U.S. AND U.K. ENGLISH
- Historical overview. The reason why so much Elizabethan English was preserved in America was that the founding fathers, who were the first to arrive in the New World, exerted a powerful influence on future American society. Though considered ‘dissenters’ in England, and therefore second-class citizens these new people became the establishment in the American colonies. To enroll as a soldier or a civil servant in Britain you had to pledge allegiance to the Crown, and this involved pronouncing an oath stating you were a Protestant faithful to the Church of England. Some of those who belonged to other denominatons, refused to betray their faith and set sail for Virginia, where many also made a fortune by growing cotton and tobacco. Such wealth increased their power and they soon became the dominant class in the New World. The standard many of them spoke was, as we mentioned above, remarkably close to northern English. Hearing Shakespeare speak a kind of English tinged with a Warwickshare accent would sound odd to some today, but even in London the way people spoke was much nearer to that dialect than it is today. This explains why the Elizabethans hold the key to understanding why American English did not quite shift from British English the way we use to think. In many ways it was the reverse. When our train leaves the station we often feel as if the one next to us were rolling its way out when in fact, our own is.
- Elizabethan English For instance, in 17th -century England, broad A (as in path, bath, half, can) of today's RP was close to /e/. “I guess” was as widespread as “gotten”, while either/ neither and leisure sounded like 'neether', 'eether' and 'leesure' s in Scots. R was rhotic (i.e. Pronounced in all positions). These traits have remained in American English, together with Shakespeare's “fall” for “autumn” and many such words. Some Quakers still use thou, thee, and -eth termination for the 3rd person singular and the -est for the 2nd. Some American dialects have kept the old a + gerund form (as in “I'm a-going”, where “a” resulted from a weak form of “on”), no longer a feature of today's standards: the modern progressive form is the only acceptable in formal speech.
- Reading Shaskespeare today. However you read your Shakespeare it is surprising how modern it sounds even to our ear, and it seems only injust that some translators would render that unaffected languge with archaic, literary phrases hoping that the audience will applaud to the magniloquent gibberish, as elegant as it is incomprehensible. The genius of Shakeapeare lies in the simple, fresh language that never gets old. Therefore developing academic dictions, clading blank verse with golden lace when it shines in the beauty of his own nakedness is pure sin. The yawns from students who learn to hate him confirm how easy it is to mess things up when you just want to ‘improve’ them. Leopardi said in his Zibaldone that you need to be a poet in order to translate one, but I am sure we could get better translations if only many translators were able to feel Shakespeare in their own heart rather than just knowing him for some lines they were made to learned by rote.
- Clichés about Shakepeare.Most of all, we should shake off the image of Shakespeare as synonymous with class, because he never meant his poetry for elites, but for all. Since the pit was usually filled by soldiers, prostitutes, workers, peasants we may be sure that his verse never lost touch with the real world. Rather, indoor theaters did, by introducing elaborate lighting effects and stage machines and, eventually developing such dictions and choreographies that killed the life Shakespeare had striven to put into his work. The reason Shakespeare attracts so many Englishmen and Americans, even inspiring many box-office hits and TV series is that his language is as fresh as is today's colloquial English, and that is why it has more success on the silver screen in its own language. Few localised actually succeeds if only because of the age-long misperception about Shakespeare's use of language is hard to shake. Rather, one gets the impression that some translators and producers might want to impress their audiences by introducing such lofty style in the target language that is not in the originals. Sometimes i wonder if certain actors always know what such pompous language really mean? They may undesrtand but not feel it because I think that Shakespeare's spirit is no longer there. Shakespeare did not write its plays to be watched for selected audienced but for everyone, as a film producer does today, and while many aim at quantity rather than quality, the fact that so many quality films have been hailed as successes by critics and audiences alike is proof enough that even today it is possible to make a great work of art that can be enjoyed by everyone. Unfortunately most of Shakespeare's plays were made to be performed in outdoor theaters with no stage machines or elaborate lighting effects, though Shakespeare compensated for the lack of such contrivances by pushing the power of his poetry beyond imagination, giving that language the rare ability to depict scenes and places that much modern theatre seems to have lost. As long as Shakespeare appears as a genious of rhethoric, young people will be driven away from him or continue to study by rote totally unconscious of what they are bringing to the exam.
