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Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English
A witty and informative study of the linguistic gap between American and British English discusses differences in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary, as well as expressions that have vastly different meanings in the two countries and the cultural idiosyncracies of American and British language. Reprint.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 11, 2009
Highly entertaining! This book can be roughly divided into 3 parts. The socio-infrastructure of the English language, the difference of terminologies and slangs, and the unique dialect in some British colonies.
While it's easy to spot the difference in spelling (rambunctious in US, rumbustious in UK), it's not that easy to decipher the difference in slangs. For instance, in the UK you can 'knock up' (wake up) a person, 'knock up' (warm up) at tennis, 'knock up' a meal in a hurry, and you can even 'knock yourself up' (knock yourself out). In the States, 'knock up' is strictly an expression meaning to make a woman pregnant.
To make the subject more interesting, some dialects in other British colonies sound like a completely different language! For instance, 'on pogey' means unemployed in Canadian English, and 'retrenched' means laid off from work in Australian English. Here in the good Ole USA, 'unemployed' means unemployed.
The final Cockney Rhyming Slangs chapter adds another dimension to this subject. These slangs are like Morse codes to average American. Seriously, who would have guess 'ginger beer' means queer, and 'rub-a-dub-dub' means pub?
It's fair to say the United States, Britain, and the 13 British colonies are all divided, conquered, and united by a common language. I find this book highly entertaining and would highly recommend it to my friends.
While it's easy to spot the difference in spelling (rambunctious in US, rumbustious in UK), it's not that easy to decipher the difference in slangs. For instance, in the UK you can 'knock up' (wake up) a person, 'knock up' (warm up) at tennis, 'knock up' a meal in a hurry, and you can even 'knock yourself up' (knock yourself out). In the States, 'knock up' is strictly an expression meaning to make a woman pregnant.
To make the subject more interesting, some dialects in other British colonies sound like a completely different language! For instance, 'on pogey' means unemployed in Canadian English, and 'retrenched' means laid off from work in Australian English. Here in the good Ole USA, 'unemployed' means unemployed.
The final Cockney Rhyming Slangs chapter adds another dimension to this subject. These slangs are like Morse codes to average American. Seriously, who would have guess 'ginger beer' means queer, and 'rub-a-dub-dub' means pub?
It's fair to say the United States, Britain, and the 13 British colonies are all divided, conquered, and united by a common language. I find this book highly entertaining and would highly recommend it to my friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2013
When I picked up this book 4 years ago, after just moving from San Diego to London, I found it silly --- we speak the same language, what's really the difference?!?! Now I can relate a lot of these different words and phrases to funny memories, like when I told a colleague that their pants were dragging the ground, so it's been a fun read this time around!
February 13, 2016
I didn't read this the traditional way--back to front. Rather, I hopped around, looking up things as I needed them/they caught my interest. Still, in that way, I'm pretty sure I've read the whole thing at least once. Some of it feels a bit outdated, but it's still good enough for what it is. Recommended for anyone who needs to know this stuff.
July 25, 2022
This was fabulous and so funny! I read some of it out loud and my family really enjoyed it!
April 4, 2010
This is a fun book to read through. It shows how different the English language can be, and how cultures really influence how we speak.
July 13, 2020
As a Malaysian who grew up with both American and British English but speaks 90% Malay, I never really knew those English words can be differentiated. I thought they just have various names in English as we Malaysian use both interhchangeably. Like the vegetable 'terung' in Malay is either 'Aubergine/Eggplant/Brinjal' in English and I assumed you can choose whichever to use as you like.
But after studying abroad in the UK, the words can get quite confusing not just to me but my fellow Brits friends and this get me really interested with British vs American English. This book explains it all, it has just enough explaination, isnt any lenghty, but its not simply throwing this vs that words like a phrasebook either. The experience and knowledge the author has as a citizen in both countries is shown throughout the book. I love how it offers many practical language and cultural use if you are coming to each of the country.
I wished I would have this knowledge earlier before I live abroad in the UK. Its chapters are written by topics too so its easy to pick which one is important to you. Although personally if you are a students studying abroad, there seems to be missing quite a bit of relevant topics and commonly-used words. I read this book in one sitting twice. Interesting stuff anyway!
But after studying abroad in the UK, the words can get quite confusing not just to me but my fellow Brits friends and this get me really interested with British vs American English. This book explains it all, it has just enough explaination, isnt any lenghty, but its not simply throwing this vs that words like a phrasebook either. The experience and knowledge the author has as a citizen in both countries is shown throughout the book. I love how it offers many practical language and cultural use if you are coming to each of the country.
I wished I would have this knowledge earlier before I live abroad in the UK. Its chapters are written by topics too so its easy to pick which one is important to you. Although personally if you are a students studying abroad, there seems to be missing quite a bit of relevant topics and commonly-used words. I read this book in one sitting twice. Interesting stuff anyway!
September 11, 2021
Interesting. Being an American with a British grandmother I know more UK terms than some. It was an interesting book that could be used for reference, but some words were so obscure or uncommon I hadn’t even heard of some of the “American” words. Language is so fluid, I’m sure this book is a bit outdated from its 2005 publication. This provided a little light kindle reading before bed.
August 8, 2022
Good both for general reading and as a reference work.
October 2, 2022
Really enjoyed this informative review of some of the significant (as well as not so significant) differences between British English and American English.
December 29, 2022
So many differences in English.
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December 17, 2024""
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2023
Indispensable
When I first picked up this book, I was like a kid in a candy store. All those British mysteries that I had fumbled through trying to pick meaning from context came flooding back to me Finally when Agatha Christie's Miss Blacklock Became a Chartered Accountant, on page 119 it is the equivalent of a CPA
Next, my mind wandered as I browsed the pages and could hear Hannibal Lector saying he was going to eat my liver with some, page 32, broad beans. The book is divided into two useful subjects.
