[from HERE]
The Vocabulary Trap
Of course, when I arrived and saw the woman at the end of the platform wearing a red sweater, I understood my mistake. Playwright George Bernard Shaw claimed that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." For most of us, the differences between American and British English are amusing but of no real consequence, except to make us hesitate when we go traveling (or is it travelling?). That may not always be the case, since sometimes individuals fall into the "vocabulary trap."
My neighbor is an Australian, married to an American. Every time her husband wrote "jelly" on the grocery list, she came home from the supermarket with a small box of fruit-flavored gelatin powder. She couldn't understand why he wrote "jelly" on the list when they already had six similar boxes in the cabinet. He couldn't understand why there were still no jars of jelly in the cabinet, since he was sure that he had put "jelly" on the list. See, vocabulary differences can lead to marital conflict.
There are other cases where the difference can have serious consequences. Consider this example: in American English, one billion = 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million. In British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million. What the Americans call a billion, the British call a milliard. Imagine an American investor speaking to a British CEO: "I think we can manage a $1.5 billion investment in your company." The British CEO is going to be very surprised when the check has 3 fewer zeroes than expected!
See a pretty comprehensive list HERE
Previously, I was thinking that American English and Britain English are the same, the difference lie on pronunciation, but after studying and knowing British English and American English, there are many differences on them even make a married couple has a gap. As told by you, Mr. Adrian, American English was derived from British English by invasion, but something I still wonder is despite they are all English, why there is still many difference on them? For instance, the word “Jelly” known as gelatinous powder in American English but in British English known as Jam. Personally, British English and American English should have the same meaning to ease in communication, rather than will make many gaps in conversation between Americans and British. So far, I find British English is interesting to learn more since it sounds cool in pronunciation, however, the meaning between them (American and British) should be same. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSince joining English Writing Skill class, gradually I begin understand what actually the differences between American and British English, especially because Mr Coen is an englishman. So, we can learn from the right source. Honestly, before that I think two kind of these english use a lot of the same words, but they say them differently. Whereas, it’s not merely about accent, pronunciation, or differences in the definition of certain words. If we talk about accents, we know that accents play an important part in the different ways of people speak English around the world. In my view culture has an effect on language too. We have been well informed, if America and Britain have very different cultures. Cultural differences give rise to different vocabulary, phrases and different developments in grammar. Just enjoy it, we are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.
ReplyDelete"Since joining English Writing Skill class, gradually I begin understand what actually the differences between American and British English, especially because Mr Coen is an englishman."
DeleteActually, that is not strictly true. I am British. England is a part of Great Britain [a.k.a. United Kingdom] along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. My ancestors are all Irish [meaning the southern part of Ireland]. My parents moved to the U.K. in 1953 in search of work and a new life. As Irish immigrants at that time they faced a certain amount of discrimination and prejudice. They had three children [including me] in various parts of England. I grew up near Manchester ~ until I was 7 years old ~ before we moved to a town called St.Albans, just north of London. At that point in my life, I had a mixed accent: some Irish accent from my home life [both of my parents had strong Irish accents] mixed with some Manchester accent. When I moved to the south east ~ which has a very different accent... in fact, it's like the one I have now ~ I was teased for the way that I talked. However, I was still young enough for my accent to be changed by my environment. Nowadays, only someone who really knows a lot about accents can detect the influence of Irish on the way that I talk. Yes, I was born and raised in England. Yes, I have a south east England accent. But my nationality is British and my ethnicity is Irish.
"At that point in my life, I had a mixed accent: some Irish accent from my home life [both of my parents had strong Irish accents] mixed with some Manchester accent. When I moved to the south east ~ which has a very different accent... in fact, it's like the one I have now ~ I was teased for the way that I talked. However, I was still young enough for my accent to be changed by my environment. Nowadays, only someone who really knows a lot about accents can detect the influence of Irish on the way that I talk. Yes, I was born and raised in England. Yes, I have a south east England accent. But my nationality is British and my ethnicity is Irish."
