The semantic similarities of different noun vocabularies between British and American English.

xii ABSTRACT

NENSIA MADEIRA KU.The Semantic Similaritiesof different Noun Vocabularies between British and AmericanEnglish.Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letter, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.

This undergraduate thesis is an attempt at analyzing certainsemantic similaritiesof different noun vocabularies between British and American English. The data on this study were collected from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English6thedition, published in 2000.

After a brief historical introduction on chapter I that have led to the differentiation of the two varieties, this study aims at answering the two problems. First problem is divided into two parts, first part is analyzing certaindifferent vocabularies that havesimilar meaningsbetween BrE and AmE and second part is analyzing the users’ perspective based on the survey.Second problem is analyzing the semantic features of componential analysis between the two varieties.

To make sure the similarmeanings of different words between British and American English in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the researcher reports the results of a survey among the speakers of the twovarieties just to see how British and American are wellunderstood by each other and whether they are aware of those differences or not. Furthermore, to answers the second problem, the componential analysis of meaning is used to verify the specific meaning of each word between BrE and AmE.

The first finding of the study is that the result of finding the different words that have similar meanings through dictionary which shows the total of 52 different words between British and American English. Second finding is the result from the survey shows that American respondents get higher score rather the British one. The percentages of British respondents who choose the correct answers are 54.29% for clothing vocabulary, 80% for food vocabulary, 71.43% for street objects, 52.38% for home appliances, 100% for sport, 85.71% for occupation, 80.93% for parts of car, 85.71% for building and 66.67% for vehicle. Then the percentages from American respondents of the correct answers are 100% of clothing vocabulary, 82.58% of food, 85.71% of street objects, 90.48% of home appliances, 100% of sport, 100% of occupation, 100% of parts of car, 100% of building and 90.48% of vehicle. Meanwhile, the analysis of using the componential analysis shows that all the differences between British and American wordsconsistof the same components, which means that all the different words have the similar meanings.

xiii ABSTRAK

NENSIA MADEIRA KU. The Semantic Similarities of different Noun Vocabularies between British and American English. Yogyakarta: Progma Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universita Sanata Dharma, 2016.

Skripsi ini merupakan upaya untuk menganalisi kesamaan semantik dari perbedaan tertentu antara kosakata bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika. Sumber data pada penelitian ini adalah dari kamus Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English, edisi 6, terbitan tahun 2000.

Setelah pengenalan singkat mengenai sejarah yang menyebabkan perbedaan antara dua varietas ini, penilitian ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua permasalahan. Masalah pertama dibagi menjadi dua bagian, bagian pertama adalah menganalisis perbedaan kosakata tertentu yang memiliki makna yang sama antara bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika, dan bagian kedua adalah menganalisis perspektif dari para pengguna. Permasalahan kedua adalah menganalisis fitur semantik dari komponen analisis antara dua varietas.

Untuk memastikan perbedaan makna antara kosakata bahasa Inggris British dan American dalam kamus Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, peneliti melampirkan hasil dari penilitian antara pembicara dari dua varietas hanya untuk melihat apakah British dan Amerika dengan baik memahami satu sama lain dan apakah mereka sadar dengan perbedaan tersebut atau tidak. Selanjutnya, untuk menjawab masalah kedua, komponen analisis digunakan untuk membuktikan arti khusus dari setiap kata antara BrE and AmE.

Temuan pertama dari penelitian ini yaitu pada kamus ditemukan total 52 perbedaan kata antara Bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika. Temuan kedua adalah hasil survey menunjukkan bahwa responden yang merupakan pengguna Bahasa Inggris Amerika memperoleh nilai yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris British. Persentase dari responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris British yang memilih jawaban benar sebesar 54.29% pada kosakata pakaian, 80% pada kosakata makanan, 71,43% pada objek jalan, 52.38% pada peralatan rumah, 100% pada olahraga, 85.71% pada pekerjaan, 80.93% pada bagian mobil, 85.71% pada bangunan dan 66.67% pada kendaraan. Kemudian persentase dari responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris Amerika yang memilih jawaban benar sebesar 100% pada kosakata pakaian, 82.58% pada kosakata makanan, 85.71% pada objek jalan, 90.48% pada peralatan rumah, 100% pa da olahraga, 100% pada pekerjaan, 100% pada bagian mobil, 100% pada bangunan dan 90.48% pada kendaraan. Sementara itu dari hasil analisis komponen makna menunjukan bahwa semua perbedaan antara kata-kata bahasa inggris British dan Amerika terdiri dari komponen yang sama, yang berarti bahwa semua kosakata yang berbeda memiliki arti yang sama.

THE SEMANTIC SIMILARITIES

OF DIFFERENT NOUN VOCABULARIES

BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfiliment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

NENSIA MADEIRA KU Student Number: 104214092

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2016

i

THE SEMANTIC SIMILARITIES

OF DIFFERENT NOUN VOCABULARIES

BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

NENSIA MADEIRA KU Student Number: 104214092

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

vi

always be

humble and gentle.

be patient with each other,

making allowance for

each other’s faults

because of your love.

vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all I would like to thank my Almighty God for all the blessings and help to complete this undergraduate thesis. My biggest thanks especiallygo to my beloved mother, Alice, as the best mother in the world,thanks for all the prayers, support, encouragement, love and faithfulness in my difficult time.To my beloved late father, Joao, thanks a lot for always working hard and trying to do the best to support my education all the time. Thank you so much for everything. My greatest thanksgo to my best two Singaporeanteachers,Lishan and Siew Lee for all the support during my education in university, for the prayers, love and care,for always encouraging and being there for me during my hardest time. I wouldalso like to thank my sisters,Dirce, Luci, Rina and Oka for theirsupport, prayers and materials that I need. My partner Cerillio, thank you for the support, prayer, love and also spirit for me to complete my thesis as soon as possible. Thank you to my daughter Deborah for always coloring my day and giving me spirit to complete this thesis immediately.

My best gratitude to my advisor, Mr. Harris HermansyahSetiajid, M.Hum., forthe guidance, patience, direction and the encouragement that are very useful and helpful in completing this thesis. I would like to thank my co-advisor Mrs. BernardineRia Lestari, M.S., for her worthy correction for the topic of this thesis and suggestion to improve the quality of this undergraduate thesis. Iwould also like to thank all my lecturers in English Letters Departmentfor sharing their knowledge during the time.

My wonderful thanks to my best friends,Febri, Lisma, Lia, Meity, Susi, Diana, Mika and Liba, forthe support, help and give me the spirit when I need it. My last words, I would like to say thank you for all friends whom I cannot mention their names one by one.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGE ... ... iiACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH.. v

MOTTO PAGE ... vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS... viii

LIST OF TABLES ... x

LIST OF ABBREVIATION ... xi

ABSTRACT... xii

ABSTRAK ... xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION... 1

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 3

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Definition of Terms ... 4

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE ... 6

A. Review of Related Study... 6

1. A Comparison Analysis of American and British Idioms…… 6

2. An investigation of awareness of the differences in British and American vocabulary and spelling……… 7

B. Review of Related Theories ... 8

1. Vocabulary ... 8

2. Componential Analysis ... 8

a. Common Component ... 9

b. Diagnostic or Distinctive Components... 9

C. Review of Related Backgrounds ... 10

1. Social-cultural causes ... 10

2. Technological causes... 11

3. Linguistic causes ... 11

D. Theoretical Framework ... 12

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY... 13

A. Object of the Study... 13

B. Approach of the Study ... 14

C. Method of the Study... 14

1. Data Collection ... 14

ix

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS... 18

A. The similar meanings of different noun vocabularies between certain British and American English from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary………...………. 18

