As an American who works with some people who speak British English,
the language differences are usually not a problem. Most words mean
the same thing, and those that don’t are usually concrete enough not
to cause confusion (ex: lift, flat, chips). The tricky ones, though,
are the ones that differ primarily in connotations. For example:
In American English (AE), “quite” is an intensifier, while in
British English (BE) it’s a mild deintensifier. So “quite good” is
“very good” in AE but “somewhat good” in BE. I think “rather” works
similarly, though it’s less common in AE and I don’t have a great
sense for it.
“Scheme” has connotations of deviousness in AE, but is neutral
in BE. Describing a plans or system as a “scheme” is common in BE and
negative in AE.
“Graft” implies corruption in AE but hard work in BE.
These can cause silent misunderstandings where two people have very
different ideas about the other’s view:
A: “I can’t believe how much graft there was in the procurement
process!”
B: “Yes, quite impressive. Rather keen on going above and beyond,
aren’t they?”
A: “And did you see the pension scheme they set up?”
B: “Sounds like they’ll be quite well off when they’ll leave
office.”
In this example A leaves thinking B approves of the corruption, while
B doesn’t realize there was any. It could be a long time, if ever,
before they realize they misunderstood each other.
Are there other words people have run into that differ like this?
British and American Connotations
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As an American who works with some people who speak British English, the language differences are usually not a problem. Most words mean the same thing, and those that don’t are usually concrete enough not to cause confusion (ex: lift, flat, chips). The tricky ones, though, are the ones that differ primarily in connotations. For example:
In American English (AE), “quite” is an intensifier, while in British English (BE) it’s a mild deintensifier. So “quite good” is “very good” in AE but “somewhat good” in BE. I think “rather” works similarly, though it’s less common in AE and I don’t have a great sense for it.
“Scheme” has connotations of deviousness in AE, but is neutral in BE. Describing a plans or system as a “scheme” is common in BE and negative in AE.
“Graft” implies corruption in AE but hard work in BE.
These can cause silent misunderstandings where two people have very different ideas about the other’s view:
In this example A leaves thinking B approves of the corruption, while B doesn’t realize there was any. It could be a long time, if ever, before they realize they misunderstood each other.
Are there other words people have run into that differ like this?