Home ⇒ 📌Топики по английскому языку ⇒ Divided by a Common Language – Разделенные общим языком

Divided by a Common Language – Разделенные общим языком

George Bernard Shaw said that America and Britain were two nations divided by a common language. But how different is British English from American English? Some British and American people gave their definitions for some common words.

Something that you burn for heating and cooking

Something you put in your car make it go

A school which is private

A school that is open to everyone

A path which passes under a road

A railway which runs under the ground.

Something that you wear under your trousers

Something you wear to cover your legs, over your underpants

Clothing which you wear under your shirt.

Clothing that you wear over your shirt and under your jacket

A list of things that you have bought or eaten in a restaurant and which tells you how much to pay.

Money which is made of paper

Long sticks of potato which you cook in deep oil and eat hot with a meal.

Very thin slices of fried potato

which you eat cold before a meal or as a snack

Confused? British and American English have lots of words, which look the same but have different meanings. Nobody ever gets into serious trouble if they make a mistake, although you may get a strange look if you ask for the wrong clothes. But things get even more complicated! Here are some American English words, which the British don’t use at all.

druggist someone who sells medicine in a shop. parking lot a place where you park the car. drugstore a shop where you can buy medicine, beauty products, school supplies, small things. main street the street in a town where all the shops are. stop lights lights, which control the traffic. faucet something you turn on and off to control water in a bath or a basin.

elevator a device which carries people from one floor to another in a building.

But most of the differences between British English and American English are minor and are only concerned with vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. You can usually understand what words mean from the context. Good luck (British English) or break a leg (American English)!

Перевод топика на русский язык:

Джордж Бернард Шоу сказал, что Америка и Англия

— две страны, разделенные общим языком. Но насколько сильно отличаются британский и американский английский? Некоторые американцы и англичане дали свое определение некоторых общих слов.

Что-то, что вы сжигаете при обогреве и приготовлении пищи

Что-то, чем вы наполняете машину, чтобы она могла ехать

Школа, открытая для всех

Дорога, проходящая под землей

Железная дорога, проходящая под землей

Что-то, что носится под штанами

Что-то, что носится на ногах, над подштанниками

Вещь, которую носят под рубашкой

Вещь, которая носится на рубашке под пиджаком

Список того, что вы купили или съели в ресторане, на котором указано, сколько вы должны за это заплатить

Картофель, приготовленный длинными ломтиками на медленном огне; его едят горячим с пищей

Очень тонкие ломтики жареного картофеля, которые едят холодными перед употреблением пищи

Вы в замешательстве? В Американском и британском английском есть множество слов, которые пишутся одинаково, но имеют разное значение. Конечно, никто не попадет в серьезные неприятности, если ошибется в слове, разве что, на вас могут косо посмотреть, если вы попросите не ту одежду. Но все может быть сложнее. Есть слова в американском английском, которые совсем не употребляются англичанами.

druggist тот, кто продает лекарства в магазине parking lot место для парковки автомобиля drugstore магазин, где можно купить лекарства, средства по уходу за собой, канцелярские товары и разные мелочи main street улица города, на которой находятся все магазины stop lights свет, контролирующий дорожное движение faucet то, что вы открываете и закрываете, чтобы контролировать напор воды в ванной или душе elevator устройство, перевозящее людей с одного этажа здания на другой

Но большинство различий между американским и британским английским весьма незначительно. Они в основном касаются лексического запаса, правописания и произношения. Вы всегда можете понять значение слов исходя из контекста.


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Divided by a Common Language – Разделенные общим языком
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