1. The similar meanings of different noun vocabularies between British and American English ... 18

a. Clothing Vocabulary ... 19

b. Building Vocabulary ... 20

c. Street objects Vocabulary... 21

d. Sport Vocabulary... 21

e. Food Vocabulary ... 22

f. Vehicle Vocabulary ... 23

g. Home Appliances Vocabulary... 24

h. Occupation Vocabulary ... 25

i. Parts of car Vocabulary ... 26

2. The differences between American and British noun vocabularies based on the users’ perspective from the survey ... 27

B. The Semantic Properties of Componential Analysis between certain American and British noun vocabularies ... 32

1. Componential analysis of Clothing Vocabulary... 33

2. Componential analysis of Building Vocabulary... 35

3. Componential analysis of Street Objects Vocabulary ... 36

4. Componential analysis of Sport Vocabulary ... 37

5. Componential analysis of Food Vocabulary ... 37

6. Componential analysis of Vehicle Vocabulary ... 38

7. Componential analysis of Home Appliances Vocabulary... 41

8. Componential analysis of Occupation Vocabulary ... 42

9. Componential analysis of Parts of Car ... 42

CHAPTER V: COUNCLUSION... 45

BIBLIOGRAPHY... 47

APPENDICES... 48

Appendix 1: ... 49

Appendix 2:... 50

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Common and Diagnostic Components

Table 3. Differences between British and American English Vocabularies Grafic 4. Differences of the word ‘vest’ between BrE and AmE

Table 4.1. Clothing Vocabulary Table 4.2. Building Vocabulary Table 4.3. Street Objects Vocabulary Table 4.4. Sport Vocabulary

Table 4.5. Food Vocabulary Table 4.6. Vehicle Vocabulary

Table 4.7. Home Appliances Vocabulary Table 4.8. Occupation Vocabulary Table 4.9. Parts of Car Vocabulary Table 4.10.The Result of the Survey

Table 4.11.American/British Using Their Respective Vocabularies Table 4.12.American/British Using Their Respective Vocabularies

xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

BrE British English AmE American English C/B Clothing/British C/A Clothing/American B/B Building/British B/A Building/American SO/B Street Object/British SO/A Street Object American S/B Sport/British

S/A Sport/American F/B Food/British F/A Food American V/B Vehicle/British V/A Vehicle/American

HA/B Home Appliances/British HA/A Home Appliances/American O/B Occupation/British

O/A Occupation American PoC/B Part of Car/British PoC/A Part of Car/American

xii ABSTRACT

NENSIA MADEIRA KU.The Semantic Similaritiesof different Noun Vocabularies between British and AmericanEnglish.Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letter, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.

This undergraduate thesis is an attempt at analyzing certainsemantic similaritiesof different noun vocabularies between British and American English. The data on this study were collected from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English6thedition, published in 2000.

After a brief historical introduction on chapter I that have led to the differentiation of the two varieties, this study aims at answering the two problems. First problem is divided into two parts, first part is analyzing certaindifferent vocabularies that havesimilar meaningsbetween BrE and AmE and second part is analyzing the users’ perspective based on the survey.Second problem is analyzing the semantic features of componential analysis between the two varieties.

To make sure the similarmeanings of different words between British and American English in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the researcher reports the results of a survey among the speakers of the twovarieties just to see how British and American are wellunderstood by each other and whether they are aware of those differences or not. Furthermore, to answers the second problem, the componential analysis of meaning is used to verify the specific meaning of each word between BrE and AmE.

The first finding of the study is that the result of finding the different words that have similar meanings through dictionary which shows the total of 52 different words between British and American English. Second finding is the result from the survey shows that American respondents get higher score rather the British one. The percentages of British respondents who choose the correct answers are 54.29% for clothing vocabulary, 80% for food vocabulary, 71.43% for street objects, 52.38% for home appliances, 100% for sport, 85.71% for occupation, 80.93% for parts of car, 85.71% for building and 66.67% for vehicle. Then the percentages from American respondents of the correct answers are 100% of clothing vocabulary, 82.58% of food, 85.71% of street objects, 90.48% of home appliances, 100% of sport, 100% of occupation, 100% of parts of car, 100% of building and 90.48% of vehicle. Meanwhile, the analysis of using the componential analysis shows that all the differences between British and American wordsconsistof the same components, which means that all the different words have the similar meanings.

xiii ABSTRAK

NENSIA MADEIRA KU. The Semantic Similarities of different Noun Vocabularies between British and American English. Yogyakarta: Progma Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universita Sanata Dharma, 2016.

Skripsi ini merupakan upaya untuk menganalisi kesamaan semantik dari perbedaan tertentu antara kosakata bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika. Sumber data pada penelitian ini adalah dari kamus Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English, edisi 6, terbitan tahun 2000.

Setelah pengenalan singkat mengenai sejarah yang menyebabkan perbedaan antara dua varietas ini, penilitian ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua permasalahan. Masalah pertama dibagi menjadi dua bagian, bagian pertama adalah menganalisis perbedaan kosakata tertentu yang memiliki makna yang sama antara bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika, dan bagian kedua adalah menganalisis perspektif dari para pengguna. Permasalahan kedua adalah menganalisis fitur semantik dari komponen analisis antara dua varietas.

Untuk memastikan perbedaan makna antara kosakata bahasa Inggris British dan American dalam kamus Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, peneliti melampirkan hasil dari penilitian antara pembicara dari dua varietas hanya untuk melihat apakah British dan Amerika dengan baik memahami satu sama lain dan apakah mereka sadar dengan perbedaan tersebut atau tidak. Selanjutnya, untuk menjawab masalah kedua, komponen analisis digunakan untuk membuktikan arti khusus dari setiap kata antara BrE and AmE.

Temuan pertama dari penelitian ini yaitu pada kamus ditemukan total 52 perbedaan kata antara Bahasa Inggris British dan Amerika. Temuan kedua adalah hasil survey menunjukkan bahwa responden yang merupakan pengguna Bahasa Inggris Amerika memperoleh nilai yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris British. Persentase dari responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris British yang memilih jawaban benar sebesar 54.29% pada kosakata pakaian, 80% pada kosakata makanan, 71,43% pada objek jalan, 52.38% pada peralatan rumah, 100% pada olahraga, 85.71% pada pekerjaan, 80.93% pada bagian mobil, 85.71% pada bangunan dan 66.67% pada kendaraan. Kemudian persentase dari responden pengguna Bahasa Inggris Amerika yang memilih jawaban benar sebesar 100% pada kosakata pakaian, 82.58% pada kosakata makanan, 85.71% pada objek jalan, 90.48% pada peralatan rumah, 100% pa da olahraga, 100% pada pekerjaan, 100% pada bagian mobil, 100% pada bangunan dan 90.48% pada kendaraan. Sementara itu dari hasil analisis komponen makna menunjukan bahwa semua perbedaan antara kata-kata bahasa inggris British dan Amerika terdiri dari komponen yang sama, yang berarti bahwa semua kosakata yang berbeda memiliki arti yang sama.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, a vast group with many branches, thought to be derived from a common ancestor-language called Proto-Indo-European. The words we use in English are derived from a wide range of sources, mostly within this family. The earliest sources are Germanic, Norse, and Romanic. Later, they are the languages of Europe more generally, and most recently with developments in such areas as medicine, electronics, computers, and communications, they have been worldwide. It is difficult to be sure exactly what we mean by an “English” word. Most obviously, words are English if they can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxons (Thorold, 1919:1792).

Four centuries ago, English is the language that has enjoyed by far the fastest growth within recent times, it was outstripped by French, German, Spanish, and Italian and today it has almost as many speakers as the four put together. English is the language of over three fifths of the world’s radio stations. It has a literature as flourishing as any, and has recently become one of the leading tongues of international scholarship and scientific research. More than half of the world’s scientific and technical periodicals are printed entirely of partly in English.

Historically, English belongs to the West Germanic branch of Indo-European, having developed from the Anglo-Saxon of the invaders from the continental North Sea coast who wrested control of Britain from its Romanized Celtic inhabitants in the sixth and seventh centuries of our era (Pei, 1984:316-317).

In Pei’s book he wrote about the story of language and the difference between the English of British and that of America which was first noted around the middle of the eighteen century, and the first statement concerning the “language of the United States” appears in 1778 (1984:326).