DeleteSo, 'South East England accent" means Estuary English right? just correct me if I wrong. That I know there are many interesting places to visit in South East England, historic houses, chatedral, castle, etc. Anyway, it's nice to know that your ethnicity is Irish, "all things green and Irish inspiring."
"'South East England accent" means Estuary English right?"
DeleteMmmmm. I wouldn't say so. Estuary English is an accent that is heavily influenced by the massive urban area of London and its various strong and distinctive accents [such as Cockney English]. The "Estuary" accent is being spread across Britain by TV and radio and its influence can now be heard even in the far north of the country. My accent places me on the outskirts of London [often called the "Home Counties" ~ areas like Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire (where I lived from the age of 7 till I was 18), Kent and Surrey] which is less influenced by London's urban accents. My accent might be closer to what has for decades been called "Received Pronunciation" or even "Queen's English" [although my accent isn't especially "posh"]. However, it is highly likely that "Estuary English" will one day be perceived to have replaced "Received Pronunciation" as the new "Standard English".
I have a same opinion just as like as Lina. I thought British and American English were all the same it is include the vocabulary, I thought the differences between British and American English were only at the pronunciation and the accent. I have never thought that they both have difference words.
DeletePersonally, I got influenced by American English, instead of British English. But I believe that sometimes my English is like mixed up between two them, so I barely know which one is which. It is quite surprisingly that American English and British English have different vocabs. Sometimes, I think that British English vocabularies are more prestigious, because mostly people do not really use those vocabs and I think it is because American English vocabs are more commonly used rather than British English, and by the time I am using British English vocabs I feel like I am kind of smarter because I seem like know new authoritative vocabularies.
I begin to learn and understand the difference of American and British English from Youtube videos. I watched how they argue about not only the different pronounciation or dialects but also the different words used, and how they completely had no clue about one another. For instance, how they drive on the different side of the road, and how American think that drinking a cuppa tea like British people do is simply over-rated. It’s understandable that overtime they developed different words and meanings. But what is also intruiging is that there are variety of accents in Britain like Southern English, Manchester, Scouser, Welsh and others. I also watch The Inbetweeners and Doctor Who. So it’s easier for me to understand what they really mean dispite their accents. Only last week I realized that my daily English is the mix between the two. I hope when I travel they won’t judge me for the lack of consistency of the words I choose.
ReplyDelete"I hope when I travel they won’t judge me for the lack of consistency of the words I choose."
DeleteI don't think you will have any problem with this. In academic writing, however, I suggest that you choose one version of spelling ~ either U.S. or British ~ and then stick to it and be consistent.
"in American English, one billion = 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million. In British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million."
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot-- a serious lot--of gap... A massive gap, like the distance between Earth and Jupiter (or Mars, I suppose). Why is that? A billion in America is 999.000.000.000 less than in Britain and in Accounting, it's a very serious matter. Well, maybe the earliest matter is that the massive number of zeroes means taking up a lot of spaces. I can't afford to make this grave mistake if I were to work in Britain.
Putting that aside, though, British English aren't really that different from American English. Yes, British words, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, slang, and general terms are different from American, but overall, they are still the same. After all, America's used to be one of the infamous British Empire territories, isn't it? So does the Australia and Canada, who uses English as well.
I say that no matter if it's British, American, Australian, or Canadian, they're still English. Even if you do know the differences between those supposedly identical language, you still need to know the basic gist of English or you will end up becoming the Indonesian's "mealy-mouthed small-minded idiot" who goes by the name Vicky Prasetyo. He uses the English with terribly, horribly, awfully, and utterly catastrophic grammar like it's a daily English words, and I am absolutely cross with him. Honestly.
""in American English, one billion = 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million. In British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million." [...] A billion in America is 999.000.000.000 less than in Britain and in Accounting, it's a very serious matter. [...] I can't afford to make this grave mistake if I were to work in Britain."
