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British english vs. American english (19) He said, “Ah, you are an American! So you don't speak english.” I said, “Pardon me?” He said, “I remarked that you don't speak english, you speak American.” I said, “But sir, America is a continent, not a language.” This is an exchange I have had countless times through the years. I have to admit it always catches me by surprise. I'll leave it to the reader to guess how I react. Suffice it to say that the subject of British english vs. American english is controversial. It was said by Sir George Bernard Shaw that 'england and America are two countries separated by the same language'. Naturally each country will have vocabulary and expressions peculiar to itself, but english is a healthy language, and although constantly expanding, it retains its identity. Although we can see many differences between British english and American english, they are, in my opinion, cosmetic rather than structural. One amusing difference can be seen in the vocabulary pertaining to automobiles (‘cars' in America). While the British say ‘boot' the Americans say ‘trunk', the ‘bonnet' is the ‘hood' and ‘petrol' is ‘gas'. Several other words that come to mind which have entirely different meanings are ‘mean', which to the British signifies stingy or tight with money. To an American ‘mean' means nasty and spiteful. A British mother who wants to buy ‘nappies' for her baby would need to use the word ‘diapers' in an American store (not shop). In the UK a rubber is a pencil eraser. In the US, it is a condom. The list goes on. The expressions are wonderfully diverse. I had no idea what my friend meant when she asked me if I wanted to ‘spend a penny'. And when my irish friend told me to meet her at ‘half 12' I said that she should say ‘half past 12, or 12:30 (to be written with a colon, not a period) or I was likely to show up at 11:30! And here is a good one. ‘Don't knock me up, please.' In British english it means, ‘Don't knock on my door and wake me up, please.' In American english it means ‘Don't get me pregnant, please.' The number of accents in the UK is far greater than in America. My search provided me with a long list of accents to be found in the UK – including Cockney, Geordie, Brummie. Social scientists estimate the number of U.S. dialects range from a basic three - New england, Southern and Western/General America - to 24 or more . Comparing the vastness of the U.S. to the relatively small area of the UK , this is a remarkable fact. As to differences in grammar and usage, they are minimal. British english uses the past perfect where American english would either use the past perfect or just the simple past. British:
