American English vs. British English

                                       American English vs. British English

                                                         By Lee Hyon-soo

 

The first batch of English-speaking settlers (that is, 102 Puritans from Plymouth, England) arrived in what is now the United States in 1620 by Mayflower. They were later followed by successive waves of immigrants from England as well as other parts of Europe who brought their own languages. And the English language spoken in the United States gradually evolved into a new version, which is referred to as American English as contrasted with British English.

 

Over time American English diverged from British English noticeably - so much so that George Bernard Shaw quipped that England and America are two countries separated by a common language. Oscar Wilde also wisecracked, “We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, the language.” Let me elaborate on different aspects between American English and British English.

 

First, on top of words borrowed from Native American and European languages, many new words and phrases were coined in the United States, thereby enriching the vocabulary of American English. Some examples are:

 

slum, sweat shop, escalator, typewriter, holdup, crook, rush hour, traffic jam, hot dog, billboard, movie, movie star, silver screen, black market, task force, brainwash, call girl, playboy, airplane, airline, aviator, airmail, jet lag, jumbo, baby boom, etc.

 

Of all the new words to issue from the United States, the quintessential Americanism without any doubt was O.K., according to Bill Bryson. The following is quoted from his book titled “The Mother Tongue”:

 

“Arguably America’s single greatest gift to international discourse, O.K. is the most grammatically versatile of words, able to serve as an adjective (“Lunch was O.K.”), verb (“Can you O.K. this for me?), noun (“I need your O.K. on this.”), interjection (“O.K., I hear you.”), and adverb (“We did O.K.”). It can carry shades of meaning that range from casual assent (“Shall we go?” “O.K.”), to great enthusiasm (“O.K.!”), to lukewarm endorsement (“The party was O.K.”), to a more or less meaningless filler of space (“O.K., can I have your attention, please?”).” O.K. is an abbreviation of “Oll Korrect,” which is a facetious alteration of “All Correct.”

 

Second, Americans and Britons use different terms for the same things in some cases. Given below are American terms, followed by equivalent British ones in parentheses.

 

apartment (flat), elevator (lift), airplane (aeroplane), truck (lorry), cell phone (mobile phone), subway (underground/tube), hood of a car (bonnet), trunk of a car (boot), tow truck (breakdown van), parking lot (car park), movie theater (cinema), guardrail (crash barrier), gasoline (petrol), line (queue), lawyer (solicitor), buddy (mate), candy (sweets), diaper (nappy), garbage (rubbish), lumber (timber), mail (post), pants (trousers), sidewalk (pavement), etc.

 

Third, the American way of spelling is a little different from that of British English, as illustrated below (British spellings in parentheses).

 

-ize (-ise) in words like agonize (agonise) and apologize (apologise); -or   (-our) in flavor (flavour) and honor (honour); -er (-re) in center (centre) and theater (theatre); -og (-ogue) in catalog (catalogue) and analog (analogue);  -yze (-yse) in analyze (analyse) and paralyze (paralyse); -se (-ce) in defense (defence) and license (licence), etc.

 

Fourth, American idioms are phrased differently from British ones, as shown below (British idioms in parentheses).

 

Sweep under the rug (Sweep under the carpet); Can’t see the forest for the trees (Can’t see the wood for the trees); Skeleton in the closet (Skeleton in the cupboard); A home away from home (A home from home); Beating a dead horse (Flogging a dead horse); A new lease on life (A new lease of life); A tempest in a teapot (A storm in a teacup), etc.

 

Last but not least, what really sets American English apart from British English is its accent; American accent is distinctively different from British accent. Also, there are some minor differences in grammar, punctuation and pronunciation between the two languages.

 

Given the foregoing, anyone who speaks American English needs to know how his English is different from British English.