What I say is not what you hear

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

During the Korean War, a British army unit was holding a hill above an important river. But the British were on the back foot, surrounded and increasingly becoming outnumbered by the Chinese army: eight to one. The British commander anxiously rang his American superior and said, “Things are a bit sticky, sir.” The American hadn’t heard of British understatement so concluded no help was required. Four days later the British were overrun, 500 out of 600 soldiers taken prisoner.

This wouldn’t surprise the Irish playwright Bernard Shaw, who liked his quotes on communication. For he famously said that America and Britain were “two countries separated by a common language.”

But it’s easy to see why we confuse each other. A quick review of British and American ‘English’ words says it all:

British English vs. American English

Crisps = Chips (chips in Britain are fries in the US). Biscuit = Cookie (a biscuit is also a bread eaten with gravy in Southern US states).

Trousers = Pants. Handbag = Purse (Britons keep a purse in a handbag. Americans keep a wallet in a purse). Bumbag = Fanny pack (a delicate idea for the British, please don’t go there).