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, British writers complained that the language of the former American colonies was as far removed from English as Italian is from Latin. American writers of the period hotly retorted that American English was less corrupt than British English, and from the standpoint of historical phonology they seemed justified in their assertion. Meanwhile, G. B. Shaw used to claim that England and America are two countries separated by the same language. The fact of the matter is, however, that the two languages have in recent times been drawing closer and closer, by reason especially of the radio and of the numerous American soldiers stationed in Britain, which bring the spoken language peculiarities of one section of the Anglos-Saxon world to the other. British terms and pronunciations which fifty years ago would not have been understood in America are now commonplace and vice verse (1984:326-327).

American English had sufficiently changed to differ from British English, yet until World War I (1914-18) BrE tended to influence AmE. Since that time, however, BrE has come under the influence of AmE through American motion pictures, novels, plays, musical comedies, and, subsequently, American tourists, troops, and television programs.

From the description above we know that the English language is composed of two major varieties which are American English and British English. American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States. Meanwhile, British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom. These two varieties become into one common language and they are used together as International English language. These two languages are almost similar, but both actually have some differences which many of non-native speakers do not know, such as the differences in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, idioms and formatting of dates and numbers.

As what to be the concerned, this research is going to find out the similarities meaning of different noun vocabularies between British and American English. This study is necessary for non-native speakers to know and understand not only for the sake of communication, but also to avoid embarrassment. There are many common mistakes that could happen if we do not know the meaning of both English words especially for the non-native speakers.

For example, if there is a British tells an American that she has left her child’s ‘dummy’ in the ‘pram’ and its ‘nappy’ in the ‘boot’, she will look at her with strange looks. And if there is an American then tells the British woman that she has nice ‘pants’, he may well wonders why she doesn’t seem to take his remark as a compliment. This thing happened just because the differences words between American and British which have different meaning. In America dummies and nappies are called pacifiers and diapers, while prams and boots are called baby carriages and trunks. For Americans pantsare trousers but for British pants is what you wear under your trousers.

There are also many words that are used almost continually by Americans which are understood by most British people, and vice verse, for example, most British people know that Americans call biscuits “cookies” and flat “apartments”, similarly, Americans know that yard is called garden in Britain and truck are lorry.

B. Problem Formulation

The following questions are formulated in an attempt to study the variation of American and British English words.

1. What are the similar meanings of different noun vocabularies between certain British and American English and the users’ perspective based on the survey? 2. What are the semantic properties of the certain British and American English

C. Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are, first, to find out all the similar meanings of differentnouns between British and American English vocabularies, then categorizing them into each part, second, to analyze the results of the questionnaires from the respondents and third to classify the semantic properties of some British and American noun vocabularies by using the theory of componential analysis.

D. Definition of Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding, some definitions of terms are needed.

Vocabulary as explained by Good (1973:143) as the words having

meaning when heard and seen even though not produce by individual himself to communicate with others and the words are considered essential for minimal use a language.

According to Hornby (1989:1447) that vocabulary is 1). All the words that people know or uses. 2). All the words in a particular language. 3). The words that people use when they are talking. 4). A list of words with its meaning especially in book for learning foreign language.

Based on the definition from some experts above the researcher concludes that vocabulary is the total number of words in a language or a list of words with their meanings which contained in dictionary with the explanation of their meaning.

Semanticsis the study of meaning in language (Harford, 1983:1). As explained by Palmer (1976:1) semantic is the technical term used to refer to the study of meaning, and since meaning is a part of language, semantics is a part of linguistics. So, semantic is the study of meaning in language which concerned with the meaning of words, it is a fact that meaning is a part of language.

Componential Analysis is an analysis of the semantic components of a

word that views the meaning of a word as consisting of a bundle of semantic components or a bundle of semantic elements (Adisutrisno, 2008:20). Componential analysis is another attempt used to describe the meaning of a word.

Example:

Word The bundle of semanticomponents

Woman [+female]

[+human] [+adult] [- young] [-male]

6 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter deals with 3 major parts. The first part is reviewingthe similar topics which are done by other researchers, Fatmawati’s thesis and Lindell’sjournal. The second part discusses aboutsome related theories which would be applied in this thesis. The third part will discuss about the review of related backgrounds, the words formation process, and a brief history of differences English vocabulary. The last part is theoretical framework upon which the present study is based. The study is useful for finding the similar and different point of views between the last studies and this present thesis.

A. Review of Related Studies

1. Fatmawati’s thesis “A Comparison Analysis of American and British Idioms”

Fatmawati’s undergraduate thesis discusses the comparison analysis of American and British idioms, by using a qualitative method with a descriptive analysis from dictionary and short story. The dictionary that she uses to analyze is English and American Idiomswhich is written by Richard A. Spears and the short story is You were perfectly fine by John Millington Ward. Through this method, she tries to find the differences meaning between American idioms and British idioms.

She analyses the thesis by divided into two parts. First is the definition of idiom and the second is types of idioms. The first one is divided into three criteria both semantic and syntactic, which are: semantic opacity, or what has come to beknown as “no compositionality”, criterion relates to the apparent morphological and transformational deficiencies of idioms, and criterion is the lack of substitutability in idioms; their “lexical integrity”. Meanwhile, the second one is divided into three subclasses: pure idioms, semi-idioms, and literal idioms.

2. Lindell’s journal “An investigation of awareness of the differences in British and American vocabulary and spelling”

This journalAn investigation of awareness of the differences in British and American vocabulary and spelling, by finding his data he decided in investigating the Swedish students, whether Swedish students are aware and consistent in their English use. In the field of language acquisition, he decided to adopt a sociolinguistic approach to the research. The investigation will examine the level of awareness, and the abilities Swedish students possess, in order to distinguish between AmE and BrE.

The focus of this present thesis is different from Fatmawati’s and Lindell’s journal. This research focuses only on the noun vocabulary differences that have similar meanings between BrE and AmE. Then,these two thesis from two researchers aim to compare the differences between American and British Idioms and the other is an investigation of awareness of the differences in British and American vocabulary and spelling. In this present thesis is to discuss the

similarities meaning of different noun vocabularies between British and American English whichfound in the Oxford dictionary.

B. Review of Related Theories 1. Vocabulary

Theory of vocabulary according to Richards (2002:255), vocabulary is the core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read, and write. Jackson and Amvela (2000:11) say that the terms of vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are synonymous.

Another supporting definition comes from some experts. Nunan (1999:101) states that vocabulary is a list of target language words. Furthermore, Richards and Schmidt (2002:580) states that vocabulary is a set of lexeme, including single words, compound words, and idioms. Vocabulary is the total number of words in a language; all the words known to a person or used in a particular book, subject, etc; a list of words with their meaning, especially one that accompanies a textbook (Hornby, 1995:1331). Those definitions show that vocabulary is the first element that the English learners should learn in order to master English well besides the other English components and skills.

2. Componential Analysis

According to semantics (word meaning), Componential Analysis is an analysis of the semantic components of a word that views the meaning of a bundle of semantic elements. Another theory comes from Jackson in “Words and their meaning” (1996:83) and Nida in “Componential Analysis of Meaning” (1975:32).

They categorize the types of components into two main types, i.e. common component and diagnostic or distinctive component.

a. Common component

This is the central component which is shared by all the lexemes in the same semantic domain or lexical field.

b. Diagnostic or distinctive components

They serve to distinguish the meaning from others from the same domain. A very simple example to explain these two types is provided by the words man, woman, boy, girl, and other related words in English (Leech, 1976:96). These words all belong to the semantic field of ‘human race’ and the relations between them may be represented by the following matrix.

Tabel 1. Common and Diagnostic Components of the words man, woman, boy, and girl.

