An US or American English
differs considerably from British English. Pronunciation is the most
striking difference but there are also a number of differences in
vocabulary and spelling as well as slight differences in grammar. On the
whole, British people are exposed to a lot of American English on TV,
in films and so on and they will usually understand most American
vocabulary.
American spelling is usually simpler. For example,
British English words ending in –our and –re, end in –or and –er in
American English (colour – color, center – center, metre – meter). The
American spelling usually tries to correspond more closely to
pronunciation.
Here are some common US words with their British
equivalents. American English - British English: gasoline - petrol,
truck - lorry, baggage - luggage, blow-out - puncture, sidewalk -
pavemen, tline - queue, vacation - holiday, cab - taxi, railway car -
railway carriage, baby carriage - pram, panty-hose – tights, antenna -
aerial, elevator - lift, eraser - rubber, apartment - flat, closet -
wardrobe, drapes - curtain, faucet - tap, yard - garden, candy - sweets,
garbage - rubbish.
US or American English is not the only
special variety of English. Each area of the English-speaking world has
developed its own special characteristics. This is usually a matter of
vocabulary and pronunciation.
Australian English is particularly
interesting for its rich store of highly colloquial words and
expressions. For example, "a smoko” (from smoking) is a tea or coffee
break, "beaut” (from beautiful) means "great”. Because of the current
popularity of Australian TV programs and films, some of these words are
now being used by British people too.
Indian English, on the other
hand, is characterized by sounding more formal than British English. It
has retained in everyday usage words that are found more in the classics
of 19th century literature than in contemporary TV programs from
London.
Scottish English uses a number of special dialect words.
(aye = yes, ben = mountain, dram = drink, whisky, glen = valley, kirk =
church, lock = lake, to mind = to remember, bony = beautiful, lassie =
girl).
And here are some examples of Black English:
chick =
girl, rap = street talk, dig = understand, pad = bed, square = dull.
