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.
By J. McCorquodale
Legal Translator