Components Man Woman Boy Girl

[human] + + + +

[adult] + + -

-[male] + - +

In the semantic domain of man, woman, boy, and girl, [human] is the common component, and they are distinguished by [adult], [male], [female] as the diagnostic components. The meanings of the individual items can then be expressed by combinations of these features:

Man + [human] + [adult] + [male] Woman + [human] + [adult] - [male] Boy + [human] - [adult] + [male] Girl + [human] - [adult] - [male]

C. Review of Related Background

British English and American English represent two different varieties of the English language is a commonplace. It is also commonly assumed that most of the differences can be found in the vocabulary.

The main causes of the vocabulary differences between British and American English are in part social-cultural, in part technological, and in part linguistic.

1. Social-cultural causes

There have been certain social and cultural developments since the early days of the emergence of what had become the United States. For example, the educational systems in the two countries developed somewhat differently, leading to differences in such words as form and grade, and many others. Co-ed was originally an American word (a noun denoting a female student at a coeducational school) that came to be used also in Britain, where it is used as an adjective only

meaning “coeducational.” Different sports had also emerged, developing their own terminologies. Whereas people in Britain are well known for playing cricket, people in the United States are equally well known for their love of baseball.

2. Technological causes

Technology has also product different vocabularies in British and American English. For example, the car industry developed in a parallel but distinct way in both countries, and, as a result, what was called windscreen in England was referred to by the wordwindshieldin the United States.

3. Linguistic causes

The task of naming new social-cultural and technological objects and experiences had to be undertaken by specific linguistic process. One linguistic process that was used to meet the demands of naming the new was borrowing. Independent linguistic change may also be responsible for differing vocabulary items in British and American English. New words may be made up of old resources in one variety. For example, American English has new words like lengthy, Americanism, Briticism, and others, which are American words made up of the old resources of the English language. For example, lengthy is a combination of the word length and the ending (suffix) -y, and the word Americanism consists of the adjective American and the ending –ism. These words and endings had all been in the English language for a long time before American English put them to new use.

There are two additional linguistic processes which are: the extension of meaning and the narrowing of meaning. An example for meaning extension is the

American use of the word school. The meaning of the word is generalized in American English. While in British English school is applied mainly to pre-university education (except in some institutional names, such as the London School of Economics), Americans employ the word without any such restriction.

The narrowing of meaning can be demonstrated by the wordcorn. Cornin England primarily means “grain,” which is thus a part of the meaning off such plants as wheat, maize, oat, etc. The meaning ofcornin America was narrowed to what the British callmaize.

D. Theoretical Framework

The theory which has been discussed will help the researcher to answer all problem formulations. The theory is applied as a basic understanding to the topic being discussed. The theory about componential analysis in semantic word meaning will be used to analyze the similar meaning of different noun vocabularies between British and American English words. After finding the noun vocabulary differences between these two English words, this theory will be used to analyze these data by using componential analysis.

13 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter explained about the object of the study discussed in this research and definition about the approach used in analyzing the data. Since this research focused on knowing and understanding the similarities meaning of noun vocabulary differences between British and American English words, a certain method and data were needed to conduct the research. The tools used for collect the data wereOxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study were 52 different nouns between American and British English that have the similar meanings. in the category of clothes, building, food, vehicle, home appliances, street objects, sport, occupation and parts of car. It consisted of 26 words of American English and 26 words of British English, which in clothing there are 10 different words which consisted of 5 words of BE and 5 words of AE, in building there are 6 different words, in food there are 10 different words, in vehicle there are 6 different words, in home appliances there are 6 different words, in street objects there are 4 different words, in sport there are 2 different words, in occupation 2 different words and in parts of car there are 6 different words. All the data were taken from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. This dictionary was chosen because it hadcomprehensive values in the term of definition and word classes.

B. Approach of the Study

Approach of the study was the semantic approach. The semantic approach meant in this study was specifically in term of componential analysis between certain American and British vocabulary. Componential analysis (feature analysis or contrast analysis) was the analysis of words through structured sets of semantic features, which were given as “present”, “absent” or “indifferent with reference to feature”. Shortly, Componential analysis was a method typical of structural semantics which analyzed the structure of a word's meaning.

Example:

Man [+ male] [+ adult] Woman [– male] [+ adult] Boy [+ male] [– adult] Girl [– male] [– adult]

C. Method of the Study 1. Data Collections

This study relied on a dictionary as the main source of the data. Since the study was a dictionary analysis, the data would be taken only from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.In this research, population study was taken. It meant that all the data would be analyzed in this study. Since all population was analyzed, no samples were taken. The population data in this research consisted of 26 American English words and 26 British English words. All the data became 52 English words. The 26 of American English words had its partner in British English words. The technique in collecting the data was by finding the differences

of noun vocabularies between British and American English words and categorized them in each fields such as clothing, building, street objects, sport, food, vehicle, home appliances, occupation and parts of car. There are some examples in the table below:

Table 3. Differences between British and American English noun vocabularies

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

1/C/B Trousers 1/C/A Pants a piece of clothing for your legs and the lower part of your body 2/B/B Shop 2/B/A Store a building where you buy things 3/SO/B Pavements 3/SO/A Sidewalk a flat part at the side of a road

for people to walk on

4/F/B Biscuit 4/F/A Cookie a kind of small thin hard cake that is usually sweet

5/V/B Lorry 5/V/A Truck a big vehicle for carrying heavy things

The letter ‘C’ stand of the word clothes, letter ‘B’ for Building, letter ‘S and O’ for Street Object, ‘F’ for Food, and ‘V’ is for Vehicle. All the data would be analyzed to see how they are different in certain semantic properties by using the componential analysis, and also from the users’ perspective.

2. Data Analysis

There were two steps used in order to answer the problem formulations in this study. First, to find all the similar meanings of different nounvocabularies in both English languages and categorized them into each part, then the researcher would explain all the differencesof nouns that had been categorized, and there is

also an analysis of the result of the questionnaires from the respondents. The researcher only used Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Then, second,in order to answer the second problem in understanding the semantic properties between British and American different English words, the researcher using componential analysis to find the features of the words and every definition in every word would be noted to show the similarities or differences among its partner.

This approach was used since all the data needed a clarification for the meaning of the words itself, and the researcher first tried to find all the differences between American and British English words and categorized them into each part then explained it. After analyzing those words that had been categorized, the researcher would formulate the features of the words by using the componential analysis to show what was present and absent between those differences words. Below is the example of using the componential analysis that the researcher going to use for the analysis of the problem formulation two.

Example:

Cooker[+ gas]

[+ oven] [+ electricity] [+ hob] [+ gas ring]

Stove [+ gas]

[+ oven] [+ electricity] [+ hob] [+ gas ring]

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

When American and British people meet, the first obvious difference is their accent and the pronunciation of words. However, the major differences probably lied in the choice of vocabulary differences, this shows how to treat the two varieties as two different languages. This research is divided into two problems. The first part presents the noun vocabulary differences between British and American English words that have similar meanings, and also reports the results of a survey among speakers of the two varieties to verify how well American and British speakers understand each other. The second part presents the semantic properties by using the semantic features of componential analysis.

A. The similar meanings of different noun vocabularies between certain British and American English from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1. The similarities meaning of different noun vocabularies between certain British and American English

A thorough scanning of theOxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,found a total of 52 words showing the differences of nouns between AmE and BrE vocabularies which referred to the same things. All the data of different noun vocabularies had been categorized into each field, which consisted of 10 different words in clothes, 6 different words in building, 10 different wordsin food, 6 different words in vehicle, 6 different words in home appliances, 4 different

wordsin street objects, 2 different words in sport, 2 different words in occupation and 6 different words in parts of car.

a. “Clothing” Vocabulary

There are many differences between BrE and AmE related to clothing vocabulary. Table 4.1 below will present the data about the differences in clothing vocabulary.

