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AMERICAN ENGLISH VS. BRITISH ENGLISH

5/29/2012

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Once upon a time, I worked for a very large New York City book publisher, who, periodically, gave me British books to “Americanize” before publishing the books for American readers.  I changed both British spellings and British words that were foreign to Americans.  Of course, being a royal (lowercase “r”) Anglophile, I loved this task!  

In the United States, nearly all book publishers today use the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a reference for spelling and word meanings—while UK editors use the Oxford English Dictionary.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary is a direct descendant of the famous dictionary that Noah Webster wrote, An American Dictionary of the English Language.  Webster, a Connecticut Yankee who studied at Yale, was a lexicographer and English spelling reformer.  He thought many British spellings were unnecessarily complex and simplified them—thus, for example, giving us “honor” instead of “honour.”  With two English-speaking countries calling upon different dictionaries to supply “proper English,” little wonder American English and British English parted ways.  Such would have been the case anyway, with the distance between our countries, but differing reference books helped cement the deal.

When I first started Americanizing books, I was quite surprised to find almost all of the unfamiliar words in the British books were, actually, in the Merriam-Webster dictionary—but they were typically labeled “chiefly British variant.”  Seeing words used in wonderful new ways fascinated me!  And like any good Anglophile, I soon incorporated the British words into my own vocabulary.  I hope you will too!

Below is an index of British words that I think may confound many Americans.  Because the entire list is a bit long, I’ll present the information in my next few blogs posts.  Enjoy!

Britishism / Americanism

A

advert = ad, advertisement

amongst = among

aubergine = eggplant

B

banger = sausage

barmy = nutty

barrister = trial lawyer in an English superior court

baths = public swimming pool

(the) beeb = BBC

beefburger = hamburger

blighter = contemptible person

bloke = a guy (informal)

bloody = damn (mildly offensive)

bobby = cop

bonnet (of car) = car hood

boot (of car) = car trunk

braces = suspenders

brilliant = great, fantastic, cool

brolly = umbrella

bum = butt, buns

busker = street musician

C

car park = parking lot

cashpoint = ATM machine

castor sugar = confectioners’ sugar

chap = guy, fellow

cheeky = nervy, sassy, bold

cheerio = good-bye

cheers = thanks or good-bye

chemist (store) = drugstore, pharmacy

chips = French fries

Christian name = first name

cinema = movie theater

city center = downtown

cling film = plastic wrap, such as Saran Wrap

cloakroom = coat-check room or bathroom (i.e., toilets)

concession (when buying admission tickiets) = discount

conk = nose

copper = cop

cornet (for ice cream) = cone

cot = baby crib

council estate = public housing project

crisps = potato chips

cuppa = cup of tea

c.v. (curriculum vitae) = resume or curriculum vitae

D

daft = stupid

demerara sugar = brown sugar

digestive biscuit = similar to a graham cracker

draughts = checkers (game)

dressing gown = bathrobe

dummy (for infant) = pacifier

E

Elastoplast (trademark name) = Band-Aid (trademark name)

elevenses = mid-morning tea break

en suite = a sleeping room (in home or hotel) with attached bathroom

estate agent = real-estate agent

F

fag = cigarette

faggot = type of meatball

fire (gas or electric) = heater

fizzy drink = carbonated soda of any type

flannel = wash cloth

flat = apartment (rented or owned, such as a condo)

flatmate = roommate

flautist = flutist

football (game or ball) = soccer (game or ball)

fortnight = two weeks

freehold = unrestricted ownership of real estate

fringe (hair) = bangs

G

garden = yard

gawp = gawk

git (person) =  a fool

goods lift = freight elevator

goose-pimples = goose bumps

gymkhana = horse-show competition

                                                           ******************************
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    Zella

    I am a writer, artist, and incurable Anglophile! Thank you for reading my blog, and please feel free to join my discussions about Britain.  I look forward to hearing your comments and stories!

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