- English and U.S. Words There still remain a number of different words for the same things in U.K. and American English, but the gap is closing as communications become more frequent and traveling between the Old and the New World is becoming just a matter of hours. However, there is still a list of the common words and phrases that are used in the U.K. and on the right the U.S. Equivalent which I tried to provide here as best as I could (see lexicon.) Received Pronunciation (U.K.) Words like bat, fat, cat are sounded with a flat A, a compromise between broad A of path and the E of bed, with the vowel closer to the A than the E in R.P. R is not-rhotic at the end of a word or when followed by a consonant: reader, turn ('reada', 'tuhn'). It is when preceded by a consonat: tRain, bRave. British English gives value only to stresed syllables whereas American English tends to give full value to any syllable. Some are more “laxed”, though some are more “tensed” than others, as American phonologists like to say. R.P. Is on the left: extraord'n'ry / extraordinary (last A is flat) culin'ry /culinary (last A is flat) lab'r't'ry / laboratory, lab'ratory lav't't'ry / lavatory, observ't'ry / observatory -ILE suffixes are usually diphingized in the U.K. but not in the U.S. Miss-I-le / missile Fut-I-le / futile Mob-I-le / mobile WH- adjective and pronouns This category can be pronounced in two different ways in R.P., either with a /hw/ or a simple /w/, but only /w/ is employed in Standard American English. Intonation Its is said that, compared to British English, American English sounds somewhat monotonous, not in a pejorative way but in that it often does without those rising and lowerings in pitch that characterize U.K. speech. However, U.S. speech is slower and there are longer pauses in between words. Lexis Sometimes there are different words for the same things: air screw-propeller amber-yellow (of traffic lights) American dinner – potluck dinner anorak-parka answerphone -answering machine anti-clockwise-counterclockwise baby carriage - pram baker's shop – bakery bank holiday-public holiday barrister -lawyer beefburger-hambuger (made from meat) bin-waste paper basket biro-ball point (pen) bloke – guy boiler suit – overalls bonnet -hood boot – trunk bowler hat - derby hat call box-public phone canteen-cafeteria car park – parking lot caravan-trailer cashpoint-automated teller machine (ATM) cheers-bye chemist – drugstore cinema-(movie) theater (however, the art is always theatre) city centre – downtown coach-bus doctor -physician driver (of train) – engineer dummy -pacifier dustbin-trash barrel dustbin-trashcan dustman- garbage collector dynamo-generator earth-ground (in electricity) flat-apartment football-soccer full stop - period garden-yard gearbox -transmission glasshouse-greenhouse greengrocer's-(small) grocery store ground floor – first floor hire-rent holidaymaker – vacationer ice lolly-popsicle indicators- blinkers (of cars) Ironmonger-hardware store job or task – assignment jolly-very, pretty juggernaut-big rig jumper-sweater kit -gear (of equipment) knickers-women's panties lavatory – toilet lemonade-pop (drink) lift – elevator lorry – truck luggage-baggage Mackintosh-rain coat mate – man (vocative case, end of sentence: “no problem, man/mate!”) maths-math motorcar – automobile (car is informal for both, but: the automobile industry) motorway – highway mummy-mommy nil-zero (of score during matches) pack of card – deck of cards pavement-sidewalk petrol-gasoline (usu. gas) pillar box-mailbox post box – mailbox postcode-zipcode postman-mailman prat-mean or nasty person provisional licence – learner's permit pushchair-stroller queue – line railway -railroad railway line-railroad line resign-quit rest room or restroom - public toilet rubber-eraser rubbish-trash shop – store spanner-wrench stone-rock straight away-right away stupid-dumb (adj) stupid-jerk (noun) takeway-takeout tarmac-backtop tights-pantyhose towards-toward trainers-sneakers tram-streetcar trousers-pants underground – subway vegetable garden-garden vomit-get sick waist coat-vest way out – exit zebra crossing -crossroad Spelling may also vary but never leads to misreading. British and Americans pronounce both spellings in the same way. a- Words of French origin in -our / -or in the U.S: Harbour -harbour / labour-labor / humour-humor etc. sceptical-skeptical centre – center