Tablet 4.1 Clothing Vocabulary(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

1/C/B Trousers 1/C/A Pants a piece of clothing for your legs and the lower part of your body 2/C/B Pants 2/C/A Underwear a small piece of clothing that you

wear under your other clothes, around the middle of your body to cover your bottom

3/C/B Dinner-jacket

3/C/A Tuxedo a black jacket worn by men in the evening for formal occasions 4/C/B Vest 4/C/A Undershirt a piece of clothing that you wear

under your other clothes on the top part of your body

5/C/B Waistcoat 5/C/A Vest a short piece of clothing with buttons down the front but no sleeves, usually worn over a shirt and under a jacket, often forming part of a man’s suit

The table above shows that there are 10 different words between British and American nouns that have the same meaning. First differences are American pants which are British trousers. In England, pants referred to a piece of clothing that meant to cover the hip area down from waist and often reached down to groin, which in American call it underwear. Americans prefer to call trousers pants and pants for them are underwear. If we talk about formal clothes there are 2

different words which are ‘tuxedo’ and ‘dinner-jacket’. ‘Dinner-jacket’ sounds uncommon for usbut it is actually British vocabulary of American tuxedo, they are different words that name the same things which are man's short jacket without tails, and usually worn with matching trousers and a bow tie for formal occasions. Other differences that also create confusion are such as British and American vest, although the word vest is use in both languages, but actually they are referred to the different things. British vest is what American call undershirt, and what Americans mean with vest is the British waistcoat. Following are two pictures which used to clarify the meaning between BrE vest and AmE undershirt with BrE waistcoat and AmE vest.

Graphic 4. Differences of the word ‘vest’ between BrE and AmE

Picture BrE AmE

Vest Undershirt

Waistcoat Vest

b. “Building” Vocabulary

Buildings terminology might be quite confusing in these two countries, table below will show those differences with the similar meanings.

Table 4.2 Buildings Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

6/B/B Shop 6/B/A Store a building where you buy

things 7/B/B Chemist’s 7/B/A Pharmacy/Drug

Store

a shop/store that sells medicines, soap and other personal goods, or a place in a hospital where medicines are prepared

8/B/B Flat 8/B/A Apartment a group of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a house or big building

The nouns shop and store are used somewhat differently in American and British English. In general, Americans use store the way British use shop. Most British shops would be called stores in the US where the noun shop is more often used to mean a small retail establishment, such as an antique shop or a gift shop. Other differences about building vocabulary are the words chemist’s and pharmacy or drugstore, British would say go to the chemist’s, while Americans go to a pharmacy or a drugstore, where they can buy medicines and other items such as body care products and other personal goods. Pharmacy can be a shop, part of a shop, or part of a hospital. Pharmacy or drugstore are the usual words in American English, but in British English usually it refer to the part of a hospital that prepares and gives out medicines as a pharmacy, but the ususal word for a shop where medicines are prepared and sold is call a chemist’s in British. Other differences in building which are already known by these two varieties they are apartment and flat. Apartment is called in American which meant a set of rooms for living in, while in British is called flat, which meant a set of rooms for living

in, including a kitchen, usually on one floor of a building, but these both words are referred to the same things.

c. “Street objects” vocabulary

Certain words are shared by British and American English such as, ‘parking meter’, ‘pedestrian’, and ‘traffic’ they are shared by the two varieties. However, there are still some street objects that have different name between these two varieties but referred to the same thing. Table 4.3 below will show some different noun vocabularies of ‘street objects’.

Table 4.3 Street Objects Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

9/S/B Pavements 9/S/A Sidewalk a flat part at the side of a road for people to walk on

10/S/B Flyover 10/S/A Overpass a bridge that carries one road over another one

The term ‘pavement’ is BrE which mean the flat part at the side of road that people usually use to walk on. Many Americans will be confused if someone uses the term ‘pavement’when referring to the pedestrian walkway because the alongside the street which is designated for pedestrians is called ‘sidewalk’ in AmE.And what is British call ‘flyover’ is called ‘overpass’ in American.

d. “Sport” Vocabulary

There are also some differences in sport vocabulary. Table 4.4 below will show the differences.

Table 4.4 Sport Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

11/S/B Football 11/S/A Soccer a game for two teams of eleven players who try to kick a round ball into the other team’s goal on a field They are one and the same. Soccer is what the Americans call it, football is what British and the rest of the world calls it. So, American Soccer and British Football are the same sport.

e. “Food” Vocabulary

The research demonstrates how many differences in term of food. Table 4.5 below will show those differences in food vocabulary.

Table 4.5 Food Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

12/F/B Biscuit 12/F/A Cookie a kind of small thin hard cake that is usually sweet

13/F/B Aubergine 13/F/A Eggplant a large purple vegetable that is white inside

14/F/B Courgette 14/F/A Zucchini a long vegetable that is green on the outside and white on the inside

15/F/B Maize 15/F/A Corn a tall plant with big yellow seeds that you can eat

16/F/B Prawn 16/F/A Shrimp a small sea animal with a shell and a lot of legs that turns pink when you cook it

The table above shows that British ‘biscuit’ is American ‘cookie’ and what is American call ‘biscuit’ is British ‘scone’. Also some fruit and vegetables terms are different, such as the British aubergines, courgette and maize which in

American areeggplants,zucchiniandcorn. Corn also has another meaning in area of skin, which means a small, painful area of hard skin that forms on the foot, especially on the toes. Furthermore, American as regards seafood, what Americans call shrimp are call prawn by the British. The word shrimp can also indicate to a person as ‘a short or small person’. Besides those differences, the British use the same words for most categories of meat as beef, pork, and lamb.

f. “Vehicle” Vocabulary

Many differences between British and American English are related to the transport vocabulary. Table 4.6 below will show those differences.

Table 4.6 Transport Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

17/V/B Coach 17/V/A Bus a large road vehicle that

carries a lot of people along the road and stops often so they can get on and off

18/V/B Underground 18/V/A Subway an underground railway system in a city

19/V/B Lorry 19/V/A Truck a big vehicle for carrying heavy things

In British people would say take a couch, while the Americans say they take a bus, these two different words are referred to the same transportation, but the word ‘couch’ also has another meanings, which are ‘teacher and part of vehicle’. For example in sport it is mean a person who is responsible for managing and training a person or a team (a basketball coach), and a coach is also an expert who trains someone leaning or improving a skill that one related to performing (an acting coach). If it is a part of vehicle, coach is the less expensive

sections of an aircraft that most people sit in, a coach is also one of the separate parts of a train, and it is also a kind of old-fashioned vehicle pulled by one or more horses. In Americans people will take subways, whereas in Great Britain this means of transport is called an underground. Other vehicle different is the American ‘truck’ which is called ‘lorry’ in Britain.

g. “Home appliances” Vocabulary

About home appliances, American and British English have many words in common. Table 4.7 below will show those differences that both varieties have in common.

Table 4.7 Home appliances Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’sDictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

20/HA/B Toilet 20/HA/A Bathroom a room where you can wash and have a bath or shower. (AE) a room with a toilet in it 21/HA/B Cupboard 21/HA/A Closet a piece of furniture with

shelves and doors for storing things

22/HA/B Cooker 22/HA/A Stove A large piece of equipment for cooking food, containing an oven and gas or electric rings on top.

About rooms, American and British English have many words in common. However, Americans use the euphemism bathroom as a polite synonym for the word toilet, because many Americans consider the term toilet indelicate, but the British called a bathroom is a toilet, because for them what is American call toilet

is call toilet bowl. The word cupboard is used with different meanings in the two varieties. The British cupboard can be used to store all sorts of things whereas Americans use it only in kitchens. Americans would be very surprised to be told to put their clothes in a cupboard, since they use a closet to put their clothes. Stove and cooker are also two different words between AmE and BrE, but both words are referred to the same item. Stove also means a piece of equipment for heating a space inside a room, often using wood or a form of coal as a fuel.

Besides that most furniture items also have the same names in the two varieties that can create great confusion however. To an American ‘a bureau’ is a piece of furniture with drawers for holding things such as towels or items of clothing. British use the expression ‘a chest of drawers’. To a British a bureau is a piece of furniture, but with a top part that opens and makes it a writing table. An American would call this a writing table. In American English, a cot is a light narrow bed that can be folded up, for example for camping. In fact, the British call this type of be a camp bed. To speakers of British English a cot is a small bed for a baby with tall sides that have bars, something Americans refer to as a crib.

h. “Occupation” Vocabulary

Not only have differences in clothing, building, home appliances etc, but the two varieties also shared the differences in occupation vocabulary. Table 4.8 below will show two differences words between BrE and AmE which have the same meaning.

