I tend to think that I have a better understanding of the British, or at least the differences between us (Americans) and the British, than your average American. However there were a few surprises for me on this list:
American English has further changed due to the influx of non-English speakers whose words sometimes enter American vernacular. Many words have entered American English from Spanish, Native American languages, and so on.
[ American English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
that neck of the woods comes from a Native American tounge? Brits call squashes marrows? Savvy comes from Spanish? American English has borrowed from Tagalog?
We invented some words? Sure gerrrymander I knew, but belittle? Applesauce? Teenager? What on earth do Brits call applesauce and teenagers?
And surely, growning up in the midatlantic/north east I have a good grasp of vocabulary borrowed from Yiddish (which are always fun to say), but I didn't realize that maven and drek came from Yiddish, and I thought that skosh did (yet it came from Japanese).
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Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions.