M - So, today we’re going to learn something about... BRITISH English vs. American English! C - Wow, we picked a very useful topic today, if you travel around the globe you will have a much easier time if you understand both British and American accents. M - So true!! C - And in a little while we are going to introduce a special guest here with us today , she’s going to help us in understanding the difference between British and American English. M - Just to give you an idea of what this difference is like, I'll quote George Bernard Shaw who once said that the USA and The UK are two countries divided by a common language. Also Oscar Wilde wrote something similar, he wrote: We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, the language! C - I couldn't agree more! You don't even have to travel to hear the differences! Just compare the newscasters on BBC with the ones from CNN and you will immediately notice how different the accents are! M - Yeah, or watch a movie starring Hugh Grant and a movie starring Jeff Bridges. C - Or compare an interview with Angelina Jolie to an interview with Keira Knightley... M - You know, Cindy, I was taught British English at school and I also spent a couple of summers in England when I was a teenager. So, had I met you back then your accent would have been very difficult for me! C - That's funny because your accent is American now! You jumped the pond! M - And it's not really only about pronunciation, there are differences of spelling, grammar, vocabulary, idioms, even how you write dates or punctuation. C - Sometimes it’s confusing- even for me, a native English speaker! Listeners, we really recommend that you read the transcript of this episode, because you will find a precious list of the main differences between American and British English. M - And now let's introduce our English friend, Emanuela! Hello! E - Hello! C - Thank you very much for joining us today! Could you tell our listeners something about yourself? E - I'm from London, I live in Milan and I'm married to a Scotsman. We have two children. I'm an English teacher and translator, as well as an art reviewer in my spare time. C - Well, you can tell she wasn't raised in Connecticut like me, right?! M - Yes! It's just great having you both here, we can compare Cindy's American words with the ones Emanuela uses in the UK. C - Great idea, everyone, pay attention, listen carefully and try to pick out as many differences as you can! Then, check them out in the transcript. Ok? M - Ok, then. Ready, steady, go! C - In America we live in apartments. E - In England we live in flats. C - Our houses have backyards. E - Our houses have gardens. C - When we are on the first floor we take the elevator to get on the second floor. E - While we take the lift to get from the ground floor up to the first floor. C - Our pants are in a closet. E - Our trousers are in a wardrobe, and if you say pants in England that means underwear. C - We eat cookies at snack time and we have appetizers before dinner. E - We eat biscuits and we have starters. C - The Americans are crazy about French fries! E - In the UK we have chips. We have fish & chips quite often too! C - Yum! Fish & chips are fantastic! It’s also an economical meal to purchase if you are touring the UK on a budget! Now where were we? Oh yes...In New York City we walk on the sidewalk and we park our car in parking lots. E - In London we walk on the pavement and we park in car parks. C - We take the subway. E - We take the underground and in London we call it the Tube. C - We buy either a one way ticket or a round trip ticket. E - We buy either a single ticket or a return ticket. C - In America, we drive on the interstate or the highway to go on vacation. E - We drive on the motorway to go on holiday. C - A 7 year old kid attends the second grade of elementary school. E - In the UK that child would attend the third year of primary school. M - Wow! And we could go on for hours!! C - Yes, again, listeners, don't miss the transcript of this episode, you'll find a detailed list of differences worth reading. M - And watch out because even the same word could have different meaning according to which side of the Atlantic ocean you're swimming in. For instance “MAD”. C - Mad usually means angry in America, for example : “I didn't do my math homework, and my teacher was mad at me.” How about to be mad in the UK? E - It means to be insane, out of mind, you would say to be crazy. M - And in fact compare these two songs: “I'm crazy for you” C - Madonna, American. M - And “I'm mad about you, I'm mad about you.” E - Sting, British. M - That's it! What else? In Britain you don't use slang contractions like