American and british variants of english
(1) Americanisms - groups of words which belong to American vocabulary exclusively and constitute its specific feature.
(2) 1) historical Americanisms (3)2) proper Americanisms
English migrants→America (17th c) Are not in the British Vocabulary
Fall = autumn Backwoods = wooded, uninhabited districts
To guess = to think old meanings cold snap = a sudden frost
Sick = ill, unwell blue-grass = a sort of grass in North America
blue-jack = a small American oak
egg-plant = a plant with edible fruit
sweet potato = a plant with sweet
edible roots
redbud = an American tree having
small budlike pink flowers,
the state tree of Oklahoma
red cedar = an American coniferous tree
with reddish fragrant wood
cat-bird = a small North-American bird
whose call resembles the
mewing of a cat
cat-fish = called so because of spines
likened to a cat's claws
bull-frog = a huge frog producing
sounds not unlike a bull's roar
sun-fish = a fish with a round flat
golden body
(4)
| British | American |
| chemist's | drug store or druggist's |
| sweets | candy |
| luggage | baggage |
| underground | subway |
| lift | elevator |
| railway | railroad |
| carriage | car |
| car | automobile |
(5)
| British | American |
| date = the time of some event; the day of the week or month; the year | |
| an appointment for a particular time (transference based on contiguity: the day and time of an appointment > appointment itself) |
(6)Spanish borrowings (e. g. ranch, sombrero, canyon, cinch),
Negro borrowings (e. g. banjo)
Indian borrowings (rather numerous and have a peculiar flavourof their own) (wigwam, squaw, canoe, moccasin, toboggan, caribou, tomahawk.)
Translation-loans of Indian origin (pale-face (the name of the Indians for all white people), war path, war paint, pipe of peace, fire-water)
(7)Ohio [su'haiau], Michigan ['mifigsn], Tennessee[tene'si:], Illinois [ih'noi(s)], Kentucky [ken'Uki]
(8)Should you ask me, whence the stories? Whence these legends and traditions, With the odour of the forest, With the dew and damp of meadows, With the curling smoke of wigwams* With the rushing of great rivers ...
(From Hiawatha Song)
(9) American shortenings - were produced on American soil, yet most of them are used both in American English and British English:
movies, talkies, auto, gym (for gymnasium), dorm (for dormitory), perm (for permanent wave, "kind of hairdo"), mo(for moment, e. g. Just a mo), circs (for circumstances, e. g. under the circs), cert (for certainty, e. g. That's a cert), n. g. (for no good), b. f. (for boyfriend), g. m. (for grandmother), okay.
All these wordsrepresent informal stylistic strata of the vocabulary.
(10)
| British | American |
| I shall | I will |
| He will | He will |
| She will | She will |
| It will | It will |
| We shall | We will |
| You will | You will |
| They will | They will |
| Iwill go there = I am willing to go there | Iwill go there = pure futurity |
(11)
| British | American |
| I've seen this film | I saw this movie |
(12)
| British | American |
| get-got-got | get-got-gotten |
On the whole, British people are exposed to a lot of American English on TV, in films and so on and so they will usually understand most American vocabulary. But the Americans don’t often understand Britishisms! Study the following list, make a conclusion which of the words – BrE o AmE – are most widely used by yourself, your teachers, in the books you read and films you se:
| AmE | BrE | Tnarnslation |
| administration | government | правительство |
| baggage | luggage | багаж |
| billfold | wallet | бумажник |
| call | ring up, phone | звонить (по телефону) |
| candy | sweet | конфета |
| cookie | biscuit | печенье |
| desk clerk | receptionist | диспетчер, администратор |
| elevator | lift | лифт |
| first name | Christian name | имя |
| garbage, trash | rubbish | мусор |
| gas station | filling station | заправочная станция |
| line | queue | очередь |
| mailman | postman | почтальон |
| package | parcel | посылка |
| attorney, lawyer | barrister, solicitor | адвокат |
| apartment | flat | квартира |
| bartender | barman | бармен |
| cab | taxi | такси |
| can | tin | жестяная банка |
| check | bill | счет |
| crazy | mad | сумасшедший |
| downtown | town centre | центр города |
| drugstore | chemist’s shop | аптека |
| facilities | accomodations | жилье |
| fall | autumn | осень |
| gas, gasolene | petrole | бензин |
| janitor | caretaker | смотритель, сторож |
| liquor | spirits | алкогольный напиток |
| round up ticket | return ticket | билет в оба конца |
| sick | ill | больной |
| snack bar | canteen | столовая |
| reservation | booking | заблаговременный заказ |
| taxes | rates | налоги |
| smart | clever | умный |
| tag | label | ярлык |
| truck | lorry | грузовик |
| vacation | holiday(s) | отпуск |
| first storey | ground floor | первый этаж |
| second storey | first floor | второй этаж |
| movie | film | фильм |
| realtor-estate | agent | агент по недвижимости |
| schedule | timetable | расписание |
| guy | fellow | парень, приятель |
| salesperson | shop assistant | продавец |
| pay-roll | wages sheet | квиток о заработной плате |
| semester | term | семестр |
| store | shop | магазин |
| taxido | dinner jacket | вечерний костюм |
| ZIPcode | postcode | почтовый индекс |
| retired | pensioner | пенсионер |
Here are some words and phrases which can cause confusion when used by Brits and Americans talking together because they mean something different in each “language”
| When they say | an American means what a Brit calls | and a Brit means what an American calls |
| a bill | a (bank) note | a check (in a cafe) |
| floor | the ground floor | the second floor |
| pants | trousers | underpants |
| potato chips | potato crisps | French fries |
| purse | a handbag | a wallet |
| subway | an underground railway | an underpass |
| vest | a waistcoat | an undershirt |
| wash up | wash your hands | wash the dishes |