American Vs British Vs Australian Spelling

[megleigh]

I found a list of words on a forum this morning that vary in spelling and or meaning from America to Britain, and since I could think of yet more ways they vary in Australia, I thought that I might post here about them. They are as follows.

American British Australian Antsy Fidgety Antsy, fidgety, niggly,

Comments

[addisonalbright]

Nice list. There's three of them that I'm not sure I'd agree wholeheartedly with the American word, though...

I'd say spunk or guts before I'd ever use the word moxie.

I'd probably use antsy before fidgety, but it's not like I wouldn't ever use fidgety, like with many of the British options.

I'd say vomit before I'd say barf. We do use barf, but maybe it's a regional thing... wouldn't be my first choice. For slang I'd probably say throw-up first and would also use spew, upchuck, puke, hurl or heave before I'd use barf.

[megleigh]

Yeah, the American words were not my choices, just the ones listed on the site I was looking at. I use puke for barf when I am setting my story in the USA, too.

I just thought it interesting to see how they vary, or don't, from one country to another.

[addisonalbright]

Oh I know, that stuff is fascinating. Others that come to mind are elevator vs lift and truck vs lorrie (I'm probably spelling that wrong).

[megleigh]

What do you say in the USA for moving stairs? We call them escalators. Is that the same?

[zoenichols]

*blinks*

Cool.

[megleigh]

I thought you might find that useful. :)

We almost speak a different language down here, compared to the USA and UK.

[mareel]

I never knew that glow worms were the same as fireflies (lightning bugs).

I agree that 'moxie' isn't a word I'd ever think of using -- definitely 'guts' or 'nerve'.

[megleigh]

I don't think that the thing we call a glow worm is the same as a firefly. We don't have fireflies here at all. The creature we call a glow worm, is a little beastie that lives on the roof of caves and glows in the dark.

[kabuldur]

There's fireflies near you! I have seen them at Dayboro, Cedarton and a place near the Witta sportsground (in sclerophyl forest, not rainforest). They are magic! I hope you get to see some in your lifetime. I have never seen any at my actual house or surrounds. All you see is the little light going on an off on your ceiling or flying erratically through the air outside. If you shine your torch on them, you can see that they are some little kind of bug :)

Yeah, I have heard that they are glow worms in the Genolan Caves and other places.

[megleigh]

Really! I really would love to see them! I didn't think there were fireflies in Australia.

I learned something new today!

[erastes]

A couple of English corrections:

We don't watch baseball either - I think it might sometimes be on a specialised sports channel in the middle of the night but I've rarely seen it. Sumo is on more often.

Corn meal fritter? What's one of those?

A Beach Hut is one of these:

[megleigh]

hmm interesting. The US and UK words were given on the forum. I only gave the Australian ones, but it is interesting that they were so different to what you are familiar with.

[erastes]

Ain't language fascinating?

[gina_stormgrant]

Why a corn meal fritter is a Johnnie Cake, of course. ;-)

Interesting to look at the list from a Canadian perspective. We choose one from column A and two from column B...

Yesterday I discovered Yanks call the place where you live when you're in university a dorm. We call it a residence.

And the other odd one is how in the US, you're in *the* hospital whereas in Canada, you're just in hospital.

Which is it for you?

[kabuldur]

Of course, the Australian ones make much more sense :)

I would say Johnny cake, not hash brown.

Yeah, that muslin/cheesecloth thing was totally puzzling me.

Then there's our spelling. I keep wondering if my American friends think I am misspelling words like 'neighbour' :)

[j3nny3lf]

Johnny cakes are corn bread cooked on the end of a hoe, though, where hash browns are shredded potatoes fried in a pan.

[kabuldur]

OK :)

[j3nny3lf]

And yes, you are misspelling.

*Plucks the superfluous U!*