metre-meter kimometre-kilometer gramme-gram kilogramme-kilogram tonne-ton programme-program theatre-theater (but the name of the art is always theatre) manoeuver – maneuver Z (zed) – Z (zee) Verbs in -el double the L in U.K. English when forming the gerund or derivatives, but they do not in the U.S. Travel > traveller -travelling / travel > traveler-traveling The -st suffix is perceived as old-fashioned in the U.S. and rarely used, but both variants are found in British texts, where the -st is more formal but nonetheless a standard form: in the midst > in the middle amidst > in the middle amongst > among whilst > while Some graphic diphthongs are simplified in U.S. English. The phonetics is the same in both cases. encyclopaedia > encyclopedia manoeuver < maneuver paediatrics > pediatrics Grammar The present perfect is often replaced by the simple past in American english except for the duration form: I have just come from work > I just came from work I've seen your father today > I saw your father today Have you bought my sandwiches? > You bought my sandwitches (raising pitch) but both standards have: He has lived here for a while He has been working here for forty years To HAVE GOT is replaced by GOT in America. Have you got a tenpence? / You got a quarter? (raising pitch) I've got a new car / I got a new car HAVE GOT is often replaced by the verb HAVE in America. She has got two wonderful children / she has two wondrful children Have you got a minute? / Do you have a minute? HAVE may be used in answer to a question with the verb HAVE Do you have a spoon? Yes, I have (U.K. only) / Yes, I do (U.K. & U.S.) INDEED is rarely used in North America. Thank you very much indeed (U.K.) / Thank you very, very much. (U.S.) Indeed, there is a lot to be done (U.K.) / There is definitely a lot to do.(U.S.) AND may be omitted in U.S. English in the sentences like these: Let's go (and) get something to eat. Let's try (and) do something about it (U.K.) / let's try to do something (U.S.) 1941 (number) nineteen-hundred (and) forty-one. 2001 (number) two thousand (and) one. Americans tend to split 4-figure numbers in two, the British don't: 1920 > 19-20 Nineteen-hundred twenty (number) British and English address numbers 125 > one-two-five / one-twenty-five 3056 > 30-56 Three-oh-five-six / Thirty-fifty-six However, four-digit dates are read in the same way in any English: 1929 (nineteen-twenty-nine) was the year of the Great Depression The year 2000 > the year two thousand (always) The BBC has started using the following pronunciation for 2001-2009 numbers: twenty-oh-one,(..) twenty-oh-six etc. although there doesn't seem to be unanimous agreement on this. However, numbers from 2010 will be probably read on both sides of the Atlantic as “twenty-ten”, “twenty-eleven” etc. The U.K. and Commonwealth usually write a full date this way: Thur. 6 July, 2006 or 6/7/06 But The U.S. favor the formations Thur. July 6, 2006 or 7/6/06 Since Europe and many other countries use the first, this can generate not a few misunderstanding, especially in the abbreviated form. If 1/24/06 cannot be but 24 January 2006, it may be difficult to make up one's mind as to what 10/12/06 may mean in a letter: is it the 10th of December, or October 12th ? I GUESS is for the U.S., I THINK for everywhere in the world. I guess we should do something about it (informal, U.S.) I think we might just do that (Commonwealth / formal in the U.S.) QUITE usually means “enough” in the U.K., “very” in the U.S. Your work is quite good, needs a little touch, though. (U.K.) Your work is quite good, I'm impressed, great job! (U.S.) Verb-compounds use the gerund in the U.K., the infinitive in the U.S.: swimming suit (or costume) / swimsuit racing car / racecar rowing boat / rowboat sailing boat / sailboat filing cabinet / file cabinet dialling tone / dial tone STRONG VERBS TEND TO BECOME WEAK in the U.S. I dreamt /dremt/ of you (U.K.) / I dreamed /dri:md/ of you (U.S.) I bought myself a pair of new shoes (U.K.) I buyed me a brand new pair of shoes (U.S. dial.) (buyed is often heard in the U.S. but still nonstandard) The tendency to assimilation is a well-known fact in grammar, lexicon and phonology and is also true of persons: an immigrant or mover tends to lose his or her accent to take that of his hosting community. This form of assimilation also occurs between words. Because the irregular