ESL: English as a Second Language

Last updated January 4, 2002.

We were warned that the U.S. and Great Britain were two countries separated by a common language. Take a look for yourself and then decide whether or not you really know English!

Differences in Spelling

U.S.

England

Color

Colour

Liter

Litre

Aluminum

Aluminium

Neighbor

Neighbour

Flavor

Flavour

Meter

Metre

Center

Centre

Savor

Savour

Differences in Pronunciation

"Mobile" (as in a mobile phone) has a long "i" and rhymes with "smile."

"Leicester" is pronounced "Lester"

"Zebra" has a short "e."

"Paprika" has a short "i" and the accent is on the first syllable.

"H" can be "Haitch" instead of "aitch."

"Z" is "zed," not "zee."

 

Differences in Meaning

You hire a video from Blockbuster.

"Carry out" food is not "to go," but "to take away."

You "alight" from a train, rather than "disembark."

An "EXIT" is called "Way Out."

"French fries" are "chips" and "chips" are "crisps."

"No Begging" and "No Peddling" signs read "No Busking."

Instead of "Yield" signs on the road, we have "Give Way."

"Cacky" (sp?) means poopie, and "pants" means underwear. Don't ask if it's O.K. to wear khaki pants to the party.

"Fanny" refers to a woman's genitalia. Say "bum pack," not "fanny pack."

"Sidewalks" are called "the pavement."

 

Collective Nouns

Brits have difficulty with collective nouns. They argue that in referring to a single collective noun, you are in essence referring to all of the items within, as a company is built of many people. So they refer to companies as more than one thing. Example: Sony ARE going to come out with a new computer chip, as opposed to Sony is going to come out with a new computer chip. This raises the question: do the Brits refer to more than one collective noun in singular form(as in: Sony and Motorola IS going to come out with a new chip)? Or do they refer to countries as "they", because on this principle they should. The answers are no and no again. And another thing: The British people should, according to themselves, refer to everything as a plural because everything is made of more than one of something. This is yet another reason that I think that the English are(is?) crazy. This are just the opinion of Andrew Pedelty and they do not necessarily reflect the ideas of his family.