Some vocabulary to use in the right place

In this article, I want to give some differences between the British vocabulary and the American vocabulary that could be useful if you were to travel there.

In England we say mum, in the US we say mom (mother). In the UK we do not say bathroom but we say toilets. In the US we say that the line is busy  when nobody can answer the phone but in the UK  the line is engaged.

 In the following table I give some examples that I have gathered here and there and that I found useful in the daily life.
 

The UK	The US	France
Mum	Mom	Maman
Diary	Calendar	Agenda
Mate	Pal	Pote
Off-license	Liquor store	Magasin ou on peut acheter de l'alcool
Pub	Bar	Bar
Honking	Barfing	Vomir
Bum	Butt	Fesses
Autumn	Fall	Automne
Ring	Call	Appeler
Holiday	Vacation	Vacances
Sweet	Candy	Bonbons
Biscuit	Cookie	Gateau
Chips	French Fries	Frites
DPhil	PhD	Thèse
Postgraduate	Graduate	Après le master
Toilets	Bathroom	Toilettes

I also advise you to watch this funny video where Hugh Laurie (british) and Ellen DeGeneres make a funny quizz about British VS American slang... They just don't understand each other !  Thus even if those two countries share a common language, some words or expressions have evolved differently and its fun to see that an American can be in a situation  where he just does not understand a British guy because of the accent or the words he uses and vice versa ! Ask James I am sure he has plenty of examples to confirm that !

British humour vs. American humor

In this article we will talk about the british humor and american humor. We will also try to highlight what are the cultural reasons that make this difference. To do so I will base my comments on my own experience, on this interesting article and also on the video below.

The article is written by Ricky Gervais. He is the main actor and also the creator of the british version of "The Office". "The Office" is a BBC TV show which depicts a day-to-day life of office employees. It really looks like a documentary and it is also a lot of fun. Following its success, an American version of "The Office" has been adapted starring Steve Carell. Of course the office is a place of daily humor and these TV shows are a good example in order to compare the two cultures within the light of the humor.

Another interesting example is the video below. Stephen Fry tries to answer this particular question: "What is the difference between American and British comedy?"

 It is interesting to see that both in the article and in the video, the difference in humor comes mainly from cultural differences:

Hero vs. Antihero

"Americans [...] don’t hide their hopes and fears. They applaud ambition and openly reward success. Brits are more comfortable with life’s losers." Ricky Gervais.

This cultural difference implies a real difference between American and British comic heroes. American comic heroes are above everyone, they are smart guys, and they succeed in life (with girls, at work...) whereas British comic heroes are losers, they are a failure, and this is what is funny.

This interesting fact opposes the inebranlable American optimism with the British (or European) skepticism. In some sense, this was something that I saw while I was in the US, and for us, this optimism can sound fake and tiring. Indeed, I remember someone who found everything awesome and always looked happy. For me it was suspicious but I am sure he was sincere.
It is fun to see the impact of such cultural differences in humor.


Irony

Another thing that we often hear is that Americans don't get irony. Of course it is not true but, they use it much more less than we do. Therefore be careful before teasing an American guy; it is maybe not the best way to introduce yourself ;)

Please read and watch the attached documents, I found them very interesting.

More readings : The guardian