verbs have been a minority since the early stages of English, they are being gradually assimilated into regular ones. The U.K. English has been generally more conservative in this respect. Looking at the broader picture, however, we see that since Old English the list of these verbs has dwindled from several thousands to a few dozens if we make a realistic estimate and exclude from the count compound verbs as forbear, understand or broadcast which are only derivatives of bear, stand and cast. VERB BACKFORMATION FROM NOUNS is mostly American: He is the author of some books (U.K.) / He authored some books (U.S.) He pressed them to do it (U.K.) / He pressured them to do it (U.S.) The bond crash had a negative impact on the economy (U.K.) The bond crash impacted negatively on the ecomomy (U.S.) She took a loan from Jim (U.K.) / she loaned the money from Jim (U.S.) Note: to table may take two different meanings: The board tabled a proposal, and passed it. (U.K.) Unfortunately they tabled the proposal, and shelved it (U.S.) AUXILIARIES Shall as a formal 2nd and 3rd person imperative and a 1st person plural exhorative (interrgogative) is, albeit quite emphatic, both British and American: He shall go tomorrow. If he doesn't, I'll fire him. (international) You shall replace me assistant tomorow. He called in sick.(international) Shall we have some tea, now?(international) But shan't in its contracted form is only British. The same applies for ought/oughtn't to. Shan't we stop by for a snack? (U.K.) Why not stopping for a snack? (U.K.-U.S.) I shan't have any of that beef, it's too fat. (U.K.) I will NOT have any of that beef, it's too fat. (U.S.-U.K.) You oughtn't to be so late for work. (U.K.) You shouldn't be so late for work. (U.S.-U.K.) PREPOSITIONS outside (U.K.) / outside of (U.S.) to visit (U.K.) / to visit with (U.S.) to talk to (U.K.) / to talk with (U.S.) To meet (U.K.) / to meet with (U.S.) To look out of the window (U.K.) / to look out the window (U.S.) to/through, or coll. thru (as in “the office is open Mondays thru Fridays) opposite to, opposite (U.K.) / opposite of (U.S.) Different from (or to, U.K.) / different than (or from, U.S.) Use of THE in locative cases In hospital (U.K.) /in the hospital (U.S.) At the university (U.K.) / in the university (U.S.) Write is used differently in the U.K. and the U.S. I'll write to her (U.K.) / I'll write to her (U.S.) We'll write to our friend (U.K.) / we'll write our friend (U.S.) PUNCTUATION Parentheses or brackets? (left, U.K., right, U.S.) () brackets / parentheses {} curly brackets / curly braces [] (square) brackets / (brace) brackets . full stop / period “” inverted commas / quotation marks NB: use single commas for nested quotation, as in 'Did he say “I want to go home” so early?'- 'I'm afraid so.' (U.K.) “did he say 'I want to go home' this early?” - “i'm afraid so.” (U.S.) For multiple nesting, just alternate the symbols beginning with the one required by each standard: 'Did he say “ I know you said 'I cheated at the test'”?' (U.K.) “Did he say ' I know you said “I cheated at the test”'?” (U.S.) : colon (U.K.) ; semicolon (U.K.) U.K. makes full use of all punctuation marks, American English avoids colons (:) and semicolons (;) Terms of address such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr etc in the U.K. are never followed by a period since their final letters coincide with those of the full words (Mister, Mistress. The Americans, instead make a freer use of the period: Mr Jones (U.K.) / Mr. Jones (U.S.) Acronyms In the 1960s the Americans used the period for all kinds of acronyms, as N.A.S.A. , O.P.E.C. etc but the British objected to it, trying to adopt alternate spellings, until consensus was reached on this convention: USA, NASA, OPEC, WHO etc. are now standard for all English varieties. Exceptions are two-letter acronyms: the U.S., the U.N. 2.4 UK and U.S. English: Social perceptions In most cases, native speakers are aware of the basic differences between their own standard and the others. An Englishman knows that ‘guy’ is the same as ‘bloke’ that an ‘elevator’ is a ‘lift’, and a ‘truck’ is a ‘lorry’ in England. He is also aware that in American English the present perfect is often replaced by the past tense except where the duration form is needed. Even though he has never been to the States he has certainly heard the phrase ‘I got a car’ for ‘I have got