Table 4.8 Occupation Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

24/O/B Postman 24/O/A Mailman a person whose job is to take (deliver) letter and packages to people’s homes

There are two different words in occupation, which are postman and mailman. In UK people said it ‘postman’ which mean someone who delivers the post (mail) to, and collects the post from residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes. In the US people will more commonly say mailman rather than postman. Postman is understood, but sounds old-fashioned. Both are two different names but referred to the same occupation.

i. “Parts of Car” Vocabulary

British and American English not only have differences in vehicle, but they both also shared the differences in parts of it, such as a table 4.9 below.

Table 4.9 Parts of Car Vocabulary (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

No British

English

No American

English

Meaning

25/PoC/B Bonnet 25/PoC/A Hood the front part of a car

that cover the engine 26/PoC/B Number plate 26/PoC/A License plate the flat piece of

metal on the front and back of a car that has numbers and letter on it

27/PoC/B Boot 27/PoC/A Trunk the part of a car

where you can put bags and boxes, usually at the back

In Britain, the metal cover the front part of a car where the engine is called a bonnet but in America it called a hood. Bonnet is also a type of hat that covers the ears and is tied under the chin, usually worn by babies. Number plate is very common in BE, but in AE they called it license plate, but both will be understood.When you get a taxi, you can put your bags in the boot, which is at the back of the car which American called it trunk. A boot can also describe a shoe and a trunk can also describe an elephant’s nose.

2. The differences between British and American English noun vocabularies based on the users’ perspective from the survey.

This part attempts to analyze the result of the questionnaire which had been given to American and British native speakers.

To ensure whether the differentnoun vocabularies that have similar meaning between British and American English which written in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a survey has been led among speakers of the two varieties. Because of the limitation of the respondents, this survey just found a total of 14 respondents from these two varieties, they were asked to complete the questionnaire by choosing the words that usually they used to name the items that showed in the questionnaire papers.

The experiment using a questionnaire were elaborated by choosing the items from the examples of vocabulary differences described in this research, for a total of 26 items for each variety of English. There are 14 respondents, and all the

respondents were informed about the aims of this research, and asked to fill in the questionnaire onlyon the basis of their own knowledge, without using dictionaries. The native speakers from these two varieties were contacted through the social networks, and asked to complete the questionnaire anonymously.

Finally, as the same items were given to the two samples. The results of the questionnaires were compared. Table below reports the results of the questionnaire.

Table 4.10. The Results of the Survey

Item BrE AmE Item BrE AmE

Trousers 4 0 Pants 3 7

Waistcoat 6 0 Vest 1 7

Pants 0 0 Underwear 7 7

Vest 5 0 Undershirt 2 7

Dinner jacket 3 0 Tuxedo 4 7

Biscuit 7 1 Cookies 0 6

Maize 3 0 Corn 4 7

Prawn 3 0 Shrimp 4 7

Aubergine 7 0 Eggplant 0 7

Courgette 7 0 Zucchini 0 7

Flyover 4 2 Overpass 3 5

Pavement 6 0 Sidewalk 1 7

Cupboard 4 2 Closet 3 5

Toilet 2 0 Bathroom 5 7

Cooker 5 0 Stove 2 7

Postman 6 0 Mailman 1 7

Football 7 0 Soccer 0 7

Number plate 7 0 License plate 0 7

Boot 7 0 Trunk 0 7

Bonnet 3 0 Hood 4 7

Flat 7 0 Apartment 0 7

Chemist’s 4 0 Pharmacy 3 7

Shop 7 0 Store 0 7

Coach 3 2 Bus 4 5

Lorry 4 0 Truck 3 7

The analysis of the results above indicates that there are some differences that seem to be used by both varieties, and some seem barely used by their own native speakers. The explanation can be divided into several groups.

First group is composed of differences in clothing vocabulary such as ‘pants’ and ‘underwear’, ‘pants’ is British vocabulary and ‘underwear’ is American’s, for British pants mean underpants, but for American pants mean a piece of clothing that covering the lower part of the body from the waist to the foot which British call it trousers. The result of the survey shows that none of the British respondents who chose ‘pants’all the respondents from this two varieties are choose ‘underwear’. Other items such as‘dinner jacket’ and ‘tuxedo’, mostly of the respondents were chose ‘tuxedo’. ‘Dinner jacket’ is British vocabulary of American tuxedo but only 3 of British respondents who chose it. It shows that those items were hardly recognized by their own native speaker.

Second group is composed of differences in food vocabulary such as ‘corn/maize’, and ‘shrimp/prawn’. The word ‘maize’ is British vocabulary but from the result of the questionnaires only 3 British respondents choose that word, the rest are choose ‘corn’. Another differences are the words ‘Shrimp’ and ‘prawn’. Most of the respondents choose ‘shrimp’rather that ‘prawn’.

The third group is composed of differences in ‘street objects’ such as words ‘flyover’ and ‘overpass’ they are equally known by speakers of both varieties, but from the survey shows that there are many respondents more common with the word overpass rather than flyover.

Fourth group is composed of differences in ‘home appliances’ such as the words ‘cupboard/closet’, and ‘bathroom/toilet’, from the resultshows that many British respondents preferred American vocabulary such as ‘closet’ and ‘bathroom’rather than their own vocabulary.

The fifth group is the differences in ‘building’ vocabulary such as ‘chemist’s’ and ‘pharmacy’. From the result of the survey shows that there are only 3 British respondents who choose the word ‘chemist’s’,the rest chose the word‘pharmacy’.

The sixth group is composed of differences in transportation such as ‘bus/coach’, and ‘lorry/truck’. The result of the survey found that there are only 5 respondents who choose the word coach, 3 are British and 2 are American, but for the words ‘lorry’ and ‘truck’ from 7 British respondents only 3 are choose the word‘lorry’and the rest are choose ‘truck’.

The last group is the differences in ‘parts of car’ such as ‘bonnet’ and ‘hood’. Bonner (BrE) and hood (AmE), these two different words are referred to the same thing. From 14 respondents only 3 British respondents who choose the word ‘bonnet’, the rest are choose the word ‘hood’.

From the explanation of the result above indicates that even those differences vocabulary between these two varieties are appear in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, but seem like lots of them do not know about it or they are unfamiliar with their own vocabulary.

The table below will show the result of the percentages between the respondents of British and American who choose the correct answers.

Table 4.11. American/British Using Their Respective Vocabularies

Items British American

Clothing 54.29 % 100%

Food 80% 82.86%

Street Object 71.43% 85.571%

Home Appliances 52.38% 90.48%

Sport 100% 100%

Occupation 85.71% 100%

Part of Car 80.95% 100%

Building 85.71% 100%

Vehicle 66.67% 90.48%

According to the table above the percentages of British respondents who choose the correct answers are 54.29% of clothing vocabulary, 80% of food vocabulary, 71.43% of street objects, 52.38% of home appliances, 100% of sport, 85.71% of occupation, 80.93% of parts of car, 85.71% of building and 66.67% of vehicle. For American respondents the percentages of the correct answers are 100% of clothing vocabulary, 82.58% of food, 85.71% of street objects, 90.48% of home appliances, 100% of sport, 100% of occupation, 100% of parts of car, 100% of building and 90.48% of vehicle. The percentages of the correct answers in the table above is found by totalizing the correct answers from both varieties , then divided by the total number of the words in each group and multiplied it by 100%.

Table 4.12. American/British Using Their Respective Vocabularies

The percentages in the diagrams above are an average of 14 respondents between the two varieties who chose the correct answers and each color in the diagram represent one label each. The blue color refers to the British respondents and the red color refers to American respondents. The 14 respondents between these two varieties show that most of the respondents chose to use American nouns vocabularies rather than British ones.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

British

B. The semantic properties of componential analysis between certain American and British noun vocabularies

The followings are the semantic properties of the British and American noun vocabularies which are listed in problem formulation two. Componential analysis is another attempt used to describe the meaning of a word through structured sets of semantic features, which were given as “present” or “absent”. By using this theory for analysis we may know what are the differences and similarities of these two varieties.

