Hi everybody this is mr. Duncan in England how are you today are you okay?
I hope so are you a happy I hope so
in today's lesson we will look at one of the most varying parts of the English
language which seems to cause a great deal of confusion for those who are in
the process of learning 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
Northern Ireland where English is spoken widely for some people the term British
English is a misleading one but the fact remains that this terminology is the
usual one when it comes to describing the way in which English is spoken here
in the UK these days the terms 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 it is being used it is a common question and one which is
often posed to me what are the differences between the way English is
spoken here in England 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 and grammar
differences between pronunciation
when it comes to word usage there are quite 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 but many of the words here
are in common use general words flat apartment building block pavement
sidewalk road route motorway freeway Junction fork roundabout traffic circle
phone box phone booth these days payphone is used in both British and
American English film movie headmaster principal caretaker janitor photo
snapshot public school private school state school public school marks grades
term semester when it comes to actually speaking English then the slight
differences between British and American English become more obvious American
English tends to put more emphasis on the consonant sounds especially the
letter R this is very apparent in words beginning with r such as red red really
really robert robert and rich rich vowel sounds such as those made by the letter
A are also emphasized the letter T is a good one to look closely at occasionally
in American English the T sound is not pronounced the same as it is in British
English for letter letter better better bottle
bottle throttle throttle metal medal more general words tap for sit power
socket power outlet power cut out inch tin pan shopping trolley shopping cart
shop store food shop grocery store corner shop convenience store sellotape
scotch-tape tippex wite-out Ceti sofa couch holiday vacation maths math iced
lollies popsicle crisps potato chips sweets candy candy floss cotton candy
cash point ATM till cash register estate agent real tall 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 bonnet hood
boot trunk petrol gas windscreen windshield number plate license plate
gear lever gearshift exhaust pipe tailpipe lorry truck fire engine fire
truck caravan trailer police car patrol car estate car station wagon car park
parking lot car journey roadtrip overtake pass clothing trousers pants
slacks pants underwear shorts jockey shorts pumps plimsolls gym shoes
trainers sneakers polo neck jumper turtleneck 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 different 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 offense
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 the
regular form is more common to American English burn burnt or burned dream
dreamt or dreamed lean lent or leaned learn learnt or learned smell smelt or
smelled spell spelt or spelled spill spilt or spilled spoil spoilt or spoiled
in present perfect temps there are some slight differences for example I've lost
my wallet I lost my wallet 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 and acceptable in both British and American English have
got have you he hasn't got our generally the
preferred forms of British English while most speakers of American English use do
you have he doesn't have they don't have
the verb get the past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English
for example he's got much better at playing tennis he's gotten much better
at playing tennis there are some words which are unique to American English a
good example of this is the word busboy which means a person in a restaurant who
collects the dirty plates and cutlery 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 English words for example words
ending with E are such as Center and meter and words ending with C e such as
license and defense words ending in I s e such as minimize patronize prize
recognize specialized there are some differences in the way
prepositions are used for example at the weekend on the weekend in the team on
the team write to me soon write me soon some
words are pronounced differently between British and American English for example
aluminium aluminium basil basil data data duty duty oregano oregano process
process tomato tomato tube tube VARs vase
more differences between spelling the most well-known difference between
British and American English appears in words ending with oh you are such as
color favor flavor honor neighbor and of course words such as colored favorite
dishonor neighborhood 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 I know that when someone
says mailman they mean postman I know that a freeway is a motorway and I know
that pence 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 used in one part of the USA may not be used in
another the same rule is also true here in the UK
more general words property or land real estate supermarket assistant clerk bank
cashier teller postman mailman chemist pharmacy drugstore label tag helicopter
chopper injection jab shot rubbish garbage trash waste bin garbage can
trash can mobile phone cell phone TV erial antenna wardrobe closet curtains
drapes mortuary morgue coffin casket prison
penitentiary child kid mum or mother mum pew line believe it or not English is
one of the easiest languages to learn but it can also be one of the most
confusing the differing uses between British and American English may appear
to make the language very complicated but in oral English the differences are
far fewer if I were to visit the USA I would have very little trouble
understanding what people were saying in fact when it comes to speaking the only
real difficulty may come from the misconception or negative thinking that
there will be a problem I may imagine that there will be difficulties when in
fact there are virtually none the real differences tend to exist within the
various regional accents rather than the type of English being spoken when it
comes to speaking English be it British or American
there are many accents around that subject we will save for another lesson
there is one important word which I have left are for long lives
and I have decided to leave it to last in British English you go to the toilet
all of the lavatory in American English you go to the washroom men's room or
bathroom the British slang words for toilet are
fog or blue while the American slang words for toilet are jar or well that is
all I have for you today I hope you will drop by for another lesson real soon
until then this is mr. Duncan in England saying thank you for watching me
teaching you...ta ta for now and have a nice day