Say What? Versus I Say

​Mark Twain once said about the United States and Great Britain that we were “two countries separated by a common language.” Even as a little kid I had an ear—and tongue—for different languages and accents. To be sure, I sometimes got into trouble by demonstrating this talent at the wrong times and places. In fact, before going to kindergarten I had already detected that there were people who spoke English differently from how my parents and I did. I had examples near at hand from all four grandparents, my Irish nanny, and our African American housekeeper, not to mention the radio. British accents and a vocabulary that I sometimes could only guess at were an early example...

Now, of course, many Americans have become familiar with some of these word differences by watching BBC and ITV shows on PBS. My older daughter who spent five years as a young adult in England will occasionally still say peckish for hungry and nackered for tired. Although these word differences run into the dozens, here are 16 of the most common ones:

​British English                        American English
flat                                           apartment
mobile phone                          cell phone
chips                                        French fries
wardrobe                                 closet
loo (or WC)                             bathroom (or restroom)
biscuit                                      cookie or cracker
nappy                                      diaper
boot (of a car)                          trunk
chemist                                    drugstore or pharmacist
lift                                           elevator
motorway                                expressway
petrol                                       gasoline
bonnet (of a car)                      hood
car park                                   parking lot
shopping trolley                      shopping cart
soccer                                      football

Mark Twain (1835-1910)