Why do Americans use different words than English that have the same meaning e.g. diapers & nappies?

Answer 1

Because it is a different country and dialects can evolve differently by geography no matter what the parent language is.

Answer 2

The Americans took the English language and just changed some of the words and the spellings. I don't know - maybe there wasn't a word for a diaper at that time so one was made up. Some of the more funny ones is you are interested is rubber for eraser and instead of fanny pack it is bum bag as a fanny is the vagina in England and randy for horny - here randy is a boys name! There are lots - I am a duel citizen. The most embarrassing one for me was when I was talking to my English friend on the internet and I said when the time comes shaft me gently! You can imagine what shaft means in England - he nearly fell over backwards!

Answer 3

Well,,,,diaper is the right word. It's an old fashion word which just means something like ...cloth.
This pure white square piece of cotton cloth was used for the sanitary purpose of women and babies.
I think the English started calling it 'nappies' when the terry towelling type came out.

Answer 4

In addition to many excellent answers--nappies and nappy are offensive words in American slang, thus not acceptable as a name of a product.
nappy--(adj.)
"downy," 1499, from nap (n.). Meaning "fuzzy, kinky," used in colloquial or derogatory ref. to the hair of black people, is from 1950."

"diaper--
c.1330, from O.Fr. diapre "ornamental cloth," from M.L. diasprum, from Medieval Gk. diaspros, from dia- "entirely, very" + aspros "white." Aspros originally meant "rough," and was applied to the raised parts of coins (among other things), and thus was used in Byzantine Gk. to mean "silver coin," from which the bright, shiny qualities made it an adj. for "whiteness." Modern sense of "underpants for babies" is continuous since 1837, but such usage has been traced back to 1596."
I hope it helps.

Answer 5

Kia ora New Zealand,

The simple truth is that languages evolve and they are affected by things around them. Take Afrikaans as a language. It was originally Dutch but the cultures surrounding the community had such a deep affect on their culture that over time the language became its own and entirely separate to Dutch.

Arohanui

Michael Cavanagh (England)

Answer 6

Many of the words American use are words or derivatives of words that have fallen out of use in UK . The English language is a living one and words alter their meanings or shades of meaning.

I refer too the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1662)
I have used the words asking for the government of the day to govern Indifferently ( I would suggest we got it). However in modern times the use of the word impartially is i think more appropriate

Answer 7

i worked at a summer camp for deprived youngsters in upstate manhattan some years in the past. i spent an hour writing a great sign interior the canteen that examine 'once you have comprehensive ingesting please placed your rubbish interior the bin' each and every of the youngsters appeared somewhat perplexed and asked what rubbish and bin have been. i later had to re-write the sign with the words placed your rubbish interior the trash! i additionally spent alot of time yelling 'oi provide up throwing rocks i could desire to have suggested 'howdy provide up throwing rocks no longer that it made any distinction i could besides been talking Swahili

Answer 8

All languages include a few "repeats". Like, in Spanish, there are multiple ways to describe someone as good looking or pretty. And I've never used or heard anyone refer to diapers as nappies.

Answer 9

In Canada we use more of the Queens English then they do in the US.

There are a lot of words that are different between the US and Canada also, and we are attached to each other.

I am a Canadian and because I use the British spelling for my words, people in our US offices were always telling me that I spelled something incorrectly when I didn't.

I just nicely told them that it's the correct way of spelling it in Canada and I'm in Canada.

After awhile I got tired of explaining it, so when I am sending them correspondence I use the US spelling and the Canadian/British spelling for the rest of the world.... LOL.

Answer 10

A language develops by itself somehow and not by choice. People in different countries use different English expressions to mean the same thing. For example, people in England say 'Tele' for TV.

Answer 11

Is not only in America is in every part of the world, Australians also have different words that have the same meening. Is not only in America