Being cautious, I was not going to let author Christopher Davies pull the wool over my eyes; so, I had an international admissions officer from the local college look at the section on British schools. I had to wrench the book back. It had passed scrutiny.
Finally, I made the mistake of showing it to my wife. Now I have to sue for custody.
When I first picked up this book, I was like a kid in a candy store. All those British mysteries that I had fumbled through trying to pick meaning from context came flooding back to me Finally when Agatha Christie's Miss Blacklock Became a Chartered Accountant, on page 119 it is the equivalent of a CPA
Next, my mind wandered as I browsed the pages and could hear Hannibal Lector saying he was going to eat my liver with some, page 32, broad beans. The book is divided into two useful subjects.
Being cautious, I was not going to let author Christopher Davies pull the wool over my eyes; so, I had an international admissions officer from the local college look at the section on British schools. I had to wrench the book back. It had passed scrutiny.
Finally, I made the mistake of showing it to my wife. Now I have to sue for custody.
January 9, 2016
I had such high hopes for this book, and found myself generally disappointed-- perhaps because I felt that the book was marketed as a narrative about linguistics rather than a travel guide. As a travel guide, it's fairly good, though I still would have liked to see more details.
Alphabetical lists, sometimes sorted into categories by content (sports, food, etc.) offer "translations" from British to American English and back again. As I said, it might be handy for a traveler, but the organization made it difficult and repetitive for someone who wanted interesting linguistic comparisons between the lexicons. For example, the British-to-American and American-to-British lists for a given category would be almost identical-- but with just enough different words or definitions scattered about that I couldn't skip reading either one. And some of the translations seemed unnecessary to me, as I'm sure the meaning would be easily understood in context. I did appreciate, however, being notified when the same word had either different meanings or different pronunciation depending on the country.
Every so often, the author offered a more in-depth definition or derivation for a word/phrase, and those were lovely. I just wanted many more of them.
As an American, it was interesting for me to see the occasional lapses where the author (obviously of British origin) either failed to explain something British that must have just not occurred to him to need translation or, more often, failed to fully understand an American usage. In several cases, the "American" version given for a word was less familiar to me than the "British" one! (Some of this may be regional, too, of course, and some may be a matter of how quickly colloquial uses change).
Alphabetical lists, sometimes sorted into categories by content (sports, food, etc.) offer "translations" from British to American English and back again. As I said, it might be handy for a traveler, but the organization made it difficult and repetitive for someone who wanted interesting linguistic comparisons between the lexicons. For example, the British-to-American and American-to-British lists for a given category would be almost identical-- but with just enough different words or definitions scattered about that I couldn't skip reading either one. And some of the translations seemed unnecessary to me, as I'm sure the meaning would be easily understood in context. I did appreciate, however, being notified when the same word had either different meanings or different pronunciation depending on the country.
Every so often, the author offered a more in-depth definition or derivation for a word/phrase, and those were lovely. I just wanted many more of them.
As an American, it was interesting for me to see the occasional lapses where the author (obviously of British origin) either failed to explain something British that must have just not occurred to him to need translation or, more often, failed to fully understand an American usage. In several cases, the "American" version given for a word was less familiar to me than the "British" one! (Some of this may be regional, too, of course, and some may be a matter of how quickly colloquial uses change).
December 10, 2014
I like to think I am well-read, and I watch a lot of BBC, so when I picked this book up, I assumed most of the contents would be old news to me. I was wrong. I really did learn a lot from this book, and not all of the new knowledge was on the Queen's English. There were many American English phrases in the book that I had never before heard, much less used. As I have a fascination with all things language-related, I really enjoyed this book, to the point where I may even purchase a copy for my personal collection.
July 10, 2009
The first part of this book was really enjoyable. It explained a lot about the differences in British English and American English in an easily accessible and interesting format. The second part of this book read more like a dictionary. While definitely helpful during our UK trip, it doesn't make for interesting reading per se. Overall, the book was well researched.
SuBC: Judge a book by its cover, reading it solely for the title, 15 points
SuBC: Judge a book by its cover, reading it solely for the title, 15 points
September 4, 2014
I don't know what to say about this book. It's not what I expected. I wanted some sort of linguistic essay but all I got was lists, lists, lists and a short guide on how to live in the US or in UK with very basic notions.
The lists were interesting but at the same time it's very difficult to use them as a reference. And the small lists written for the short guide were reprinted at the end of the book in the big final list.
Sigh. So boring.
The lists were interesting but at the same time it's very difficult to use them as a reference. And the small lists written for the short guide were reprinted at the end of the book in the big final list.
Sigh. So boring.
November 8, 2014
As an avid fan of British literature, I was intrigued with this book, even though there are several UK terms that I think are generally understood in America (assuming you are moderately educated) and probably vice versa. It was an entertaining read.
March 1, 2007
a must have for the Anglophile!
February 13, 2010
Fun book, I got a kick out of the fact this this book was like a foreign phrasebook but it's all English.
December 30, 2012
Great book, exactly what I need now. It was fun to read, I learnt a lot and I am sure that I read it again and again.
November 18, 2013
I thought it would be fun to read this, especially after spending time with our British friends. We've had some funny moments of confusion that goes beyond not understanding their accent.
August 13, 2014
This little book was fun to read to find all the ways our two English languages are so different. Perfect. Use it with the travel guide when going across the pond.
October 14, 2014
Fun book, very informative about the differences. I disagreed with a few of the things that Mr. Davies says Americans say, but overall it seemed pretty accurate.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews