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Why Pavements Kick Sidewalks To The Curb: The Differences Between American And British English
George Bernard Shaw once said that the United States and the United Kingdom are "two countries divided by a common language" and Oscar Wilde once wrote that "we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except of course, the language". Although I don't necessarily agree with Wilde's entire statement, I do agree that, although both the US and the UK speak English the two forms of the language differ quite substantially.
The first and one of the most noticeable differences between the two languages is the vocabulary. In America, if I were to ask you "Where abouts are you going on holiday this year? Are you using the on or off airport car park?" it would translate to something along the lines of "where do you plan to vacation this year? do you know which airport parking lot you'll use?"
Even typing the 'American English' sentence, I can hear that all too familiar accent sounding out the words; to me, the differences between the two countries are very apparent.
There are many differences between the American English and English vocabularies including the following, from English to American: Crisps = Chips, Jelly = Jello, Trousers = Pants, Lift= Elevator, Dual Carriageway = Freeway, Pram = Baby Carriage, Nappy = Diaper, Pavement = Sidewalk, Torch = Flash Light, Dummy= Pacifier, Car Park = Parking Lot, Holiday = Vacation.
I find it difficult, to say the least, that these words seem to have been plucked from the ether and added to what, I believe, is really a fairly substantial language, all on its own. It bemuses me how a nation could steal a language, rename it by essentially calling it theirs and adding vocabulary and nuances which, in reality, do nothing to add to either its charisma or technical form.
This all seems a little bit harsh especially because it comes from someone who, honestly, is not in the least bit patriotic. It must also be made clear that I am aware that these differences do not come from an inherent desire, of the US, to give the UK the 'big finger'. There are in fact several historical reasons that the English language has adapted and grown into the form that is used in America today.
English, as a language, does not just differ from the UK to the US, it differs from region to region within both countries; colloquialisms change, accent changes and the meaning of certain words often becomes blurred, due to general usage by millions of different people. The differences that are noticeable in the UK reflect the long history of developments in the different dialects between several confined populations and it is these changes, only magnified, which have resulted in the now American English.
The English language was first introduced to the Americas in the early 17th century when the British colonized different parts of the country. Since then the two forms of the language have diverged in many different ways, and these changes have lead to what we know today as American and British English.
The wider range of differences between the two languages, other than vocabulary mentioned above, include; pronunciation, grammar, spelling, punctuation, idioms, formatting of dates and numbers and so on; however, as has been suggested by other writers on the subject, the differences between written forms of the language vary much less than the spoken form.
The vocabulary differences listed above are just a few of the more easily distinguishable changes that have occurred between the two forms of English, but a small number of words have a completely different meaning or are even unknown or not used in one or the other. One of the more major reasons for these differences came from the publication of the American dictionary in 1828 by Noah Webster; the intention of the dictionary was to highlight the differences between the two languages.
It remains the case that although spoken American and British English are generally mutually intelligible, there are enough differences to make it quite embarrassing at times, for example, some words that are quite innocent in one England may be considered out of place in the other i.e fag.
Despite the fact that there are obvious differences between the two languages some researchers today suggest, similarly to Henry Sweet when he stated in 1877 that within the century in that American English, Australian English and British English would be virtually indistinguishable.
Since 1877 there has been increased worldwide communication in English through radio, television and the internet and so regional variation has become less distinct as people are subjected to all different dialects and forms of the language.
Something that I do find rather disturbing however, is that due to its tremendous size, influence, power, wealth and apparently ability to influence the rest of the world, it would seem that more recently, or since World war II, American English has grown steadily in international significance and is apparently now the 'dominant influence on world english".
If this truly is the case and the 'English' of the world will soon be polluted with multiple z's, a lack of u's in some cases a complete ignorance of spelling (aluminium = aluminum, polythene=polyethene) - then I EAGERLY await the day that I will...
'travel in my truck down the highway to buy diapers for my kid while on the way filling up with gasoline from the gas station (which is a weirdly odd color) pick up some soda pop so I don't get thirsty on the drive back to my crib where I'll unload my trunk, unpack my groceries, chill in front of the tele with some potato chips, get up when the mailman drops off some mail, put a band-aid on the cut I got from picking up the mail...
...eat some jello, get fries for dinner put the waste in the trash can, give the kid his pacifier, put him to bed, watch the soccer and go to bed and dream of the president (or of having the exact same life as they do in 'Marley and Me')".
All this being said, and ignoring any patriotism that oddly I seem to hold toward the British English dialect, we have done precisely the same things as the Americans did to the language we introduced to them in the early 17th century and many of the spellings, colloquialisms, grammatical forms, idioms and formats seem completely illogical!
Added to this, although the differences between American English and British English are undeniable and probably more, there are also huge differences between county and regional dialects within England, some of which to me are completely indistinguishable.
Different words are created by different friendship groups, some of which will be spread far and wide and others which will be isolated, maybe even to a single town or county. Differences in language between regions doesn't just stop at English but are global, inevitable and occur within every single different world tongue.
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