British English vs American English -- Car & Road Vocabulary

Howdy.

-> (YouTube)

Am I wrong or is it the lady at around 7:40 when she says that the British pavement corresponds to the American roadway. To me, Br. pavement corresponds to Am. sidewalk.

Didier B a écrit:To me, Br. pavement corresponds to Am. sidewalk.

Hi Didier ! You have a good critical sense and a good level of English ! I would also say sidewalk (not sideway) in American English.
Anybody can help us and tell us if roadway also means sidewalk ?

Hi Muriel, Didier,

"Sideways" (not sideway) has got a completely different meaning.

The US word for "pavement" is "sidewalk" (and footpath in Australia).
"Roadway" doesn't mean sidewalk.

The US word for "pavement" is "sidewalk" (and footpath in Australia).

Thanks Gérard and for your help !

Actually "pavement" is a tricky word, because it means "sidewalk" in British English but more or less road surface or roadway in American English. It seems that the lady in the video (she's got a funny accent, hasn't she?) got entangled in the different meanings of British and American English.

Hi Muriel, Didier,

The trainer doesn't have a usual British face nor a very British name...

Other things I found weird:
- her pronunciation of "rear" in "Rear view miror". When she pronounces, I hear something like "rare" (my French ear is perhaps not very good).
- she also says the couple is "wing mirror" in British and "rear view mirror" in American. I don't agree: the inside mirror is rear-view mirror in both British ans American whereas the mirror which is outside is named "wing mirror" in British and "Outside rear-view mirror" in American.
The parts of the vehicle which are on the side, over the wheels are named "wings" in British English, but "fenders" in US English.
- regarding the fast roads, in the US, they can be named "Expressway" or "Interstate" but the most used word is "freeway".
  

gerardM a écrit:Other things I found weird:
- her pronunciation of "rear" in "Rear view miror". When she pronounces, I hear something like "rare" (my French ear is perhaps not very good).

Absolutely, it struck me as well when I listened to her. Well, as usual, we have to appreciate the cornucopia of useful resources we find on the Internet but be quite cautious about them.

Thanks Didier for the word  cornucopia I didn't know. Of course it is important not to take anything at face value !

Or we might call it a side mirror or sometimes side-view mirror. Bt es, the inside one is the rear-view

Thanks for your message Tregouet!