This is that old joke.
An Australian turns up at the battle field during the First World War. It's hopeless. There will be few survivors. The British soldier asks the Australian "Did you come to die". The Austrlian replies "No, I came yester-die"
Why is the English from England, that's used in 54 commonwealth countries is constantly referred to as BRITISH-English.
And why does pronunciation come into it? The only "so called" proper pronunciation is the R.P accent, which is used only in boarding schools in Southern England.
But I suppose it would be hard for some people to say
What is the difference between ENGLISH and AMERICAN-ENGLISH.
Accent. and a few spellings.
McNight
An American says : " a round trip to ..."
An English says : "a return ticket to ...
American : pants (pants means underwear in England)
English : trousers
American : rest room
English : toilet, loo, W.C.
American : chips
English : crisps
American : French fries
English : chips
American : apartment
English : flat
American : angry
English : mad
American : homely (unattractive)
English : homely
American : gotten
English : got
American : I have
English : I have got
American : to call
English : to give a ring
Amrican : sidewalk
English : pavement
American : faucet
English : tap
American : truck
English : lorry
American : parking lot
English : car park
The native know better there are more words
there is also the word "mean" that is different in American and British English.
Chantal, you presented the difference between R.P and standard American-English. There is not just R.P (i.e posh accent) that people in England speak, the northern dialects are different from southern dialects in England.
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American : pants (pants means underwear in England)
English : trousers
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Where I live (northwest england) people say "pants" the same as Americans, and "underpants" to refer to "underwear". But people in the south say "trousers" and "pants" to refer to underwear.
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American : rest room
English : toilet, loo, W.C.
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In Public places it is referred to as "toilets"
At home it is referred to as a "bathroom" if there is a bathtub in it. In the south it is reffered sometimes as a "loo", working class say "bog" lol
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American : angry
English : mad
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People in England say "mad" and "angry"
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American : gotten
English : got
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People in England say "got" and "gotten", but "got" is more widely used.
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American : I have
English : I have got
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People in England say "I have" or "I have got"
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Amrican : sidewalk
English : pavement
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People in England say "pavement" or "footpath".
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American : truck
English : lorry
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People in England refer to a small truck as a "truck" and a big truck as a "lorry".
Aussie English is different to British English but these two are closer to each other than they are to American English.
An American says : " a round trip to ..."
An English says : "a return ticket to ...
An Aussie says : "a return ticket to ... "
American : pants (pants means underwear in England)
English : trousers
Aussie : (usually) pants (sometimes) trousers
... You wear your underpants or undies underneath.
American : rest room
English : toilet, loo, W.C.
Aussie : toilet, loo, dunny, bog, shitter, shithouse
... A bathroom is a room with a bath in it.
American : chips
English : crisps
Aussie : chips
American : French fries
English : chips
Aussie : chips
American : apartment
English : flat
Aussie : flat, unit
American : angry
English : mad
Aussie : angry, mad
American : homely (unattractive)
English : homely
Aussie : homely
... You'd hardly ever hear this word.
American : gotten
English : got
Aussie : got (Never "gotten")
American : I have
English : I have got
Aussie : I have, I have got, I've got
American : to call
English : to give a ring
Aussie : to ring, to call, to give a ring
Amrican : sidewalk
English : pavement
Aussie : footpath
American : faucet
English : tap
Aussie : tap
American : truck
English : lorry
Aussie : truck
American : parking lot
English : car park
Aussie : carpark
American : trash, garbage
English : rubbish
Aussie : rubbish, garbage
American : eggplant
English : aubergine
Aussie : eggplant
Although McNight's right the term "British English" is often used to refer to what would be better described as "Commonwealth English".
Jim, all the above you listed as "Australian English" I've heard used in England except for "unit" to refer to a "flat" and "dunny" to refer to a "toilet".
I think people don't realise that there are different dialects in England, and that different words are used in different places. It all depends on where you live.
Especially words that are known for Americanisms
gotten, trash, garbage, fall (for autumn)
These words were actually used in England in the 1800s but died out and replaced by others, even though I've heard some people use "gotten".
>>>I think people don't realise that there are different dialects in England, and that different words are used in different places. It all depends on where you live.<<<
Well, it's the same regarding French spoken in Quebec and in France. This is normal, since we don't speak as much with Quebecois than with our compatriots we see in our daily routine. The distance bring about differences.
also, many of the British words are also used in US.
both 'angry' and 'mad' are used, 'flat', 'i have got', 'pavement', 'tap', and 'rubbish' are used, as is the Aussie 'footpath'.
everyone says that British English is very different from American English, but i've noticed many of these words termed 'british' are used in america as well.
I'm no expert on the dialects of the British Isles. For the American and English examples in what I posted above I just cut and pasted Chantal's list. I should have mentioned that there are many dialects of English in England but I don't know much about them, you already had mentioned the fact, McNight, and I was really trying to show some of the differences and similarities between Aussie English and both British and American English.
I would disagree Jim. I have never heard anyone refer to British English and mean the Commonwealth English. People have always said that British English is the English they speak in England. But now that I think about it, I am around Americans who think that England = Britain and Britain = England.
qwerty
I believe "mean" in American English means "nasty", but in British English "scrooge".