A to Zed, A to Zee : a guide to the differences between british and american english

128 Pages·2000·10.283 MB·English

by  Glenn Darragh

A TO ZED, A TO ZEE
A GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
A TO ZED, A TO ZEE
A GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
WRITTEN BY
GLENN DARRAGH
PUBLISHED BY
EDITORIAL STANLEY
LAYOUT
ANGELA GOMEZ MARTIN
FRONT PAGE DESIGN
DISENO IRUNES
© EDITORIAL STANLEY
APDO. 207 - 20302 IRUN - SPAIN
TELF. (943) 64 04 12 - FAX. [phone]
ISBN: 84-7873-346-9
DEP. LEG. BI-930-00
FIRST EDITION 2000
PRINTERS
IMPRENTA BEREKINTZA
Contents
Preface
Introduction: Why are they so different? v
Part one: Spelling 2
Part two: Pronunciation 11
Part three: Grammar and Usage 19
Part four: A to Zed: a GB / US lexis 27
Part five: A to Zee: a US / GB lexis 75
Further Reading 121
Preface
This book is intended for Americans and This state of affairs is reflected in the
Britons who want to understand each structure and content of the present
other better, and for foreign students of book, which makes no pretence (or
either American or British English who pretense) of being exhaustive, but which
want to familiarise (or familiarize) does try to be comprehensive. Short
themselves with the other main variety initial chapters outline the historical
of the language. According to George background and the differences in
Bernard Shaw, the United States and pronunciation, spelling and grammar.
England are two great nations separated The main part of the book, however,
by a common tongue. In fact, most of consists of a dictionary of British
the time the two peoples understand vocabulary and cultural references which
each other fairly well, or think they do. someone from the United States might
The accent is different, of course, but it have trouble understanding, and of a
presents no more of a barrier than any dictionary of American vocabulary and
regional accent would. Differences in cultural references that might present
grammar, syntax and spelling are problems to someone from the British
relatively minor. The main differences, Isles. As the book is not aimed at
and they are huge, are lexical and academics, but at laymen (or
cultural. laypersons) who are curious about
language, phonetic differences are
shown, when necessary, by a figured
pronunciation. The A to Zed section is
written to be read by Americans, the/4
to Zee section by Britons. Finally, a
number of older terms have been
retained in both sections of the
dictionary for the benefit of the small
number of Americans and Britons who
happen to be complete novices in the
study of English as a foreign language.
Introduction: Why are they so different?
When a Briton and an American meet, of the south-eastern part of England,
even though they are far from mutually which is where, in the early 17th century,
unintelligible, each is soon aware of the first British colonists originated.
differences in the speech of the other. Their peculiar treatment of the final r
First, the accent is different: survives in New England and the South,
pronunciation, tempo, intonation are but it is exceptional in the US as a
distinctive. Next, differences in whole. The distinctive American r, a kind
vocabulary, idiom and syntax occur, as of muffled growl produced near the back
they would in a foreign language: of the mouth, is fully sounded. It is very
individual words are misunderstood or similar to the r still pronounced in parts
not understood at all, metaphorical of the west and north of England, and in
expressions sound bizarre, subtle Scotland and Ireland, and was almost
irregularities become apparent in the certainly brought to America by
way words are arranged, or in the subsequent colonists from those parts.
position of words in a sentence, or in Since most of the British settlement in
the addition or omission of words. It is North America in the 19th century came
estimated that some 4,000 words and from the north and west of England and
expressions in common use in Britain from Ireland, especially from the
today either do not exist or are used northern counties of Ulster, rhotic
differently in the US. These differences speech, as it is called, eventually spread
are reflected in the way British and across the continent. In many other little
American English are written, so that ways, standard American English is
variations in spelling and punctuation reminiscent of an older period of the
also emerge. Finally, there are immense language. For example, Americans
cultural divergences, ranging from pronounce either and neither-with the
different trademarks for everyday vowel of teeth or beneath, while in
products to different institutions and England these words have changed their
forms of government. Little wonder, pronunciation since the American
then, that even in this age of global colonies were founded and are now
communications, we are still able to pronounced with an initial diphthong,
misunderstand each other. Before like the words eye and nigh. (For a
examining each of these major fuller discussion of these and other
dissimilarities in detail, it may be useful pronunciation differences, see Part 2.)
to consider how they have arisen.