DeleteDon't worry, Qashmal. If you were to work in Britain, nobody would be paying you a billion pounds ~ neither a British billion nor an American billion!
Historically speaking, the different meanings of the word "billion" were based on whether the country was using the long scale or short scale numbering system. Here's what wiki has to say about this:
"For most of the 19th century into the first part of the 20th century, the United Kingdom largely used the long scale, while the United States of America used the short scale,[3] so that the two systems were often referred to as British and American in the English language. After several decades of increasing British usage of the short scale, in 1974, the government of the UK finally fully adopted it, which is reflected in its mass media and official usage. Although some residual usage of the long scale continues in the UK, the phrases British usage and American usage are no longer accurate characterisations. Usage of the two systems can be a subject of controversy. Differences in opinion as to which system should be used can evoke resentment between adherents, while national differences of any kind can acquire jingoistic overtones."
"[You] still need to know the basic gist of English or you will end up becoming the Indonesian's "mealy-mouthed small-minded idiot" who goes by the name Vicky Prasetyo. He uses the English with terribly, horribly, awfully, and utterly catastrophic grammar like it's a daily English words, and I am absolutely cross with him. Honestly."
DeleteMaybe he went to Universitas Indonesia?
I have to admit, I did not know who Vicky Prasetyo was so I looked him up.
"Infamously Indecipherable: The Bizarre Celebrity of Vicky Prasetyo"
"Who is Vicky Prasetyo? This businessman, failed politician and corruption convict rose from relative obscurity to Internet celebrity after a segment from RCTI’s “Cek and Ricek” info-tainment show was posted on YouTube earlier this month. It’s not the subject of the interview that captivated Indonesian netizens — although the man’s doomed engagement to a small-time Dangdut star known for her duck-like dance moves was weird enough — but Vicky’s unconventional take on language.
Vicky enjoys a freestyle approach to the spoken word, employing a nonsensical string of words and things that sound like words to create sentences that are as pompous as they are unintelligible. English words like status are given an Indonesian flair as “statusisasi” despite the fact that status in Indonesian is, well, status.
Indonesian words suffer similar mistreatment. Vicky doubles-down on the parts of words that appear formal, twisting harmonisasi (harmony) into the needlessly stiff “harmonisisasi” — a word that doesn’t appear in any Indonesian dictionary. He has a penchant for odd phrases and little regard for grammar, choosing the word labil (it means “unstable” but usually refers to a mental condition or the ground) when discussing the nation’s recent economic woes, characterizing the issue as ekonomi labil but flipping it into ”labil ekonomi” for good measure. Other times Vicky is strangely poetic, dropping the phrase “kudeta keinginan” — a coup d’etat of the wishes — into an explanation of his engagement to Zaskia Shinta, a 23-year-old Dangdut star better known as “Zaskia Gotik” for her iconic goyang itik or duck moves."
More here:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/features/infamously-indecipherable-the-bizarre-celebrity-of-vicky-prasetyo/
" If you were to work in Britain, nobody would be paying you a billion pounds ~ neither a British billion nor an American billion!"
DeleteForget about me, I don't think there's anyone, aside from entrepreneurs, who got paid for a billion pounds, either American or British billion, because that's roughly the amount of most company's income. And my point is that if I, as a company accountant, give a financial statement that states the company's profit and I say it's a billion pound profit where I should say a milliard pound, they would be overjoyed to hear that. When they heard the truth, I may get a lot of warnings or, if I get a horrible boss (not like the one in Horrible Bosses black comedy film), get sacked because of cultural confusion.
"Maybe he went to Universitas Indonesia?"
If he does, then maybe it's a good thing I study in UGM. (I'm really gloating here, am I?) I heard that he studied his English in United States, so I can only think he studied it in the wrong environment. I don't want to appear smug, but I'm relieved he didn't studied it in the UK.