gonna, wanna, oughta... E - You're right, we usually say I'm going to , I want to, I ought to... C - Yes, and let's talk about possession. We usually ask: “Do you have this or that?” For example: Do you have a pencil? E - While we ask : “Have you got this or that?” For example: Have you got a pencil? C - And in writing British English you can still find the influence of French. M - How do you spell the words color and center ? E - C o l o u r and centre with final r e. C - While I spell them c o l o r (without the letter “u”) and center with a final e r. M - Even the spelling of some irregular past participles can change, what about “to learn”? E - It's learnt, with a final T. C - In America it can be both learnt and learned as if it was regular. M - Now let's compare the pronunciation of a few words. C - Ok. How does “hand” sound in British? E - Hand. C - Butter? E - Butter. C - Anybody ? E - Anybody. C – Garage? E - Garage. C – Vitamin? E - Vitamin. M - Wow! I think we'd need other 10 episodes on this subject, but I hope that this general overview has given our listeners at least an idea of what we're talking about. C - Emanuela, would you like to make any further suggestion to our English learners? E - Well, as I usually say to all of my students: practice makes perfect. And as long as you have a DVD player or you have the chance to read a newspaper or a magazine in English then just do it, whenever you can, it doesn't matter if you don't actually live there. And in my opinion listening to music is one of the best ways to learn or improve the language. M - Thank you so much for your help. It's been awesome talking with you. E - Thank you, girls, my pleasure. C - Come back any time and thanks again! Bye bye E - Bye! *** C - Hey, Marta? How are you, dear? Mixed up? Confused? Lost in the middle of the Atlantic ocean? M - Well, I'm fine, I'm happy I had a chance to review my British English knowledge, even though I will never be able to get rid of the American accent anyways. C - Is it my fault? Just kidding. By the way, you used an expression that our listeners may not know: “TO GET RID OF something’’. M - Ok, let's explain it. C - It means to throw something away, to be eventually free of something that was bothering you. Like for example: “her boyfriend was a real slob, I'm so happy to hear she got rid of him”. M - Yeah, of course I didn't mean that my American accent bothers me, I meant that I've been speaking American English for so many years now that it's really hard to go back to the British English I was taught as school. C - Yes, but as long as you and our listeners can understand both accents that's ok. M - Yes, it sure helps when traveling abroad. Ok, that's all folks! Now it's time for you to read the transcript! C - Thanks for listening and come visit us on Podomatic.com, on our Facebook page, on Twitter, on martainnocenti.com, and on iTunes. M - We are already working on new episodes. Stay tuned! C - Bye Bye! ******************************************** BRITISH ENGLISH vs. AMERICAN ENGLISH UK WORDS ---> USA WORDS flat ---> apartment ; toilet ---> restroom ; biscuit ---> cookie ; wardrobe ---> closet ; lift ---> elevator ; starter ---> appetizer ; full stop ---> period ; garden ---> yard ; motorway ---> highway, interstate ; holiday ---> vacation ; pavement ---> sidewalk ; queue ---> line ; underground ---> subway ; rubbish ---> garbage ; car park ---> parking lot ; petrol ---> gasoline ; chips ---> French fries ; sweets ---> candy ; tap ---> faucet ; timetable ---> schedule ; booking ---> reservation ; single ticket / return ticket ---> one way ticket / round trip ticket ; 3rd year of primary school ---> 2nd grade of elementary school ; pants ---> underwear ; trousers ---> pants ; trainers ---> sneakers ; handbag ---> purse ; headmaster ---> principal ; autumn ---> fall ; rubber ---> eraser ; lorry ---> truck ; aeroplane ---> airplane shop ---> store angry ---> mad mad ---> crazy ground floor ---> first floor ; first floor ---> second floor ; UK POSSESSION ---> USA POSSESSION : Have you got ...? ---> Do you have...? ; UK SPELLING ---> USA SPELLING : centre ---> center ; dialogue ---> dialog ; cheque ---> check ; travelling ---> traveling ; fulfil ---> fulfill ; colour ---> color ; analyse, paralyse, catalyse... ---> analyze, paralyze, catalyze... ; learnt, dreamt, smelt... ---> learnt/learned, dreamt/dreamed, smelt/smelled... ; metre/meter, kilogramme/kilogram... ---> meter, kilogram... ; UK ---> USA going to, want to, ought to... ---> gonna, wanna, oughta... ** if you want to contact Emanuela about art reviews and translations : e.borgatta@virgilio.it **
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