British vs. American English
By J. McCorquodale
Legal Translator
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George Bernard Shaw famously said that the British
and the Americans were "two nations separated by
a common language".
Below are some examples of different usage in British
and American English. You may already be aware of some
of these differences, others may surprise you.
French |
UK |
US |
Jour férié |
bank holiday |
legal holiday |
15 jours |
Fortnight |
two weeks |
assemblée générale ordinaire/extraordinaire
|
Ordinary/extraordinary general meeting (of the
shareholders) |
regular/special shareholders' meeting |
statuts |
(memorandum and) articles of association |
(articles of incorporation and) bylaws |
compte de résultats |
profit and loss account |
income statement |
Président |
Chairman |
President/Chairman |
Directeur général |
managing director |
chief executive officer |
agent immobilier |
estate agent |
realtor |
bureau de change |
bureau de change |
currency exchange |
Immobilier |
Property |
real estate |
code postal |
post code |
zip code |
prison/maison d'arrêt |
Prison |
Penitentiary |
poser sa candidature (politique) |
stand (for office) |
run (for office) |
fonds (FCP) |
unit trust |
mutual fund |
Chèque (bancaire) |
Cheque |
Check |
Compte courant |
current account |
checking account |
These are just a few examples. It is often worthwhile
establishing whether your audience / the recipients of
your document would prefer British or American terminology,
as although many US terms may be understood by a British
person and vice versa others may cause confusion and a
need for time to be spent on further explanations/clarifications.
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