It’s funny right, the American and British using English but there are some words that have a different meaning. Sometime it can lead to a serious problem. Same like here in Indonesia between Indonesian and Local language, there are some words that is very similiar but have a different meaning. If you learning English, I think we should know all the differences not only the accent but the meaning, grammar, and phrase as well so there is no misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteSometime people said that British language are more polite than American language, but the fact is American is the old version of British language but now American and British language has evolve by it self. I know a lot of words from American language rather than from British language because there are some words in British language are very strange for me to be heard. But I really want to learn both of the language, American and British language, to add my knowledge about English.
"Sometime people said that British language are more polite than American language..."
DeleteSome people, including many Americans, say that the British accent sounds "more intelligent"., as if we can add 20 points to our perceived IQ!
Usually language is a means of communication and tends to bring people together through a common level of understanding. However if the native language is not the same, misunderstandings can occur quite easily. But even if the language is actually the same there can be a vocabulary trap like it is the case with American and British English. After taking a look at the vocabulary list of American and English vocabulary I can understand that although the language is actually the same, miscommunication may happen. If a British guy asks for a rubber in a school in the U.S., he’ll probably receive a strange glance. So the words which are used in the American and British English often have different meanings. This can lead to minor communication gaps between husband and wife or to really serious problems in the business world, like the examples mentioned in the text. These problems however don’t only occur between American and British English speakers. In Germany for example we also seem to have the same language but the fact is that there are a lot of dialects and different words we use depending on the region we’re living in. When I was in Thailand I met a guy from Bavaria. I preferred talking to him in English because I simply couldn’t understand his German due to the Bavarian dialect.
ReplyDelete"In Germany for example we also seem to have the same language but the fact is that there are a lot of dialects and different words we use depending on the region we’re living in."
DeleteI find this kind of thing very interesting. What about Austria? Presumably the German spoken there has its own accent or accents. What about vocabulary? How long would a list of "translated" words be? Do your big cities in Germany each have a distinct and recognizable accent? If a British person from Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow or London were to walk into Room U304 and say one sentence to me, I would immediately be able to tell you exactly which city they came from. Would it be the same for you with Germans from Berlin, Bonn, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt etc.?
It surprised me when I found out that so many words in British are actually different with the American. Same like Riana, I thought that the difference between British and American is only the pronounciation, but I was wrong. (anyway, I found British accent is more attractive than American because I love the way the British guys speak)
ReplyDeleteFrom the last example that stated above, this vocabulary trap could be a serious problem. That's why I think we have to learn British vocabulary and also American vocabulary very well to avoid the misunderstanding. I think, maybe the Ministry of Education could add this vocabulary study in the english curriculum for high school.
I also want to know more about slang. I heard that Australian slang is different with American slang. Is that true? Then what about British slang and Canadian slang? Is it necessary to learn about slang when we live in those English-spoken countries?
"I found British accent is more attractive than American because I love the way the British guys speak."
DeleteYou are very discerning. You get a bonus point.
I always think that British accent is undeniably attractive. Sometimes when I watch a movie spoken in British English I can’t understand some of the words in it but that’s what makes it even more attractive.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that American and British English are just the same. But as I learn more about English I realize that they’re quiet different. These differences can trigger any form of misunderstanding between the speakers. As the people who are currently learning English, we should learn both of them to prevent any misunderstanding in our conversation.
I don’t believe it when people say that one of British or American English is more polite or the other way around, I think they are just the same. As someone who’s still learning English I can’t really tell the differences between those two, but I’m trying, though. I realize how important it is to be consistent on which kind of English we’re using so that I won’t make a fool of myself when talking to the natives. But then again, I think for now it’s okay for me to still sometimes mix the two of them up because making mistakes is a part of learning.
Winnie
"I always think that British accent is undeniably attractive."
DeleteYou too get a bonus point for saying this.
- I am strongly agree with Annisa and Putu that British accent sounds more attractive! [Will I get a bonus point as well?] .
