CORRECTIONS AND STUFF Please read before commenting: ERROR 1: The origin of Delaware is NOT from a native American language, rather it's named after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. ERROR 2: Americans say "the family is" NOT "the family are" (British use both so I got a bit mixed up there). 3. NOT AN ERROR. In Harry Potter "cupboard" (British English) was translated as as "closet" in American English. Some (angry) commenters wrote that it's "wrong" and that a cupboard is a free standing piece of furniture while a closet is a small room. That may be so in American English but in British English a cupboard can indeed also be a small room. "The broom cupboard", "the cupboard under the stairs" etc. So the translation is correct. Thanks, I hope you enjoyed the video and have a nice day.
Interesting what riles people up, isn't it? Although, I do find it interesting that "the family is" and "the family are" is used interchangeably in the UK. I've always been haughtily chastised that "the family are" is the correct method, despite nobody here saying it that way; I've always assumed "the family is" to be correct because family, despite describing a group, is a single unit. Also, in my region, the freestanding piece of furniture called a cupboard is almost unanimously called a cabinet. I must admit though, I'm curious what word 19th century English authors preferred in place of scientist.
Cupboard is used sometimes in American English when it comes to food storage. We do not use closet for food storage. We would use pantry or cabinet depending. Your example showed food storage.
Try listening to Geechee or Gullah and understand what they’re saying. I can confidently say that you are going to have a very difficult time understanding the speech of that area.
The etymology of OK is interesting. When Martin Van Buren was running for president in 1836 he would refer to his home town of Kinderhook NY as the best place in the country. He called his estate, Old Kinderhook and on the campaign trail shortened it to OK. Although Van Buren wasn't that great a president, OK stuck as meaning something positive.
@@edwardauerbach8036 The Van Buren story is widely circulated but wrong.The term O.K. showed up in print when Van Buren was a barely known N.Y. politician. If a word shows up in print like in a newspaper, you can be sure it was in spoken existence before that. The early 1800’s in America was a time many colleges were founded such as Colgate, Colby, Hamilton for examples. Most were established out in the boondocks in small , quiet, peaceful locations that were called college towns. In those days college education included Greek and Latin. Typically the well heeled and well bred students looked down on the poorly educated farmer bumpkins that populated the campus’ local area. It very quickly became the practice for the students to greet each other in Greek or Latin to show off their superior intelligence and emphasize to the locals how dumb they were considered. The Greek words for “ALL’S WELL” were pronounced “OLA KELA” by the American students. Perfect Classical Greek would be “EULA KELA” but the students weren’t perfect, the Greek alphabet wasn’t an exact matching sound to the Latin letters, and the Americanized “OLA” was easier. The O.K. that spread around the world is from Ola Kela meaning all’s well in Classical Greek. The locals didn’t know what Ola Kela was exactly but they picked up on the soon popular shortcut initials O K as meaning something like just fine, no problem.
When I was a kid, we would ask "Can I?" only to be corrected to say "May I?" Americans understand "Shall," but to us, it sounds formal and stuffy. I'm 54 and do admit some of our own language has changed in my lifetime. The Can/may I was more strict in my youth. It is not so much bothersome nowadays. Can was reserved to denote the ability to do something, whereas may, was seeking permission to do something. It is still that way in written or formal American English, the verb can is used both ways informally.
In Australia shall and may is affected and formal too. Yes, can is more usual, although of course speaking to ability really. A bit of a compromise to be a bit more polite than can but not as pretentious as may, we'd say could i
I’ve been listening to various versions of a 1930s song recently called “Yes, My Darling Daughter”. The lyrics are a conversation between a mother and daughter, and each of the latter’s lines begins with “Mother, may I…?” People in the ‘30s were probably more likely to used the word “may” in this way than today, although only if they’d been taught to do so because it was considered more polite or high-class.
@@RayyMusik Some of the American words that he mentioned in the video are used just as much as the British versions. I think it's just the impact of American pop culture.
@@RayyMusik I'm a German insider as I grew up in Australia and went to school there. People always tell me that I sound British, even native speakers do. That's mainly because Australian English is non-rhotic and the majority doesn't speak what is commonly known as an Aussie slang. Here are just a few examples of "American" influence that spontaneosly come to my mind: We used yard instead of garden, truck not lorry. Family, police, group, etc. used as a singular not plural. The word secretary was pronounced the American way, "sec-re-tary" not "sec-re-tree" (BE). The teachers at school always did point out the difference to BE though. There are probably many more examples I just can't think of at the moment.
As a native northern New Englander, I found your presentation truly fascinating. New things learned, better perspectives obtained! How you acquired all these odd bits and pieces of information always amaze me. Very clearly and methodically explained (as always), Thank you!
Years ago I visited an indoor ski slope in Milton Keynes in the UK. Being on a work trip I hadn't brought any clothes to wear skiing. I went in the shop and asked if they had any wind pants. The girls behind the counter started chuckling. They told me I instead of asking for ski clothes, I was asking for "underwear I could pass gas in" lol.
As an American who grew up in Michigan, I always consider "family" to be a singular verb, so I say "My family is...." I don't think I've ever heard "are" used with "family" and I've lived all over the US, but maybe I didn't pay much attention.
Using plural verb forms for singular collective nouns just sounds so wrong to my ears that I can't help but notice it every time it comes up, even if the nouns in question are referring to a group of multiple people. I can understand the semantic reasoning, but still.
I noticed this use of plural verbs with singular collective nouns begin to creep into American English from British English in the early 1980's. You might be surprised as to the context. I first noticed it being used by American fans of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The American kids were simply imitating the way their favorite musicians spoke. I don't believe it was even an affectation. I think the kids didn't know any better and assumed the musicians were correct--and simply copied them blindly.
Only one issue - in the US, a skillet refers to a particular kind of heavy frying pan, usually made of cast iron. We use frying pan more often and for all other shallow slope sided pans.
@@santadavid3320 my family is from Texas, and I lived in Dallas, and I agree that in the south skillet was used more broadly. But this is changing as “northern” standards are getting disseminated.
I'm from New Mexico and have lived in various parts of the US, and have worked in kitchens with people from all over the US. You might be used to a calling only cast iron pans skillets, but in my experience, skillets refer to nearly any type of frying pan excluding sauté pans.
@@LetThemTalkTV I never knew that. I also never made the puritan connection. I grew up in New England where many of our attitudes are subtly or overtly shaded by that history. I think I had assumed that roach was a less formal variation, because it is shorter. But your explanation feels true now that I’ve heard it. I don’t think my my forebears would have wanted to say cock unless they absolutely had to.
Thanks for acknowledging that American English is even legitimate! I frequently have Brits on my channel trying to correct my pronunciation and regionalisms to RP circa 1965, and doubling down with condescending phrases like ‘it’s the king’s English!’ when linked to a dictionary, style manual or relevant article by a linguist😭my ancestors who came to new york from England are closer in time to the bubonic plague than they are to me, obviously I sound different 😅
It kinda buggs me that American English is officially not the official language of the United States of America, even if everything else would suggest so, including your comment on legitimizing American English. Your history included, Anglosizing names, how "Dutch" like Pensylvania Dutch dwindled in the culture, etc. I think that if it was the official language this would also legitimize it, what do you think? It is the defacto official language of the US, for now, since the majority of Americans still speak this language at home also. 78% or so. But I would also focus on the things mentioned in the video how other European linguistical words have shaped the American English. That's how the cookie crumbles. In a way I find it ironic, since I grew up with American military in the Netherlands being Dutch, depending on the teacher I did not speak, use English but American English which for one specific teacher was a very big thing, he taught BBC English in his class. On the other hand Americans saying I didn't speak English when I did. Example with the ABC and the Z [Zed/Zee] now I know my Alphabeth/now I know my ABC's and things like that, when I used BBC English and not American English. For me both are English, but I am more accustomed to American words, and the way of pronouncing things. Like; bath, path, dance, etc. British to me sounds posh and pretentious, like people with a stick up their behinds for their straight posture so the mask won't fall off. Being full aware there are many different types of British English that are totally different from that. Please Brits don't come after me.
@@schiffelers3944 the reason English isn’t the official language of the US is that the framers of the constitution were considering it, but then some of them took a field trip to New York City and walked end to end, and over the course of it, they heard about 19 distinct languages. At which point they realized it’d be a significant infringement on people’s rights to express themselves freely by requiring English to be the only language. And since English was the defacto language anyway, why bother? So they didn’t. Compare that to, say, Ireland, where Irish is the official language, but only like 3% of the people can speak it. English is by far the dominant language of trade and diplomacy and science in the world today, with about 400 million native speakers, and about a billion and a half who use it as a second language. And given the US is the largest population of English speakers in the world by far, and kind of dominates the international entertainment industry, American English is kind of the dominant version. If there is a “correct” version of English (which I don’t think there is) and if you believe in democracy, then the largest population of native speakers is the most correct one. But accents and local dialects are perfectly ok. I’m certainly not going to tell the entire population of Jamaica that they’re doing it wrong. OTOH, the UK still seems to kind of like to look down on people who don’t do it their way, but I think they’re a bit less strident on that nowadays.
@@schiffelers3944 As a brit, I think theres a misunderstanding due to how languagues are looked at, I acknowledge american and british english but I didn't used too and I am sure many brits still think the same, if we understand each other mostly, we think of it as the exact same languange, just like even in our other counties or cities that have different words for things but are still speaking "english" not Liverpool English, Cambridge english or London English, and we look at other countries that way too, we don't say Canadian English, Australian English, or New Zealand English, so it felt strange for me at first to even say or use the term American English, same in the UK even, we don't say, Scottish English or Welsh english either, despite them having many different words to us even in the same language. I only started to say american english because I realised how difficult it was to tell someone I was talking about british english or american english since they were so similar but because when I was comparing them, I needed to tell someone what english I was talking about, that lead me to acknowledging they had to be different.
I was born and raised in Bangladesh and was taught British English in writing, grammar and comprehension but the spoken English I acquired and learnt was American since most western media was from the US. When I moved to Britain I spoke in General American but now I used British Received Pronunciation as my primary dialect. I’ve been told I sound very posh and it shocks people when I use ‘parking lot’ or ‘sidewalk’ instead of ‘car park’ or ‘pavement’. It’s rather amusing 😂😂😂
Even if you studied English at school or university you will never speak or sound like a native English, I think a Paki accent is very strong just like the call centers when they call you over the phone claiming to be named Steve or Dave, their accent is a big give away. lol
There is also a difference in language between the north and south United States. I lived most most of my life in northern United States and I have lived in the south for seven years and I have picked up on their lingo
I live in the middle of the States and I refer to the parking space in front of our home as the Car Park. In the late 80's I was doing graduate study in Blacksburg University in Virginia. The locals spoke about four or five old English dialects. The locals were amazed by my spoken English. I was often asked how I learned to speak TV. Many were not aware that the spoken English on TV is very much based on the geographic center of the States.
I am from Québec. What is funny here, in the French language, people ask for "des napkins", an obvious anglicism, while in British English, you say "serviettes"!
We Americans do NOT call a cupboard a "closet". A free-standing piece that you showed would likely be called a "cupboard" if used in the kitchen. We can also call it a "cabinet," thought that is usually for when such an item is not in a kitchen. It can also be called an "armoire" (usually when used for non-kitchen things like clothes, books, or a collectibles display, but I have heard of a "kitchen armoire" before, though they are typically fancy and contain nice tableware) or a "wardrobe" (when used for clothes). A "closet" is almost always a space/area (it takes up square footage) with some kind of door or divider closing off/separating the space, not a piece of furniture. We say both "roach" and "cockroach" interchangeably, and I'd lean toward saying that the latter is more common. "Briefs" are a specific type of underwear (or as you'd say, pants). Female briefs are full coverage (but no leg portion); male briefs are similar, with no leg portion. The picture of pants that you showed would be called "boxer briefs" in AE, as they are snug like briefs but have a leg portion like boxers. (There are also "boxers," which are pants with a looser leg/groin portion.) In America, we use both "broad beans" and "fava beans," much like we use both "chickpea" and "garbanzo" (though the former for both is becoming more dominant). We use "coriander" to refer to the seed and "cilantro" to refer to the herb. "Skillet" and "frying pan" (or just "pan") are often used interchangeably, though, technically, the two types of pans ARE different. We do use "tap," but that word is generally used when talking about drinking from it. E.g., I hate tap water. I only drink bottled water. My mom told me to not drink Coke but instead to get some water from the tap, but the faucet wouldn't turn on... so Coke it is! You made a small typo -- on the Grammar Differences, it should be "I just saW Mary." Also on that topic, Americans generally would say, "My family IS," because "family" is a singular noun so it takes the singular verb (much like we use the singular noun for a group word like, well, "group" -- "the large group of birds is in the pond"). AE generally favors the subject-verb agreement, i.e., singular nouns take a singular verb, and plural nouns take a plural verb.
