British vs American English #1
Our students often ask PS English to help them improve their English conversation by learning key differences between British English and American English.
In this series, our aim will be to highlight common English differences between British English and American English, looking both at pronunciation and vocabulary.
It is important to remember, however, 2 points on this topic.
- Regional variation.
Using the phrases “British English” and “American English” does not necessarily mean that they are entirely clean categories. There is huge geographical variation within each and furthermore, language evolves over time.
Example of geographical variation: a personal growing up in Glasgow will typically have a very distinct accent different from someone growing up in London.
Example of language evolution: the BBC voiceovers of the 1980s sound different to the ones used now.
2. Cultural influence.
Due to the dominance of modern US culture, primarily through movies and TV, a lot of American influence can be seen in the way British speakers’ English often readily adopt Americanisms.
This series will kick off with a post summarising some observations on the wide array of greetings used in British English and American English.
Greetings – differences
- Hi y’all
Y’all is – predominately but not exclusively – a marker of a plural “you”. This is an Americanism, especially in the southern states, which has NOT been adopted by British speakers.
- Hey, what’s up?!
Hey – is an informal greeting that is typical of American English, but due to cultural influence, can also be heard in British English.
What’s up? or wassup – is a common extension of the greeting in American English, equivalent in meaning to “How are you?”.
This use can be heard in British English, especially among young speakers, however, “What’s up?” in British English has a primary meaning of “What’s the matter?” – as in noticing that someone is not their usual self. Americans will judge which meaning is being used more readily based on context.
- Howdy. This is primarily an Americanism – an informal version of “Hello, how are you?” – used especially in southern states.
If used by a British speaker, it would almost always denote a humorous intent.
Greetings – similarities
The following greetings are commonly heard in both American and British English, in ascending order of familiarity.
- Good morning! / Good afternoon! / Good evening!
- Morning! / Afternoon! /Evening!
- Hello!
- Hi!
- Hi there!
- Hiya!
- Yo!