Concetti Chiave
- The same word can have different meanings in British and American English, such as "pants" meaning underpants in British and trousers in American English.
- Some words have additional meanings in one variety, like "bathroom" which can mean a room with just a toilet in American English.
- Words may differ in style or connotation; "autumn" is common in British but poetic in American English, where "fall" is preferred.
- The same concept often has different words, such as "queue" in British English and "line" in American English.
- American English tends to convert verbs into nouns, and collective nouns are used in the singular form, unlike in British English.
Differences in BE and AE
4 main categories:
1. Same word – Different meaning
Pants : Underpants (British)
Trousers (American)
Pavement : Footpath (British)
Road surface (American)
2.Same word – Addition meaning in one variety
Aggiunta di significato
Bathroom: room with bath or shower and sink (British & American)
room with toilette only (American)
Smart: intelligent (British & American)
well-groomed (British)
3.Same word – Difference in style, connotation or frequency of use
ex. Autumn: common use (British)
uncommon and poetic - fall (American)
Quite: negative or neutral (British)
Positive (American)
4.Same concept – Different word
ex. Queue (British only) - Line (American)
Faucet (American only) - Tap (British)
General nouns:
Candidature (British) – Candidacy (American)
Centenary (British) – Centannial (American)
Conversion: tendency to use verbs as nouns en American English
ex. To run down --> The rundown
Collective nouns used as PLURAL in British English
SINGULAR in American English
English as a global language – new form of contact:
• Worldwide phenomenon
• English as lingua franca *Professor David Crystal
Anglicism: word originally English but used too in other languages with same or similar meaning.
• Pseudo Anglicism
• English terms endowed with an “aura”
• Reduction of English terms
• Lengthening of English terms (rare)
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