Narayan Greg Linguistics 109 Wayne Harbert Homework Assignment #6 April 2007
I.
British and American English British Equivalent Number plate Reversing light Camper van Football pitch Rubber Windscreen Torch Dressing gown Naughts and crosses Wardrobe Skive Hire a car
American Word License plate Backup lights Camper Soccer field Eraser Windshield Flashlight Bathrobe Tick-tac-toe Closet Play hookey Rental car
For roughly half of the American words above (license plate, soccer field, eraser, windshield, flashlight, closet, and rental car) I was able find their British equivalents by asking my dad. My dad grew up in India until the age of 21, and thus became very familiar with British lingo and culture. For the rest, I used an online site which had several listings of British to American translations and vice versa.
British Word Bangers and mash Bank holiday Drink mat Dustman Anorak Quid Quod Quango Surgery Jumper Garden flat Chemist's Hire purchase
American Equivalent Sausage and mashed potatoes Public/legal holiday Coasters Garbage collector Nerd Pound sterling Prison Acronym standing for: Quasi-autonomous non-gumtal organization Dr.'s office Sweater Apartment with garden Drug store Conditional sale contract
Giro Iced Lolly
Direct bank deposit Popsicle
For this set of words, I also used help from my dad and the website described above. It was easier for my dad to recall American equivalents of British words, and when I would say a British word of phrase it seemed to trigger a response more quickly than when translating from American to British. He was able to help me with all except for anorak, quango, hire purchase, and giro.
II.
American Dialect Vocabulary
A. People say "The car needs washed" in the Midwest and Midlands regions of the US (Midland pattern), however the size of the region in which this phrase is used is narrower than for the phrase "Gas is getting expensive anymore", and appears to be limited mostly to north of the Ohio River. B. People say "Gas is getting expensive anymore" in the Midwest and Midlands as well, especially in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Indiana. The saying is popular in regions inhabited by the Scots-Irish. C. Carbonated beverages are called sodas frequently most in New England, however this expression is also used in the southwest, and in Southern Illinois and Kansas. These results differ from those found at popvssoda.com in that this website indicates that the term soda is also used in parts of Michigan and in several regions of middle and southern California. D. The breakdown for American English names for a drink made with milk and ice cream is as follows: milkshake/shake is by far the most commonly used and shows up all throughout the US but less prominently in central states such as Kansa, Idaho, and Nebraska, frappe is the second most common and is found primarily on the east coast near Massachusetts and Maine, cabinet is the next most common, and is found on the east coast near Rhode Island, next is velvet and then thick shake, which are used a negligible amount. E. The names for a long sandwich with cold cuts, lettuce, etc. are as follows in order of most commonly used: sub, grinder, hoagie, hero, poor boy, bomber, Italian sandwich, baguette, sarney. Sub is used most commonly and is found all throughout the US, grinder is found only on the East Coast near New York, hoagie is used often in Kentucky and Tennessee, hero is used near southern Maine, and poorboy is commonly used in the south in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The rest are used a negligible amount. F. The names for an insect which flies around in the summer and has a rear section that glows in the dark are: lightning bug (found in right hand half of the US,
mainly Midwest and East Coast), firefly (found in California and middle states such as Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and also used in Minnesota and some northern regions of the East Coast), and peenie wallie (lacking really any geographic prominence).
These results do correctly reflect the words used in my hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, in that we do use milkshake, firefly, sub sandwich, and pop (although I have been known to utter the word soda for variety), however we use neither the expression "The car needs washed", nor "Gas is getting expensive anymore". Websites used: http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blbritam.htm