1. Componential analysis of clothing vocabulary Word (BrE)

Trousers

[+ clothes] [+ cover legs] [+ button] [+ pockets]

Word (AmE) Pants

[+ clothes] [+ cover legs] [+ button] [+ pockets]

The analysis of the semantic properties above shows that the features of these two different words have no differences. The word ‘trousers’ (BrE) is composed of six components of meaning which are [+ clothes], [+ long], [- short], [+ cover legs], [+ button], [+ pockets], so did the word‘pants’ (AmE). The analysis of this kind shows that the definitions for the words in terms of a few components as trousers and pants = clothes + long, + cover legs, - short, + button, + pockets have no differences, they just 2 different words that name the same thing.

Pants

[+ underpants] [- cover legs]

Underwear

[+ underpants] [- cover legs]

From the componential analysis above display the fact that the words ‘pants’ and‘underwear’ shared something in common which are [+ underpants], [+ short], [- long], [- cover legs]. We can see that pants and underwear are just two different words, but both words referred to the same items.

Dinner-Jacket

[+ formal] [+ long sleeves] [+ trousers or pants] [- short sleeves] [+ collared] [+ bowtie]

Tuxedo

[+ formal] [+ long sleeves] [+ bowtie]

[+ trousers or pants] [- short sleeves] [+ collared]

The semantic features above shows that the use of method of componential analysis showed that the words ‘dinner-jacket’ and ‘tuxedo’ are composed of the same components, which are [+ formal], [+ long sleeves], [+ bowtie], [+ trousers or pants], [- short sleeves], [+ collared], even the result from the survey showed that lots of the respondents did not choose‘dinner-jacket’ but from the analysis using the semantic features of componential analysis shows that they are the same item.

Vest

[+ underwear] [+ short sleeve] [- long sleeve]

Undershirt

[+ underwear] [+ short sleeve] [- long sleeve]

Here there is no differences in the features between these two words ‘vest’ and ‘undershirt’, both words consist of the same components, which are [+ underwear], [+ short sleeve], [- long sleeve].

Waistcoat

[- long sleeve] [+ short sleeve] [+ bottons]

Vest

[- long sleeve] [+ short sleeve] [+ bottons]

The words ‘waistcoat’ and ‘vest’ are two different words but have the same meaning, the semantic features above can show that both words really referred to the same thing, even they have different name. It is also clarified the words ‘vest’ between American and British English actually have different meaning.

2. Componential analysis of building vocabulary Word (AmE)

Store

[+ sale] [+ place] [- open area]

Word (BrE) Shop

[+sale] [+ place] [- open area]

The words ‘store’ and ‘shop’ are well known as different name that referred to the same thing. In British English‘shop’ means any premises that sell retail goods, and often a single kind such as electrical goods, clothes, groceries etc. but in America the word ‘store’ tends to mean a larger establishment that is divided into sections and sell several types of goods.

Chemist’s

[+ shop/store] [+ medicine/drugs] [+ soap]

[+ cosmetic]

Pharmacy/Drug Store

[+ shop/store] [+ medicine/drugs] [+ soap]

[+ cosmetic]

This part also showed that there are not any differences between the words ‘chemist’s’ (BrE) and ‘pharmacy/drug store’ (AmE). Both are just two different words that they referred to the same thing.

Flat

[+ room] [+ kitchen] [+ toilet]

Apartment

[+ room] [+ kitchen]

[+ toilet/bathroom]

The words ‘flat’ and ‘apartment’ are two differences words that well known by these two varieties. British would call it ‘flat’and Americans are more familiar with the word ‘apartment’, both words are refer to the same thing. By using the method of componential analysis it shows that there is no difference between these two words.

3. Componential analysis of street objects Word (BrE)

Pavement

[+ hard surface] [+ pedestrian] [+ stone] [+ flat part]

Word (AmE) Sidewalk

[+ hard surface] [+ pedestrian] [+ stone] [+ flat part]

The semantic features of these two words ‘pavement’ and ‘sidewalk’ have no differences at all, both words consist of the same components which are [+ hard surface], [+ pedestrian], and [+ flat part]. They are two different names that referred to the same thing.

Overpass

[+ bridge] [+ road] [+ highway]

Flyover

[+ bridge] [+ road] [+ highway]

‘Overpass’ and ‘flyover’ are composed of the same features, it shows that both different words have no differences meaning, both are just two varieties words of British and American English.

4. Componential analysis of Sport Vocabulary Word (BrE)

Football

[+ ball] [+ player] [+ sport] [+ team] [+ foot]

Word (AmE) Soccer

[+ ball] [+ player] [+ sport] [+ team] [+ foot]

From the components above shows that the words ‘football’ and ‘soccer’ are the same sport. They consist of the same semantic features as [+ball],[+ player],[+ team] and [+sport].

5. Componential analysis of Food Vocabulary Word (BrE)

Biscuit

[+ sweet] [+ dry] [+ baked] [+ crisp]

Word (AmE) Cookie

[+ sweet] [+ dry] [+ baked]

[+ crisp]

In this part there are some components such as [+ sweet], [+ dry], [+ cake], [+crisp] and [+ baked]. Which both words have, but there is no differences found here, all the features are same. So the words ‘biscuit’ and ‘cookie’ have the same meaning.

Aubergine

[+vegetable]

[- fruit]

[+ dark purple skin]

Eggplant

[+ vegetable] [- fruit]

[+ dark purple skin]

These two kinds of vegetables have the same features, both are name different between British and American English but they were well known by each others. The result of the survey also showed that all the British respondents were chose ‘aubergine’ and all the American respondents chose ‘eggplant’. It shows that both different words have the same meaning.

Courgette

[+ vegetable] [+ white flesh] [+ dark green skin] [- fruit]

Zucchini

[+ vegetable] [+ white flesh] [+ dark green skin] [- fruit]

‘Courgette’and‘Zucchini’ are also two kinds of vegetables they have different name but referred to the same food, which characterized as [+ long], [+ vegetable], [+ white flesh], [+ dark green skin], and [- fruit].

Corn

[+ grains] [+ plant] [+ yellow] [+ cereal]

Maize

[+ grains] [+ plant] [+ yellow] [+ cereal]

These two kinds of grains have different name between BrE and AmE, but both have the same semantic features, thus ‘maize’and‘corn’ refer to the same thing.

Prawn

[+ crustaceans] [+ ten legs] [+ long tail] [+ hard shell]

Shrimp

[+ crustaceans] [+ ten legs] [+ long tail] [+ hard shell]

These two crustaceans have different name between British and American English, British call it ‘prawn’ and American would call it ‘shrimp’ but actually they are same crustaceans.

6. Componential analysis of Vehicle Vocabulary Word (BrE)

Coach (BrE)

[+ vehicle] [+ large] [+ long] [+ passengers]

Word (AmE) Bus (AmE)

[+ vehicle] [+ large] [+ long] [+ passengers]

In this part, we analyze the semantic features of transportvocabulary, here the word ‘coach’ sound unfamiliar with some people, but this word actually British vocabulary of American word ‘bus’. These two words refer to the same item, even they have different name. From the components above both words have same features which are [+ vehicle], [+ large], [+ long] and [+ passengers].

Underground

[+ railway system] [+ underground vehicle] [+ passengers]

Subway

[+ railway system] [+ underground vehicle] [+ passengers]

‘Underground’and‘subway’are two kinds of the same transportation. BrE is ‘underground’and AmE is ‘subway’, both are same transportation, we can see it on the components above, it showed there is no any differences that found between these two words.

