British or American English? 16/17 ep.10
British or American English? 16/17 ep.10
In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack talk about the first American to become manager of a Premier League team. They get confused on the phone by an American who uses too many American words. They then take a look at some of the main differences between American and British English. We also have news about our Premier Skills Fantasy Football team, a new football phrase for you to guess and a Premier League prediction for you to make in our weekly vote. Enjoy!
How much did you understand?
Vocabulary
In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. You can see two examples here:
Bob Bradley has taken over as manager of Swansea City.
Algeria and Cameroon are also in this group. A real group of death with only the top team qualifying.
There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Can you remember all of them? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words in context. This can really help with understanding.
American versus British English - Football English
In this week's podcast, Jack asked Virginia about Bob Bradley - the new American manager of Swansea City. She used lots of American words that Jack and Rich had a few problems understanding. There are some differences when we speak about football or soccer. Take a look at these examples that Virginia said in the podcast when she was speaking about football......I mean soccer!! The American words are in blue. Do you know what the British versions are?
Bradley has lots of good players to work with; like the goaltender - Fabianski.
I'm sure he can't wait for his first game on the field.
Maybe it will finish zero-zero.
Bradley will be looking for a shut-out in his first game.
Swansea could do with another offensive player - they don't get enough shots on frame.
Virginia used quite a lot of football English that is not usually used in British English. Have a go at the activity, below and see if you can match the American Football English to the British Football English.
American versus British English - General Vocabulary
It's not only football English that is a little different in the USA. There are many different words in the UK and the USA but we still understand each other, usually!! Here is one confusing example from the podcast:
In the USA, you wear pants over your underpants but in the UK, you wear trousers over your pants!
In the podcast, Rich tested Jack's understanding of American English. In this activity, we test how much American and British English you know. Can you match the American words tot he British words?
If you want to learn more about the differences between American and British English, check out our Learn English website. If you want to know more about the specific differences between the English used to describe football or soccer in the USA and the UK, then take a look at this article from the BBC.
Transcript
Welcome
Rich: Hello my name’s Rich
Jack: and I’m Jack
Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcastJack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.
Social
Jack: Let’s start with what’s been happening on the website this week.
Rich: We’ve got our latest Fantasy Football article on the website.
Jack: Yeah. We really need your help this week. We had our worst ever week in the last round of matches so we’re going to change a few things.
Rich: We’re changing our defence. Maybe the whole defence. Our defenders have been rubbish all season!
Jack: We’ve got a vote for you on the fantasy football page about which defenders need to go and a few better ones to buy. THere is a link on the side of this page and we would really like to hear your opinions.
Rich: What else has been happening?
Jack: We had a few comments about last week’s podcast. We asked you to use superlatives and the present perfect in some of your answers and it was great to see you practising this area of language.
Rich: Poui from Laos said that the best goal he’s ever seen was Ibrahimovic’s bicycle kick. He didn’t say which bicycle kick - he’s scored loads but I think he probably means the one that he scored for Sweden against England.
Jack: Oh yeah! That was brilliant! I’m sure you can all remember that one.
Rich: Elghoul from Algeria said that the furthest he’s ever travelled was to an Arsenal match in 1978.
Jack: It would be great to hear more about that visit, Elghoul!
Rich: Davillions from Spain said that the hottest place he’s ever visited is his gym's sauna, Alex from ukraine said the best song he’s ever heard is We are the Champions by Queen and kwesimanifest from Ghana says his happiest memory is when he won a Premier Skills competition.
Jack: We’re happy we make you happy Kwesimanifest!
Latest news headlines
Jack: Here are the Premier League headlines this week.
News sting
Rich: Premier League players hit form in African qualifying.
Jack: Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho both scored to give Nigeria a 2-1 win against Zambia. Algeria and Cameroon are also in this group - a real group of death with only the top team qualifying.
Rich: Spain and Serbia are on the road to Russia.
Jack: Southampton’s Dusan Tadic got two assists and the winning goal for Serbia in a 3-2 win against Austria in Group D of World Cup qualifying in Europe and Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Manchester City’s Nolito got the goals to give Spain a good win away in Albania.
Rich: Bob Bradley becomes the first American to manage in the Premier League.
Jack: Bradley has taken over as manager at Swansea City. He has previously managed in France and Norway, and as the national manager of Egypt and the USA.
Sting
Rich: So, Swansea City have a new manager. He’s called Bob Bradley and he’s American.
Jack: He’s the first American manager in the Premier League ever. Do you think he will have any language problems?
Rich: What do you mean? He speaks English.
Jack: Yeah, but there are lots of differences between American and British English. Bob Bradley - is he a football manager or a soccer manager?