In American English, "coriander" refers specifically to the seeds (particularly when dried for use as a spice), while "cilantro" is the leaves and stems of the plant.
There's a hilarious part in one of the Harry Potter books that wasn't localized. The Weasley twins create a swamp in one of the hallways of the school, and Filch is described as 'punting' students across the swamp. In Britain, 'punting' means transporting in shallow water using a long pole to push the boat. In America, it means kicking something a short distance. As a kid I didn't realize it was a localization issue, because it is absolutely in Filch's character to kick students across a swamp.
My favorite word that changed in Britain but remained the same is a word that tends to annoy Brits a lot because they think we're pronouncing it wrong but it's actually the other way around, the States simply didn't change it: Aluminum / Aluminium. The word changed in Britain but stayed the same in the US but it seems to drive Brits nuts.
I know Wikipedia is not the font of all knowledge but I just checked their article on aluminum/aluminium and according to that the original word given to it by its discoverer Humphry Davy was neither aluminum nor aluminium. It was 'alumium'. People objected because it didn't fit its Latin roots properly and started calling it 'aluminium'. Davy later published a paper calling it 'aluminum'. Since then both variants have existed. The 'aluminum' version gained popularity in the USA after it was given as the only possible version in the 'American Dictionary of the English Language' by Noah Webster in 1828. However, although both versions were common, 'aluminium' was more common in the USA until the the 1890s when the situation reversed. In 1925, the 'American Chemical Society' adopted the spelling 'aluminum' as so it has remained in the USA ever since.
@@catholicdad Worse than Ricky Bobby, RB has first names for both names and Humphrey Davy has a last name for a first name and a diminutive for a second name.
Don’t know about that one maybe in the northeast but in the south they are called a fish plate and specially what fish is in the description i.e “Catfish (fillets) plate w/ fries,” or “ Catfish nuggets w/ fries .” When a restaurant refers to a fish plate in america as “ fish and chips,” it is usually referring it to the UK version and not american style . So it is more about the specifics in the definition that is the focal point imo . I’m from california by the way and it’s the same out here as well as many other parts of the country !
I think this is in honor of the English origin- just as we say Spaghetti Maranara instead of long Noodles with tomato sauce in honor of it’s Italian origin. “Long noodles” re- emerge with Asian Pho soup
Even in Britain most of what Americans would call fries are still usually called fries (especially from fast food). We just eat the bigger chips more often.
It is interesting. For me as a native German, I got my knowledge of English mainly from the internet. And since I learned British English, US English, or Australian English etc. there, it's a funy mix of everything. 😃
Australian English pronunciation is 95% Cockney English. They are so close that a Cockney friend of mine was asked by a person at the next cafe table, "Which part of Australia are you from?"
Australians have the same Dictionary as English people. There is the English language and there is the American language. You should never learn English from the Internet. All countries around the world, except America, teach correct English.
@@valeriedavidson2785 It wasn't my intention to learn English over the internet, it just happened that way over the years. However, Australians use different terms for certain items. e.g. Flip flops are called thongs in Australia. Australians also like to shorten their terms, e.g.breakfast - breakky, biscuit - bikkie, cup of tea - cuppa, cardigan - cardie, mosquito - mozzie. There are also many proper names in Australia and expressions primarily used in Australia. ruclips.net/video/6VyvzvZ4jG8/видео.html
While I'm American, I've spent a lot of time reading British authors like C. S. Lewis, and of course watching Monty Python, Top Gear, etc. As such many of the British words / phrasings seem almost normal to me.
@@valeriedavidson2785 Crikey! You're a bossy Sheila!* And if you think that "All countries around the world" teach "correct" English, you've obviously never spoken with an Indian whose English is further from British than American, although in some cases I think they may be (like us) using words / grammar that have been abandoned by both of us. * apologies to the Aussies for my pathetic attempt at their language.
Actually, it's older than that. A "flash in the pan" was when a Flintlock firearm was ignited by the spark, but failed to fully go off, makes more sense, right? In Flintlocks you would use a piece of flint that fell down under spring pressure released by using the trigger, to strike a piece of iron to create a spark, which fell into a small pan containing black-powder, when that caught flame a small hole to the chamber of the firearm would allow that to ignite the main charge and fire the weapon. So it was a misfired weapon, only a "Flash in the pan".
You say that you don’t remember British versions of American books. But around ten years ago I worked for a number of major publishers as a typesetter. If it was an adults book it remained unchanged, apart from the prelims and cover (and page size). Children’s books, however, were changed. Yard became garden, sidewalk became pavement, and so on. This wasn’t just common; it was done for all American written children’s books.
@@LetThemTalkTV Just find 2 modern children's books one published by an American publisher and another published by a British publisher. That should settle the matter, right?
I actually agree with this practice for young children. My grandchildren (aged 5 and 3) watch a lot of children's programmes on things like Netflix and many of them are American and they have picked up a lot of American vocabulary from them not even realising it's American. I am quite happy for kids to know that Americans say ladybugs rather than ladybirds but only once they know the non-USA version first*. We occasionally have to teach them the UK version after they have learned the American one. I have heard Peppa Pig is having a mirror effect on American children. I was really happy the other day to find that Paw Patrol, which is American actually has an alternative British English audio you can switch to.
"Got" and "gotten"" are both used in American English. "Got" is emphatic way of saying "have"''; "gotten" means "acquired." I have "got" a book for you, means "I have a book for you" while "I have gotten a book for you" means "I went out and acquired a book for you."
Huh. I would actually flip the implied tenses on those last two sentences. To me, "I've gotten a book for you" feels more recent, while "I've got a book for you" feels more distant.
So many things to digest when you are neither British nor American but a simple student willing to do his / her best. I knew a few words like : lorry vs truck .....sidewalk vs pavement .... wardrobe vs closet.....faucet. vs tap. But there was so much to hear and learn. Your culture is amazing. Thanks
18:05 There is a distinction between can and shall in formal American English. Can denotes ability as in, "I can do that." Shall means to actually do something or to ask permission to do something as in, "Shall I drive today?" Also, i don't of anyone who says "my family are" in everyday life except to specifically making it plural.
Btw we don't call a cupboard a closet... What we call a closet is like a wardrobe in the wall like a little room for your clothes. We call a cupboard a cupboard or a cabinet.
Love the lesson. Thoroughly interesting. Antenna/aerial, fender/bumper, boot/trunk, bonnet/hood, lift/elavator, platform/track, crisps/chips, chips/french fries, etc. etc. but we still understand each other....just!
Two more fans send their appreciation from across the pond! But since we live in the ancestral lands of the Lenni Lenape, we feel compelled to make a correction. Many of the descendants of the Lenape (who originally inhabited lands between modern New York and Delaware) are indeed members of tribes that now call themselves Delaware, but that toponym/demonym is from Lord de la Warr, governor of Virginia in colonial times. His name was ultimately from the French. Looking forward to your next installment!
‘Nice visiting with you,’ is a USA expression which appears to translate as, it has been a pleasure meeting you. In an American diner the expression was said to my wife and I after starting a conversation with strangers. I have since noticed the expression , ‘visiting you’ in American made TV programmes. May I take this opportunity to thank you for your many, many informative and enjoyable videos. They are invaluable as my interest is the development of spoken English particularly the grammar change in the centuries just prior to 1066.
Wow 🤩 after 3 Tuesdays without a new video, I was expecting you to blow our mind but I underestimated how stellar it would be! You even put me off slagging off American English haha. I’ve learnt so much, thank you Gideon. I love hearing how history and languages are linked, it is absolutely fascinating! I could listen to you talking about etymology and the history of the English language for hours. Thanks again, King of language nerds! 👑
@@PerpetualAbidance just to correct you Ron, she meant "learnt". In the UK we say learnt. Maybe you mean cks when you say x. Sox? Oh my. Losing a few "u"s? Color. Honor. Really
What a super class it was !!! I'm learning with your videos far more than i've learned in all my life as an English student. That's what I was looking for, high level culture conversations
I am 72 and am old enough to remember English writers criticizing US usages and so forth. I now know that they were likely reacting to the over exposure to US GIs in WW2. (In 1965 for example, when I was 14, a 45 year old Englishman would have been an adult during WWII and seen perhaps way to many young GIs. I was afraid that this would be similar, but it was accepting of Americanisms and simply informative.
I never got that resentment. The only reason Americans were even there is because they asked. It's not like the US just decided to kick the door in and butt into everyone's bar brawl. No one wants to leave home and go off to war. No one sane anyway. So their umbrage was more than a little insulting.
@@Lukos0036 I have an idea, I would think for some brits (not all) that it would be humiliating to know that we even needed to ask for help, we didn't ask because we "wanted" too as you put it, in WW2 we were forced too, due to being bombed and having germany trying to cut of our supplies and starve us. We weren't in a good shape. I wasn't there, I'm in no way old enough to be there but this is just from what I learned in history classes and me thinking of what brits who were more political involved and very proud of their country, I'm sure for some brits who were a bit more patreotic, than we are now, too admit that we were no longer the super power and watch the US take centre stage would likely rub some of us the wrong way, WW2 was around the time the british empire started to fall, so I think there probably would have been some hurt egos on our side. I do of course think the resentment was wrong but I do think it was understandble for brits who were more proud because of britains standing in the world, then to be told, "that is no longer the case and, US has now taken that place and also because of the war we're now broke XD" I'm sure many others didn't care, were happy for the help and were just happy we survived and helped win the war though.
@@pipercharms7374 Something you need to understand about the US in that era is that most people were quite happy to be insular. They didn't want to be involved in what they saw as "Europe's problem". No one wanted to go fight and die for people they knew hated them.They could have easily focused on the Pacific alone since Japan was the nation that directly attacked them first and worst. But they did anyway. And when they did show up they were met with resentment hostility and egotism. And Americans still get that attitude abroad to this day. It's not as bad, but it's still there. And it feeds the American desire to stay at home and let the rest of the world do whatever. It's not a perfect country, no one is. We have made our share of colossal fuckups. But do at least try to fix them. It's just a damn shame everyone hates us for it when they're guilty of the same and worse. It wouldn't surprise me if Ukrainians start hating us again after their war is done.
@@Lukos0036 I think you misunderstood what I'm saying. I wasn't saying it was right to feel resentment, I even said it was wrong and many brits in WW2 were very greatful for the help Americans gave, when Europeans talk about positives of the US, MANY bring up the US's help in the World Wars, especially WW2. What I am saying some of it that it is understandable. I don't think it's right at all but I think I can understand where the resentment comes from if I put myself in brits shoes around WW2 times. Imagine you were fighting a war against, lets say Russia, then were told unless you accept help from China, you'll likely lose and be invaded and conqured by Russia but by accepting you are admitting to every other nationality, that the US is no longer the number one ecomony and China will be taking over the world stage and now, all the attention you are used to having, including majority of other countries focus is now on China, and influence will start to come from them now, not you, not on a big scale anyway. Today, some older brits, I think still hold that resesment but I think any dislike now comes from a different area. After, all the majority of brits weren't alive when this all went down, so theres this detachment to it all, like why should we care about our ex empire that did horrible things? Just from some media I've seen, sometimes I think americans think we dislike them for that still but the majority of us don't feel any attachment to our past empire, it's barely taught in schools and it's looked on more as something shamfull, rather than something to be prideful of and angry . You'll still see some brits trying to take pride in it, on the internet but definitelly not walking about, it's not a common opinion to have. Now a days I think the resesment comes from because of how much US media we consume, we often see Americans calling themselves the greatest country in the world, that isn't done over here, no one calls the UK the greatest, now one thing we dislike the most is when we think someone thinks their superior to us, not because we think we're superior though but the main thought being, no country is the best, each have good points about them. The US calling themselves the greatest or even saying they used to be the greatest really rubs us and I assume other europeans the wrong way. If you think someone think's they're the greatest, then I think it's a natural response to feel the need to drag them down a peg or two. So I feel like many brits and other eurpoeans feel the need to get defensive when we feel like by calling itself superier, that Americans are looking down on the rest of us. When talking about cons about Americans (generising of course) A common theme is us thinking that americans can think too highly of themselves. Another thing that could also put perspective onto this, is because our main language is english, then that's what your mainly hearing, countries that speak english talking about each other but I am very sure that countries that speak each others languages also talk about each other rudely sometimes too. Someone from Spain, could walk past us and be complaining in spanish about how they think Mexicans think's they're better than Spain but we wouldn't have a clue.