ReplyDeleteIn Indonesia, We started to learn the Basic English from Elementary School. Appearently, the way school has taught us here is more to the Australian and British influence. The early months I had in US, I got problem on listening and understanding Americans. I found a lot of differences about the uses of vocabulary and how they pronounce things.
Such as something to sumthn’, mountain to mountn’, cotton to cottn’, aluminium to aloomeenum, either to eedur (instead of idur),
“ I am going to leave the house in ten minutes then riding my truck to go hunting turkeys. This is a southerner’s life, darling. ” would be sounds like:
“ I am fixin’ to leave the house in teeayn mins then ridin’ my big ole truck to huntn’ turkeys. This is a suthunus laf, dahlin’. ”
They pronounce with sort of tendency in the end of the word. I was confused back then. Many times I literally just keep assuming things that they were saying even when I didn’t understand. Yet as the time passed by, I think my english has reformed more to the American way, specifically with Southern accents and slangs. I love both American and British way of english. But I admit that I perefer and wanted to learn more of British english for my proper writing skills. I realize I am still far behind that though I will work on it.
*sort of tendency to emphasize the end of the word*
Delete"I am strongly agree with Annisa and Putu that British accent sounds more attractive! [Will I get a bonus point as well?]"
DeleteI have a limitless supply of bonus points for this kind of thing, don't worry. But you lose a half point for writing "I am strongly agree".
Oh! It suppose to be " I strongly agree. ", isn't it?
DeleteWell, actually I wasn’t concerned about this until I read the article. In the English class in my senior high school, my teacher didn’t teach us the difference between them and use the vocabulary of both accent, so most of us didn’t know the difference between this two accent. I took an English course in a British institute so unconsciously I prefer British English. Although I prefer British, every time I speak in English I didn’t know either I speak in British or American English. I thought the difference are just in the pronunciation and a little bit of vocabulary, but after I learned about this two accent, listen to Mr. Adrian's explanation and a little game in class, I know that a lot of vocabulary differences between the two. Even thought it seems unimportant, everyone needs to understand both accent to make it easier to communicate with British and American.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first start learning English in primary school, my teachers have been teaching us British English, as in Singapore it is a type of English that is deemed as ‘proper’. The British colonized Singapore and the British influence is still rather strong in terms of politics or education, as such the students are indoctrinated to the fact that British English is the ‘good’ English and brainwashed us to only speak only British English. Even in our daily conversation, it’s very seldom that I hear my Singaporeans friends say ‘wanna’, ‘gotta’ or ‘candies’. However, as I grow up I tend to pick up more and more American accent due American TV series influence and also because that is how my close friends who went to the USA to study talk to me. I don’t necessarily start using American words, but unintentionally I start changing my accent, especially with words that has ‘a’ vowels in it such as ‘dance’ ‘fast’ or ‘Mazda’. Overall in such globalised society, I think it doesn’t matter which English we use in our daily conversation, what matter is to be consistent so as to avoid confusion.
ReplyDelete"Overall in such globalised society, I think it doesn’t matter which English we use in our daily conversation, what matter is to be consistent so as to avoid confusion."
DeleteI agree completely. There might be some instances in your professional life in the future when you have to consciously decide which code of spelling you are going to use, but aside from that, the difference between the two versions of English is not a major issue.
The first time I knew the difference between English and American accent was from television. I could see the dissimilarity when English and American's spoke. It was queit funny when English and American people speak together, but for the grammar I didn't know which one was right and which one was wrong. They say that English people speak in a more proper and appopriate way. Well, I think I agree with that because I used to listen and communicate with English people when I lived there. I also can see that English people often speak more politely than American's do. I'm sorry if I judged it wrong but I really think thats true. Besides all that, I really think we should start to learn and understand both British and American English because it can be useful for us when we meet people from each of those countries.
