There are many things that annoy us about how others use our native tongue. That’s just the way our brains work. There’s one interesting example though, that’s often mentioned by British-English speakers: Can I get…?
Can I Get a Coffee?
British English
I Me Mine
Over breakfast today, thinking about what to write today, I noticed this article on the BBC website:
Like, Whatever!
In many ways, like is one of the most, well, disliked words in the English language. There are few words which are more synonymous with the perceived decline in ability to use English effectively among native speakers. How better to imitate lazy, inarticulate teenager than by peppering your speech with a few like‘s?
However, I have to ask: is like really so bad?
What’s for Tea?
Would you like tea? You would? Great! But please, take a seat, because this is going to get complicated.
Hold the Cilantro
The differences between American and British English are of course numerous, and I’ve touched on them before. One area that’s always intrigued me though is food.
Petrol or Gasoline?
It’s probably pretty well-known that gasoline and petrol are the same thing, being the American- and British-English terms respectively for the same fuel.
It’s not unusual for their to be such marked differences between the words for the same thing in both varieties of English. But I’ve always been curious as to why the words are so different, especially considering that petrol has a fairly logical etymology.
Boot or Trunk? Hood or Bonnet?
One of the strangest areas of difference between British and American English is that of cars. In many ways, the general differences between words in both main forms of English are small and superficial. Things like removing a U from a word like colour, or swapping an R and an E around at the end of a word. Other differences are based on old uses and forms of words, and are understandably caused by 200 years or so of drift. And there’s sports.
But cars are such a relatively new invention that it always seemed strange to me that American and British English would have such different words to refer to their different parts. Specifically why a boot in British English is a trunk in American English, and a bonnet is a hood.
English-Language Thoughts 