To table a motion means to defer discussion on the motion until a later meeting. This comes from "Robert's Rules of Order" on how to conduct meetings. The rules were written by U.S. General Henry M. Robert and published in 1876. Most American organizations and Congress follow these rules. It is sometimes called Parliamentary procedures. New editions are still being printed.
6:30 Here in Florida we have large numbers of cites, lakes and geographic features that have names derived from the native Americans (Lake Okeechobee, Hialeah, Pahokee, etc.), in addition to Spanish. The names are usually descriptions of the feature or the land on which the city sits. Okeechobee (Seminole) means big water. Hialeah (Seminole) means pretty prairie, Pahokee (Creek) means grassy waters. In fact, Florida comes from the Spanish florido meaning full of flowers. 12:09 Bathroom is easy to understand. The room was literally a room with a bathtub in which you took baths, while the toilet was in an outhouse until we got indoor plumbing and put the toilet in the same room as the bathtub. Interestingly there were people who objected to having a filthy toilet in the same room as the bathtub.
Lots of older homes in Kingston, Ontario would have a toilet off the kitchen. Perhaps because a pantry could be easily converted to a powder room. My in-laws had such an arrangement. The kids were instructed to only use that toilet if no visitors were in the house. They had another full bathroom down the hall which had a sink, a toilet and a bathtub. The house was modern, but I think my f-i-l just couldn't let the idea of a toilet and sink in a room off the kitchen drop. That room is very badly placed between the living room and the kitchen and opens into the kitchen. In the early morning rush to get out the door, a 2nd bathroom does make sense though.
By the way several of our water inlets have descriptive Spanish names. Boca Chica = girl's mouth; Boca Grande = big mouth; Boca Raton = rat's mouth, I like the last one because that is where a lot of rich snooty people live, in the rat's mouth. LOL
Same in VA/MD and most of the US. Chesapeake is generally believed to mean "at a big river" or "great water". Others say "great shellfish bay". There are hundreds/thousands of place names. For example, Potomac, Quantico, Allegheny. This is similar throughout the US.
That is so interesting! Now I can confidently say that I speak a mixture of British and American English 🤣 Greetings from Ukraine! A huge thank you to all the British people! Your support is invaluable!
In the Netherlands we call the mix of American- and Brittish English:Atlantic English. My generations was educated in middle class British English as hè named it. I still use that version. Kids nowadays are taught that they have two options Atlantic and Brittish. Social media are the determining factor.
In addition to Harlem and Brooklyn, "the Bronx" is also of Dutch origin. The use of the article is a vestige of direct translations from Dutch, like in "the Netherlands" and "the Hague."
Tidbit does not mean a small amount of information, it means a small amount of anything … i.e. I thoroughly enjoyed the French toast , though it only had a tidbit of cinnamon this time. I think a tidbit more time soaking in the egg mixture will make the french toast a tidbit more moist.
I personally have never heard it used that way. I would just say a bit more time and drop the tid, though I don't know if that's just me being younger type thing. I've only heard it as the information example of "that's an interesting little tidbit you just told me" but even that is very very rare
I buy British classical music magazines (Gramophone, BBC Music). I've become so accustomed to the British spellings, I rarely notice them. There are occasional British expressions that I find entertaining, like "puts paid to" and "curate's egg." I *think* "puts paid to" means that a product or concept has been made clearly obsolete by a new one. "Curate's egg" is a nice way of saying that something is seriously substandard or deficient in desirable attributes. I think.
The invention of sliced bread must have been quite a global hit back then. In German, you can use the same idiom as in English. Plus you can use "sells like sliced bread" to praise any item that sells in (surprisingly) huge numbers. Also the German translation of "to bury the (war) hatchet" will be used commonly in the same context as in English.
To “bury the hatchet” comes from Native Americans, but since cowboy / western fiction was hugely popular in Germany, that’s probably where it came from.
Delaware takes its name from the adjacent Delaware Bay, in turn named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor.
Love your videos. While all languages adopt words from other languages, the beauty and strength of English is its willingness to do so. Some countries have laws to protect its language. Not so in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, etc. English warmly embraces new words, whether coined or adopted. That keeps English vibrant and growing. Regarding being generally mutually intelligible, I agree. However, there are some places where this American can't understand some English accents in the UK. Years ago, I was in a pub in Scotland when someone tried to chat me up (in the US, we would say "tried to pick me up/hook up). I politely replied "sorry, I speak only English and a bit of French". He replied, very slowly and in a thick Scottish accent "I am speaking English". In case you're wondering, it worked and we hooked up.
Of course the reason the other languages try to keep their vocabularies “pure” is because our language, English, is so overwhelming and intrusive. Since English at the moment is the predominate worldwide language, we don’t worry if other words creep in.
I once watched a documentary about a very depressed neighborhood / district in a particular English city where many adults passed in their IV drug addictions to their children. Their accents were so thick and unintelligible that most of the dialogue had subtitles since even other British people wouldn’t understand them.
@@hebnehit is an irony that they try to keep languages pure from English, when English is full of vocabulary from so many other languages to start with.
English loanwords make up about 10% of our language, Japanese. Sometimes we adopted British English (bonnet) and sometimes we adopted American English (trunk).
I live and grew up in Ohio and am currently reading a mystery novel by Margery Allingham. The book was written in 1938 and OMG! The novel is chock-full of “British-isms” and French phrases that I find myself constantly re-reading sentences in an effort to figure out what’s being said. And then on occasion she’ll throw in a character who speaks with a thick British dialect and I’m like, “OK. I give up!” I am enjoying the book, but it’s a bit of work getting through.
In Australia, we use a mix of US & British English terms, along with our own. We say car park instead of parking lot, rocket instead of arugula, and rubbish/garbage instead of trash - but we generally spell program the American way, and say zucchini and eggplant instead of courgette and aubergine. We don't say pavement or sidewalk; we say footpath. We generally say schedule with a soft sch, but are probably using the hard sch more as time goes on. We use British English spelling: colour, theatre, calibre etc, but you will see the occasional exception, like program. Australians of all cultural backgrounds say 'mmm hmm'. I didn't realise that originally came to the US from Africa via black slaves. Maybe it has a different history in different English-speaking countries?
In American English we would say “My family is visiting…”. My family as a single unit “it” would require “is”. I’ve never heard it differently anywhere in America.
One thing that surprised me when I encountered it some years ago is that British, Australian and NZ English uses "reckon" to mean "I think". In the USA, "reckon" is considered archaic, and it sounds uneducated. You only hear it in old movies when hillbillies or cowboys are speaking: "I reckon the sheriff's goin' after them cattle rustlers!"
I had a maritime career and we used the term, 'reckon,' quite a bit. Perhaps it's because one of the most basic forms of navigating is known as 'dead reckoning,' so it doesn't sound so weird to say, "By my reckoning we are 2 miles from the shore." Anyways, you're absolutely right that most people think of 1840s prospectors when they hear the word
Wow. What a fantastic video. I will say, the French of Canada is similarly preserving once thought archaic words of the old French in pretty much the same way, keeping the words alive. Maybe not exporting them so much to the world but alive nonetheless. Amazing.
A fascinating video. As an Irishman who teaches English (and French) in Mexico, I am always coming up against these peculiar differences. 🤯 I’d love it if sometime you could do a video about Hibernian English, as sometimes I find us Irish fall (and not just geographically) between American English and British English when it comes to pronunciation, especially in relation to our vowel sounds.
Everyone seems to be between the two these days. No doubt because "the kids" pick up lingo from US movies, but also mobile phones are set for US by default. Give it a few hundred years and proper English will become almost unheard, like current-day Cymraeg.
@@davey1602 Correct English language will not disappear in favour of a bastardised version In good schools and universities if people correct their children. I am a pensioner but was always corrected by my parents if I said something that was wrong. There is no such thing as "British English".
@@valeriedavidson2785 Even teachers don't have a clue how many Ls are in parallelogram, the differences between meter and metre and don't even bother correcting "could of" any more. You don't need a different version of English when yours becomes the standard through mass media.
@@davey1602 Unfortunately the bastardization of American English has resulted in the abhorrent "me and my..." which has become so commonplace that it is used by news commentators on television (the tele).
I think you got the treatment of collective nouns backwards. In Britain you hear the plural far more often than the collective singular: the government are meeting. In the US, the company, the group, the flock, the government IS …
As an American English speaker, I usually have no issue understanding British sitcoms, except the original "Shameless"; I have to watch that with the captions and still struggled. But other than that no issues. There are times where I have to think about what I say sometimes if I would be understood by my fellow Americans because I've watched shows like "Keeping up appearances" as a kid (was forced to by my mom) so I would say I'm going to check the post instead of mail and people think this to be odd.
I found the difference between tidbit and titbit to be better explained by the general t to d shift seen elsewhere in American English. As a Midwesterner that's outside of Far Michigan/Minnesota where there's a discernable accent, it's common to hear it in words like metal, water, and sometimes later (as medal, wader, lader respectively), but I also notice the reason for the shift here might have been to reduce friction from the harder consonant stop between tit and bit and shifting that to the easier D sound of tidbit which doesn't require much aspiration.
Yes, I fear it was less about marketing (this was a book, not a movie) and more about American children's supposed ignorance of the alchemical term; although some kids in the 1960s knew about the Philosopher's Stone since it was discovered and wielded as a weapon by the D.C. Comics super-villain "Dr. Alchemy".
I am American, but moved to the Southwest of France in my early 20’s. Both as an ex-Pat and as someone not entirely comfortable speaking the French Language initially, I made friends with many of the local British expats living in the area (which was much more common than finding English speakers from America.) I had always thought I’d had a rather extensive knowledge of the differences between the British and American versions of the English language having been an avid fan of British literature and other forms of media. The biggest surprise for me personally- the word I had no Idea was used differently- was the word “Pants.” I was staying with a girlfriend and had asked to borrow a clean pair of pants after getting splashed with mud while out in a rainstorm- I had no idea that it was what the British use for the general term “panties” or “underpants.” My British friend was understandably quite confused by my request…. But we quickly discovered where we had misunderstood each other and it became a long-standing joke for us. The miscommunication was later something we could actually use to become better friends. My other favorite experience was when a good friend introduced me to her teenage daughter for the first time. The daughter got all excited and said to me “wow, you sound just like they do in the movies!” Which I thought was so cute- she hadn’t met an American before and had only been familiar with our manner of speaking through Hollywood films…
Please, couldn't you dwell for a while how the Hollywood industry has filmed My Fair Lady with its must-to-be accents of upper classes or managed them: From a viewpoint of an American?!
It only really matters if you go and live in the US or Canada. When I first moved there the differences were immediately apparent. Pants (UK) =underwear, pants (US)=trousers (UK) Pavement (Canada at least)=that bit of the paved road cars run on! Pavement (UK)=sidewalk Post and mail are switched over, thus To post a letter(UK)=to mail Postman(UK)=mailman, but Royal Mail, US Postal Service, Canada Post I find 'I have finished' (UK) when the job is completed='I am finished' (US) very strange, as the latter normally means something bad has happened. Gotten is also found in begotten in British English. A lot of people in Taiwan now call American English which is adopted there just 'American'.
One thing I rarely hear mentioned, and which I find much more confusing that strict spelling or pronunciation differences, is the fact that the emphasis in quite a few words is different. For example, the words inventory and skeletal are spelled the same in both American and British English, but sound completely different due to the shift in emphasis within the words. Lots of other examples, but it's early here...
SkelEEtal and inVENtree. There are a bunch of words like that. BATree = battery In hillbilly English (American) the alternator in your car is pronounced, "alt-nater". Drives me nuts. And black folks have a completely different language, which, to me, is more interesting than it is annoying.
@@GizmoFromPizmo Trying to get clarity here. Are you saying that alternator is pronounced "alt-nater" in the US? I, as a North American, say all four syllables - AHL-ter-NA-ter. And, I believe that is fairly typical - at least on the west coast.
@@lauraleeogan7523 - No. Most people pronounce it like it's spelled, "ALT-er-na-tor" (4-syllables) but Ohio has a lot of West Virginia and Kentucky influence on the language. It's the hillbillification of English. I've worked around cars quite a but and there are a lot of good-old-boys in that industry. They will charge your BAT-ree and change your ALT-natr. 😆
This was a huge amount of knowledge. Thanks for sharing 👍 ...as a non-native speaker I mix AE and BE depending on my exposition to it and my use as the modern lingua franca, which the BBC called "globish"... 😉
The development of distinct dialects takes time. That’s why here in the US, there is a greater variation in dialects on the East Coast, as these were the first areas to be colonized.