ReplyDeleteWell I do think that American and British English both share some similarities and differences. I’ve known this fact from quite a young age actually. While playing “word” on my dad’s old-new laptop (when I was six), of course I would usually play without his permission (Cause he wouldn’t of given it either way). So anyway, while I was playing on it I tried typing a word down it was “favourite”. To my surprise (and as a kid on a new toy, it was a pretty big deal) the word magically transformed to “favorite”, I was amazed by this tiny change and repeated it over and over like a sort of game. I then found out that the reason for this was the difference in British and American English and that the laptop I had been using was set on American English.
ReplyDeleteFrom this point on I started looking for all the differences in American and British english that I could find in my daily life. What I found out first, was the difference in spelling and accent of British and Americans. I find that the British accent sounds far more intellectual and diverse than the American accent. By the way they talk, I knew at once that the British are more expressive and sophisticated in their vocabulary and word choice compared to Americans that often simplify and at times over simplify words hence creating a lot of slang.
Over time I learned a lot more of their differences such as the way they actually try to make a point when talking. I often find that the Americans way of speaking is much more straight-forward whereas the Brits in some cases throw in a couple of gestures and sarcastic phrasing to get their point through.
Even by learning these things, I don’t often differentiate the two and just try to learn them both. For the use, I think I’m more familiar with American English because I mainly watch cable (mostly American).
At first I only knew that British English and American English have different accent. But in my school years I got 3 different native speaker, when I was in Elementary school our school had American native teacher, then in Junior High school we had Australian native teacher, but since my senior high school curriculum changed into Cambridge and we used to have British native teacher so sometimes we know the different between British English, American English, and Australian English accent. After I learn more about the difference between British, American, and Australian English from my own experience such as In Junior High school I followed the Home stay programs in Melbourne, Australia from that home stay program I learned Australian English, speak with native American when I had a Baseball tournament in USA, and watched some British football players interview video, I learn that they’ve got different pronunciation and vocabulary meanings. Actually I prefer the American English because their accent were more clearly and the vocabulary more familiar than British and Australian, but sometimes when I watched the British football players interview I like the way Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher speak with their Scouses accent.
ReplyDeleteThis theme makes me think of a personal experience I had when I was in Kuta, Bali. I was having a relaxed shopping day eating ice-cream and searching for a new bikini. So I went to Billabong and finally found one (please kindly ignore the plug). At the cashpoint the shop woman informed me that they had a special promotion day: if you spend more than a certain amount of money you will get some free “thongs”. I was puzzled and asked her again what she was telling me, so she repeated and was pointing to a shelf with some flip flops. I started to laugh. If I was a British I would associate thongs with sexy underwear and not with beach shoes and would be surprised to receive this promotion present in Indonesia. This little example shows how one word can change the whole context and makes people puzzled, embarrassed or even angry.
ReplyDeleteThis article is interesting for me because I always admire British English more than American English. It is always a pleasure to hear the accent that comes out from the mouth of British people. Before learning in EWS class in FEB, I don’t really understand the differences between British and American English. After having a class that discussed this topic, it turns out that there are many differences, such as the words selected in each language. Now I know that the cultures that they own also have a big role in differentiating both languages. I am a person that loves England in many ways. I love their football league, their national football team, and also their music. I always admire Britpop and I also have a big fanaticism for The Beatles. I love it when English speak with their accent. It always catches my attention. I enjoy hearing Sir Alex Ferguson speaking in the TV more than hearing Tom Cruise’s speech. Being able to speak like British people is one of my dreams. Hopefully I can speak like British people in the future, especially after having Mr. Coen’s class every Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteUp until a few years ago, when I start watching video podcasts and gaming commentaries on youtube, I still thought that the American and British English are only different on the context of accent. Turns out, there are so many differences between both languages.
ReplyDeleteI often thought that the American English is the 'improper' version for English, e.g "has got to: This has got to be the most delicious cake here. " (American) vs. must: This must be the most delicious cake here. (British). Also, doesn't the Australian English, though more similar to British than American, have plenty of linguistic differences compared to those two?