Rich: Yeah, OK. Soccer in the USA and football in Britain. That’s one difference but I don’t think there are too many more. Well there’s trousers and pants, too, I suppose. Actually, we can speak to an American now and ask her.
Jack: Hi Virginia in Minneapolis. Are you there?
Virginia: Hi. I’m here yes.
Jack: So, Bob Bradley from New Jersey, USA is the new Swansea City manager. How do you think he will get on, Virginia?
Virginia: Bob Bradley is a great soccer coach. I think he will be a great success. He’s a coach who likes to play with lots of offensive players but also thinks about defense. He has lots of good players to work with, like the midfielder - Sigurdsson and the goaltender -Fabianski. I’m sure he can’t wait for his first game on the field. Bradley’s first game is an away tie at Arsenal. Not an easy one. I think if it finishes in a tie he will be happy. Maybe it will finish zero-zero. Bradley will be looking for a shut-out in his first game.
Jack: So, you think Bradley will be a hit. Do you think he needs to make any changes?
Virginia: They could do with a new offensive player - they don’t get enough shots on frame and maybe someone who is prepared to get his cleats dirty!
Jack: OK, thanks Virginia.
Rich: Did you understand any of that? Goaltender? Shut-out? Cleats?
Jack: Err no not really but if we look at it again I’m sure we can work it out.
Rich: OK, let’s start with goaltender. Virginia spoke about Fabianski and I know that he’s Swansea’s goalkeeper.
Jack: So, goaltender is American English and goalkeeper is British English. When you don’t know a word, it’s important to use your general knowledge and not just knowledge of the language. It can really help.
Rich: Shut-out? Right, OK. Virginia said that the match will finish zero zero - we say nil nil in British English but I understand zero zero. So, she thinks it will be a draw or a tie in American English. So, a shutout is ….errrr…
Jack: It’s a clean sheet! A shut-out means you don’t concede a goal. In British English, we say clean sheet and in American English shut-out.
Rich: OK, got it. When we don’t know a word we should use the sentences before and after the word to give us the context. We can then often make a good guess about the word. What about cleats?
Jack: This is a tricky one. Let’s leave that for our listeners. If you know what cleats are, leave us a message in the comments section below.
Language
Rich: So, we’ve been looking at some of the differences between British and American English. Let’s take a look at some of the main differences. Let’s start with the biggest difference - vocabulary.
Jack: Most words are the same in both British and American English but there are some words that can cause confusion as we saw in the previous section.
Rich: Soccer and Football is a clear difference. Let’s look at some different words that are different on the other side of the pond.
JAck: The pond is what some British people call the Atlantic Ocean - it is of course much bigger than a small pond for fish and frogs!
Rich: OK, I’m going to give you an American word and you have to tell me the word in British English. It should be easy, right?
Jack: It should be!
Rich: Cookie.
Jack: Easy. Biscuit.
Rich: Parking lot.
Jack: Car park!
Rich: Good. Next. Drugstore.
Jack: Chemist
Rich: Fries.
Jack: Chips.
Rich: Sneakers.
Jack: Trainers.
Rich: Crosswalk.
Jack: Sorry? What?
Rich: Crosswalk.Jack: No idea. An angry person walking?
Rich: No, it’s a zebra crossing, You know in the street when you cross the road.
Jack: Yeah, OK. I know Zebra crossing.
Rich: So, sometimes British people can find American English difficult, too. If you’re not sure what some of these words mean, take a look at the activity further down this page. Are there any other differences between American and British English?
Jack: Pronunciation is different sometimes. In British English and American English there are different accents. I have a southern English accent and I say laugh, chance and can’t, but in American English it’s often more like laugh, chance and can’t.
Rich: Nice accent, Jack. Sometimes the word stress is a bit different, too. In British English we say defence and offense but in American English defense and offense.
Jack: Despite these differences, it’s usually not too difficult for American and British people to understand each other. If you want to know more about these differences have a look on our Learn English website. There is a link further down this page.
Rich: And I’ve put a link to some of the differences in football English in Britain and the US, too!
Football Phrase
Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?
Jack: Yes, I have, but first last week’s football phrase. The phrase was to head home. To head home means to score a goal with your head and outside of football it means to return to your house.
Rich: Well done to Liubomyr and Alex from Ukraine and Kwesimanifest from Ghana. You three got the right answer!
Jack: The only clue that I’m going to give you this week is the American version of the word. In American English we say overtime but in British English we say ***** ****.
Rich: Easy. I think.