True! People outside New England talk about a “Boston” accent, but I know of 7 accents (and many words unique to their regions) in the greater Boston area.
@@bethparker3146 That's an interesting perspective which explains why the mid-west and west (Large parts of Texas being the exception) have a common dialect which is considered standard American.
You said that collective nouns are singular (or variable) in the UK, while they are plural in the US. However, in my experience it has been the reverse, or at the very least, both forms are acceptable in both countries.
I grew up reading British literature, not special American editions (Noel Streatfield, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Tolkien etc) I noted and appreciated the differences and felt that it enhanced my education and curiosity. We also have always had plenty of British film and television available in the US. With a population of over 330 million (vs UK 67 million) and varied demographics and regional differences you’re painting our exposure to the rest of the world with a rather broad brush. Love your videos, and in particular this subject. I also agree with other commenters on the cupboard/ cabinet. We use different names for the same thing in many cases though a US cupboard would specifically be a kitchen type installed cupboard like a cabinet while what we think of as a constructed and enclosed storage space that’s part of the architecture (a closet) is what you would call a cupboard. An armoire or wardrobe is more specifically used for a freestanding clothing storage but some might also call that a cabinet or cupboard. AE can be confusing and arbitrary.
African-American here...didn't know that the expression "umm hmm" was African. How funny. We use that and so many variations of it, like “ummPH!.” My friends and family will get a kick out of that bit of info when I share it with them.
Venezuelan here. In Venezuelan Spanish we also say "um hum" (we spell it "umjú" the J sounds as an H) to mean yes, and "uh uh", to mean no. Never thought that was African in origin. I just searched and is also used in Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribean.
In the German language we use 'mmh ... mm' all the time. Either it came into the language by American influences or the German immigrants brought it with them to the US, too.
@@luigir9265 that’s strong evidence that it may have an African origin- caribeño Spanish and US English are both strongly influenced by West African languages
I’m not sure if everyone agrees that this is of African origin, but I do know that various non-word noises like this were already present in American English by the early 1800s. A visiting British writer commented on them as something he’d never heard before but which he thought were so useful that he found himself using them too - “mm-hmm”, “hunh”, etc.
I've heard that the word "soccer" was also a British English word that hung on in America while England and Britain followed other nations/languages in saying "football"
As someone who grew up in Massachusetts there were still puritan influenced laws on the books called blue laws. At one time most retail establishments were closed on Sundays, still on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. It also wasn’t long ago package stores or liquor stores were closed on Sundays and those of us in Boston would drive up to New Hampshire to buy our booze.
In Germany this is still the case on Sundays and I must say that I agree with it. Let all people have a free day at home with their families and avoid another rush day on Sunday. Enjoy the silence and the slow motion. Capitalism is killing all us.
@@StuffMadeOnDreams In 21s century America now, the big thing is separation of church and state. The fact that blue laws and being closed on Sundays would be a Christian based law, Americans want nothing to do with it. Those laws could be challenged in court.
Here in Texas, liquor stores are still closed on Sunday, and they're the only stores that can sell spirits. Also on Sunday, you can't buy beer or wine before 12 noon.
@@randalmayeux8880 Massachusetts sort of is like that as far as only packies selling spirits although they’re leaving the decision to allow other retail places to sell liquor up to the community. With the exception of a couple of supermarket chains its quite limited. If you go up to New Hampshire or Maine, you can buy your beer and wine just about anywhere. New Hampshire liquor stores sell them on medium strips on interstates.
Cupboard, wardrobe ... a closet is a separate room or built-in standing-height cabinet. (In US real estate terms, a closet is required to designate a "bedroom".
I’m an American who speaks in the American fashion. Except when I sing Pink Floyd songs. Then it’s “The lunatics are on the grahhss,” and “The dark sarcasm in the clahhssroom.” 😆
Yeah if I was walking around with a British person near the street and there was also a sidewalk present and the Brit said, let's walk on the pavement, I would assume they meant the street.
Hello. I just found you and I suscribed really fast bc your going to be my new teacher. I'm a Mexican veterinarian in USA and my company pay me particular English lessons in a famous platform but I feel that it's not being too effective, so I came to find something that fit better to my necessities. Clearly would be better for me to have american accent teachers, but your content is so good that I don't care. You are so full of wisdom, culture and many more good qualities. Thank you very much for your dedicated effort bringing this materials to the world.
I don't generally use minced oaths, I've always found them to be a bit silly. I grew up in Utah and flippin and fork replaced a certain F word that I won't type. (I do believe in tempering foul language in more "formal" environments like RUclips. I curse like a sailor in my personal life though) I had no idea that Moot had a different meaning! Very interesting!
Read Lord of the Rings or seen the movies? In The Two Towers when Fangorn encounters Pippin and Merry he takes them to an entmoot. That is, the Ents discussing a moot (in the British sense) matter, namely what to do about Saruman. This confused me until I learned that the British and American words have opposite meanings, which happened just now.
Some English words of Irish origins include galore, shenanigans, hooligans, whiskey, drumlin and esker. So we do well with words associated with fun, mischief and geological terms!
I don't know any Americans that call a cupboard a closet, I've always said cupboard or cabinet. Same with frying pan, skillet sounds more like what 1800s cowboys or miners would say. Geezer does mean old man in AE but it's an insult and more offensive than saying "old man".
I'm Canadian, but aside from spelling stuff like colour and favour with a "u" and calling the last letter "zed", practically none of those Britishisms resonate with me. I'd never even heard of a "pinny" before. And "shan't"? Seriously? Didn't that go into the ground no later than Churchill?
Gideon, you're great, but from my Midwestern point of view, I'd like to say that a free-standing piece of furniture like the one that you pictured is not called a "closet" here in the States. It could be a pantry or cupboard, for instance. But a "closet" is a small room in which you store things such as clothes, not a free-standing piece of furniture. As far as the pronunciation of French is concerned: I seem to notice that the English (or maybe the British as a whole) always stress them on the first syllable (even words firmly Anglicized, such as "GARage" and so on). I saw an episode of Morse (the detective) recently in which an English actor did such a good job of impersonating an American accent that I thought he might be from the States. But when he talked about "the VERsailles Treaty," I knew he was English. (Americans would, quite correctly, say verSAILLES). Why do the English mangle French like this? (Humble admission: many Americans mangle French in their own incomparable way.) I love your videos and I hope that my remarks here are helpful and not critical.
@@LetThemTalkTVI don't doubt that the American version of Harry Potter used "closet". That would have shown the translator's (probably one of my fellow Americans) ignorance or lack of awareness that older British homes only had freestanding cupboards or wardrobes in bedrooms. Since older British homes did not have built in closets, I think it likely to have been a translation error to have made any change at all.
I like pantry. It's clearly different than closet or cupboard which are (I think) more generally for clothing or dishware. A pantry, as I use it, is just for food items which don't have to be refrigerated. My own pantry is half & half, cooking items and spices & some foodstuff like nuts.
@@lauraleeogan7523 it’s been awhile, but my memory is that Harry Potter slept in the walled-off area under the stairs, not a piece of furniture, so it would correctly be translated as “closet” in the US.
I noticed an interesting part where American words such as candy, trash, and fall are preserved from old French or something that is no longer used in Modern British English, this is a counterpart of the Korean language and Modern Chinese language. When I learn Korean, some words are always reminiscent of some ancient Chinese that are rarely used these days.
As a native speaker of American English, I would add that “cilantro” is used to refer to the fresh leafy green whilst “coriander” is used for the seasoning derived from cilantro. We use both words, but they do have slightly different meanings. Mines oaths - we say “euphemisms” Another expression I noticed that was not mentioned here: “I’ll be there in a tick.” (SSBE) vs “I’ll be there in a sec.” (GAE)
It is fair to say American langauge borrows more words from other langauges than any other form of the english language and dialect. My mom's family used the word spigot for water tap,
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CORRECTIONS AND STUFF Please read before commenting: ERROR 1: The origin of Delaware is NOT from a native American language, rather it's named after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. ERROR 2: Americans say "the family is" NOT "the family are" (British use both so I got a bit mixed up there). 3. NOT AN ERROR. In Harry Potter "cupboard" (British English) was translated as as "closet" in American English. Some (angry) commenters wrote that it's "wrong" and that a cupboard is a free standing piece of furniture while a closet is a small room. That may be so in American English but in British English a cupboard can indeed also be a small room. "The broom cupboard", "the cupboard under the stairs" etc. So the translation is correct. Thanks, I hope you enjoyed the video and have a nice day.
We made it better.
I speak Yooper, you would hate it.
Interesting what riles people up, isn't it? Although, I do find it interesting that "the family is" and "the family are" is used interchangeably in the UK. I've always been haughtily chastised that "the family are" is the correct method, despite nobody here saying it that way; I've always assumed "the family is" to be correct because family, despite describing a group, is a single unit.
Also, in my region, the freestanding piece of furniture called a cupboard is almost unanimously called a cabinet. I must admit though, I'm curious what word 19th century English authors preferred in place of scientist.
Cupboard is used sometimes in American English when it comes to food storage. We do not use closet for food storage. We would use pantry or cabinet depending. Your example showed food storage.
Try listening to Geechee or Gullah and understand what they’re saying. I can confidently say that you are going to have a very difficult time understanding the speech of that area.
One American term "Okay (or OK)" has entered the lexicons of almost every language as a synonym for "yes."
The etymology of OK is interesting. When Martin Van Buren was running for president in 1836 he would refer to his home town of Kinderhook NY as the best place in the country. He called his estate, Old Kinderhook and on the campaign trail shortened it to OK. Although Van Buren wasn't that great a president, OK stuck as meaning something positive.
@@edwardauerbach8036 The Van Buren story is widely circulated but wrong.The term O.K. showed up in print when Van Buren was a barely known N.Y. politician. If a word shows up in print like in a newspaper, you can be sure it was in spoken existence before that. The early 1800’s in America was a time many colleges were founded such as Colgate, Colby, Hamilton for examples. Most were established out in the boondocks in small , quiet, peaceful locations that were called college towns. In those days college education included Greek and Latin. Typically the well heeled and well bred students looked down on the poorly educated farmer bumpkins that populated the campus’ local area. It very quickly became the practice for the students to greet each other in Greek or Latin to show off their superior intelligence and emphasize to the locals how dumb they were considered. The Greek words for “ALL’S WELL” were pronounced “OLA KELA” by the American students. Perfect Classical Greek would be “EULA KELA” but the students weren’t perfect, the Greek alphabet wasn’t an exact matching sound to the Latin letters, and the Americanized “OLA” was easier. The O.K. that spread around the world is from Ola Kela meaning all’s well in Classical Greek. The locals didn’t know what Ola Kela was exactly but they picked up on the soon popular shortcut initials O K as meaning something like just fine, no problem.
Yes an that word came from British settlers.
Otay Panky!!
Sebutan "OK" merupakan serapan dari bahasa asli orang Indian.
When I was a kid, we would ask "Can I?" only to be corrected to say "May I?"
Americans understand "Shall," but to us, it sounds formal and stuffy. I'm 54 and do admit some of our own language has changed in my lifetime.
The Can/may I was more strict in my youth. It is not so much bothersome nowadays. Can was reserved to denote the ability to do something, whereas may, was seeking permission to do something.
It is still that way in written or formal American English, the verb can is used both ways informally.
In Australia shall and may is affected and formal too.
Yes, can is more usual, although of course speaking to ability really.
A bit of a compromise to be a bit more polite than can but not as pretentious as may, we'd say could i
Shall is for the Bible
The can/may distinction is bunk in its context anyways. The kid can't go to the washroom without permission because the teacher will stop him.
I’ve been listening to various versions of a 1930s song recently called “Yes, My Darling Daughter”. The lyrics are a conversation between a mother and daughter, and each of the latter’s lines begins with “Mother, may I…?” People in the ‘30s were probably more likely to used the word “may” in this way than today, although only if they’d been taught to do so because it was considered more polite or high-class.
I don't think Americans understand the word "shall" considering the massive debate we have over what the phrase "shall not be infringed" means
I am Australian, we use an interesting mix of both British and American English.
Along with amazing slang and shorthand which is uniquely Australian.
To me, as a German outsider, Australian sounds >90% British. Could you give some examples of American influence?
@@RayyMusik Some of the American words that he mentioned in the video are used just as much as the British versions. I think it's just the impact of American pop culture.
