تفاوت بین واژگان بریتیش و امریکن

American vs British Vocabulary Differences

Hello, everybody! I am Georgiana your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

Today you will learn some new words in English, and compare the differences between American and British English. This episode is part 1 of a series. Because over the next few weeks, we will continue to learn new vocabulary differences between British and American English.

I’m going to make you guess each word, and then you’re going to find out if you were using an American or a British word.

Let’s start with the first word:

1) When we stop working for a few days, we take a break.

Can you guess this word?

Yes! The correct word is vacation.

Vacation is an American word.

In British English, we usually use the word holiday.

British- Holiday

American-Vacation

2) Try guessing the next word:

Tell me what season comes after summer?

That’s right! After summer comes fall.

So, what do you think?

Is the world fall an American or British English?

Time’s up.

The word fall is used in American English. In British English, we use the word autumn.

British-Autumn

American-Fall

3) This new word is simple. Just try to think about babies. What do they wear?

Exactly! Babys wear diapers.

The word diaper is an American word.

But how do we say this in British?

In the UK, people use the word nappy.

British-Nappy

American-Diaper

4) And what do you do after drinking a lot of water?

Exactly! You go to the restroom or the bathroom.

However, in the United Kingdom, they use the word loo.

British-Loo

American-restroom (bathroom)

5) How do you watch Netflix? Of course, nowadays we have all kinds of devices. But try to think about the obvious way to watch your favorite show.

Yep. I’m talking about the word TV or television.

But did you know that in the UK they call it telly?

I think it sounds adorable!

British-Telly

American-TV (Television)

6)Where do people have a drink usually?

Yes. People go to a bar to have a drink.

Although in the UK people go to a pub.

British-Pub

American-Bar

7) And what do you do when you need an aspirin? Where do you buy that?

Exactly! You buy it in a drugstore or a pharmacy. At least that’s how we call it in the States. In the UK, people refer to it as chemists.

British-Chemists

American-Drugstore/Pharmacy

Let’s continue.

8) What do you do when you need to buy something, and many people are waiting at the same time?

Exactly! You wait in line. Or you line up.

In British English, you don’t wait in line. You wait in a queue.

British-Queue

American-Line

9) If you are into sports, this word will be super easy to guess: I’m talking about a game between two teams. Both of them have eleven people. And each side tries to win by kicking a ball into the other team’s goal.

Yes! I’m talking about soccer.

Do you know the equivalent of this word in British English?

That’s right. In the UK it’s called football.

British-Football

American-Soccer

10) What do you wear on your feet when you go running?

Exactly. You wear sneakers.

In the UK they call them trainers.

British-Trainers

American-Sneakers

1. This is the last word for today, and it’s gonna be super simple to guess.

Where do you park your car?

In the parking lot if you’re in America. In British, we use the word car park.

British-Car Park

American-Parking Lot

Mini-Story �

(practice your speaking)

Great! Now, you can practice with a mini-story. You will be able to go over this vocabulary we saw in the first section.

A mini-story is very simple. I give you information using phrases, and then I ask you questions.

I recommend that you listen several times until it’s easy to answer.

Let’s start!

Last fall, an American named Paul went on vacation to London.

Did Paul go to London in the fall?

Yes. Paul went to London in autumn.

Was Paul on vacation?

Yes. Paul was on holiday.

Paul took the subway since it was impossible to find a parking lot.

Did Paul take the subway?

Yes. Paul took the tube.

Was he able to find a parking lot?

No. No. Paul wasn’t able to find a car park.

Who took the subway?

Paul. He took the underground.

One night he went to a bar to watch a soccer match on TV.

Did he go to a bar?

Yes. He went to a pub.

What did he watch? A soccer match or a movie?

No. No. He didn’t watch a movie. He watched a football match.

Where did he watch a football match? On his tablet?

No. No. He didn’t watch the soccer game on his tablet. He watched a football match on telly.

After drinking ten beers, Paul went urgently to the restroom.

What did Paul drink? Milkshakes?

No. No. Paul didn’t drink any milkshakes. He drank beer.

How many beers did he drink? Eleven?

No. No. Paul only drank ten beers. Not eleven.

Did he go to the restroom?

Yes. Paul went to the loo.

There, he had to wait in line for an hour and wished he wore a diaper.

Where did he wait? Did he wait in line?

Yes. He had to wait in a queue.

How many hours did he have to wait in line?

He had to wait in a queue for one hour.

Was there a baby in the bar wearing a diaper?

No. No. There wasn’t any baby in the pub, so nobody wore a diaper.

The next day Paul had a terrible headache, so he put on his sneakers and looked for a pharmacy.

What happened to Paul the next day? Did he have a headache?

Yes. Paul had a headache the next day.

What did Paul put on? His sneakers?

Yes. Paul put on his trainers.

Did Paul look for a pharmacy?

Yes, Paul looked for chemists.

Perfect! It’s the end of this mini-story. As you can see, through questions and answers you can practice and improve your speech.

If you want to get hours of audio with mini-stories and points of view lessons, I’d like to recommend you my Fluency Course.

You can get it at Fluency.SpeakEnglishPod.com Well, that’s all for today. Try to listen to this content several times and leave a comment on Facebook, Youtube, iTunes, etc. to help me spread the word about this podcast.

I’ll be back next week!

Take care! Bye! Bye!