Prediction
Jack: There were no matches last week so let’s get straight to your prediction, Rich
Rich: There is no doubt what this weekend’s big match is but we have to wait until Monday!!! It’s Liverpool at home to Manchester Utd. Utd started the season well but they haven’t won for the last few matches. Liverpool on the other hand, are flying and have won their last four matches. I want Liverpool to win, of course, but this weekend I have more hope than normal and I really think we’re going to win easily. Final score: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester Utd.
Jack: Wow! You are confident. Don’t be over-confident. Sorry to be a spoilsport but think it will be a 1-1 draw.
Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. And remember to take a look at our Fantasy Football page and join in the discussions!
Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!
Quiz
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Formulário
Premier League Prediction - Gameweek 8 - Liverpool v Man Utd
In Gameweek 7, Spurs beat Manchester City 2-0 , which meant nobody predicted the right result. Rich still leads the way with 4 points but we're still waiting for someone to predict an exact score. Remember, it's one point for the correct result and two additional points for the correct score. The big match in Gameweek 8 is Liverpool v Man Utd! Can you predict the right score?
| GW 1 | GW 2 | GW 3 | GW 4 | GW 5 | GW 6 | GW 7 | GW 8 | |
| Rich | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-1 | 2-0 |
| Jack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-2 | 1-1 |
| Podcast Listeners | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-2 | ? |
Make your prediction now!
What do you think?
In this week’s podcast, we spoke about some differences between British and American English.
-
Do you think Bob Bradley will be a success at Swansea City? Will he have any language or cultural problems?
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When you speak English, do you use American or British English? Which is easier for you?
-
Is your language spoken in different countries? Is it easy to understand someone who speaks your language but is from another country?
Leave a comment
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Comentários
02/08/2021
points
What do you think?
1- It’s very interesting to be soccer coach in the country that American football is most popular. I don’t think there will be any language or cultural problems in UK for those from USA. I think difference in the vocabulary of two countries' language isn't more than one percent.
2-I prefer and like British English.It sounds very nice than other English spoken countries accents.
3- My language has been commonly spoken in the Turkic Republics (former Soviet countries). I have to say ıt's not possible to communicate with all of them except one or two countries. Accents are so much different.
Cleat = Crampon
Phrases
• After winning the election he's taken over as prime minister of the country.-- Every team have a dominant player who take over and keep control of the game.
• It was very hard math problem but at last she managed work it out.
02/08/2021 13:12
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
What do you think?
1- It’s very interesting to be soccer coach in the country that American football is most popular. I don’t think there will be any language or cultural problems in UK for those from USA. I think difference in the vocabulary of two countries' language isn't more than one percent.
2-I prefer and like British English.It sounds very nice than other English spoken countries accents.
3- My language has been commonly spoken in the Turkic Republics (former Soviet countries). I have to say ıt's not possible to communicate with all of them except one or two countries. Accents are so much different.
Cleat = Crampon
Phrases
• After winning the election he's taken over as prime minister of the country.-- Every team have a dominant player who take over and keep control of the game.
• It was very hard math problem but at last she managed work it out.
15/05/2020
points
The football phrase of this week is ( Extra Time )
15/05/2020 11:59
Manchester United
6539
The football phrase of this week is ( Extra Time )
15/05/2020
points
I do use the British English because I learnt it at school and my first gf was British so she helped me to improve my British accent whereas my cousins are Americans from Miami FL
I think British English is easier for me but some of my students finds it hard :)
15/05/2020 11:58
Manchester United
6539
I do use the British English because I learnt it at school and my first gf was British so she helped me to improve my British accent whereas my cousins are Americans from Miami FL
I think British English is easier for me but some of my students finds it hard :)
15/05/2020
points
Bob Bradley is a good manager so I wish him the best of luck at Swansea City
15/05/2020 11:56
Manchester United
6539
Bob Bradley is a good manager so I wish him the best of luck at Swansea City
28/12/2016
points
My language is spoken in 22 other countries but it is sometimes difficult to understand from a country to another.
28/12/2016 18:37
Liverpool
3705
My language is spoken in 22 other countries but it is sometimes difficult to understand from a country to another.
28/12/2016
points
I use American and British English while speaking,but most of my vocabularies are British.
28/12/2016 18:36
Liverpool
3705
I use American and British English while speaking,but most of my vocabularies are British.
28/12/2016
points
This week phrase is extra time.
28/12/2016 18:34
Liverpool
3705
This week phrase is extra time.
28/12/2016
points
I do not think Bradley will success with Swansey,I do not think he is going to have problems with the British cultural.
28/12/2016 18:33
Liverpool
3705
I do not think Bradley will success with Swansey,I do not think he is going to have problems with the British cultural.