I hope to make a video on Australian English soon
@@RayyMusik I'm a German insider as I grew up in Australia and went to school there. People always tell me that I sound British, even native speakers do. That's mainly because Australian English is non-rhotic and the majority doesn't speak what is commonly known as an Aussie slang.
Here are just a few examples of "American" influence that spontaneosly come to my mind:
We used yard instead of garden, truck not lorry. Family, police, group, etc. used as a singular not plural. The word secretary was pronounced the American way, "sec-re-tary" not "sec-re-tree" (BE). The teachers at school always did point out the difference to BE though. There are probably many more examples I just can't think of at the moment.
As a native northern New Englander, I found your presentation truly fascinating. New things learned, better perspectives obtained! How you acquired all these odd bits and pieces of information always amaze me. Very clearly and methodically explained (as always), Thank you!
Actually, in most of the US, cilantro is the plant; coriander is usually the seed.
Years ago I visited an indoor ski slope in Milton Keynes in the UK. Being on a work trip I hadn't brought any clothes to wear skiing. I went in the shop and asked if they had any wind pants. The girls behind the counter started chuckling. They told me I instead of asking for ski clothes, I was asking for "underwear I could pass gas in" lol.
As an American who grew up in Michigan, I always consider "family" to be a singular verb, so I say "My family is...." I don't think I've ever heard "are" used with "family" and I've lived all over the US, but maybe I didn't pay much attention.
Family is a collective noun like class so it takes a singular verb in the US. I say my class is driving me nuts, not are.
@@tammywilliams-ankcorn9533that’s what I was taught as well.
Using plural verb forms for singular collective nouns just sounds so wrong to my ears that I can't help but notice it every time it comes up, even if the nouns in question are referring to a group of multiple people. I can understand the semantic reasoning, but still.
I noticed this use of plural verbs with singular collective nouns begin to creep into American English from British English in the early 1980's. You might be surprised as to the context. I first noticed it being used by American fans of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The American kids were simply imitating the way their favorite musicians spoke. I don't believe it was even an affectation. I think the kids didn't know any better and assumed the musicians were correct--and simply copied them blindly.
Yeah, I think he flipped that one
Only one issue - in the US, a skillet refers to a particular kind of heavy frying pan, usually made of cast iron. We use frying pan more often and for all other shallow slope sided pans.
It must be different in different parts of the US. Here, in Texas, you hear skillet and frying pan used interchangeably.
@@santadavid3320 my family is from Texas, and I lived in Dallas, and I agree that in the south skillet was used more broadly. But this is changing as “northern” standards are getting disseminated.
I'm from New Mexico and have lived in various parts of the US, and have worked in kitchens with people from all over the US. You might be used to a calling only cast iron pans skillets, but in my experience, skillets refer to nearly any type of frying pan excluding sauté pans.
@@zenbear4149 My family is from AL and MS and they would never call a cast iron skillet a frying pan. Might be a subculture thing too.
@@santadavid3320 Southern dialects are the closest to British.
Americans use “cockroach” and “roach” interchangeably.
Ok fair point though in Britain nobody says "roach". Thanks for your comment
@@LetThemTalkTV I never knew that. I also never made the puritan connection. I grew up in New England where many of our attitudes are subtly or overtly shaded by that history. I think I had assumed that roach was a less formal variation, because it is shorter. But your explanation feels true now that I’ve heard it. I don’t think my my forebears would have wanted to say cock unless they absolutely had to.
Not for the last part of a joint we don't.
Cockroach is a bug. Roach is the last bit of a doobie (marijuana cigarette).
@@Sk8Bettty a roach is a kind of a fish.
Thanks for acknowledging that American English is even legitimate! I frequently have Brits on my channel trying to correct my pronunciation and regionalisms to RP circa 1965, and doubling down with condescending phrases like ‘it’s the king’s English!’ when linked to a dictionary, style manual or relevant article by a linguist😭my ancestors who came to new york from England are closer in time to the bubonic plague than they are to me, obviously I sound different 😅
Amen to that!
And Americans kind of fought an entire war against the king, so not sure why we would be expected to use the King's English.
It kinda buggs me that American English is officially not the official language of the United States of America, even if everything else would suggest so, including your comment on legitimizing American English.
Your history included, Anglosizing names, how "Dutch" like Pensylvania Dutch dwindled in the culture, etc.
I think that if it was the official language this would also legitimize it, what do you think?
It is the defacto official language of the US, for now, since the majority of Americans still speak this language at home also. 78% or so.
But I would also focus on the things mentioned in the video how other European linguistical words have shaped the American English.
That's how the cookie crumbles.
In a way I find it ironic, since I grew up with American military in the Netherlands being Dutch, depending on the teacher I did not speak, use English but American English which for one specific teacher was a very big thing, he taught BBC English in his class.
On the other hand Americans saying I didn't speak English when I did. Example with the ABC and the Z [Zed/Zee] now I know my Alphabeth/now I know my ABC's and things like that, when I used BBC English and not American English.
For me both are English, but I am more accustomed to American words, and the way of pronouncing things. Like; bath, path, dance, etc. British to me sounds posh and pretentious, like people with a stick up their behinds for their straight posture so the mask won't fall off.
Being full aware there are many different types of British English that are totally different from that. Please Brits don't come after me.
@@schiffelers3944 the reason English isn’t the official language of the US is that the framers of the constitution were considering it, but then some of them took a field trip to New York City and walked end to end, and over the course of it, they heard about 19 distinct languages. At which point they realized it’d be a significant infringement on people’s rights to express themselves freely by requiring English to be the only language. And since English was the defacto language anyway, why bother? So they didn’t. Compare that to, say, Ireland, where Irish is the official language, but only like 3% of the people can speak it.
English is by far the dominant language of trade and diplomacy and science in the world today, with about 400 million native speakers, and about a billion and a half who use it as a second language. And given the US is the largest population of English speakers in the world by far, and kind of dominates the international entertainment industry, American English is kind of the dominant version. If there is a “correct” version of English (which I don’t think there is) and if you believe in democracy, then the largest population of native speakers is the most correct one.
But accents and local dialects are perfectly ok. I’m certainly not going to tell the entire population of Jamaica that they’re doing it wrong. OTOH, the UK still seems to kind of like to look down on people who don’t do it their way, but I think they’re a bit less strident on that nowadays.
@@schiffelers3944 As a brit, I think theres a misunderstanding due to how languagues are looked at, I acknowledge american and british english but I didn't used too and I am sure many brits still think the same, if we understand each other mostly, we think of it as the exact same languange, just like even in our other counties or cities that have different words for things but are still speaking "english" not Liverpool English, Cambridge english or London English, and we look at other countries that way too, we don't say Canadian English, Australian English, or New Zealand English, so it felt strange for me at first to even say or use the term American English, same in the UK even, we don't say, Scottish English or Welsh english either, despite them having many different words to us even in the same language.
I only started to say american english because I realised how difficult it was to tell someone I was talking about british english or american english since they were so similar but because when I was comparing them, I needed to tell someone what english I was talking about, that lead me to acknowledging they had to be different.
I was born and raised in Bangladesh and was taught British English in writing, grammar and comprehension but the spoken English I acquired and learnt was American since most western media was from the US. When I moved to Britain I spoke in General American but now I used British Received Pronunciation as my primary dialect. I’ve been told I sound very posh and it shocks people when I use ‘parking lot’ or ‘sidewalk’ instead of ‘car park’ or ‘pavement’. It’s rather amusing 😂😂😂
Even if you studied English at school or university you will never speak or sound like a native English, I think a Paki accent is very strong just like the call centers when they call you over the phone claiming to be named Steve or Dave, their accent is a big give away. lol
There is also a difference in language between the north and south United States. I lived most most of my life in northern United States and I have lived in the south for seven years and I have picked up on their lingo
I live in the middle of the States and I refer to the parking space in front of our home as the Car Park. In the late 80's I was doing graduate study in Blacksburg University in Virginia. The locals spoke about four or five old English dialects. The locals were amazed by my spoken English. I was often asked how I learned to speak TV. Many were not aware that the spoken English on TV is very much based on the geographic center of the States.
Congrats mere dost! I'm working on my Hindi, daily. I don't really speak Bengali. Dated one, but that was long ago.
Stop trying to act white. You are not & will never be
I am from Québec. What is funny here, in the French language, people ask for "des napkins", an obvious anglicism, while in British English, you say "serviettes"!
My English (ex) husband said it’s a status difference, I forgot which ones use either!
Napkins used to be considered upper class and serviettes lower class, Nancy Mitfords U and Non-U. I don't think that's the case any more.
We Americans do NOT call a cupboard a "closet". A free-standing piece that you showed would likely be called a "cupboard" if used in the kitchen. We can also call it a "cabinet," thought that is usually for when such an item is not in a kitchen. It can also be called an "armoire" (usually when used for non-kitchen things like clothes, books, or a collectibles display, but I have heard of a "kitchen armoire" before, though they are typically fancy and contain nice tableware) or a "wardrobe" (when used for clothes). A "closet" is almost always a space/area (it takes up square footage) with some kind of door or divider closing off/separating the space, not a piece of furniture.
We say both "roach" and "cockroach" interchangeably, and I'd lean toward saying that the latter is more common.
"Briefs" are a specific type of underwear (or as you'd say, pants). Female briefs are full coverage (but no leg portion); male briefs are similar, with no leg portion. The picture of pants that you showed would be called "boxer briefs" in AE, as they are snug like briefs but have a leg portion like boxers. (There are also "boxers," which are pants with a looser leg/groin portion.)
In America, we use both "broad beans" and "fava beans," much like we use both "chickpea" and "garbanzo" (though the former for both is becoming more dominant). We use "coriander" to refer to the seed and "cilantro" to refer to the herb. "Skillet" and "frying pan" (or just "pan") are often used interchangeably, though, technically, the two types of pans ARE different.
We do use "tap," but that word is generally used when talking about drinking from it. E.g.,
I hate tap water. I only drink bottled water.
My mom told me to not drink Coke but instead to get some water from the tap, but the faucet wouldn't turn on... so Coke it is!
You made a small typo -- on the Grammar Differences, it should be "I just saW Mary." Also on that topic, Americans generally would say, "My family IS," because "family" is a singular noun so it takes the singular verb (much like we use the singular noun for a group word like, well, "group" -- "the large group of birds is in the pond"). AE generally favors the subject-verb agreement, i.e., singular nouns take a singular verb, and plural nouns take a plural verb.
My circle in the US call it a cabinet wherever it was.
A cupboard can be a small room in British English as in "the cupboard under the stairs" so the "translation" was correct.
You covered the points I observed. Well done.
The guy is entertaining, but he doesn't know shit about the States. He's a provincial Rube.
There are no female *briefs* in American English. They are called panties.
In American English, "coriander" refers specifically to the seeds (particularly when dried for use as a spice), while "cilantro" is the leaves and stems of the plant.
There's a hilarious part in one of the Harry Potter books that wasn't localized. The Weasley twins create a swamp in one of the hallways of the school, and Filch is described as 'punting' students across the swamp. In Britain, 'punting' means transporting in shallow water using a long pole to push the boat. In America, it means kicking something a short distance.
As a kid I didn't realize it was a localization issue, because it is absolutely in Filch's character to kick students across a swamp.
That's what I thought it meant all these years! Thanks for the info!
Interesting. Thanks.
All those Z you use in that paragraph would be all S in British english
That's amazing haha!
Well it does seem in character for him lol
My favorite word that changed in Britain but remained the same is a word that tends to annoy Brits a lot because they think we're pronouncing it wrong but it's actually the other way around, the States simply didn't change it: Aluminum / Aluminium. The word changed in Britain but stayed the same in the US but it seems to drive Brits nuts.
I know Wikipedia is not the font of all knowledge but I just checked their article on aluminum/aluminium and according to that the original word given to it by its discoverer Humphry Davy was neither aluminum nor aluminium. It was 'alumium'.
People objected because it didn't fit its Latin roots properly and started calling it 'aluminium'. Davy later published a paper calling it 'aluminum'. Since then both variants have existed. The 'aluminum' version gained popularity in the USA after it was given as the only possible version in the 'American Dictionary of the English Language' by Noah Webster in 1828. However, although both versions were common, 'aluminium' was more common in the USA until the the 1890s when the situation reversed. In 1925, the 'American Chemical Society' adopted the spelling 'aluminum' as so it has remained in the USA ever since.
@@barrysteven5964 Interesting! Pronunciations always fascinate me.
