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1Module1BritishandAmericanEnglishWords,words,wordsBritishandAmericanEnglisharedifferentinmanyways.Thefirstandmostobviouswayisinthevocabulary.TherearehundredsofdifferentwordswhicharenotusedontheothersideoftheAtlantic,orwhichareusedwithadifferentmeaning.Someofthesewordsarewellknown—Americansdriveautomobilesdownfreewaysandfillupwithgas;theBritishdrivecarsalongmotorwaysandfillupwithpetrol.Asatourist,youwillneedtousetheundergroundinLondonorthesubwayinNewYork,ormaybeyouwillprefertogetaroundthetownbytaxi(British)orcab(American).ChipsorFrenchfries?Butotherwordsandexpressionsarenotsowellknown.Americansuseaflashlight,whilefortheBritish,it'satorch.TheBritishqueueup;Americansstandinline.Sometimesthesamewordhasaslightlydifferentmeaning,whichcanbeconfusing.Chips,forexample,arepiecesofhotfriedpotatoinBritain;intheStateschipsareverythinandaresoldinpackets.TheBritishcallthesecrisps.ThechipstheBritishknowandloveareFrenchfriesontheothersideoftheAtlantic.Haveorhavegot?Thereareafewdifferencesingrammar,too.TheBritishsayHaveyougot...?whileAmericanspreferDoyouhave...?AnAmericanmightsayMyfriendjustarrived,butaBritishpersonwouldsayMyfriendhasjustarrived.Prepositions,too,canbedifferent:compareontheteam,ontheweekend(American)withintheteam,attheweekend(British).TheBritishuseprepositionswhereAmericanssometimesomitthem(I'llseeyouMonday;Writemesoon!).Colourorcolor?Theothertwoareasinwhichthetwovarietiesdifferarespellingandpronunciation.Americanspellingseemssimpler:center,colorandprograminsteadofcentre,colourandprogramme.ManyfactorshaveinfluencedAmericanpronunciationsincethefirstsettlersarrivedfourhundredyearsago.Theaccent,whichismostsimilartoBritishEnglish,canbeheardontheEastCoastoftheUS.WhentheIrishwriterGeorgeBernardShawmadethefamousremarkthattheBritishandtheAmericansaretwonationsdividedbyacommonlanguage,hewasobviouslythinkingaboutthedifferences.Butaretheyreallysoimportant?Afterall,thereisprobablyasmuchvariationofpronunciationwithinthetwocountriesasbetweenthem.ALondonerhasmoredifficultyunderstandingaScotsmanfromGlasgowthanunderstandingaNewYorker.TurnontheTVSomeexpertsbelievethatthetwovarietiesaremovingclosertogether.FormorethanacenturycommunicationsacrosstheAtlantichavedevelopedsteadily.Sincethe1980s,withsatelliteTVandtheInternet,ithasbeenpossibletolistentoBritishandAmericanEnglishattheflickofaswitch.Thisnon-stopcommunication,theexpertsthink,hasmadeiteasierforBritishpeopleandAmericanstounderstandeachother.ButithasalsoledtolotsofAmericanwordsandstructurespassingintoBritishEnglish,sothatsomepeoplenowbelievethatBritishEnglishwilldisappear.However,ifyouturnonCNN,theAmericanTVnetwork,youfindnewsreadersandweatherforecastersallspeakingwithdifferentaccents—American,British,Australian,andevenSpanish.Oneofthebest-knownfaces,MonitaRajpal,wasborninHongKong,China,andgrewupspeakingChineseandPunjabi,aswellasEnglish.Thisinternationaldimensionsuggeststhatinthefuture,therearegoingtobemanyEnglishes,notjusttwomainvarieties.ButthemessageisDon'tworry.UsersofEnglishwillallbeabletounderstandeachother—wherevertheyare.2Module2TheHumanTrafficSignalTheroadAt3,500metres,LaPaz,inBolivia,isthehighestcapitalintheworld.Lifeishardathighaltitude,andthemountainsmakecommunicationsdifficult.Manyroadsareinbadconditionandaccidentsarefrequent.Oneroadinparticular,whichgoesnorthfromLaPaz,isconsideredthemostdangerousroadintheworld.Ononesidethemountainsrisesteeply;ontheothersidethereisasheerdrop,whichinplacesishundredsofmetresdeep.Althoughthereisnotalotoftraffic,onaverage,onevehiclecomesofftheroadeverytwoweeks.Thedropissogreatthatanyoneinsidethevehicleisluckytosurvive.Intheory,theroadcanonlybeusedbytrafficgoinguphillfrom8inthemorning,andbytrafficcomingdownhillfrom3intheafternoon.Butinpractice,fewdriversrespecttherules.ThemanButthankstooneman,thedeathtollhasfallen.TimoteoApazaisagentle46-year-oldmanwholivesinavillagenearthemostdangerouspartoftheroad,knownlocallyaslacurvadeldiablo(theDevil'sBend).Timoteohasanunusualjob—heisahumantrafficsignal.Everymorningheclimbsuptothebendwithalargecircularboardinhishand.Theboardisredononesideandgreenontheother.Timoteostandsonthebendanddirectsthetraffic.Whentwovehiclesapproachfromoppositedirectionstheycan'tseeeachother,buttheycanseeTimoteo.Timoteoisavolunteer.Nooneaskedhimtodothejob,andnoonepayshimforit.Sometimesdriversgivehimatip,sothathehasjustenoughmoneytoliveon.Butoftentheyjustpassby,takingthehumantrafficsignalforgranted.ThereasonwhyhedoesitSowhydoeshedoit?Beforehevolunteeredtodirectthetraffic,Timoteohadhadlotsofjobs.Hehadbeenaminerandasoldier.Thenonedaywhilehewasworkingasalorrydriverhehadacloseencounterwithdeath.Hewasdrivingalorryloadofbananaswhenhecameofftheroadatabendandfellthreehundredmetresdownthemountain.Somehowhesurvived.Hewasinhospitalformonths.Then,afewyearslater,hewascalledoutinthenighttohelppullpeopleoutofabuswhichhadcrashedatlacurvadeldiablo.ThislastexperiencehadaprofoundeffectonTimoteo.Herealisedthathewasluckytobealivehimself,andfeltthatitwashismissioninlifetohelpothers.Andsoeverymorning,weekin,weekout,fromdawntodusk,Timoteotakesuph