16/10/2016
points
Bob Bradley will be successful in his new team. I don't think he'll have any language problems, at least not on the pitch. Though it might be difficult to understand some locals:-) I prefer British English of course. My language is very similar to other languages from ex-Yu countries. If you ask linguists for opinion they'll say it has more than 90% of same words which makes it the same language. Only it is called different for national reasons. The key thing is that we do understand each other.
16/10/2016 20:22
Arsenal
3557
Bob Bradley will be successful in his new team. I don't think he'll have any language problems, at least not on the pitch. Though it might be difficult to understand some locals:-) I prefer British English of course. My language is very similar to other languages from ex-Yu countries. If you ask linguists for opinion they'll say it has more than 90% of same words which makes it the same language. Only it is called different for national reasons. The key thing is that we do understand each other.
17/10/2016
points
Welcome back Aragorn1986! Whether a language is its own language and not just a dialect of another one is an interesting question. I remember teaching on summer schools in the UK, Spanish and Italian kids would speak to each other in their own languages (and would understand each other) rather than use English. It was very frustrating! I wonder what the % difference is between the two?
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
17/10/2016 22:49
Liverpool
594
Welcome back Aragorn1986! Whether a language is its own language and not just a dialect of another one is an interesting question. I remember teaching on summer schools in the UK, Spanish and Italian kids would speak to each other in their own languages (and would understand each other) rather than use English. It was very frustrating! I wonder what the % difference is between the two?
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
16/10/2016
points
This week's phrase is '***** ****'.
16/10/2016 20:12
Arsenal
3557
This week's phrase is '***** ****'.
13/10/2016
points
This week's phrase is ***** ****
13/10/2016 17:08
Watford
4417
This week's phrase is ***** ****
13/10/2016
points
injury time
13/10/2016 08:58
Liverpool
962
injury time
13/10/2016
points
Sorry, Ghigo. You don't have the right answer!
13/10/2016 09:56
Liverpool
594
Sorry, Ghigo. You don't have the right answer!
12/10/2016
points
correct me
This week's phrase is ***** ****.
12/10/2016 09:10
Chelsea
241
correct me
This week's phrase is ***** ****.
12/10/2016
points
correct me
I leave in Russia and i think russian language is very difficult and need some skills for good russian language. But really i never heard russian in another country.
12/10/2016 09:06
Chelsea
241
correct me
I leave in Russia and i think russian language is very difficult and need some skills for good russian language. But really i never heard russian in another country.
13/10/2016
points
Again, I have no problems understanding your answer but I´m going to make a few changes:
I
leavelive in Russia and I think Russianlanguageis very difficult and you need to be good at languages if you want to learn Russian well. But, really, I've never heard Russian in another country.13/10/2016 14:50
Liverpool
594
Again, I have no problems understanding your answer but I´m going to make a few changes:
I
leavelive in Russia and I think Russianlanguageis very difficult and you need to be good at languages if you want to learn Russian well. But, really, I've never heard Russian in another country.12/10/2016
points
correct me
When i speak english i dont think what kind of english I use. I dont know maybe it it quite bad.
12/10/2016 09:01
Chelsea
241
correct me
When i speak english i dont think what kind of english I use. I dont know maybe it it quite bad.
13/10/2016
points
Hi Emil
Your English looks good to me and I had no problems understanding your answer. The only thing I would change is ´think about´instead of just ´think'.
13/10/2016 14:46
Liverpool
594
Hi Emil
Your English looks good to me and I had no problems understanding your answer. The only thing I would change is ´think about´instead of just ´think'.
12/10/2016
points
correct me
I think previous manager was a great manager and new manager is very doubtful. All clubs wants good results right now. It is very sad. Managers dont have a time for building a good team.
12/10/2016 08:59
Chelsea
241
correct me
I think previous manager was a great manager and new manager is very doubtful. All clubs wants good results right now. It is very sad. Managers dont have a time for building a good team.
13/10/2016
points
Hi Emil,
Thanks for your message. I've made some corrections below:
I think the previous manager was a great manager
andbut we can't be sure about the new manageris very doubtful. All clubs wantsgood results right now. It is very sad. Managers dont haveatimefor buildingto build a good team.I hope the corrections are useful.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
13/10/2016 10:00
Liverpool
594
Hi Emil,
Thanks for your message. I've made some corrections below:
I think the previous manager was a great manager
andbut we can't be sure about the new manageris very doubtful. All clubs wantsgood results right now. It is very sad. Managers dont haveatimefor buildingto build a good team.I hope the corrections are useful.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
12/10/2016
points
'Correct me' please
1. I think Bob Bradley will face a difficult situation here, in premier league but he can keep Swansea City in PL. Swansea City is one of my favorite team.
