Sometimes it seems that the U.K. and the U.S. don't speak the same language. I have identified several categories of differences for your consideration::
A. Some words that we spell alike we pronounce differently, such as neither (nye-ther/nee-ther), either (eye-ther/ee-ther), tomato (to-mah-to/to-may-to), potato (po-tah-to/po-tay-to), laughter (lahf-ter/laff-ter) and many others. This was famously demonstrated in 1937 when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performed, on roller skates yet, George and Ira Gershwin's song "Let's Call thee Whole Thing Off" (5:12).
B. Some words that we pronounce alike we spell differently, such as tire/tyre, curb/kerb, theater/theatre, maneuver/manoeuvre, euthanize/euthanise, favorite/favourite, and many others.
C. We call some objects by entirely different words, such as truck/lorry, trunk/boot, hood/bonnet, cookie/biscuit, potato chips/crisps, French fries/chips, zucchini/courgette, eggplant/aubergine, cilantro/coriander, elevator/lift, apartment/flat, diaper/napkin, and many others
D. On some words that we spell alike we choose to stress the syllables differently, such as laboratory (LAB-ruh-tory/luh-BOR-uh-tree), debris (duh-BREE/DEB-ree), and many others.
There may be other categories and sub-categories, but I can't think of any just now. If you think of other exanples and want to cite them in a comment, please include whether they fall into category A, B, C, D, or a new one that you define, and I will agree or disagree.
It occurs to me, for example, that perhaps pajamas/pyjamas needs another category, E, words that are neither spelled alike nor pronounced alike but mean the same thing, because that particular pair do not fall into category A (spelled alike but pronounced differently) or category B (pronounced alike but spelled differently). That particlar pair of words is spelled differently (pajamas/pyjamas) and pronounced differently (puh-JAM-uhs/puh-JAHM-uhs).
It further occurs to me that zucchini is Italian and courgette is French, so neither side is speaking English on that pair.
Finally, I want to share a "Six Degrees of Separation" fact that you may find interesting. When Ginger Rogers was young she and her mother lived in Fort Worth, Texas. Ginger's vaudeville career was launched in 1926 after she was named Charleston Champion of Texas upon winning a statewide dancing competition. Her pianist was a young woman named Alyne Eagan, and from 1948 to 1956 Alyne Eagan was my piano teacher.
Some words some Americans just get wrong - like GWBush's Nucular.
ReplyDeleteTasker, I will concede that as true.
DeleteWe do not use the word gotten for the past tense of got which I believe is how the word gotten is used in America. We say got for the past tense of get. I think it may be a new category for you, a different word for describing an action?
ReplyDeleteRachel, actually we use got for the simple past tense of get just as you do. The difference occurs when using the past participle form. We tend to say ‘had gotten’ and ‘have gotten’ but you folks say ‘had got’ and ‘have got’. Both ways are acceptable here but in the UK gotten is now considered archaic.
DeleteIt is interesting that it is a verb and not a noun. Perhaps it is another category we could call F. I have to think more on it.
DeleteGotten is considered American and we don't use it although one or two British bloggers let it creep in much to the annoyance of many of us.
DeleteBased on what I have read, got and gotten have been around since at least Middle English (long before there was an America). We didn’t invent it; you did. The U.S. and Canada still say gotten but the rest of the English-speaking world do not any longer. How about the rather similar words forgotten and begotten? The latter is in the King James Version of the Bible from 1611, in John 3:16 for example. It is a slippery slope, I think. We do not say ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgotten’ (we say forgot) but we do not say ‘God so loved the world that He gave his only begot Son’ either (we say begotten). I’m just saying gotten is definitely not American, it is English from centuries ago. I find discussions about how our language has changed fascinating, even exhilarating.
DeleteSo be it. I can only tell you as I see it and how it is perceived by British people in the 21st Century. I have never in all my many years of life heard it used in Great Britain and have only become familiar with the use of the word since taking up blogging 12 years ago and running into American bloggers. I have never studied old English. I think it is reasonable to respond to a blog post in 2021 in the moment which is what I did. I gave you an honest, as it is, picture of the use of English now in Great Britain. People do not go around saying "gotten".
DeleteThat's pretty cool that your piano teacher had been the pianist for Ginger Rogers. Did she have any interesting stories about her?
ReplyDeleteBonnie, , none that she cared to share with a young boy!
DeleteIt is a small world isn't it?
ReplyDeleteEmma, it sure is. I also attended some sort of club convention at North Texas State while I was still in high school and the college student who sang with the college’s jazz band at the evening dance turned out to be Pat Boone (as we realized later).
DeleteI enjoyed the post and the song clip too.
ReplyDeleteHow cool about the piano teacher. Guessing she didn't become as well known as Ginger Rogers, but I'm glad she gave a little boy piano lessons.
Kathy, I’m glad she did, too! And I’m glad you enjoyed the post and the song clip.
DeleteA promo absolutely nothing to do with your categories my brother offered the job of his PA to an American colleague on the condition that she stopped using the Americanism 'trash can' for waste paper basket. Having got the job on the first day in her new post in the middle of his desk appeared a paper on the origin of the term 'trash can'. Basically the term was originally used in England and has been superseded whereas in the US they still use the old English. One lives and one learns.
ReplyDeleteGraham, that’s very interesting. See my discussion with Rachel in an earlier comment for a similar situation.
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