Do you wear trousers or pants?

 

  



Big Ben, London

  
YS Team

 I HAD written only three paragraphs in two hours. It was a pleasant autumn morning and I couldn’t resist going for a walk. I stuck my unfinished writing on the idea board with a drawing pin, changed from my dressing gown   into a pair of trousers and left the house. Walking along the pavement, I entered a chemist’s shop near the crossing and bought some aspirin, paid the bill and stepped off the pavement into a taxi.

This paragraph is in UK English

 
 
 
 

  If I was an American the paragraph would read:  





 



Statue of Liberty

 I had written only three paragraphs in  two hours. It was a pleasant fall morning and I couldn’t resist going for a walk. I stuck my unfinished article on the idea board with a thumb tack, changed from my bathrobe into my pants and left. Walking along the sidewalk, I entered a druggist’s shop near the crossroads and bought some headache pills, paid the check and stepped off the sidewalk into a cab.



 The italics are US equivalents of the English words and there are nine in this one small para.

 Today, most of us write and talk a mix of UK and US English and if we had not italicized the US words, you would never have noticed. Very few people in India speak pure English today. In times past all of us talked the King’s English (that’s Queen’s English now). But today we commonly use words that are American in origin. When travelling by car (US automobile) we put our luggage in the dickey. In the UK they’d say boot. And when we pull the antenna out of our mobile, we’re again in the USA. In England it’s aerial. But we always say railway (UK) and not railroad (US). As also petrol,flyover, ground floor. The American equivalents are gasoline, overpass and first floor.

Crossings, UK

Is it wrong to use American words when speaking or writing? Depends on who you are interacting with. Among friends and younger family members US English is permitted. In fact, some words have become standard in college. How else would guys impress the ‘chicks?’ But if you are talking to an elder or to a foreigner whose  nationality you do not know, it is advisable to restrict yourself to UK English as some US words could be offensive to foreign ears. Thus, you should say ‘donkey’ and not ‘ass’ as the latter connotes the human posterior in US English.  And never ask an American woman tourist roaming around your town in rubber chappals whether she likes wearing ‘thongs.’ To an American it could mean female underwear!



Taxi, UK



US English is sometimes ‘in your face’ (US for aggressive) but usually more pungent and picturesque than the UK equivalent and lends emphasis to what you’re saying. On the other hand, when going on a picnic with an American, avoid saying you’re carrying a hamper for lunch; in the US that means a basket of dirty clothes! And when it comes to writing, it will be safe to stick to the Queen’s English, especially in formal

addresses, messages and office correspondence generally.



Cab, USA



 You can use US English when writing to friends or people you know well. Avoid it in social networking, as people may think you are showing off. Also, when talking to women avoid US English altogether.



Crossroads, USA



Some more English words with their US equivalents 

UK	USA
Full stop	Period
Currency note	Bill
Tick	Check
Dressing gown	Bathrobe
Ladies hand bag	Purse
Muslin	Cheesecloth
Car	Automobile
Bonnet	Hood
Windscreen	Windshield
Single ticket	One way ticket
Biscuit	Cookie
Chips	French fries
Insect Draughts	Bug Checkers
Seesaw	Teeter-totter