Provides information about British pronunciation, punctuation, and word use in comparison to American styles.

Whether you are traveling to Great Britain or just want to understand British popular culture, this unique dictionary will answer your questions. British English from A to Zed contains more than 5,500 British terms and their American equivalents, each with a short explanation of the term’s history and an example of its use. The appendixes provide valuable supplemental material with differences between British and American pronunciation, grammar, and spelling as well as terms grouped in specific areas such as currency, weight, and numbers. This dictionary will help you unravel the meanings of: • Berk (idiot) • Bevvied up (drunk) • Crisps (potato chips) • Erk (rookie) • To judder (to shake) • Noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe) • And more! George Bernard Shaw famously said that the British and Americans were “two peoples separated by a common language.” This book bridges that gap.

Guide to differences between English as spoken in the USA compared with the UK.

An A to Z ("Zed") of terms and expressions that differ in British English vs. American English. Dictionary format with UK terms and expressions and their US equivalents first, followed by US terms and expressions and the UK equivalents next. Also includes pages of rhyming slang, pronunciation differences, spelling differences, conversion charts and more. Great for travelers, Anglophiles, expatriates and anyone who has a love of languages!

This guide to the language differences between the United States and United Kingdom is “a fascinating collection full of all kinds of surprises” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Taxi rank . . . toad in the hole . . . dustman . . . fancy dress . . . American visitors to London (or viewers of British TV shows) might be confused by these terms. But most Britons would be equally puzzled by words like caboose, bleachers, and busboy. In Divided by a Common Language, Christopher Davies explains these expressions and discusses the many differences in pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary between British and American English. He compares the customs, manners, and practical details of daily life in the United Kingdom and the United States, and American readers will enjoy his account of American culture as seen through an Englishman’s eyes. Davies tops it off with an amusing list of expressions that sound innocent enough in one country but make quite the opposite impression in the other. Two large glossaries help travelers translate from one variety of English to the other, and additional lists explain the distinctive words of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This delightful book is the ideal companion for travelers—or anyone who enjoys the many nuances of language.

St. Maur's handy A-to-Z guide brings readers up to date on more than 2,000 commonly used English words that can cause confusion, chaos, red facesNand even cost money if they are used in the wrong way, in the wrong country.

From "chips" and "crumbs" to "spending a penny," The Queen's English is your indispensable guide to surviving and thriving in the tricky byways of the English language, which has shown many a poor soul the way out for little more than twanging a vowel, splitting an infinitive or, crime of all crimes, saying dinner instead of tea. With The Queen's English there's no need to become "flummoxed" ever again. This must-have A to Z guide uncovers the quintessential meanings behind more than 100 familiar words and phrases of the distinctively British lexicon, including: By hook or by crook (adv. phrase): It is good to find a phrase in common use that goes back as far as this one, and which appears (though not entirely proven) to link back to England's feudal past. In medieval times when the peasantry were not allowed to cut down trees, they were permitted nonetheless to gather firewood from loose or dead branches which could be obtained using "hook" (bill hook, a traditional cutting tool) or "crook," a staff with a curved end. No doubt the desperate peasant often exceeded the strict use of these tools, and so the sense is to achieve something by whatever means possible. The first recorded use of the phrase is from the fourteenth century. Gazump (vt.): Usually so proud of their reputation for playing fair, the English have a curious blind spot when it comes to buying and selling houses. To "gazump" is to raise the price of a piece of real estate after the sale has been agreed but before the contract is signed, usually on the pretext that the owner has received a higher offer elsewhere. The original buyer is then forced to raise their offer or the property goes to the higher bidder. This unethical but not illegal practice appeared first with the spelling "gazoomph" and was derived from an older and more

Do you want a solid foundation to your English studies? If you are looking for a solid foundation to your language studies for school, work or travel, this engaging course will get you speaking, writing, reading and understanding English in no time. Through authentic conversations, clear language presentations, and extensive practice and review, you will learn the English you need to communicate naturally in everyday situations - from booking a hotel room to talking about friends and family. What will I learn? The course focuses on British English but offers American alternatives. Basic English is slowly and carefully introduced to ensure you progress confidently through the course and build up a foundation to allow you to feel confident in everyday situations and move to the next level of your learning. It teaches grammar, vocabulary and listening, reading, writing, speaking and pronunciation skills. By the end of the course you will reach a solid Novice High proficiency level of ACTFL (The American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and A2 Beginner level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) guidelines. Is this course for me? Get Started in English is for absolute and false beginners of English. Clear and simple explanations make the course appropriate and accessible to anyone learning English. There are extensive illustrations to support the learner working on his or her own. This course is also ideal to use with one-to-one tutoring and as a classroom course. What do I get? This book has a learner-centred approach that incorporates the following features: - 10 units of learning content - covering everyday topics from booking a hotel room to talking about friends and family - Discovery Method - figure out rules and patterns yourself to make the language stick - Outcomes-based learning - focus your studies with clear aims - Vocabulary building - thematic lists and activities to help you learn vocabulary quickly - Test yourself - see and track your own progress - Native speaker audio - available as a digital download - Free, downloadable audio transcripts and vocabulary and language reference lists The audio for this course is available for free on library.teachyourself.com or from the Teach Yourself Library app. Where do I go next? If you want to advance your English, our Complete English as a Foreign Language course (9781473601581) will take you to an intermediate level of English. If you want to practice your speaking and listening skills, Get Talking and Keep Talking English(9781444193152) is the perfect audio course. It is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese instruction. **If you are looking for an American English course, you can try Get Started in American English (9781473652101). Rely on Teach Yourself, trusted by language learners for over 75 years.

Americans and Britons are exposed to unedited texts, scripts, and speech from one another's dialects at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. Most people have no trouble understanding the general meaning of language in the other dialect, but readers and listeners very often fail to understand or misunderstand critical words, references, and allusions for lack of familiarity of the social and cultural contexts that underlie various usages. This book remedies this gap in understanding by cataloguing the differences that language users on either side of the Atlantic are likely to encounter in their dealings with the other dialect. By taking a culturally neutral stance it addresses the needs of both British and American readers and listeners. The thematic organization of the book allows the user to access language differences in various subject areas, where words likely to be needed at the same time can all be found together. Chapters include; Politics, Law, and Government; Business and Money; Medicine and Healthcare; Education; Food, Clothing, and Shelter; Transportation; Sports; and Profanity and Obscenity, in addition to basic information on orthography, weights and measures, etc. The appendices and extensive index provide a ready point of entry for quick look-ups, and there will be an extra chapter on Canadian, Australian, and Asian English.