6 Minute Vocabulary - British and American English

This is the BBC . This podcast is supported by advertising outside the . This is a download from BBC Learning English to find out more . Visit our website six minutes from BBC Learning English dot com . Hello and welcome to Six Minute Vocabulary . My name's Catherine and I'm here today with our special guest presenter Doug . Welcome to the show , Doug . Hi , Catherine . How are you ? I'm fine , thank you . How are you , Doug ? Fine . Tell us a bit about yourself , Doug . You're originally from Canada , right ? Yes , I'm from Vancouver , which is in western Canada . But I moved here a long , long time ago . But you still got an American English accent . I noticed . I haven't lost that . And that's cool , because this show is all about the differences between British English and American English vocabulary . So tell me , , do Canadians like you speak American English ? I don't think Canadians would say that . Let's say they they speak North American English , OK , but it is very similar . So American English actually , and British English aren't really that different . No , I'm British and me and Doug can understand each other perfectly . Yes . Yes , usually . Of course we can . Yes , of course I understand we can . But there are a few vocabulary differences between American and British English that is very helpful to learn . And today with Doug's help , we're going to take you through some of them . So over to you , Doug . OK , thanks , Catherine . Let's start with some examples . This is John from the U.S. talking about his recent visit to Britain . Here's a question for you while you're listening . Did John enjoy his visit ? Here's John . I went to Britain for two weeks last fall . Actually , British people don't say fall . They say autumn in the States . We paid the check , but in Britain they paid the bill . We mail a letter , but the British post a letter . We go to a store to buy candy and cookies . But the British go to a shop to buy sweets and biscuits . But I had a great time there . So the question was , according to John , did he enjoy his visit and the answer is yes , he did . He said he had a great time . Well done if you got that right at home . Now , let's have a closer look at some of the vocabulary John used . Here's a clip and another question for you . What's the name of the season after summer ? Actually , British people don't say fall . They say autumn . So in Britain , this season after summer is called autumn . Hmm . Yes . But in American English , it's called fall because the leaves fall fall . Next question . When you're in a restaurant and you finish the meal , what do you ask for ? What do you pay ? Listen , again , in the states , we paid the check , but in Britain they paid the bill . In America , the word is check . You pay the check . At the end of the meal , you pay the check . But in Britain , we pay the bill . Mm hmm . Here's another difference between British and American English . What do we do when we send a letter ? Can you remember the British word or the American word or both ? Listen , again , we mail a letter , but the British post a letter . So in Britain , we post a letter . But , Doug , North Americans say mail a letter . OK , now , John said that British people go to a shop to buy sweets and biscuits . Well , where do Americans go and what do they buy there ? Listen , one more time , we go to a store to buy candy and cookies . The British say shop , but the Americans say store . The British say sweets . But the Americans say candy . The British say biscuits . And in North America , that's cookies . Six minutes vocabulary from BBC Learning English dot com . And our topic for today is British and American vocabulary . , a question for you . A lot of learners of English want to know which one is better . Is it British English or American English ? What do you think ? And to be honest , there's no difference . Just use the one you like and now it's time for a quiz . Doug is going to say an American English word , and you have to say the British English word with the same meaning . OK , so the first American English word is check . What's the British word for check ? And the answer is Bill . Next word , Candy . What do British people say instead of candy ? And the British word for candy is sweets good . And the last American word is . What's the British word for mail ? The British word for mail is post . And that's all our questions for today . . And before we go , here's a tip to help you with your vocabulary studies . Yes , people speak English with many different accents . Australian , Indian , Nigerian , Singaporean , West Indian . So it's a good idea to practice listening to lots of accents , not only British accents or American English . It's easy to find examples of many different accents . Just go online . Top tip . Thanks very much and thanks for being with us today . Well , that's the end of the program , but there's a lot more about this ABC Learning English dot com . Join us again soon for more six minute vocabulary . Bye bye .