a car’, ‘I just came back from work’ or ‘I went to New York today’. The reason why the duration form has remained in every standard is not certain but it is an aspect of tenses critical to understanding in some contexts and therefore less easy to scrap. Your boss you may want to know whether you read the memo (is it history?), have just read the moment he steps into your office (perhaps you were chatting and forgot it on your desk) or have been reading it (you are not done yet). His assessment of your performance may actually depend on your the correct use of the present prefect though this is not necessarily what you actually did with your memo. Therefore, using the wrong aspect may add unnecessary pain to your life when it is already up to mangement to give you enough to worry about. 2.5 Ain't As for ‘ain’t’(simple present of ‘be’ for all persons) is widespread throughout the English-speaking world. However, it is considered nonstandard (broadly: slang) in every country and is only mainly in dialect and slang. In such contexts the double negative is also heard quite often: “I ain’t no fool”, “I don’t owe you nothin'” are some examples of double negative. The function of the double negative is, however, mostly emphatic, and surely has quite a different impact on the speaker than, say, phrases like “I do not owe you anything” or “I am no fool”. The double negative is also used with questions:”don't you have no money?” usually calls for a negative answer. At best it may be an insistent request for money which can be met with “I ain't nothing man” or something like that. Pop, house music, rap, hip-hop, blues and Latino, underground and garage music have contributed to spreading these colloquialisms among the young generations. Teens are generally more receptive to change whether black or white, whereas older generations are more conservatives in matter of language. But as these teens grow older, we can expect many of these terms to become standard. 2.6 Political correctness No one in Commonwealth academia may chide an employee or student for just using the American counterpart of an British word. But, if your level is somewhere beyond survival, try your best not to mix terms from different nations. Best of all, refrain from using typically U.S. words or phrases outside the U.S. and viceversa. Even though this is not likely to generate much confusion, some people may feel irritated by your careless use of language. Adding American words to British ones in your speech won't make you much fashionable, worse still tuning American sentences to the rhythm of RP. Also, think twice before using a word unless you are completely sure about all its meanings. A restroom in the U.S. is not for sleeping, but a “toilet” while a parkway will not lead you into a park! ‘Pants’ are ‘trousers’ in the U.S., ‘undergarments’ in Britain. Also, do not ask a U.S. board to table a proposal, especially if it is your own! But if you use the same on Britain you mean you want to put it on the agenda. Don't tell an American you're going to knock him up in the morning, you might want to use the neutral “wake up” instead. U.S. and U.K. English have different spellings for words too: harb-or, neighb-or, od-or is for the U.S., but harb-our, neighb-our, od-our is for the rest of the world (see above) although in this case some nations like Australia seem to swing from one form to another. Most important, however, is never to mix different spellings in one document: I am not supposed to see defence (U.K./Commonwealth) next to defense (U.S.) in the same text on a government web site. A software which is licenced for private use is probably British or European, one which is licensed is American or is the American version of that software. The same goes for paediatrics and pediatrics, encyclopaedia and encyclopedia, catalogue and catalog, disc and disk, sceptic and skeptic, theatre and theater, centre and center. (see above) In other words, try to be consistent about the spelling you choose, whatever your favo(u)rite, and do not to not switch between U.S. and U.K. English in the middle of a speech or page unless you want to embarass your audience. However, if your business gets local, use the kind of English that is suitable to that state. If you live outside the U.K. in a Commonwealth state and are not familiar with their English just stick to RP to be on the safe side.