Lorry

[+ vehicle] [+ large]

Truck

[+ vehicle] [+ large]

Componential analysis of the words ‘lorry’and ‘truck’ are same, both are different names, but they are the same vehicle, ‘lorry’ is British English, and ‘truck’is American English.From the result of the survey, it is found that there is only 3 respondents who chose ‘lorry’, while the rest chose ‘truck’, but here showed that both words have no differences they have the same meaning.

7. Componential analysis of Home appliances Vocabulary

Word (BrE) Word (AmE)

Toilet

[+ toilet bowl] [+ bath] [+ washbasin] [+ shower]

Bathroom

[+ toilet] [+ bath] [+ washbasin] [+ shower]

‘Toilet’ and ‘bathroom’ consist of the same semantic features. British name it ‘toilet’ but American will more comfort to say it ‘bathroom’, but both referred to the same thing.

Cupboard

[+ furniture] [+ door] [+ clothes]

Closet

[+ furniture] [+ door] [+ clothes]

The different words between ‘cupboard’ and ‘closet’ actually referred to the same thing, but in British‘cupboard’can also use to store food.

Cooker

[+ hob] [+ oven] [+ gas] [+ electric] [+ gas ring]

Stove

[+ hob] [+ oven] [+ gas] [+ electric] [+ gas ring]

Analysis about the words ‘cooker’ and ‘stove’ showed that they are the same item, but the word stove also has another meaning, which is a piece of equipment for heating a space inside a room, often using wood or a form of coal as a fuel.

8. Componential analysis of Occupation Vocabulary Word (BrE) Postman [+ male] [+ letter] [+ parcel] Word (AmE) Mailman [+ male] [+ letter] [+ parcel]

‘Postman’ and ‘mailman’ are two different words but bothrefer to the same occupation. In British people more commonly use the word ‘postman’ while Americans use the word ‘mailman’. From the componential analysis above, it shows that there is no any difference between these two words.

9. Componential analysis of Parts of car vocabulary Word (BrE)

Bonnet

[+ car] [+ metal]

[+ engine cover]

Word (AmE) Hood

[+ car] [+ metal]

[+ engine cover]

Lots of the respondents of the questioners chose ‘hood’ and only 2 respondents chose ‘bonnet’.They are not familiar with the word ‘bonnet’ but actually British English of ‘hood’ is called ‘bonnet’. From the analysis above, there is no any different between those words, they have the same meanings.

Number plate [+ number] [+ letter] [+ car] [+ metal] License plate [+ number] [+ letter] [+ car] [+ metal]

British people call it ‘number plate’, while in American they call it ‘license plate’, both are two different names but have the same meaning, the result of the questioners are all correct, all the British respondents chose‘number plate’ and all the Americanchose‘license plate’. The semantic features above show that there is no differences between both components, so they just two different names but have the same meaning.

Boot

[+ space] [+ car] [+ wide]

Trunk

[+ space] [+ car] [+ wide]

‘Boot’ and ‘trunk’ consist of the same components, both are different in name, but the meanings are same. The results of the questioner are also correct, all the British respondents chose ‘boot’ which is British vocabulary, and all the American chose ‘trunk’ which is American vocabulary, the result of the analysis above also shows that there is no any differences between both words.

This method of componential analysis above is an easy way to be used to distinguish the meaning of the words between BrE and AmE. Analysis of this kind is useful because we can see exactly why those words have different meaning and why they have same meaning. Through this semantic component, we can see the specific meaning of each component that there is no any difference in meaning, all words have the similar meanings.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The research of this study is intended to analyze the certain semantic similarities of differentnoun vocabularies between British and American English. After analyzing the differences noun vocabularies between the two varieties, it is found that there is a total of 52 different words which consist of 26 words of AmE and 26 words of BrE and those differences are categorized into several groups such as clothing, building, food, vehicle, home appliances, street objects, sport, occupation and parts of car. The data that use in this study are collected from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English6thedition.

This study also aims to answer the problems which is presented in chapter I. There are two problems which are analyzed in this study. The first problem is divided into two parts, the first part is to discuss about the similar meanings of differentnoun vocabularies between the two verities and the second part is to discuss about the users’ perspective based on the survey. The second problem is to analyze the semantics properties of componential analysis between certain British and American noun vocabularies.

The second part of first problem the researcher distributed the questionnaires to some British and American native speakers through the social network and found total of 14 respondents from the two varieties, 7 are British respondents and 7 are American respondents. The analysis of the results from the survey indicates that there are some differences that seem to be known by both varieties, but some still mix AmE and BrE. Some respondents were able to choose

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Raw Data

Words List Nouns (52 words)

No Words No Words

1. Trousers 27. Pants 2. Waistcoat 28. Vest

3. Pants 29. Underwear

4. Vest 30. Undershirt

5. Dinner jacket 31. Tuxedo 6. Biscuit 32. Cookies

7. Maize 33. Corn

8. Prawn 34. Shrimp

9. Aubergine 35. Eggplant 10. Courgette 36. Zucchini 11. Flyover 37. Overpass 12. Pavement 38. Sidewalk 13. Cupboard 39. Closet 14. Toilet 40. Bathroom

15. Cooker 41. Stove

16. Postman 42. Mailman 17. Football 43. Soccer 18. Number plate 44. License plate

19. Boot 45. Trunk

20. Bonnet 46. Hood

21. Flat 47. Apartment

22. Chemist’s 48. Pharmacy

23. Shop 49. Store

24. Coach 50. Bus

25. Lorry 51. Truck

Appendix 3: Result of the Survey (14 respondents)

1. British respondents

Words R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7  Percents

Trousers     4 57%

Pants    3 42%

Waistcoat       6 85%

Vest  1 14%

Pants 0 0%

Underwear        7 100%

Vest      5 71%

Undershirt   2 28%

Dinner-jacket     4 57%

Tuxedo    3 42%

Biscuit        7 100%

Cookies 0 0%

Maize    3 42%

Corn     4 57%

Prawn     4 57%

Shrimp    3 42%

Aubergine        7 100%

Eggplant 0 0%

Courgette        7 100%

Zucchini 0 0%

Flyover     4 57%

Overpass    3 42%

Pavement       6 85%

Sidewalk  1 14%

Cupboard     4 57%

Closet    3 42%

Toilet   2 28%

Bathroom      5 71%

Cooker      5 71%

Stove   2 28%

Postman       6 85%

Mailman  1 14%

Football        7 100%

Soccer 0 0%

Number plate        7 100%

Boot        7 100%

Trunk 0 0%

Bonnet    3 42%

Hood     4 57%

Flat        7 100%

Apartment 0 0%

Chemist’s     4 57%

Pharmacy    3 42%

Shop        7 100%

Store 0 0%

Coach    3 42%

Bus     4 57%

Lorry     4 57%

Truck    3 42%

Underground        7 100%

Subway 0 0%

2. American respondents

Words R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7  Percents

Trousers 0 0%

Pants        7 100%

Waistcoat 0 0%

Vest        7 100%

Pants 0 0%

Underwear        7 100%

Vest 0 0%

Undershirt        7 100%

Dinner-jacket 0 0%

Tuxedo        7 100%

Biscuit       6 85%

Cookies  1 14%

Maize 0 0%

Corn        7 100%

Prawn 0 0%

Shrimp        7 100%

Aubergine 0 0%

Eggplant        7 100%

Courgette 0 0%

Zucchini        7 100%

Flyover   2 28%

Pavement 0 0%

Sidewalk        7 100%

Cupboard   2 28%

Closet      5 71%

Toilet 0 0%

Bathroom        7 100%

Cooker 0 0%

Stove        7 100%

Postman 0 0%

Mailman        7 100%

Football 0 0%

Soccer        7 100%

Number plate 0 0%

License plate        7 100%

Boot 0 0%

Trunk        7 100%

Bonnet 0 0%

Hood        7 100%

Flat 0 0%

Apartment        7 100%

Chemist’s 0 0%

Pharmacy        7 100%

Shop 0 0%

Store        7 100%

Coach   2 28%

Bus      5 71%

Lorry 0 0%

Truck        7 100%

Underground 0 0%