumb Tack

Aust… bucket and spade…US pail and shovel

Nikita_1 · August 7, 2008, 6:13am

truck (aust)…lorry (UK)

gumboots (aust)…UK…wellingtons, galoshes

KL · August 7, 2008, 2:59pm

Well done, Nikita, you’re coming up with many good ones!

We’ll compile one big ‘master list’ later for quick and easy reference!

carpe_diem · August 8, 2008, 12:56am

There are lots of differences in pronunciation in the UK according to region -
In the north which is where I come from (Yorkshire) we say bath - path with a short ‘a’ whereas in the south of England (London) they elongate the ‘a’ so that bath sounds like ‘barth’, and path like ‘parth’ lol

Local dialect can be so strong that it sometimes makes it difficult for people from different regions to be able to understand each other! Dialect is more noticeable in rural areas and used by older people.

I can think of one or two words for the list of US /UK differences: Correct me if I am wrong on these :unsure:

Vehicles US hood UK bonnet
US trunk UK boot

Baby US pacifier UK dummy (I think they say that in US anyway)
US diaper UK nappy - same as in Australia

Food US cookies UK biscuits

Gardening US yard UK garden
US dirt UK soil

Kitchen US dish-soap UK washing up liquid

Nikita_1 · August 8, 2008, 5:16am

aust garage sale… us…yard sale

aust…caravan us…trailer(in aust a trailer is the thing u hitch up to back of car to put rubbish in to take to tip)

(so concept “trailer trash” is confusing!)

aust… rubbish bin Us…garbage can/trash can

aust… shopping trolley Us… grocery cart

Nikita_1 · August 8, 2008, 5:20am

Schooling… Aust…Primary school, high school, university

US elementary, junior high, high, college.

Aust cleaner…US…janitor

carpe_diem · August 8, 2008, 5:09pm

US… Santa …Santa Claus
UK Father Christmas…and also Santa Claus
I think some places they call him Saint Nicholas…does anyone know where…(is it Holland) ?

US and most places that I can think of have New Year…in Scotland its Hogmanay

carpe_diem · August 8, 2008, 5:17pm

tomato pronounced tomarto…(UK)
tomato pronounced tomayto…(US

mobile or mobile phone … (UK)
cell phone … (US)

carpe_diem · August 8, 2008, 5:20pm

I don’t know the terms for educational establishments in other countries.
Schooling in UK
Nursery School/ playgroup …up to 4/5yrs
Infant school … 4/5 to 7yrs
Junior School … 7 to 11yrs
Secondary School … 11 to 16 yrs
6th form College … 16 to 18 yrs
University (aka Uni)

In some areas we have Comprehensive Schools for all ability levels,and Grammar schools for more able children from 11 yrs up.
There are other types of school as well - Middle school for ages 9 to 13 yrs - and Independent Schools which are not under state control

There is another category of education in the UK called Home Schooling - I did this with my son (now grown up) from birth to age 12 yrs - he then joined a local school so that he could study subjects that I did not feel competent to teach. Not many people do this but it is actually legal.

There are also really confusing categories for naming types of schools:-
State Schools which are for anybody regardless of income…
Public Schools - most public schools are fee paying and are in the private sector (such as Eton and Harrow)
We have ‘GCSE’ and ‘A’ levels at 16yrs and 18 yrs …then University degree…though there are a host of other qualifications as well.

Just to confuse the issue - Scotland has a different way of naming its types of schools and scholastic qualifications!!!

I would be interested to know how levels of attainment are named in other countries…

Nikita_1 · August 9, 2008, 12:10am

AUST… suitcase US…trunk

Nikita_1 · August 9, 2008, 12:18am

Aust…
3 and 4 year-old kindergarten, then Primary school (approx 5-11…grades prepatory, 1-6… depending which state…some do an extra year of kinder), then High school (now being called secondary colleges) (12-18… years 7 to 12) then university.
Public school and state schools are the same… we either have public (free) or private (includes grammar, independent etc)
Universities have now amalgamated with colleges of advanced education and institutes of technology so most tertiary learning places are Unis. otherwise we have TAFES which you can go to from 15 onwards.Different states have different qualifications… NSW has HSC higher school certificate for Year 12, and Victoria has VCE (Victorian Certificate of education, done over years 11 and 12).
We can homeschool here too.

KL · August 9, 2008, 2:42am

I always have a hard time explaining to people that a “Public school” is actually a private one! lol

We have 'GCSE' and 'A' levels at 16yrs and 18 yrs ...then University degree....though there are a host of other qualifications as well.

Once upon a time, there were also ‘O’ levels… oops, I’m starting to give away my age! :biggrin:

carpe_diem · August 9, 2008, 10:29am

Very true - I did ‘O’ levels (ummm long ago lol).

My Mum and my (much)older siblings took something called matriculation which I think was an examination which required a ‘pass’ in all the subjects taught at High School (yes it was called ‘High School’ for Senior pupils before WW2 in my town) Sometimes someone didn’t pass and had to take the year again before they could matriculate and leave school. Of course that must have been in the dark ages lol

At that time and up until I was 18, a pass in Maths and Latin at ‘O’ level was a requirement for University entrance - and Latin was not offered at all schoools so many young people did not have the chance to go to university. :ohmy: