Brits say and spell their way
July 4, the day that celebrates when the United States adopted the Declaration of Independence, is almost here. Just for fun, I read a slew of British newspapers to find crazy ways that British English differs from American English.
I couldn’t cover all the differences in one column, but I found several phrases that show how word usage has divided over time.
The British often use plural verbs where we use singular ones. Finding examples was easy. From a story in The Guardian, a London newspaper, on the World Cup:
It is not that Brazil have been terrible; they just have not looked like Brazil.
This would have been different in American writing:
It is not that Brazil has been terrible. It’s just that it has not looked like Brazil.
These collective nouns represent a group of people or things. Examples are “committee,” “family,” “government” and “team.” In American English, we’d use: The family is gathering at Grandma’s house.
The government needs to work on finishing tasks.
The team is looking good this year.
In British English, the usage can go either way. Speakers either use the sentences as Americans do, or they use them like this:
The family are gathering at Grandma’s house.
The government need to work on finishing tasks.
The team are looking good this year.
This verb usage is jarring to me. I’m not sure I could adjust to that method, but I found nearly all the other differences to be endearing.
A couple more from The Guardian:
Paul Rousseau was struck by the similarity straight away.
“Straight away” means “right away.”
The sun might be shining on our own back gardens but 25 million holidaymakers are expected to head overseas between now and the end of summer, according to the Association of British Travel Agents. A sizeable slice of those will hire a car when they get to their destination — and, unfortunately, a fair number of those will wish they had never bothered.
The British call their “yards” their “gardens.” They go “on holiday” rather than “on vacation.”
They spell sizable with an extra e.
They “hire” cars instead of “renting” them. They are expected to fill the tanks with “petrol” instead of “gas.” And they make their way around using “satnavs” instead of “GPS.”
From another newspaper, the Cornishman, a description of a car accident:
Police say the 54-year-old driver of the blue Vauxhall Estate may have been dazzled by sunlight before he clipped the curb and ploughed into the shelter on the junction of Trelyon Avenue and Treloyhan Park Road.
The big difference here is “ploughed,” the British spelling of “plow.” But I love the use of “dazzled.” I more often think of something entertaining or skillful as “dazzling.”
From the Kent and Sussex Courier:
“I was four stone overweight (although I didn’t realise it), my cholesterol was way too high and my thyroid was low.”
A “stone” is a weight measurement of 14 pounds in Britain. I can remember my roommate in London telling me that her sister had lost half a stone. I wondered whether it was half of a gallstone or a kidney stone. It was neither.
Also, a number of British words use “s” instead of the “z” we use. realise, realize organise, organize analyse, analyze paralyse, paralyze finalise, finalize
What we call the letter “z” is called a “zed” in Britain.
From the London Evening Standard:
Public warned over absconder from mental health facility in Hackney.
“Absconder” is a great word. I think we’d be more likely to see “escapee” in American English.
From the Peterborough Telegraph:
Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Antoine has spoken of his joy after rehoming a 12-week-old kitten from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
“Rehoming” means a pet is moved into a new home. The word isn’t in Merriam-Webster, although “rehome” is in American Heritage and on the Oxford Dictionaries website. From the same newspaper: A man from Rayleigh, Essex, is in hospital after having had acid thrown in his face after a row with another motorist.
Many readers have asked me about this British usage of “in hospital,” which I hear often on BBC programs. In American English, we say “in the hospital.” Our usage is less accurate, I think. When you say “in hospital,” you could mean any hospital. With “in the hospital,” you seem to be saying we have only one hospital in the nation and that’s where the Rayleigh man is.
The British have a similar usage for students:
He’s at university. She’s at college.
We’d instead use “in college.” I don’t think I’ve heard “she’s in university.’’
Also in that example, “row” sounds like a minor spat, but it’s a noisy or violent argument.
From the Birmingham Mail:
One of the city’s main routes out of the city onto the M6 was closed for several hours today for emergency work following a drink and drive incident.
“A drink and drive incident” sounds much gentler than what Americans call “a drunken driving incident.” The American phrase seems more accurate.
From the (Sheffield) Star: [The football club] Sheffield Wednesday’s consultant engineer threatened to sue the local council for £2 million if it scuppered a ground development, the Hillsborough inquests heard.
“Scuppered” is perhaps my favorite word of the week. The formal definition of “scupper” is “to sink.” In informal use, though, when you scupper someone’s plans, you thwart them.
Another from The Guardian:
Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics: “If they give Jean-Claude Juncker a job this is like literally flicking two fingers at the rest of Europe …”
This isn’t verbal language; it’s sign language. In the British version of what Americans call “flipping the bird,” the two-finger sign isn’t something you’d translate in polite company.
In my search for examples, I didn’t find two common spelling differences between the British and the Americans. But I know they exist. The British often use “re” at the end of a word when the Americans will use “er.” And the Americans omit the “u” from words that end in “or.” centre, center fibre, fiber litre, liter theatre, theater colour, color flavour, flavor humour, humor labour, labor neighbour, neighbor That’s it for this week. Cheerio (not the cereal).