Vocabulary Differences
British English
American
British English
American English
English
Time and season
Transport; roads
autumn
a fortnight
in future/in the
fall
two weeks
in the future
car park
motorway
traffic lights
parking lot
freeway
stop lights
future
Monday to Friday Monday through
Friday
pavement
sidewalk
ten to three
Schools/Education
class/form
state school
secondary school
staff
pupil
first year
second year
third year
fourth year
timetable
Communications
engaged
phone/ring/call
trunk call
post
post box
postcode
City life
in town
chemist’s
estate agent
cinema
ten of three
grade
public school
high school
faculty
student
freshman
sophomore
junior
senior
schedule
busy
call someone
long-distance call
mailbox
zip code
downtown
pharmacy
realtor
movie theater
Transport
bike stand
caravan
lorry
taxi
aeroplane
air hostess
railway
booking
return ticket
single ticket
Clothes
braces
dressing gown
jumper/sweater
pants
trousers
trainers
vest
zip
Houses
flat
lift
cooker
bike rack
trailer/camper/RV
truck
cab/taxi
airplane
flight attendant
railroad
reservation
round-trip ticket
one-way ticket
suspenders
bathrobe
sweater
underpants
pants
tennis shoes
undershirt
zipper
apartment
elevator
stove
36
Section II. English in India and Australia
“The Adventure of English” (2002),
film 7 “Language of Empire”
Towards the end of the 18th century, the continuing process of
British world exploration established the English language in the
southern hemisphere.
Video off
Before you watch the film read about heroes and events
described in it.
South Asia
In terms of numbers of English speakers, the Indian subcontinent
ranks third in the world, after the USA and UK. This is largely due to
the special position which the language has come to hold in India
itself, where it has been estimated that some 4 per cent of the people
(over 30 million in 1994) now make regular use of English. There are
also considerable numbers of English speakers elsewhere in the
region, which comprises six countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan) that together hold about a fifth of the
world’s population. The variety which has emerged throughout the
subcontinent is known as South Asian English. It is less than 200
years old, but it is already one of the most distinctive varieties in the
English-speaking world.
The origins of South Asian English lie in Britain. The first regular
British contact with the subcontinent came in 1600 with the formation
of the British East India Company – a group of London merchants
who were granted a trading monopoly in the area by Queen Elizabeth I.
It established its first trading station at Surat in 1612, and by the end
of the century others were in existence at Madras, Bombay, and
Calcuta. During the 18yh century, it overcame competitions from
other European nations, especially France.
During the period of British sovereignty, from 1765 until
independence in 1947, English gradually became the medium of
37
administration and education throughout the subcontinent. The
language questions attracted special attention during the early 19th
century, when colonial administrators debated the kind of educational
policy which should be introduced. A recognized turning-point was
Lord William Bentick’s acceptance of a Minute, written by Thomas
Macaulay in1935, which proposed the introduction of an English
educational system in India. When the universities in Bombay,
Calcuta and Madras were established in 1857, English became the
primary medium of instruction, thereby guaranteeing its status and
steady growth during the next century.
Influential View
Thomas Macaulay (1800-59) began a four year period of service
on the Supreme Council of India in 1834. His famous Minute
presented the case for a new English subculture in the region.
“I think it is clear…that we ought to employ them (our funds) in
teaching what is best worth knowing; that English is better worth
knowing than Sanscrit or Arabic, that the natives are not desirous to
be taught Sanscrit or Arabic… that it is possible to make natives of
this country thoroughly good English scholars; and that to this end our
efforts ought to be directed”.
The climate of opinion which led to this Minute had been much
influenced by the views of the religious and social reformer Ram
Mohan Roy (1772-1833). In the 1820s he had proposed the
introduction of a Western education curriculum, arguing that
instruction in English was essential if Indians were to have access to
European scientific knowledge.
Australia
Australia was visited by James Cook in 1779, and within 20 years
Britain has established its first penal colony at Sydney, thus relieving
the pressure on the overcrowded prisons in England. About 130,000
prisoners were transported during the 59 years after the arrival of the
‘first fleet’ in 1788. ‘Free’ settlers, as they were called, also began to
enter the country from the very beginning, but they did not achieve
38
substantial numbers until the mid-19th century. From them on,
immigration rapidly increased. By 1850, the population of Australia
was about 400,000, and by 1900 nearly 4 million. Today, it is over 17
million.
The British Isles provided the main source of settlers, and thus the
main influence on the language. Many of the convicts came from
London and Ireland, and features of Cockney and Irish English can be
traced in the speech patterns heard in Australia today. Several words
commonly thought of as Australian started out in Britain, and may still
be heard locally in British dialects, such as cobber, tucker (compare
tuck shop), and joker (‘person’). On the other hand, the variety
contains many expressions which have originated in Australia
(including a number from Aboriginal languages), and in recent years
the influence of American English has been noticeable, so that the
country now has a very mixed lexical character.