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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
American English and British English
Hi there and Happy New year all 
I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my English. I started to last year but it kinda tapered off... lol I am mostly going to be learning from web sites and places like this I was thinking of maybe buying a book or two. My question: What is the difference between American and British English? My thinking is that they are pretty much the same and that the only difference is spelling and some small rules of punctuation? Is this correct? Can I learn English from an American book or web site and then just find out the differences later? I would like to know both anyway.
Lastly, anybody have any good book recommendations? My English is pretty basic so I would be wanting something that takes me from that up to a good standard with easy to understand text. Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Me.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to ." - Princess Bride.
I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my English. I started to last year but it kinda tapered off... lol I am mostly going to be learning from web sites and places like this I was thinking of maybe buying a book or two. My question: What is the difference between American and British English? My thinking is that they are pretty much the same and that the only difference is spelling and some small rules of punctuation? Is this correct? Can I learn English from an American book or web site and then just find out the differences later? I would like to know both anyway.Lastly, anybody have any good book recommendations? My English is pretty basic so I would be wanting something that takes me from that up to a good standard with easy to understand text. Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Me.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to ." - Princess Bride.
Top answer
[nq:1]I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my English. I started to last year but it ... pretty much the same and that the only difference is spelling and some small rules of punctuation?
- [nq:1]I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my English.
- I started to last year but it ...
- pretty much the same and that the only difference is spelling and some small rules of punctuation?
- [/nq] This is the kind of question that youcan ask 100 people and get 200 answers!
- Here's my answer: They are essentially the same.
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45 Answers
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[nq:1]I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my English. I started to last year but it ... pretty much the same and that the only difference is spelling and some small rules of punctuation? Is this correct?[/nq]
This is the kind of question that youcan ask 100 people and get 200 answers!
Here's my answer: They are essentially the same. It's rare that Americans and Brits fail
This is the kind of question that youcan ask 100 people and get 200 answers!
Here's my answer: They are essentially the same. It's rare that Americans and Brits fail
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[nq:1]Hi there and Happy New year all I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my ... wanting something that takes me f
I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my ... wanting something that takes me f00
Not necessarily. I use "named after" probably as much as "named for" (USA-NY).
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[nq:1]Hi there and Happy New year all I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my ... wanting something that takes me f
I think one of my new year resolutions is to improve my ... wanting something that takes me f00
"Danny Kodicek" (Email Removed) schrieb im Newsbeitrag
[nq:1]Of course there are the well-known hazardous ambiguities such as 'vest', 'pants' and'suspenders', 'rubber', '*****' etc, and many phrases that ... Stephen Fry in Making History,where a character's use of 'named after' instead of 'named for' marks him out as British).[/nq]
I've heard both prepositions used in the United States wi
[nq:1]Of course there are the well-known hazardous ambiguities such as 'vest', 'pants' and'suspenders', 'rubber', '*****' etc, and many phrases that ... Stephen Fry in Making History,where a character's use of 'named after' instead of 'named for' marks him out as British).[/nq]
I've heard both prepositions used in the United States wi
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[nq:2]I think one of my new year resolutions is to ... spelling and some small rules of punctuation? Is this correct?[/nq]
There are a few grammar and punctuation differences. There are many extreme pronunciation differences. There's a fair number of vocabulary differences, even excluding slang. Vocabulary differences can cause major misunderstandings when the same word or phrase has opposite
There are a few grammar and punctuation differences. There are many extreme pronunciation differences. There's a fair number of vocabulary differences, even excluding slang. Vocabulary differences can cause major misunderstandings when the same word or phrase has opposite
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[nq:2]This is the kind of question that youcan ask 100 ... start with the one you are more likely to use.[/nq]
[nq:1]There are a few grammar and punctuation differences. There are many extreme pronunciation differences. There's a fair number of vocabulary ... which nationality the author is not necessarily the setting; some mysteries set in England are written by Americans. Cece[/nq]
I hav
[nq:1]There are a few grammar and punctuation differences. There are many extreme pronunciation differences. There's a fair number of vocabulary ... which nationality the author is not necessarily the setting; some mysteries set in England are written by Americans. Cece[/nq]
I hav
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[nq:1]I've been in Canada for over 30 years and it is the suffix -ise or -ize that I have found ... Canadian usage (and American, I suspect) -ize is preferred for words containg the Greek suffix, such as apologize, civilize, visualize[/nq]
In American English, the spelling in '-ize' is obligatory for these words. As far as I know, the '-ise' spellings are never acceptable south of the border.
In American English, the spelling in '-ize' is obligatory for these words. As far as I know, the '-ise' spellings are never acceptable south of the border.
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[nq:1]Sometimes examples of British and American English, I've noticed, don't seem to work. Reading an editorial in a British newspaper ... other day and got a recording by a woman with a British accent saying the line was 'busy.' What gives?[/nq]
What gives is that words and expressions that were formerly exclusively American are now pouring into British English in some numbers. Traditional '
What gives is that words and expressions that were formerly exclusively American are now pouring into British English in some numbers. Traditional '
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My children can do that quite well. They know that what's on the television isn't what they should copy, but they pick it up. At school some of those American words and expressions are repeated and become acceptable slang (like dur! whatever.) They have picked it up as if it was a foreign language, and they can just drift into it if they want to: accent, idiom and sentence patterns. Scooby Doo, Re
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