He will not have any language or cultural problems because he is a professional manager and he can deal with everything.
2. when I speak English, I used both and combined together because around my area of work we also used like this and when we learnt the English, it is very difficult to remember and divide so we just mixed it.
3. yes, it is. when they speak my country language is a bit confused with accent and some word that have familiar sound but different meaning.
12/10/2016 03:51
Manchester United
129
'Correct me' please
1. I think Bob Bradley will face a difficult situation here, in premier league but he can keep Swansea City in PL. Swansea City is one of my favorite team.
He will not have any language or cultural problems because he is a professional manager and he can deal with everything.
2. when I speak English, I used both and combined together because around my area of work we also used like this and when we learnt the English, it is very difficult to remember and divide so we just mixed it.
3. yes, it is. when they speak my country language is a bit confused with accent and some word that have familiar sound but different meaning.
12/10/2016
points
Hi Poui
I don't have any problems understanding your answers to question one and three so I want to focus on your answer to question two because it is a little bit difficult to understand. Below, I've written your answer how I might write it and then added some comments.
When I speak English, I use both British and American English because at work we are used to speaking like this. Also, we learnt English this way because we had British and American teachers and watched people on TV who used both accents. It's difficult to know which accent we are using so we just mix both together.
Hope that helps!
Rich - The Premier Skils English Team
12/10/2016 13:02
Liverpool
594
Hi Poui
I don't have any problems understanding your answers to question one and three so I want to focus on your answer to question two because it is a little bit difficult to understand. Below, I've written your answer how I might write it and then added some comments.
When I speak English, I use both British and American English because at work we are used to speaking like this. Also, we learnt English this way because we had British and American teachers and watched people on TV who used both accents. It's difficult to know which accent we are using so we just mix both together.
Hope that helps!
Rich - The Premier Skils English Team
13/10/2016
points
Wow your answer is always help me to improve my English, thank you so much. you guessed right about that, I tried to say like that
13/10/2016 14:13
Manchester United
129
Wow your answer is always help me to improve my English, thank you so much. you guessed right about that, I tried to say like that
13/10/2016
points
13/10/2016 14:38
Liverpool
594
12/10/2016
points
This week's phrase is ***** ****
12/10/2016 03:31
Manchester United
129
This week's phrase is ***** ****
12/10/2016
points
Well done Poui!
12/10/2016 08:44
Arsenal
560
Well done Poui!
11/10/2016
points
1.Bob Bradley will not have language and cultural problems like the ones he had in Le Havre.
2. I don't speak a lot in English and as well as I do it seems to be British English.
3. My second spoken language is Algerian Arabic and it differs from Egyptian or Tunisian popular language.
phrase : injury time (for american over time)
prediction Man United 2 Liverpool 2
11/10/2016 17:07
Manchester City
3988
1.Bob Bradley will not have language and cultural problems like the ones he had in Le Havre.
2. I don't speak a lot in English and as well as I do it seems to be British English.
3. My second spoken language is Algerian Arabic and it differs from Egyptian or Tunisian popular language.
phrase : injury time (for american over time)
prediction Man United 2 Liverpool 2
11/10/2016
points
This week's phrase is ***** ****.
11/10/2016 15:20
Liverpool
6577
This week's phrase is ***** ****.
11/10/2016
points
Its sometimes difficult to understand someone who speaks English from another country because of their their accents.
11/10/2016 15:17
Manchester United
4779
Its sometimes difficult to understand someone who speaks English from another country because of their their accents.
11/10/2016
points
I use British English in my speeches. My country is a formal British colony so using British English is easier.
11/10/2016 15:14
Manchester United
4779
I use British English in my speeches. My country is a formal British colony so using British English is easier.
11/10/2016
points
With his level of experience i think he will be successful just that he might struggle the 1st few weeks to adapt.
I believe language wouldn't be a barrier to his performance
11/10/2016 15:12
Manchester United
4779
With his level of experience i think he will be successful just that he might struggle the 1st few weeks to adapt.
I believe language wouldn't be a barrier to his performance
11/10/2016
points
I thought cleats were shorts of players per the context of the sentence.
But on checking fromthe internet, i realized its football boots.
11/10/2016 15:03
Manchester United
4779
I thought cleats were shorts of players per the context of the sentence.
But on checking fromthe internet, i realized its football boots.
11/10/2016
points
This week's phrase is ***** ****
11/10/2016 15:00
Manchester United
4779
This week's phrase is ***** ****
11/10/2016
points
Well done Kwesimanifest!
11/10/2016 15:17
Arsenal
560
Well done Kwesimanifest!