Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 5 ]

5-] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

British English & American English.

British English and American English are not the only special variety of English . Each area  of the English-speaking world has developed its own special   characteristics . This is   usually  mainly a matter of vocabulary and pronunciation .Also English in the USA differs   considerably from British English . Pronunciation is the most striking difference but     there are also a number of differences in vocabulary and spelling as well as slight   differences in grammar . Yet , on the whole , speakers of British and American English have little difficulty in understanding each other . American spelling is usually simpler . For example , British English words ending in –our and –re , end in –or and –er in American English , e.g. colour / color , centre / center . Words ending –ise in British English end in –ize in US English . There are differences in individual words too e.g.   British ‘plough’ becomes   ‘plow’                                                                                                                                        Here are some common US words with their British equivalents .

 

Travel and on the street			In the home
American English		British English	American English	British English
gasoline	petrol		antenna	aerial
truck	lorry		elevator	lift
baggage	luggage		eraser	rubber
sidewalk	pavement		apartment	flat
crosswalk	zebra crossing		closet	waredrobe
line	queue		yard	garden
vacation	holiday		drapes	curtains
parking lot	car park		flashlight	torch
trunk [ of car ]	boot		kerosene	paraffin
hood [ of car ]	bonnet		Scotch tape	sellotape
freeway / highway	motorway		cookie	biscuit
round trip	return		candy	sweets
one way	single		bathroom , rest room	toilet , WC
railway car	railway carriage		garbage, trash	rubbish
engineer on train	engine driver		diaper	nappy
baby carriage	pram		pantihose	tights
subway	underground		french fries	chips
the fall	autumn		semester	term
check	bill		undershirt	vest
bill	banknote		pants	trousers
the first floor	the ground floor		the second floor	the first floor

Other Englishes .

US or American English is not the only special variety of English . Each area of the English-speaking world has developed its own special characteristics . This is usually mainly a matter of vocabulary and pronunciation .

1-] Australian English :

Australian English is particularly interesting for its rich store of highly colloquial words and expressions . Australian colloquialism often involve shortening a word . Sometimes the ending ‘-ie’ or ‘-o’ is then added , e.g. ‘a truckie’ is ‘a truck or lorry-driver’ and ‘a milko’ is ‘milk’ ; ‘beat’ , short for ‘beautiful’ means ‘great’ and ‘biggie’ is ‘a big one’ .’OZ’is short for ‘Australia’ and ‘an aussie’ is ‘an Australian’ .

2-] Indian English .

Indian English on the other hand is characterized by sounding more formal than British English . It has retained in every usage words that are found more in the classics of nineteenth century literature than in contemporary TV programs , e.g. ‘ The bereaved are condoled and the Prime Minister is felicitated on his or her birthday . An Indian bandit is referred to as amiscreant . He complains of a pain in his bosom [ rather than his chest ] .

3-] Scottish English .

Scottish English uses a number of special dialect words . Some of the more common of these are worth learning .

British English	Scottish English	British English	Scottish English
yes	aye	lake	loch
dull	dreich	mountain	ben
to remember	to mind	caretaker	janitor
bank [of river ]	brae	child	bairn
girl	lassie	drink [usually whisky]	dram
beautiful	bonny	outside	outwith
valley	glen	stream	burn
small	wee	church	kirk
live	stay	know	ken

4-] Black English :

Black English is the term used to refer to the English which originated in the Caribbean islands and is now also spoken in many parts of the UK , Canada and the USA . Here are some words which are characteristic of Black English but are also now used in other varieties of English . Many are particularly associated with the music world .

British English	Black English	British English	Black English
Rastafarian hairstyle	dreadlocks	exhausted	beat
girl	chick	understand	dig
improvise	jam	bed	pad
street-talk	rap	dull	square

If you have access to the Internet , use a search engine to look up a variety of English that interests you , for example US English , Singaporean English , Indian English , Scottish English , Australian English and Black English .                           

Headline English .

Newspaper headlines try to catch the reader’s eye by using as few words as possible . The language headlines use is , consequently , unusual in a number of ways . 1-] Grammar words like articles or auxiliary verbs are often left out , e.g.

‘Early Cut Forecast In Interest Rates’ . 2-] A simple form of the verb is used , e.g.

‘Mayor Opens Hospital’ . 3-] The infinitive is used to express the fact that something is going to happen in the future , ‘President To Visit Flood Areas’ .

Newspaper headlines use a lot of distinctive vocabulary . They usually prefer words that are shorter and sound more dramatic than ordinary English words . The words marked can be used either as nouns or verbs .

newspaper word              meaning              newspaper word              meaning

aid *                                     help                                  key[adj.]              essential , vital

axe *                                 cut , remove                        link *                    connection

back [ verb ]                     support                              move *                  step towards a desired end

bar *                                exclude , forbid               ordeal [ noun ]           painful experience

bid *                                 attempt                                oust [ verb ]       push out /remove

blast *                               explosion                           plea [ noun ]           request

blaze *                                 fire                                   pledge *               promise

boost *                incentive , encourage                  ploy [ noun ]        clever activity

boss * , head *                  manager , director           poll *                    election /                                                                                                            public opinion survey

clash *                                dispute                             probe *                investigation

quit  [ verb ]                     leave , resign                        curb *                   restraint ,                                                                                                                            limit

riddle [ noun ]                     mystery                                cut *               reduction

strife [ noun ]                   conflict                              drama                   tense                                                                                                                                situation

talks [ noun ]                    discussions                              drive *           campaign ,                                                                                                                            effort

threat                                danger                               gems [ noun ]    jewels

vow *                              promise                                     go-ahead      approval

wed [ verb ]                     marry                                  hit [ verb ]      affect badly