It is said that all emigrant languages are
In fact, many of the distinctive phonetic linguistically nostalgic, preserving
features of modern American English archaic pronunciations and meanings.
can be traced back to the British Isles. The word vest provides an interesting
To take a single example, the r at the example of one of the ways in which the
end of words is pronounced in markedly vocabularies of Britain and America
different ways in the 'standard' varieties were to grow apart. The first recorded
of American and British English. In the use of the word occurs in 1666 (in the
'received pronunciation' of GB, it is diary of Samuel Pepys), referring to 'a
barely sounded at all, so that words like sleeveless jacket worn under an outer
there and water are pronounced theah coat'. The direct descendant of this
and watuh. This pattern is characteristic usage is the modern American vest,
A TO ZED, A TO ZEE STANLEY v
meaning waistcoat. In the intervening spelling bee. low-down, to have an ax
centuries, however, the meaning of the to grind, to sit on the fence, to saw
word has shifted in Britain, so that it wood, and so on. At the same time,
now applies to 'a piece of clothing worn other words were being assimilated
on the top half of the body underneath a ready-made into the language from the
shirt'. Americans have retained a different cultures the settlers came into
number of old uses like this or old words contact with. Borrowings from the
which have died out in England. Their Indians include pecan, squash,
use of gotten in place of got as the past chipmunk, raccoon, skunk, and
participle of get was the usual form in moccasin', from the French, gopher,
England two centuries ago; in modern pumpkin, prairie, rapids, shanty, dime,
British English it survives only in the apache, brave and depot; from the
expression ill-gotten gains. American Spanish, alfalfa, marijuana, cockroach,
still use mad as Shakespeare did, in the coyote, lasso, taco, patio, cafeteria and
sense of angry ('Don't get mad, get desperado; from the Dutch, cookie,
even.'), and have retained old words like waffle, boss, yankee, dumb (meaning
turnpike, meaning a toll road, and fall as stupid), and spook. Massive immigration
the natural word for the season. The in the 19th century brought new words
American I guess is as old as Chaucer from German (delicatessen, pretzel,
and was still current in English speech in hamburger, lager, check, bummer,
the 17th century. The importance of such docent, nix], from Italian [pizza,
divergences was compounded by two spaghetti, espresso, parmesan,
parallel processes. Some words which zucchini] and from other languages.
the pilgrims and subsequent settlers Jews from Central Europe introduced
brought to the New World did not many Yiddish expressions with a wide
transplant, but in England they survived: currency in modern America: chutzpah,
e.g. fortnight, porridge, heath, moor, kibitz, klutz, schlep, schmaltz, schlock,
ironmonger. Far more important, schnoz, and tush. Likewise, many
however, was the process by which, Africanisms were introduced by the
under the pressure of a radically enforced immigration of black slaves:
different environment, the colonists gumbo, jazz, okra, chigger. Even
introduced innovations, coining new supposedly modern expressions like
words and borrowing from other cultures. with-it, do your thing, and bad-mouth
are word-for-word translations of
Many living things, for example, were phrases used in West African languages.
peculiar to their new environment, and Eventually many of these enrichments
terms were required to describe them: would cross the Atlantic back to
mud hen, garter snake, bullfrog, potato England, but by no means all of them.
bug, groundhog. Other words illustrate Those that did not cross back form the
things associated with the new mode of basis of the differentiation that has
life: back country, backwoodsman, taken place between the American and
squatter, clapboard, corncrib, bobsled. the British vocabulary (Parts 4 and 5, for
This kind of inventiveness, dictated by an examination of current lexical
necessity, has of course continued to differences and explanations of many of
the present day, but many of the most the terms cited above).