Moreover, I still wonder what could be the most probable cause of the differences between American and British English. Can anyone explain it?
When I first learn English, I always thought that American English and British English is the same and I don’t really pay any attention to it. At the beginning my goals was only to learn English and as I learn it deeper and deeper I start to know and acknowledge its difference. I think the most notable differences between American and British is the accent, American tend to speak more rough than British and I think that British accent is really unique and we can know it’s a British English from the start. The pronunciation and spelling between American and British English is also different, it’s not that much, but it can affect our pronunciation such as Methane and Interpol are pronounce differently in American and British. The spelling are also different, some words like flavor, honour, colour, etc. are spelled differently in American and British English. Both American and British are great, but I find that British English is more attractive than American English.
ReplyDeleteBack in my junior high and high school days, we were taught to write in British English due to having a Cambridge Curriculum. I often made mistakes in the inconsistent usage of spelling such as writing “specialize” rather than “specialise” in my British-spelling essay. Gradually I began to be more consistent even though I still tend to forget about my primary spelling of English.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that there are some striking differences of both English. Personally, I found British English to be more elegant and attractive. But, in the reality I’m more exposed to American English from movies, novels, and games. When I went to the United Kingdom for an immersion trip, I stayed with my host parents in Southport. For 1 whole week, me and my friend had it hard to digest on what they say. There were plenty of times when we asked them to repeat their sentences. It was hard to understand their accent and embarrassing at the same time. Nevertheless I learned a lot from conversing with them and did identify some words that do not exist in American English.
I just knew from this article that in British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million. I never think the different between American English and British English lays on the number also.
ReplyDeleteIf Hanie gets mistake in her British-spelling essay because writing the wrong spelling, I get the red underline when I type in computer. At first I get confused because I already type the right spelling one, but computer still adding the red underline in that word, but then I realize that’s because the computer uses British spelling.
Is it because the different in spelling makes it different in pronouncing it? Because I find some words in British English are more complicated in spelling than American English, and perhaps that’s make some people (including me) think when someone speaks British, it will be more difficult to understand than American speaks English. I found this comparing for the first time was when I got my 2 native teachers. First of my native teacher was from America, and I didn’t find many difficulties to understand what she said. But then after finishing her class, I had another class with British teacher where in his class I made pretend-to-understand face often.
Well, I think I mixed my English up. I can't figure what type of English that I'm using. For a long time, I thought that my English got mixed like this because I learn from the way people talk. My hometown is in Bali, near Sanur beach, where most of the old tourist come to there. Sometimes they just stopped in front of my house and then asked the direction to Sanur. As far as I can remember, they have different accent, and I forgot to ask where they're from. From that day, I just thought that English was the same everyone, and it was only the accent that distinguish them. I don't know if it is good or bad since I keep talking to everyone and everyone else understand what I'm talking. But like what Mr. Adrian had instructed before, maybe I should distinguish my English, so I could just one type of English and not to mix them up.
ReplyDelete“Imagine an American investor speaking to a British CEO: "I think we can manage a $1.5 billion investment in your company." The British CEO is going to be very surprised when the check has 3 fewer zeroes than expected!” I laughed when I read this statement, because I find this statement is pretty hilarious. Yes, it’ll be a very serious problem if that was the case. Because like this statement says “Consider this example: in American English, one billion = 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million. In British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million. What the Americans call a billion, the British call a milliard.” But, in general, I think American and British English are not that different. Maybe it’s like Indonesia and Malaysia. It is different language, but mostly, the words are the same. Just have different pronunciations. And we have very different accent, like the difference between American and British English have. When I'm writing, I don’t know if I’m using American or British English. Because I don’t remember which words are American or British English. I hope, someday I’ll know and remember the difference between those languages. Thank you for reading.
