British English, A to Zed

by Norman W. Schur

Book Overview

Includes an alphabetical listing of more than 5,500 Briticisms and their correlating Americanisms. This volume also includes discussions of British language, pronunciation, punctuation, style, usage,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816016356
• ISBN13: 9780816016358
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Facts on File
• Length: 493 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Best reference of its type

I write sophisticated Harry Potter fanfic, but I'm an American and I don't have much of a clue about British usages. I had been relying upon a number of Internet sources of greater or lesser quality before I saw Britisn English from A to Zed recommended in one of the writer's fora on Fictionalley. I bought it, and I must say it is smashing. There is no better reference work for American-British conversion available. It is comprehensive and understandable - also funny; I sometimes find myself just reading a series of entries for the humour value. I absolutely recommend this to anyone trying to write in the British style. There are only two drawbacks. One, the indexing is rather rudimentary. It's sometimes hard to find what one wants. Second, it's rather dear - over $50 (£35) for a couple hundred pages in hardback. But, as it's a specialty work, I suppose the price is to be expected.

Don't miss it

Don't miss this book if you are going to Europe. It really bridges the language gap between America and Britain. It is packed with useful expressions for everyday communication in Britain. In adition to being very useful, this book is extremely entertaining, a lot of fun to read. I am pleased I have bought this book and happy to recommend it to other travelers to Britain, 'on holiday' as they say or to do business.

Don't miss it

This is a must if you want to understand the English. I took it with me to Britain and found it very useful. Its dictionary format makes it easy to find the term you need. It also helps with things like gestures, not just words.It will also help you understand what they are saying in British movies, translate what they say. The book includes reference to other variants, like Australian. perhaps the author would like to develop this into a book specifically for American people traveling to Australia.

Great

Not just useful but entertaining. I got this book in exasperation when I couldn't make sense of Peter O'Toole's autobiography, because of all the English slang. This dictionary saved the day.

very interesting & amusing

Having a bunch of British friends, I found this book to be interesting, informative and amusing. It really bridges the England/America language gap!