@@barrysteven5964 An American, such as myself, finds the name HUMPHREY DAVY hilarious, like RICKY BOBBY.
Like the word soccer. That word is British through and through.
@@catholicdad Worse than Ricky Bobby, RB has first names for both names and Humphrey Davy has a last name for a first name and a diminutive for a second name.
In American restaurants - fried fish and french fries are almost always called "fish and chips".
Don’t know about that one maybe in the northeast but in the south they are called a fish plate and specially what fish is in the description i.e “Catfish (fillets) plate w/ fries,” or “ Catfish nuggets w/ fries .” When a restaurant refers to a fish plate in america as “ fish and chips,” it is usually referring it to the UK version and not american style . So it is more about the specifics in the definition that is the focal point imo . I’m from california by the way and it’s the same out here as well as many other parts of the country !
I think this is in honor of the English origin- just as we say Spaghetti Maranara instead of long Noodles with tomato sauce in honor of it’s Italian origin. “Long noodles” re- emerge with Asian Pho soup
Even in Britain most of what Americans would call fries are still usually called fries (especially from fast food). We just eat the bigger chips more often.
It is interesting. For me as a native German, I got my knowledge of English mainly from the internet. And since I learned British English, US English, or Australian English etc. there, it's a funy mix of everything. 😃
Australian English pronunciation is 95% Cockney English. They are so close that a Cockney friend of mine was asked by a person at the next cafe table, "Which part of Australia are you from?"
Australians have the same Dictionary as English people.
There is the English language and there is the American language.
You should never learn English from the Internet. All countries around the world, except America, teach correct English.
@@valeriedavidson2785 It wasn't my intention to learn English over the internet, it just happened that way over the years.
However, Australians use different terms for certain items. e.g. Flip flops are called thongs in Australia. Australians also like to shorten their terms, e.g.breakfast - breakky,
biscuit - bikkie, cup of tea - cuppa, cardigan - cardie, mosquito - mozzie. There are also many proper names in Australia and expressions primarily used in Australia.
ruclips.net/video/6VyvzvZ4jG8/видео.html
While I'm American, I've spent a lot of time reading British authors like C. S. Lewis, and of course watching Monty Python, Top Gear, etc. As such many of the British words / phrasings seem almost normal to me.
@@valeriedavidson2785 Crikey! You're a bossy Sheila!* And if you think that "All countries around the world" teach "correct" English, you've obviously never spoken with an Indian whose English is further from British than American, although in some cases I think they may be (like us) using words / grammar that have been abandoned by both of us. * apologies to the Aussies for my pathetic attempt at their language.
I love comparisons between our two "versions " of our shared language
We in the U.S. refer to the dried seeds of the cilantro plant as coriander
The "Flash in the pan" is from the old time way of illuminating a person for a photograph with phosphorus in a pan held above the camera.
Actually, it's older than that. A "flash in the pan" was when a Flintlock firearm was ignited by the spark, but failed to fully go off, makes more sense, right? In Flintlocks you would use a piece of flint that fell down under spring pressure released by using the trigger, to strike a piece of iron to create a spark, which fell into a small pan containing black-powder, when that caught flame a small hole to the chamber of the firearm would allow that to ignite the main charge and fire the weapon. So it was a misfired weapon, only a "Flash in the pan".
@@Myrtlecrack o, very cool, thanks for correcting my error😊
You say that you don’t remember British versions of American books. But around ten years ago I worked for a number of major publishers as a typesetter. If it was an adults book it remained unchanged, apart from the prelims and cover (and page size). Children’s books, however, were changed. Yard became garden, sidewalk became pavement, and so on. This wasn’t just common; it was done for all American written children’s books.
That's very interesting. Do you have an example?
@@LetThemTalkTV Just find 2 modern children's books one published by an American publisher and another published by a British publisher. That should settle the matter, right?
I actually agree with this practice for young children. My grandchildren (aged 5 and 3) watch a lot of children's programmes on things like Netflix and many of them are American and they have picked up a lot of American vocabulary from them not even realising it's American. I am quite happy for kids to know that Americans say ladybugs rather than ladybirds but only once they know the non-USA version first*. We occasionally have to teach them the UK version after they have learned the American one. I have heard Peppa Pig is having a mirror effect on American children. I was really happy the other day to find that Paw Patrol, which is American actually has an alternative British English audio you can switch to.
@@blotski Why was Ladybird Johnson called "Ladybird" if Americans call the insect "Lady bugs"?
“Ladybird” was also used in the U.S. but was never as common as “ladybug”.
"Got" and "gotten"" are both used in American English. "Got" is emphatic way of saying "have"''; "gotten" means "acquired." I have "got" a book for you, means "I have a book for you" while "I have gotten a book for you" means "I went out and acquired a book for you."
Huh. I would actually flip the implied tenses on those last two sentences. To me, "I've gotten a book for you" feels more recent, while "I've got a book for you" feels more distant.
@@TheBlegghyes exactly, I got a book for you means that I already had the book for sometime, while gotten means it was recently acquired.
@@TheBleggh "I've got a book for you" also means "I have a book for you".
Thank you for all the work you put in your videos. The content is so great!!!
Your comment is great! Thanks
So many things to digest when you are neither British nor American but a simple student willing to do his / her best.
I knew a few words like : lorry vs truck .....sidewalk vs pavement .... wardrobe vs closet.....faucet. vs tap. But there was so much to hear and learn.
Your culture is amazing.
Thanks
18:05 There is a distinction between can and shall in formal American English. Can denotes ability as in, "I can do that." Shall means to actually do something or to ask permission to do something as in, "Shall I drive today?"
Also, i don't of anyone who says "my family are" in everyday life except to specifically making it plural.
Btw we don't call a cupboard a closet... What we call a closet is like a wardrobe in the wall like a little room for your clothes. We call a cupboard a cupboard or a cabinet.
Yep
Bravo Gideon -- love learning when you're doing the teaching (your lessons are the best thing since sliced bread :)
Careful - they don't slice bread in England.
Love the lesson. Thoroughly interesting. Antenna/aerial, fender/bumper, boot/trunk, bonnet/hood, lift/elavator, platform/track, crisps/chips, chips/french fries, etc. etc. but we still understand each other....just!
Two more fans send their appreciation from across the pond! But since we live in the ancestral lands of the Lenni Lenape, we feel compelled to make a correction. Many of the descendants of the Lenape (who originally inhabited lands between modern New York and Delaware) are indeed members of tribes that now call themselves Delaware, but that toponym/demonym is from Lord de la Warr, governor of Virginia in colonial times. His name was ultimately from the French. Looking forward to your next installment!
‘Nice visiting with you,’ is a USA expression which appears to translate as, it has been a pleasure meeting you. In an American diner the expression was said to my wife and I after starting a conversation with strangers. I have since noticed the expression , ‘visiting you’ in American made TV programmes.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for your many, many informative and enjoyable videos. They are invaluable as my interest is the development of spoken English particularly the grammar change in the centuries just prior to 1066.
Wow 🤩 after 3 Tuesdays without a new video, I was expecting you to blow our mind but I underestimated how stellar it would be! You even put me off slagging off American English haha.
I’ve learnt so much, thank you Gideon. I love hearing how history and languages are linked, it is absolutely fascinating! I could listen to you talking about etymology and the history of the English language for hours. Thanks again, King of language nerds! 👑
This one took a lot of work but I'm glad you liked the result. Etymology is a fountain that never runs dry. A lot more to come...
Good to know you are willing to stop "slagging off" (a new term to me) North American English after watching and listening to Gideon's video.
@@LetThemTalkTV huge fan Gideon. Keep it coming!
Learnt? Probably you meant learned. Also, I’m guessing you are a smelter. ❤
@@PerpetualAbidance just to correct you Ron, she meant "learnt".
In the UK we say learnt.
Maybe you mean cks when you say x. Sox? Oh my.
Losing a few "u"s? Color. Honor. Really
As a Brazilian that live in Brazil, I enjoyed the explanation about how everything happened. Congratulations!!!
This is one of the most interesting videos on the wonderful English language that I have ever seen, so I hit the subscribe button.
Thank you, Gideon! Informative and fascinating video.
What a super class it was !!! I'm learning with your videos far more than i've learned in all my life as an English student. That's what I was looking for, high level culture conversations
I am 72 and am old enough to remember English writers criticizing US usages and so forth. I now know that they were likely reacting to the over exposure to US GIs in WW2. (In 1965 for example, when I was 14, a 45 year old Englishman would have been an adult during WWII and seen perhaps way to many young GIs. I was afraid that this would be similar, but it was accepting of Americanisms and simply informative.
A very interesting insight. Thanks for your comments.
I never got that resentment. The only reason Americans were even there is because they asked. It's not like the US just decided to kick the door in and butt into everyone's bar brawl. No one wants to leave home and go off to war. No one sane anyway. So their umbrage was more than a little insulting.
@@Lukos0036 I have an idea, I would think for some brits (not all) that it would be humiliating to know that we even needed to ask for help, we didn't ask because we "wanted" too as you put it, in WW2 we were forced too, due to being bombed and having germany trying to cut of our supplies and starve us. We weren't in a good shape.
I wasn't there, I'm in no way old enough to be there but this is just from what I learned in history classes and me thinking of what brits who were more political involved and very proud of their country, I'm sure for some brits who were a bit more patreotic, than we are now, too admit that we were no longer the super power and watch the US take centre stage would likely rub some of us the wrong way, WW2 was around the time the british empire started to fall, so I think there probably would have been some hurt egos on our side. I do of course think the resentment was wrong but I do think it was understandble for brits who were more proud because of britains standing in the world, then to be told, "that is no longer the case and, US has now taken that place and also because of the war we're now broke XD" I'm sure many others didn't care, were happy for the help and were just happy we survived and helped win the war though.
@@pipercharms7374 Something you need to understand about the US in that era is that most people were quite happy to be insular. They didn't want to be involved in what they saw as "Europe's problem". No one wanted to go fight and die for people they knew hated them.They could have easily focused on the Pacific alone since Japan was the nation that directly attacked them first and worst. But they did anyway. And when they did show up they were met with resentment hostility and egotism. And Americans still get that attitude abroad to this day. It's not as bad, but it's still there. And it feeds the American desire to stay at home and let the rest of the world do whatever. It's not a perfect country, no one is. We have made our share of colossal fuckups. But do at least try to fix them. It's just a damn shame everyone hates us for it when they're guilty of the same and worse. It wouldn't surprise me if Ukrainians start hating us again after their war is done.
@@Lukos0036 I think you misunderstood what I'm saying. I wasn't saying it was right to feel resentment, I even said it was wrong and many brits in WW2 were very greatful for the help Americans gave, when Europeans talk about positives of the US, MANY bring up the US's help in the World Wars, especially WW2.
What I am saying some of it that it is understandable. I don't think it's right at all but I think I can understand where the resentment comes from if I put myself in brits shoes around WW2 times. Imagine you were fighting a war against, lets say Russia, then were told unless you accept help from China, you'll likely lose and be invaded and conqured by Russia but by accepting you are admitting to every other nationality, that the US is no longer the number one ecomony and China will be taking over the world stage and now, all the attention you are used to having, including majority of other countries focus is now on China, and influence will start to come from them now, not you, not on a big scale anyway.
Today, some older brits, I think still hold that resesment but I think any dislike now comes from a different area. After, all the majority of brits weren't alive when this all went down, so theres this detachment to it all, like why should we care about our ex empire that did horrible things? Just from some media I've seen, sometimes I think americans think we dislike them for that still but the majority of us don't feel any attachment to our past empire, it's barely taught in schools and it's looked on more as something shamfull, rather than something to be prideful of and angry . You'll still see some brits trying to take pride in it, on the internet but definitelly not walking about, it's not a common opinion to have.
Now a days I think the resesment comes from because of how much US media we consume, we often see Americans calling themselves the greatest country in the world, that isn't done over here, no one calls the UK the greatest, now one thing we dislike the most is when we think someone thinks their superior to us, not because we think we're superior though but the main thought being, no country is the best, each have good points about them.
The US calling themselves the greatest or even saying they used to be the greatest really rubs us and I assume other europeans the wrong way. If you think someone think's they're the greatest, then I think it's a natural response to feel the need to drag them down a peg or two. So I feel like many brits and other eurpoeans feel the need to get defensive when we feel like by calling itself superier, that Americans are looking down on the rest of us. When talking about cons about Americans (generising of course) A common theme is us thinking that americans can think too highly of themselves.