distinctive Americanisms were in fact
formed early: sidewalk, lightning rod, A further important change was to take
vi STANLEY A TO ZED, A TO ZEE
place, in the domain of spelling. In the surprisingly few major differences. On
years immediately following the the whole, however, Americans, as
American Revolution, many Americans though impelled by an urgent need to
sought to declare their linguistic as they express themselves, appear less
had their political independence. In constrained by the rules of grammatical
1780, John Adams, a future president of form. For instance, they tend to bulldoze
the United States, proposed the their way across distinctions between
founding of an 'American Academy for the various parts of speech. New nouns
refining, improving, and ascertaining the are compounded from verbs and
English Language'. The plan came to prepositions: fallout, blowout, workout,
nothing but it is significant as an cookout, the runaround, a stop-over, a
indication of the importance Americans try-out. Nouns are used as verbs - to
were beginning to attach to their author, to fund, to host, to alibi (an
language. The more ardent patriots were early example of the practice was to
demanding the creation of a distinctly scalp] - and verbs are used just as
American civilization, free of the casually as nouns: an assist, a morph.
influence of the mother country. Defence Any number of new verbs can be
of this attitude was the life-work of created by adding the suffix -ize to a
Noah Webster (1758 - 1843), author of noun or to the root of an adjective:
The American Spelling Book, first standardize, fetishize, sanitize,
published in 1783 and destined to sell prioritize, diabolize. If the exuberance
an estimated 80,000,000 copies over of American English is reminiscent of
the next hundred years. This work, from anything, it is of the linguistic energy of
which countless immigrants learnt their the Elizabethans. In the early part of the
English, introduced such typical 20th century, H.L. Mencken was already
spellings as honor, color, traveler, making the point. American English, he
defense, offense, center, theater, ax, said, 'still shows all the characteristics
plow, and jail. The influence of that marked the common tongue in the
Webster's American Spelling Book and days of Elizabeth I, and it continues to
of his later American Dictionary of the resist stoutly the policing that ironed out
English Language (1828) was Standard English in the seventeenth and
enormous. It is true to say that the eighteenth centuries'.
majority of distinctively American
spellings are due to his advocacy of the The present geopolitical, technological,
principles underlying them. (The main financial and commercial supremacy of
differences are outlined in Part 1.) the United States unquestionably
Moreover, some of the characteristics of underlies the expansiveness and spread
American pronunciation must also be of its language, nowhere more so than
attributed to Webster, especially its on the level of colloquial or popular
relative homogeneity across so vast a speech. Occasionally words in British
continent and its tendency to give fuller English become fashionable enough to
value to the unaccented syllables of cross the Atlantic, but the vast majority
words (see Part 2). of words - like the vast majority of
films, television programmes, best
As regards the basic grammar and sellers, news magazines, and pop music
structure of the language, there are lyrics which convey them - no longer
A TO ZED, A TO ZEE STANLEY vii
travel westwards, but eastwards. This
situation is not without irony. In the
1780s, some patriots were proposing
that English be scrapped altogether as
the national language and replaced by
another: French, Hebrew and Greek
were candidates. The last of these was
rejected on the grounds that 'it would
be more convenient for us to keep the
language as it was, and make the
English speak Greek'. Two hundred and
some years later, it seems fairly obvious
that the Americans will keep and
develop their variety of English just as
they please, and the British will have to
adapt as best they can. It is a process
that is already well under way, with
thousands of words and expressions
that were exclusively American a few
years ago now part of the written and
spoken language in both its varieties.
But there is no reason to deplore this
fact. It is simply a sign that the language
is doing what it has always done: it is
changing and revitalizing itself.
Viii • STANLEY A TO ZED, A TO ZEE
P A RT O NE
Spelling 2
1. The color/colour group 3
2. The center / centre group 3
3. The realize / realise group 4
4. The edema / oedema group 5
5. The fulfill / fulfil group 6
6. One letter differences 7
7. Miscellaneous 8
P A RT T WO
Pronunciation 9
1. Pronunciation of 'r' 9
2. Pronunciation of 'a' 10
3. Pronunciation of 'o' 10
4. Pronunciation of 'u' 11
5. Pronunciation of 't' 11
6. Pronunciation of particular words 12
7. Stress and articulation 14
P A RT TTHHRREEEE
Grammar and Usage 15
1. Irregular verbs 16
2. Use of Past Simple
and Present Perfect tenses 17
3. Auxiliary and modal verbs 18
4. Expressions with 'have' and 'take' 19
5. Position of adverbs 19
6. Use of 'real' as an intensifier 19
7. Collective nouns 20
8. Prepositions 20
9. Use of 'one' 21
10. Other usages 22