Royal Palm Bay Villas, Orlando, Kissimee, Florida , USA.

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English is not a dead language like Latin; rather it is a living language that people use every day of their lives to converse in. Nobody has ever tried to control the evolution of the language as the French do theirs through the Academie Francaise. As a result of the exploration and colonisation which led to the British Empire , English was taken to many countries throughout the world. Consequently it is now the most widely spoken language on the planet. More people speak the Chinese languages because of the sheer numbers to whom it is their native tongue, but more people speak English as a second language than any other. Not even Spanish is as widely spoken as a first or second language, although it is well on the way to being the unofficial second language of the United States .

English is the language of Australia , Canada , New Zealand and the United States of America . It is also widely spoken in India , Pakistan , the Caribbean and many parts of the African continent. Each of these nations has taken the language of the time they were colonised and developed it to suit their needs. In many ways this shared language has been the cement that sustains the Commonwealth. And Americans are proud that they speak English; one United States citizen even said to me once that she wished we in the United Kingdom spoke English!

This situation can cause unfortunate misunderstandings. In America the toilet or WC is a bathroom or restroom. The road is the pavement and our pavement is the sidewalk. They say excuse me when we would say pardon or I'm sorry. A tap is a faucet. A lady's handbag is a purse, while a wallet or purse is a pocketbook. Trousers are pants, for both men and women. Shorts are men's underpants. Knickers are short trousers not ladies underwear. A fizzy soft drink is a soda. The letter zed is a zee. The number nought, which we also sometimes refer to as the letter 'o', is a zero. A postcode is a zip code. The vegetable courgette is a zucchini. A bum is a tramp not ones backside; that's a fanny, believe it or not. Randy is a man's name, not an erotic state of mind. And hooters are definitely not car horns!

Traffic signals are stop lights. A car has a hood, not a bonnet (which is something Southern Belles wear), a trunk not a boot (which you wear on your foot), a windshield not a windscreen, a muffler not an exhaust, fenders not bumpers, takes gas not petrol, and so on. A two lane blacktop is a single carriageway road. The central reservation is the median. A lorry is a truck, but then so is a pick-up. Road signs instruct you to yield not give way.

Some spellings are different too. A 'z' is often used instead of a 's' (minimize, maximize, emphasize), an 'i' in place of a 'y' (tire not tyre). American spelling is altogether more phonetic than English, for example gray instead of grey, check for cheque, program for programme.

Remember though that, despite George W Bush's apparent belief to the contrary, the French do have a word for the American entrepreneur!