Another thing that could also put perspective onto this, is because our main language is english, then that's what your mainly hearing, countries that speak english talking about each other but I am very sure that countries that speak each others languages also talk about each other rudely sometimes too. Someone from Spain, could walk past us and be complaining in spanish about how they think Mexicans think's they're better than Spain but we wouldn't have a clue.
To table a motion means to defer discussion on the motion until a later meeting. This comes from "Robert's Rules of Order" on how to conduct meetings. The rules were written by U.S. General Henry M. Robert and published in 1876. Most American organizations and Congress follow these rules. It is sometimes called Parliamentary procedures. New editions are still being printed.
6:30 Here in Florida we have large numbers of cites, lakes and geographic features that have names derived from the native Americans (Lake Okeechobee, Hialeah, Pahokee, etc.), in addition to Spanish. The names are usually descriptions of the feature or the land on which the city sits. Okeechobee (Seminole) means big water. Hialeah (Seminole) means pretty prairie, Pahokee (Creek) means grassy waters. In fact, Florida comes from the Spanish florido meaning full of flowers.
12:09 Bathroom is easy to understand. The room was literally a room with a bathtub in which you took baths, while the toilet was in an outhouse until we got indoor plumbing and put the toilet in the same room as the bathtub. Interestingly there were people who objected to having a filthy toilet in the same room as the bathtub.
Very interesting to read
Lots of older homes in Kingston, Ontario would have a toilet off the kitchen. Perhaps because a pantry could be easily converted to a powder room. My in-laws had such an arrangement. The kids were instructed to only use that toilet if no visitors were in the house. They had another full bathroom down the hall which had a sink, a toilet and a bathtub. The house was modern, but I think my f-i-l just couldn't let the idea of a toilet and sink in a room off the kitchen drop. That room is very badly placed between the living room and the kitchen and opens into the kitchen. In the early morning rush to get out the door, a 2nd bathroom does make sense though.
@@dinkster1729 That is gross. I can just imagine the smell wafting into the kitchen after someone has eaten Mexican food the night before. LOL
By the way several of our water inlets have descriptive Spanish names. Boca Chica = girl's mouth; Boca Grande = big mouth; Boca Raton = rat's mouth, I like the last one because that is where a lot of rich snooty people live, in the rat's mouth. LOL
Same in VA/MD and most of the US. Chesapeake is generally believed to mean "at a big river" or "great water". Others say "great shellfish bay". There are hundreds/thousands of place names. For example, Potomac, Quantico, Allegheny. This is similar throughout the US.
That is so interesting! Now I can confidently say that I speak a mixture of British and American English 🤣 Greetings from Ukraine! A huge thank you to all the British people! Your support is invaluable!
A fellow Ukrainian here. I co-sign that ❤ 🇺🇦
In the Netherlands we call the mix of American- and Brittish English:Atlantic English.
My generations was educated in middle class British English as hè named it. I still use that version.
Kids nowadays are taught that they have two options Atlantic and Brittish. Social media are the determining factor.
Well, he's wrong about just about everything
That makes the two of us.😊
In addition to Harlem and Brooklyn, "the Bronx" is also of Dutch origin. The use of the article is a vestige of direct translations from Dutch, like in "the Netherlands" and "the Hague."
Staten island too
Bronx is a Dutch formal name, von Bronck’s plantation, whereas Haarlem & Brookline are descriptions of an area. Even Coney Island, island of rabbits.
New york was originally called new Amsterdam
Tidbit does not mean a small amount of information, it means a small amount of anything … i.e. I thoroughly enjoyed the French toast , though it only had a tidbit of cinnamon this time. I think a tidbit more time soaking in the egg mixture will make the french toast a tidbit more moist.
I personally have never heard it used that way. I would just say a bit more time and drop the tid, though I don't know if that's just me being younger type thing. I've only heard it as the information example of "that's an interesting little tidbit you just told me" but even that is very very rare
In canada donut holes from tim hortons are called "timbits"
I buy British classical music magazines (Gramophone, BBC Music). I've become so accustomed to the British spellings, I rarely notice them. There are occasional British expressions that I find entertaining, like "puts paid to" and "curate's egg." I *think* "puts paid to" means that a product or concept has been made clearly obsolete by a new one. "Curate's egg" is a nice way of saying that something is seriously substandard or deficient in desirable attributes. I think.
Fascinating! My favorite word that many people believe is American English but was coined in British English is "soccer". ;)
The invention of sliced bread must have been quite a global hit back then. In German, you can use the same idiom as in English. Plus you can use "sells like sliced bread" to praise any item that sells in (surprisingly) huge numbers. Also the German translation of "to bury the (war) hatchet" will be used commonly in the same context as in English.
To “bury the hatchet” comes from Native Americans, but since cowboy / western fiction was hugely popular in Germany, that’s probably where it came from.
I have always found videos on this topic to be rather fun to watch. Always enjoyable.
Delaware takes its name from the adjacent Delaware Bay, in turn named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor.
Love your videos. While all languages adopt words from other languages, the beauty and strength of English is its willingness to do so. Some countries have laws to protect its language. Not so in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, etc. English warmly embraces new words, whether coined or adopted. That keeps English vibrant and growing.
Regarding being generally mutually intelligible, I agree. However, there are some places where this American can't understand some English accents in the UK. Years ago, I was in a pub in Scotland when someone tried to chat me up (in the US, we would say "tried to pick me up/hook up). I politely replied "sorry, I speak only English and a bit of French". He replied, very slowly and in a thick Scottish accent "I am speaking English". In case you're wondering, it worked and we hooked up.
Accepting every single word is not vibrant and growing. It's a language with 0 personality so to speak
Of course the reason the other languages try to keep their vocabularies “pure” is because our language, English, is so overwhelming and intrusive. Since English at the moment is the predominate worldwide language, we don’t worry if other words creep in.
I once watched a documentary about a very depressed neighborhood / district in a particular English city where many adults passed in their IV drug addictions to their children. Their accents were so thick and unintelligible that most of the dialogue had subtitles since even other British people wouldn’t understand them.
@@hebnehit is an irony that they try to keep languages pure from English, when English is full of vocabulary from so many other languages to start with.
English loanwords make up about 10% of our language, Japanese. Sometimes we adopted British English (bonnet) and sometimes we adopted American English (trunk).
How about adopting the alphabet?
I live and grew up in Ohio and am currently reading a mystery novel by Margery Allingham. The book was written in 1938 and OMG! The novel is chock-full of “British-isms” and French phrases that I find myself constantly re-reading sentences in an effort to figure out what’s being said. And then on occasion she’ll throw in a character who speaks with a thick British dialect and I’m like, “OK. I give up!” I am enjoying the book, but it’s a bit of work getting through.
you sure you’re not nigerian?
🤪🤪🤪😁😄😂😂🤣🤣. Keep on going! To me, it sounds like reading the King James Version (KJV) Bible. 😁😄😂🙏🤝
@@michmbolingaba7310
I did finally finish it. All in all, it was a pretty good book. (No, I didn’t figure out who the murderer was. 🙂)
In Australia, we use a mix of US & British English terms, along with our own. We say car park instead of parking lot, rocket instead of arugula, and rubbish/garbage instead of trash - but we generally spell program the American way, and say zucchini and eggplant instead of courgette and aubergine.
We don't say pavement or sidewalk; we say footpath. We generally say schedule with a soft sch, but are probably using the hard sch more as time goes on. We use British English spelling: colour, theatre, calibre etc, but you will see the occasional exception, like program.
Australians of all cultural backgrounds say 'mmm hmm'. I didn't realise that originally came to the US from Africa via black slaves. Maybe it has a different history in different English-speaking countries?
This is an amazing video. Great job explaining everything!
In American English we would say “My family is visiting…”. My family as a single unit “it” would require “is”. I’ve never heard it differently anywhere in America.
The fact that you used Some More News clips makes me so happy!
One thing that surprised me when I encountered it some years ago is that British, Australian and NZ English uses "reckon" to mean "I think". In the USA, "reckon" is considered archaic, and it sounds uneducated. You only hear it in old movies when hillbillies or cowboys are speaking: "I reckon the sheriff's goin' after them cattle rustlers!"
I remember a Kiwi girl who wanted go see "Eeko Seeven" I was like what?
I don't know where you're from, but reckon is a very commonly used word in Texas.
@@VicSage1836 Hell some of us in Detroit still say it because our parents and grandparents came from the south.
I had a maritime career and we used the term, 'reckon,' quite a bit. Perhaps it's because one of the most basic forms of navigating is known as 'dead reckoning,' so it doesn't sound so weird to say, "By my reckoning we are 2 miles from the shore." Anyways, you're absolutely right that most people think of 1840s prospectors when they hear the word
@VicSage1836 it's still used here in the north too. Usually from either an elderly person, or a backwoods country fella.
Wow. What a fantastic video. I will say, the French of Canada is similarly preserving once thought archaic words of the old French in pretty much the same way, keeping the words alive. Maybe not exporting them so much to the world but alive nonetheless. Amazing.
A fascinating video. As an Irishman who teaches English (and French) in Mexico, I am always coming up against these peculiar differences. 🤯
I’d love it if sometime you could do a video about Hibernian English, as sometimes I find us Irish fall (and not just geographically) between American English and British English when it comes to pronunciation, especially in relation to our vowel sounds.
Everyone seems to be between the two these days. No doubt because "the kids" pick up lingo from US movies, but also mobile phones are set for US by default. Give it a few hundred years and proper English will become almost unheard, like current-day Cymraeg.
@@davey1602 Correct English language will not disappear in favour of a bastardised version
In good schools and universities if people correct their children. I am a pensioner but was always corrected by my parents if I said something that was wrong. There is no such thing as "British English".
@@valeriedavidson2785 Even teachers don't have a clue how many Ls are in parallelogram, the differences between meter and metre and don't even bother correcting "could of" any more. You don't need a different version of English when yours becomes the standard through mass media.
@@davey1602 Unfortunately the bastardization of American English has resulted in the abhorrent "me and my..." which has become so commonplace that it is used by news commentators on television (the tele).
Or Caledonian English for those of us who are truly confused.
21:18 this is so funny for no reason, bro sounds like a Southern pastor
I think you got the treatment of collective nouns backwards. In Britain you hear the plural far more often than the collective singular: the government are meeting. In the US, the company, the group, the flock, the government IS …
Agreed, I have never heard anyone say the government are here in the states.
I was about to comment the same thing, you beat me to it.
If I got that the wrong way round, my apologies. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the video
England are out of the world cup!
Of course the US are out, too... 🙂
This is true. Used to work with Brits and this would throw me of often
I really like your videos on language, especially when it discusses American vs. British English.
As an American English speaker, I usually have no issue understanding British sitcoms, except the original "Shameless"; I have to watch that with the captions and still struggled. But other than that no issues.
There are times where I have to think about what I say sometimes if I would be understood by my fellow Americans because I've watched shows like "Keeping up appearances" as a kid (was forced to by my mom) so I would say I'm going to check the post instead of mail and people think this to be odd.
This is a lovely presentation of the English language and all it's variations. Thank you so very much kind sir.
I found the difference between tidbit and titbit to be better explained by the general t to d shift seen elsewhere in American English. As a Midwesterner that's outside of Far Michigan/Minnesota where there's a discernable accent, it's common to hear it in words like metal, water, and sometimes later (as medal, wader, lader respectively), but I also notice the reason for the shift here might have been to reduce friction from the harder consonant stop between tit and bit and shifting that to the easier D sound of tidbit which doesn't require much aspiration.
They call it a “flap t”
Correct!
As a speaker of Indian-English🇮🇳🇺🇸🇬🇧
I can say we use mixtures of three american british and Indian words Haha
Nice Video
not seeing mentioned: Philosoper's Stone is an actual historical concept from alchemy -- a thing that would turn ordinary materials into gold
Yes, I fear it was less about marketing (this was a book, not a movie) and more about American children's supposed ignorance of the alchemical term; although some kids in the 1960s knew about the Philosopher's Stone since it was discovered and wielded as a weapon by the D.C. Comics super-villain "Dr. Alchemy".
I am American, but moved to the Southwest of France in my early 20’s. Both as an ex-Pat and as someone not entirely comfortable speaking the French Language initially, I made friends with many of the local British expats living in the area (which was much more common than finding English speakers from America.) I had always thought I’d had a rather extensive knowledge of the differences between the British and American versions of the English language having been an avid fan of British literature and other forms of media. The biggest surprise for me personally- the word I had no Idea was used differently- was the word “Pants.” I was staying with a girlfriend and had asked to borrow a clean pair of pants after getting splashed with mud while out in a rainstorm- I had no idea that it was what the British use for the general term “panties” or “underpants.” My British friend was understandably quite confused by my request…. But we quickly discovered where we had misunderstood each other and it became a long-standing joke for us. The miscommunication was later something we could actually use to become better friends.
