British vs. American English / myLot

Germany

June 18, 2019 2:48pm CST

One autumn (fall) day I was walking along the pavement (sidewalk) on my way to the shopping centre (mall), when I caught up with a young woman with a pushchair (stroller). We got talking and she told me she was on her way to buy nappies (diapers) for her daughter. She was wearing a jumper (sweater) and trainers (sneakers) and wore her hair in a fringe (bangs). While we were talking, her mobile (cell phone) rang, and she had to rummage in her handbag (purse) in order to answer it. Our paths diverged as I needed to go into the supermarket. I grabbed a trolley (cart) and proceeded to load it with biscuits (cookies), sweets (candy), minced beef (ground beef), courgettes (zucchini), aubergines (eggplant), chips (fries), and crisps (chips). On my way home I passed by a man who had both the bonnet (hood) and the boot (trunk) of his car open, and he asked me if I knew where the nearest petrol (gas) station was. I was unable to help, but a passing lorry (truck) driver stopped to assist. As I continued on my way I exchanged greetings with the local headmaster (school principal). He could possibly have been deemed inappropriately dressed, as he was wearing a waistcoat (vest) and trousers (pants). Vest and pants in England are underwear. Then I met the postman (mailman) and noticed that he used braces (suspenders) to hold his trousers up. I couldn't see if he used suspenders (garters) to keep his socks up. When I reached my flat (apartment) I found that the lift (elevator) was broken, and by the time I'd climbed the stairs, I was thirsty. I took a glass of water from the tap (faucet), and put my coat away in the wardrobe (closet). I then put my shopping away, put the rubbish (trash) in the bin (can), and was at last able to relax with a beer (BEER). Yaay.

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22 responses

MrsJ

@SophiaMorros (5046)

• Belews Creek, North Carolina

18 Jun 19

Hmmmm. Autumn and fall, shopping center and mall, handbag and purse are pretty much interchangeable around here and trash is frequently referred to as garbage. Clever story!

3 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (457249)

• Switzerland

19 Jun 19

Would you like some more? appetizer - starter, motorway - highway, postbox - mailbox, football - soccer, holiday - vacation... In the beginning I had a hard time in the United States.

1 person likes this

Fiacre Banks

@xFiacre (12613)

• Ireland

18 Jun 19

@maluse My students in Paris were amazed that I could converse equally well in American as I could in English. Two languages for the price of one.

3 people like this

M.-L.

@MALUSE (69416)

• Germany

18 Jun 19

My English is British English. I don't want to learn the American variety. I must admit, though, that it is much easier to learn. The pronunciation is kind of flat. The English pronunciation has more ups and downs and is hard to adopt for foreigners.

2 people like this

youless

@youless (112100)

• Guangzhou, China

19 Jun 19

In fact we study more British English in school. But American English is getting much more popular because of the movies, songs and TV series. So today we don't really mind which you use. But I usually will use British English when I talk to a British and American English to the Americans

3 people like this

Porcospino

@Porcospino (31366)

• Denmark

18 Jun 19

Very interesting post. I enjoyed reading it. It reminds me of our trip to Asia. In Cambodia my husband asked for chips. He wanted a bag of chips (crisps)...so he wasn't very happy when the waiter knocked on our door and said "Your fries are ready"

2 people like this

RasmaSandra

@RasmaSandra (73201)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

19 Jun 19

Yep, there is a difference and it is important to know the right terminology. I had problems with this when I gave private English lessons. There would be misunderstandings like someone asking me what kind of flat houses we had in the US and they meant apartment buildings.

2 people like this

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (155469)

• United States

18 Jun 19

Very interesting! Thank you for the education!

2 people like this

scarlet_woman

@scarlet_woman (23465)

• United States

19 Jun 19

i used to work for an english boss-who would practically roll his eyes at american english...and beings as we're in the northeast,he seemed to cringe every moment at our usage of it.

1 person likes this

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16517)

• China

19 Jun 19

Interesting post! To top it all,the two English differ widely in pronunciation and spelling,take behaviour for example,in British English the spelling of it is behaviour ,in American English it is behavior.

1 person likes this

DW Davis

@DWDavis (25812)

• Pikeville, North Carolina

18 Jun 19

I love your story and the juxtapositioning of the British vs American English. One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw, "England and America are two countries separated by the same language."

1 person likes this

M.-L.

@MALUSE (69416)

• Germany

18 Jun 19

Yes, this is a well known quotation.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (457249)

• Switzerland

19 Jun 19

The English pronunciation is not easy to understand, but I like it more, even if I admit that I understand better American.

1 person likes this

Gary Marsh

@garymarsh6 (23393)

• United Kingdom

20 Jun 19

Oh lordy that tired me out just reading it. There are many anomalies in our British language compared to US English. Some of the words used in US language have completely different connotations and would be deemed quite offensive if used here. I am afraid I cringe when I hear some Brits speaking. Dropping their 'T' for example when saying Water or butter. I usually ask the irritant would that happen to have a T in there somewhere? My daughter calls me a snob when I do that but sadly it has become such a habit I seem to pull anyone and everyone up about it. A brilliant post nevertheless. (How about that, three words in one!)

1 person likes this

M.-L.

@MALUSE (69416)

• Germany

20 Jun 19

Three words in one can't impress a German. In German, there are lots of compound words with up to 40 letters. Not funny, made-up words but real, everyday words which are actually used.

2 people like this

M.-L.

@MALUSE (69416)

• Germany

20 Jun 19

@garymarsh6 That's understandable what with English being the world language No 1. People from small nations whose languages hardly anyone outside their country knows *have* to learn a foreign language. Once I was in Amsterdam and was looking for a museum. I approached a woman and said the name of the museum with a questioning intonation. She obviously couldn't make out which language was my native one. She asked me, "English?" "Deutsch?" I could choose in which language I wanted to hear the answer. I was impressed! But then there are nations whose languages are also not well known outside their own countries. But they do not care! The tourists come if they are friendly or not. Once I was in Venice at the train station. In front of it is a tiny building which calls itself Information Office. It was crammed full of foreigners who urgently needed information because the Italian railway people had decided to go on strike. The obviously tired and completely disinterested man behind the counter had a folded paper standing in front of him with the words 'Solo Italiano'. I kept my trap shut. Had people noticed that I could translate his Italian info into German and English, I would have spent the rest of the day there and seen nothing of the town.

2 people like this

Gary Marsh

@garymarsh6 (23393)

• United Kingdom

20 Jun 19

@MALUSE I am afraid German is beyond me. It would be nice to be able to converse but I do not think I can do it. Maybe I am lazy which I am ashamed of , but I do speak French a spluttering of Spanish and l want to learn Italian. I did understand some Russian and spoke a few words but not enough to be considered fluent. You are well aware that the English are very lazy when it comes to languages not only in our own language but to learn another language.

1 person likes this

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