ReplyDeleteBack when I was in Elementary School, I never thought that English are divided by Britain English and American English. Since all I heard is a foreign language and I have a difficulties when trying to asses it. But things are different when I’m entering Junior High School. I remember when my teacher used to tell me that there are two types of English which are Britain English and American English, I have no idea what’s the differences between it. I was thinking maybe the accent is different, since Britain English has their own typical British accent and American has their own accent. I think the most significant differences between American English and Britain English is the spelling. In American English we say “ flavor, honor, color, analyze, etc. “ but in Britain English we say “ flavour, honour, colour, analyse, etc. “. I’m sure there are many other differences other than the spelling that I haven't know yet. In my opinion, while I’m writing and speaking I’m using the American English but actually I’m interested to learn more and consistently use Britain English in the future.
ReplyDeleteFirst time learning English, I don’t really know that British English is different with American English. My English teacher at my course when I was in junior high school just told me that they are different. Until this time I learn English I can’t understand more about the differences between them. I never know whether I use British English or American English. I think I use both of them, especially for the vocabulary. I found the differences vocabularies between them in English Writing Skills class, when Mr. Coen gave us some words and we should find the same meaning in British and American English. After I read the article, I remember about the word “jelly” that I found. I didn’t believe that jelly has same meaning with jam. I think jelly is like gelatin, like pudding but without milk. However, jelly is the American English of jam. Then about candy that has similar meaning with sweet. I thought that sweet is adjective, the taste of candy. However it has same meaning with candy and it is noun.
ReplyDeleteI honestly can’t really differentiate between American English and British English. I don’t know which words belong to American English, and which words belong to British English. Knowing and understanding both are really important. I have seen that sometimes to write an essay, we have to choose to write in American English or British English. We are not allowed to mix both American English and British English. We are only allowed to choose one of them. So, I’m really interested in learning about both American English and British English, and choosing which one suits me better. About accent, I really love how British people talk. It is so elegant. The first time I feel really interested in British accent is when I watch the movie Harry Potter. The accent is just really beautiful to be heard. Is there a way that I can talk like that too? Could you give me some tips about it? I think my friends and I will be glad to know about how to talk like a British people.
ReplyDelete“There are other cases where the difference can have serious consequences. Consider this example: in American English, one billion = 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million. In British English, one billion = 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million. What the Americans call a billion, the British call a milliard. Imagine an American investor speaking to a British CEO: "I think we can manage a $1.5 billion investment in your company." The British CEO is going to be very surprised when the check has 3 fewer zeroes than expected!”
DeleteI don’t quite realize that there are some difference between American English and British ones. I thought that there was no difference at all, and they all are same English. But only has different accent in pronouncing.
But, since I’ve been taught by you, well I quite understand, how American says “ring road” instead of “belt way”, and so on. So thank you for that, Sir!
After studying English for years from kindergarten until senior high school I never heard from my English teacher what English that I have learned. Actually, I never concerned about this this different common language. I already knew there is English from British and English from American, Actually I think there’s no different between both of them except in their accent and my stupidity ended after I read this article. It’s so interesting that American and British, both of them using English but there’s some words that have a same type of letter but have a different meanings. I’m imagined if I had a conversation to them who has a foreign nationality in Indonesia and I talked to him with American English and they got that with British English and then it has a different meanings and make them feel offended. What I suppose to do to solve that problem. I think learning differences of British and American English so important to me.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that the American and British using English but there are some words that have a different meaning. Sometime it can lead to a serious problem. Same like here in Indonesia between Indonesian and Local language, there are some words that is very similiar but have a different meaning. If you learning English, I think we should know all the differences not only the accent but the meaning, grammar, and phrase as well so there is no misunderstanding. I don’t really know that British English is different with American English. My English teacher at my course when I was in junior high school just told me that they are different. Until this time I learn English I can’t understand more about the differences between them. I never know whether I use British English or American English. I think I use both of them, especially for the vocabulary. Well maybe I could point out some diffrences between British English and American English because I watched a lot of TV shows that uses these two kind English languange
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