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American and British Vocabularies | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6085 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes  1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 1 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:11am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I'm working in another thread in the Multilingual-Lounge, where I'm asking the German forum members for information about learning English within the German school system.
In that thread JW posed an interesting question as to whether I, an American, find it strange dealing with British English as opposed to American English. I try my best to know both, but seeing as how our respective English languages are often influenced by one another, I thought it would be fun to ask about some words I teach to my students. Of course I could consult Oxford, but this is more fun! European English speakers: perhaps disregarding the list, what words would you say are becoming interchangable with American English? Americans: what BE words do you know or use? aubergine (BE), egg-plant (AE) bisuit, cookie chips, French fries cooker, stove crisps, chips jug, pitcher mince, hamburger meat maize, corn sweets, candy tin, can aeroplane, airplane boot, trunk filling station, gas station lorry, truck petrol, gas autumn, fall braces, suspenders dressing-gown, bathrobe trousers, pants chemist's, drugstore dustbin, garbage (can) dustman, garbage man film, movie flat, apartment lift, elevator post, mail prison, jail/penitentiary toilets, restrooms rubber, eraser shop assistant, sales-clerk This list was taken out of a German book for English grammar. (I left out most of the transportation words.) I look forward to your input :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Alkeides Senior Member Bhutan Joined 6148 days ago 636 posts - 644 votes | Message 2 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:19am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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spectacles/glasses too.
Glasses is common both sides of the pond but Americans almost never use "spectacles" AFAIK. Spectacles is somewhat uncommon nowadays in the UK too I think, but "specs" is still common enough. Oh yeah "toilets"! Frankly, I find those Americans who make fun of the Japanese calling their lavatories "toilets" just plain ignorant and stupid. What's so offensive about the word anyway? I do prefer "can" though, for "tin" makes me think of the chemical element; I used to be confused as to whether they used tin to make the cans! Edited by amphises on 06 August 2008 at 9:23am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6085 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 3 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:38am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
So you guys say "can"? So I can tell my students don't bother learning the word "tin"? ;) I can still remember hearing "tin can" in America, but it's quite ancient isn't it? I don't buy stuff in cans much, but I think they're still coated with tin. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6439 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 4 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:39am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I was familiar with every word on the list. Having grown up in Canada, I use a mixture of them, weighted heavily towards the American side. I only say "aubergine" when talking to Brits or reading British cookbooks (and even then, I usually say "eggplant" - "aubergine" is a word I didn't start using until my late teens, and it still feels foreign to me), and would never use rubber for eraser spontaneously.
On the other side, I consider 'penitentiary' to be a word I'd hear, but I'd say jail/prison in almost any conceivable circumstance; penitentiary strikes me as unnaturally high-register for everyday speech or writing (the lower-register 'the pen' is something I've encountered only in movies/books). A similar, but less strong comment applies to toilet/restroom; I use and hear the word 'toilet' a lot more often than 'restroom'. I consider "film" and "movie" to be interchangeable. The major problem is the words that have conflicting interpretations. With 'braces', I'd instantly assume the dental sort were meant; with 'biscuit', I think of something not sweet, but rather something that is plain, spicy, or salty. Boots are worn on the feet, and a rubber is a word I don't use in either of these ways (I think of the actual material, analogously to brass or cloth), but would after a moment's hesitation identify as a condom before an eraser in the absence of context. I can and do override these when context requires it, but it takes a moment. In a similar vein, I try to avoid saying 'pants' to Brits, who tend to interpret it as meaning underwear. I'm not sure to what extent this is influenced by one of my parents speaking American English (she, too, uses the words 'toilet' and 'jail' more often), and the other, while having had a perfectly North American accent, having learned English in England. I grew up hearing 'mince meat' from the latter one. Edit: if trying to avoid the word toilet, or referring to going to the room for business which doesn't happen to require one (such as washing one's hands or face), I'd be much more likely to say "washroom" than "restroom". Edited by Volte on 06 August 2008 at 9:42am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6439 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 5 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:41am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I can certainly imagine saying "tin can", but I do use the word "can" much more often. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6085 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 6 of 76 06 August 2008 at 9:56am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I had to look up the English pronunciation for "aubergine" -- I'm so used to the German pronunciation :)
I think Americans say "bathroom" -- that's what I tell my students. "restroom" is a tad loftier and if you really want to go overboard you can say "facilities", but then you run the risk of the person not knowing what you're talking about and you have to say "toilet" anyway..;)
That's a good point. We like to call something by what it's made of. Unfortunately there are quite a few things made of rubber and so on.... 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6439 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 7 of 76 06 August 2008 at 10:10am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Ah-hah, I was blocking on the word I use most often. I do indeed usually call it a bathroom. As for 'facilities' - that's getting into the "I'm going to go powder my nose" range! That is, expressions which are rather unclear euphemisms, and which certainly don't occur in my daily use of English.
Hm - I have a vague idea that calling things by what they're made of is rarer in Canadia English, but I can't easily substantiate it. Edited by Volte on 06 August 2008 at 10:11am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 8 of 76 06 August 2008 at 10:19am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I almost always use the American equivalents in that list, but am aware of all of those British counterparts. It's partially attributable to my meeting several Britons while travelling and partially because many of the books in "Teach Yourself" or "Colloquial" series that I've used are printed in British English. The only exceptions in my use are autumn/fall, prison/jail (I use these pairs interchangeably) and toilets/restroom (I usually use "washroom"). "Restroom" seems officious to me. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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