Queuing and other idiosyncracies

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The most obvious differences between British and American English are in spelling and pronunciation and in the form and reference of words. Such differences, being obtrusive, are easily identified by speakers of the other dialect. Less obvious differences are those of subtle variation in semantics and grammar, especially those that are stylistic rather than systematic. Unobtrusive differences are seldom pointed to overtly by speakers of the other dialect, but can be identified by the fact that they are eliminated when speakers of one dialect restate the meaning of a text originally in a dialect foreign to them. These generalizations are supported by an elicitation experiment in which 90 native speakers of American English were presented with a notice from a British public utility office and were asked to restate the message in their own words and then to identify any words or expressions in the original that seemed strange to them. A comparison of their paraphrases with a corresponding notice from an American utility office shows considerable accuracy in the collective sense of how American and British styles differ for public notices.