My other favorite experience was when a good friend introduced me to her teenage daughter for the first time. The daughter got all excited and said to me “wow, you sound just like they do in the movies!” Which I thought was so cute- she hadn’t met an American before and had only been familiar with our manner of speaking through Hollywood films…
Please, couldn't you dwell for a while how the Hollywood industry has filmed My Fair Lady with its must-to-be accents of upper classes or managed them: From a viewpoint of an American?!
It only really matters if you go and live in the US or Canada. When I first moved there the differences were immediately apparent.
Pants (UK) =underwear, pants (US)=trousers (UK)
Pavement (Canada at least)=that bit of the paved road cars run on!
Pavement (UK)=sidewalk
Post and mail are switched over, thus
To post a letter(UK)=to mail
Postman(UK)=mailman, but
Royal Mail, US Postal Service, Canada Post
I find 'I have finished' (UK) when the job is completed='I am finished' (US) very strange, as the latter normally means something bad has happened.
Gotten is also found in begotten in British English.
A lot of people in Taiwan now call American English which is adopted there just 'American'.
CMT Wei The intent of "I am finished" depends on the context.
Americans also call American English just plain American.
Fascinating! Love it! Would really be interested in grammatical and punctuation differences too...
One thing I rarely hear mentioned, and which I find much more confusing that strict spelling or pronunciation differences, is the fact that the emphasis in quite a few words is different. For example, the words inventory and skeletal are spelled the same in both American and British English, but sound completely different due to the shift in emphasis within the words. Lots of other examples, but it's early here...
SkelEEtal and inVENtree. There are a bunch of words like that. BATree = battery
In hillbilly English (American) the alternator in your car is pronounced, "alt-nater". Drives me nuts.
And black folks have a completely different language, which, to me, is more interesting than it is annoying.
Yes, indeed lots of those. Too much to cover in this video. Thanks for your insight.
@@GizmoFromPizmo Trying to get clarity here. Are you saying that alternator is pronounced "alt-nater" in the US? I, as a North American, say all four syllables - AHL-ter-NA-ter. And, I believe that is fairly typical - at least on the west coast.
@@lauraleeogan7523 - No. Most people pronounce it like it's spelled, "ALT-er-na-tor" (4-syllables) but Ohio has a lot of West Virginia and Kentucky influence on the language. It's the hillbillification of English.
I've worked around cars quite a but and there are a lot of good-old-boys in that industry. They will charge your BAT-ree and change your ALT-natr. 😆
@@GizmoFromPizmo And get the lug nuts off with a "tar arn".
This was a huge amount of knowledge. Thanks for sharing 👍
...as a non-native speaker I mix AE and BE depending on my exposition to it and my use as the modern lingua franca, which the BBC called "globish"... 😉
The development of distinct dialects takes time. That’s why here in the US, there is a greater variation in dialects on the East Coast, as these were the first areas to be colonized.
True! People outside New England talk about a “Boston” accent, but I know of 7 accents (and many words unique to their regions) in the greater Boston area.
@@bethparker3146 That's an interesting perspective which explains why the mid-west and west (Large parts of Texas being the exception) have a common dialect which is considered standard American.
American here… I would say, “My family is” great video - thanks!
You said that collective nouns are singular (or variable) in the UK, while they are plural in the US. However, in my experience it has been the reverse, or at the very least, both forms are acceptable in both countries.
yes,
It was a mistake on my part.
Your videos are AMAZING! You spread knowledge and culture! Thanks
I grew up reading British literature, not special American editions (Noel Streatfield, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Tolkien etc) I noted and appreciated the differences and felt that it enhanced my education and curiosity. We also have always had plenty of British film and television available in the US. With a population of over 330 million (vs UK 67 million) and varied demographics and regional differences you’re painting our exposure to the rest of the world with a rather broad brush. Love your videos, and in particular this subject. I also agree with other commenters on the cupboard/ cabinet. We use different names for the same thing in many cases though a US cupboard would specifically be a kitchen type installed cupboard like a cabinet while what we think of as a constructed and enclosed storage space that’s part of the architecture (a closet) is what you would call a cupboard. An armoire or wardrobe is more specifically used for a freestanding clothing storage but some might also call that a cabinet or cupboard. AE can be confusing and arbitrary.
New to the channel & loving it! I have to admit that I am a bit of a ‘word nerd’ so, I’m really eating this stuff up! lol 🤓 Thanks for posting. 🙏
African-American here...didn't know that the expression "umm hmm" was African. How funny. We use that and so many variations of it, like “ummPH!.” My friends and family will get a kick out of that bit of info when I share it with them.
Venezuelan here. In Venezuelan Spanish we also say "um hum" (we spell it "umjú" the J sounds as an H) to mean yes, and "uh uh", to mean no. Never thought that was African in origin. I just searched and is also used in Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribean.
In the German language we use 'mmh ... mm' all the time. Either it came into the language by American influences or the German immigrants brought it with them to the US, too.
@@luigir9265 that’s strong evidence that it may have an African origin- caribeño Spanish and US English are both strongly influenced by West African languages
I’m not sure if everyone agrees that this is of African origin, but I do know that various non-word noises like this were already present in American English by the early 1800s. A visiting British writer commented on them as something he’d never heard before but which he thought were so useful that he found himself using them too - “mm-hmm”, “hunh”, etc.
umm hmm is used in Czech language very naturally and it is hard to imagine that it would have african origins
I've heard that the word "soccer" was also a British English word that hung on in America while England and Britain followed other nations/languages in saying "football"
As someone who grew up in Massachusetts there were still puritan influenced laws on the books called blue laws. At one time most retail establishments were closed on Sundays, still on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. It also wasn’t long ago package stores or liquor stores were closed on Sundays and those of us in Boston would drive up to New Hampshire to buy our booze.
Dutch Reformed Calvinists did the same thing in Southwestern Michigan
In Germany this is still the case on Sundays and I must say that I agree with it. Let all people have a free day at home with their families and avoid another rush day on Sunday. Enjoy the silence and the slow motion. Capitalism is killing all us.
@@StuffMadeOnDreams In 21s century America now, the big thing is separation of church and state. The fact that blue laws and being closed on Sundays would be a Christian based law, Americans want nothing to do with it. Those laws could be challenged in court.
Here in Texas, liquor stores are still closed on Sunday, and they're the only stores that can sell spirits. Also on Sunday, you can't buy beer or wine before 12 noon.
@@randalmayeux8880 Massachusetts sort of is like that as far as only packies selling spirits although they’re leaving the decision to allow other retail places to sell liquor up to the community. With the exception of a couple of supermarket chains its quite limited. If you go up to New Hampshire or Maine, you can buy your beer and wine just about anywhere. New Hampshire liquor stores sell them on medium strips on interstates.
This is fascinating and humorous. You got a new subscriber here.
American and junior linguist here.. love your work!
Glad to hear it.
Cupboard, wardrobe ... a closet is a separate room or built-in standing-height cabinet. (In US real estate terms, a closet is required to designate a "bedroom".
I’m an American who speaks in the American fashion. Except when I sing Pink Floyd songs. Then it’s “The lunatics are on the grahhss,” and “The dark sarcasm in the clahhssroom.” 😆
This is a fascinating summary delivered most pleasantly
Yeah if I was walking around with a British person near the street and there was also a sidewalk present and the Brit said, let's walk on the pavement, I would assume they meant the street.
Hello. I just found you and I suscribed really fast bc your going to be my new teacher. I'm a Mexican veterinarian in USA and my company pay me particular English lessons in a famous platform but I feel that it's not being too effective, so I came to find something that fit better to my necessities. Clearly would be better for me to have american accent teachers, but your content is so good that I don't care. You are so full of wisdom, culture and many more good qualities. Thank you very much for your dedicated effort bringing this materials to the world.
I don't generally use minced oaths, I've always found them to be a bit silly. I grew up in Utah and flippin and fork replaced a certain F word that I won't type. (I do believe in tempering foul language in more "formal" environments like RUclips. I curse like a sailor in my personal life though) I had no idea that Moot had a different meaning! Very interesting!
Read Lord of the Rings or seen the movies? In The Two Towers when Fangorn encounters Pippin and Merry he takes them to an entmoot. That is, the Ents discussing a moot (in the British sense) matter, namely what to do about Saruman. This confused me until I learned that the British and American words have opposite meanings, which happened just now.
@@Fred_Lougee In the case of the entmoot, JRRT was going to an older usage of 'moot', for 'a meeting'-not quite the same as either modern usage.
that's funny you see youtube as a formal environment, cause i see it as the complete opposite
I live in Pittsburgh and we still use cupboard but it's a piece of furniture. A closet is a built in "room" for clothes usually attached to bedroom.
Some English words of Irish origins include galore, shenanigans, hooligans, whiskey, drumlin and esker. So we do well with words associated with fun, mischief and geological terms!
There's some contraversy over whether the word "whiskey" or "whisky" is of Irish ("uisce beatha") or Scots ("uisge beatha") origin.
I don't know any Americans that call a cupboard a closet, I've always said cupboard or cabinet. Same with frying pan, skillet sounds more like what 1800s cowboys or miners would say. Geezer does mean old man in AE but it's an insult and more offensive than saying "old man".
Same happened between Brazil and Portugal. Nice video,great job.🇧🇷
Maior é o novo país ,& maior é a divergencia
Occupation=business
Good microphone set up. So crisp & clear.
I'm Canadian, but aside from spelling stuff like colour and favour with a "u" and calling the last letter "zed", practically none of those Britishisms resonate with me. I'd never even heard of a "pinny" before. And "shan't"? Seriously? Didn't that go into the ground no later than Churchill?
I really enjoy your videos! Thank you for making them.
Gideon, you're great, but from my Midwestern point of view, I'd like to say that a free-standing piece of furniture like the one that you pictured is not called a "closet" here in the States. It could be a pantry or cupboard, for instance. But a "closet" is a small room in which you store things such as clothes, not a free-standing piece of furniture.
As far as the pronunciation of French is concerned: I seem to notice that the English (or maybe the British as a whole) always stress them on the first syllable (even words firmly Anglicized, such as "GARage" and so on). I saw an episode of Morse (the detective) recently in which an English actor did such a good job of impersonating an American accent that I thought he might be from the States. But when he talked about "the VERsailles Treaty," I knew he was English. (Americans would, quite correctly, say verSAILLES). Why do the English mangle French like this? (Humble admission: many Americans mangle French in their own incomparable way.)
I love your videos and I hope that my remarks here are helpful and not critical.
Thanks for your comments. I read that "cupboard" was changed to "closet" in the Harry Potter American edition. I'll double check this.
@@LetThemTalkTVI don't doubt that the American version of Harry Potter used "closet". That would have shown the translator's (probably one of my fellow Americans) ignorance or lack of awareness that older British homes only had freestanding cupboards or wardrobes in bedrooms. Since older British homes did not have built in closets, I think it likely to have been a translation error to have made any change at all.
I like pantry. It's clearly different than closet or cupboard which are (I think) more generally for clothing or dishware. A pantry, as I use it, is just for food items which don't have to be refrigerated. My own pantry is half & half, cooking items and spices & some foodstuff like nuts.
@@lauraleeogan7523 it’s been awhile, but my memory is that Harry Potter slept in the walled-off area under the stairs, not a piece of furniture, so it would correctly be translated as “closet” in the US.
Ah, as an American, I insist there are no sails in Versailles -- only a sigh.
I noticed an interesting part where American words such as candy, trash, and fall are preserved from old French or something that is no longer used in Modern British English, this is a counterpart of the Korean language and Modern Chinese language. When I learn Korean, some words are always reminiscent of some ancient Chinese that are rarely used these days.
As a native speaker of American English, I would add that “cilantro” is used to refer to the fresh leafy green whilst “coriander” is used for the seasoning derived from cilantro. We use both words, but they do have slightly different meanings.
Mines oaths - we say “euphemisms”
Another expression I noticed that was not mentioned here: “I’ll be there in a tick.” (SSBE) vs “I’ll be there in a sec.” (GAE)
It is fair to say American langauge borrows more words from other langauges than any other form of the english language and dialect. My mom's family used the word spigot for water tap,
A spigot is the piece that one turns to get the flow, while a tap or faucet is the part from which the water or other liquid comes out.
Being that American English is so young, that would be a great assessment.
I’m glad you clarified the fact that when you say “American” you mean someone from de US. I was lost at first. 😊