The factors that led to the vocabulary

differences between British English

and American English

George Bernard Shaw “the United

States and United Kingdom are "two
countries divided by a common
language"
The main topic

Overview of the historical, social,

technological, cultural and linguistic
factors that led to the differences in
vocabulary between the two main and
most widespread varieties of the English
language, British English and American
English.
Main factors of the differences

 New objects and experiences

 Cultural and technological developments
 Institutional developments
 Influence of other languages
 Independent linguistic change within each
variety
New objects and experiences

Need to speak about and name unfamiliar features of the

landscape, flora, and fauna, concepts, ideas, activities of
the New World:
- using Indian words: moose, raccoon, skunk, opossum,
terrapin, wigwam, canoe, moccasin, wampum, squaw,
papoose
- adapting Br.Engl vocabulary: robin to a red-breasted
thrush, turkey to a distinctive American bird, corn to an
entirely new cereal, lumber to discarded furniture
- creating new words by a descriptive process: mud hen,
garter snake, bullfrog, potato bug, ground hog, reed bird
Cultural and technological
developments
The same concepts were coined differently in the USEngl and BrEngl
because of:
 a considerable distance
 slow means of communication
automobile terminology:
USEngl: windshields, hoods, antennas
Br. Engl: windscreens, bonnets, aerials
railroads terminology
USEngl: cowcatcher, engine, engineer , fireman, baggage car,
baggage, freight, conductor;
Br. Engl: pilot, locomotive, locomotive-driver, stoker, van, luggage,
goods, guard,

USEngl: baseball terminology: pitcher, first base, strikeout,

Br. Engl: cricket terminology: bowler, sticky wicket, pitch.
Institutional developments
 New terminology on new institutons and practices of the
new political and administrative system characteristic of
USA: cabinet is used differently in the two countries. The
members of the American cabinet are secretaries and the
British homologues are ministres in the ministries. Ex:
congressional, presidential, gubernatorial, congressman,
mass meeting, statehouse, land office selectmen, senate,
congress, court, assembly, presidential, congressional,
gubernatorial;
 Education: USA “private school” - “public school” UK
USA “public school” -“a state (funded) school”
UK.
USA “high school” - “secondary school” UK.
Influence of other languages
 Indian languages: many geographical names, names of rivers,
mountains, and lakes, objects, plants, animals, food: opossum, moose,
skunk, raccoon, chipmunk, hickory, squash, moose, raçoon, caribou;
 African languages: goober, jazz, voodoo, mumbo jumbo;
 French: butte, brioche, leve, prairie, rapids, armoire, bureau, depot,
bateau, voyageur;
 Spanish: rodeo, mesa, savannah tortilla;
 German: beer soup, bock beer, delicatessen, lager beer, hamburger,
schnitzel, milk, semestër, seminar;
 Dutch: cruller, cookie, stoop, boss, scow;
 Yiddish: bagel, tsouris, chutzpah, nudnik, blintz;
 Scandinavian languages:steka, knife, law, dirt, fellow, leg, seat, sister,
trust, fant, window, till, both, husband, ugly;
 Italian: pizza, spaghetti, lasagne, espresso, cannelloni, minestrone,
pasta, tortellini, macaroni, broccoli, zucchini, ravioli.
Independent linguistic change
within each variety
 Archaic words no longer in use:
USeng: retains the term druggist,
BReng: chemist
 New meaning for the old words:
guess meaning “think” ose “asses” is known now as
Americanism
cabin in England means “cabin in a ship”, in USA means “a
poor house”
 Change of the grammatical class: nouns to verbs: an author-to
author, a book-to book; verbs to nouns: to cook out-a cook out,
to know how-the know-how, to stop over-a stop over;
 Abbreviation of the words: telephone to phone, cablegram to
cable;
Conclusions
 The vocabulary of the English language in America has always been in
the main the same as the vocabulary of the English language in England.
Both American English and British English are constituent elements of
the English language.
 The two varieties are more similar than different, especially with
"educated" or "scientific" English. The vocabulary differences are most
obvious at the level of the spoken language, everyday speech than at the
level of the written language.
 The differences can be ascribed to differing national histories,
demographics, and cultural development, and the way in which national
language has developed differently in parallel with the differing national
needs.
 American English represents the cultural history, political and
institutional development, physical environment characteristic of the
English speaking people in the North America, tradition, the evolution of
the language itself as a result of a number of political, economic,
monetary, social factors.