words that arent used in amerian but in england

wrench=spanner

american - british

mail - post
fall - autumn
line - queue (waiting in line/queue)
while - while & whilst (no 'whilst' in american)

English is not my mother tongue. Sorry for any mistake. Thanks.

Is the English in the UK becoming a non sence language?
I work with customers from all European countries and using English as the main language of communication. I can understand the english spoken from many other non-english countries but when I listen to a UK customer many times the English spoken is not clear or, it´s nearly the pronunciation of someone who have not been at school before. Even the grammar many times are not used correctly. Other times when I say to the UK customer "Have you been" in a sentence they say "Sorry". Many times I had to speak "low level" english so I could be understood.
I believe the UK government is much more worried to make or build his war business up than giving more attention to the education and future of the UK that should be based on the EDUCATION. There is no a good future without Education.

Thanks.
Akakor
Email: dieakakor@hotmail.com

thx for the info guys! Why is the European English language so diffrent from American English?

America and England are seperated by thousands of miles of ocean. From roughly 1700-1900, the only communcation available between the two was by long ship voyages. Also, at times, there has been strong sentiments from both sides to distance themselves from the other. Quick examples: Noah Webster "revising" the language in America (he is responsible for the "-our" and "-or" spelling differences, such as in the word "colour"), and in England, from what I understand, there have been strong desires to purge the language of "Americanisms" (such as using the word "autumn" instead of "fall", because it was believed to be the older of the two). At any rate, if you take into the account the circumstances of history, the real question would be why the two wouldn't be different.

Yeah, what is this bloke's problem? I think we're all getting a bit tired of Akakor's message.

It's interesting that where British and American vocabulary differ the Aussies side with the British but there are some exceptions.

Aussies say "truck" and "eggplant" just like the Americans whereas the English would say "lorry" and "aubergine". The British word "trousers" is less common than the American "pants". The word "chips" does both jobs. That is, like the Americans, Aussies say "chips" whereas the British call them "crisps" but, like in British English, the word is used for what is called "french fries" by the Americans. The American "faggot" and the English "poof", "pouf" or "poofter" are all common in Australia.

The Americans say "faucet" where the British and Aussies say "tap". The Americans say "flashlight" where the British and Aussies say "torch". The Americans say "streetcar" where the British and Aussies say "tram". The Americans say "diaper" where the British and Aussies say "nappy". The Americans say "gotten" where the British and Aussies say "got". The Americans say "druggist" and "drugstore" where the British and Aussies say "chemist" and "chemist's" but "pharmacist" and "pharmacy" are okay everywhere. The Americans say "trash" where the British and Aussies say "rubbish" but in Australian and American English the word "garbage" is also used in this sense. There are a bunch of words related to "garbage" verses "rubbish" like "dustbin", "trashcan", "rubbishbin", "garbagecan", "garbage truck", etc.

I don't believe that the word "commute" is often used as a noun in British English, it's not used this way in Australia, but it's common in American English. I beleive both "autumn" and "fall" are used in American English but the season is never called "fall" in British or Aussie English. Then, of course, there are words related to cash like "sixpence", "nickel", "dime", "buck", "quid", etc.

The word "pint" means twenty ounces, about 570ml, in British and Aussie English whereas in American English it's only sixteen, about 470ml. Of course, the British and the American fluid ounces are slightly different. When I was in Canada I'd ask for a pint but the amount of beer I got varied from pub to pub. In Australia a pint's a pint, if you order a pint, you get a mug of beer with "570ml" printed on the bottom. Also, I don't think the word "pint" is commonly used to mean a pint of beer in the States like it is in England.

nice post



I wonder what the world calls soda/pop/cola/phosphate/soft-drink

Geez...it's called pop, soda, sodi, soda-pop, sodi-pop, coke...and that's just in America.

It's called "soft-drink" in Australia.

Fizzy pop in England!!!

It's called "pop" in Canada.

Canadian vocabulary seems to be closer to American than to British but there are a couple of exceptions. The last letter of the alphabet is called "zee" only in the States, elsewhere its called "zed". Also the words "freshman",
"sophomore", "junior" and "senior" are used only in the USA (as far as I know), elsewhere "first year (student)", "second year (student)", etc. are used.

Here are some other examples. In Canadian and American English people say "gasoline", "gas station", "airplane", "pitcher" and "subway" but in British English the words "petrol", "petrol station", "aeroplane", "jug" and "underground" are used. Aussie English uses the same words except for "underground" but there are so few underground rail-lines that you don't really hear "subway" either (except when people are refering to the shop). Here's one more: it's a "T-junction" or a "crossroads" in British English but in American English they're both an "intersection". The Aussies side with the Americans on this one.

Earth...go figure.

British=American

Flat=Apartment
Minder=Babysitter
Cashier=Bank Teller
Cackhanded=Clumbsy
Casualty=Emergency Room
Bap=Hamburger Bun
Mackintosh=Raincoat
Cocktail stick=Toothpick
Brolly=Umbrella
Car park=Parking lot
Fairy cake=Cup cake
Cupboard=Closet
Cooker=Range/Stove
Bobby=Police officer/cop
Quid=Bucks (money)
It's gone off=It's been spoiled

Whoo! You Brits have to screw everything up, don't ya? Nah, I'm only kidding. :)

The "flat" verses "appartment" thing has a few spinoffs as well. In North America people say "appartment building" but the Brits & Aussies say "block of flats". Another one is "flat-mate", now you'd hardly say "appartment-mate" so the word is "room-mate" in American English. This word sounds a bit odd to non-American ears, as if your sharing the same room.

In North America people say "store" but the Brits & Aussies say "shop". Also the word "parafin" for kerosine I think is a British thing. Of course there are different words for the toilet and the word "football" has different meanings around the world but there other topics on this forum which are devoted to these.

Typo: "your sharing" should be "you're sharing".