[Vocabulary] I have left my child's dummy in the pram and his nappy in the boot.

[englishhobby]

I remember reading somewhere that an American wouldn't understand the following phrase said by a Briton [corrected]. Is that possible?
I have left my child's dummy in the pram and his nappy in the boot.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, they're all Britishisms, but we're familiar with them. I've never heard "dummy" used that way, but I'll guess that it's a doll:

I've left my child's doll in the baby carriage and his diaper in the trunk.

Close?

 

[Rover_KE]

Close.

dummy = pacifier

englishhobby, we do visit each other's countries, you know; we watch each other's films and TV shows and take an interest in each other's linguistic variations. There's only an ocean between us — not a galaxy.

 

[GoesStation]

There's only one t in ​Briton.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

There's only one t in ​Briton.

Thanks! EH had me wondering if I'd been living a lie.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Stroller" would be more common in my experience than "baby carriage."

And "binky" is a common term for a pacifier, one of those brand names that has become a generic term.

 

[englishhobby]

Close.

dummy = pacifier

englishhobby, we do visit each other's countries, you know; we watch each other's films and TV shows and take an interest in each other's linguistic variations. There's only an ocean between us — not a galaxy.

I am aware of it. Just wanted to make sure that people who say that British and American are two different languages are mistaken.

 

[englishhobby]

Thanks! EH had me wondering if I'd been living a lie.

I didn't get it about 'living a lie' - does this joke mean I made you think you'd been mistaken about the spelling of Briton'?

 

[Roman55]

Just wanted to make sure that people who say that British and American are two different languages are mistaken.

There is no language called British.

 

[Skrej]

There is no language called British.

Nor American, either.

 

[GoesStation]

Nor American, either.

I have a French book which says it's traduit de l'américain, i.e., "translated from the American."

 

[Raymott]

And that proves only that this Frenchman thinks there is an American language. I can't see a problem with using that term, though, especially if the text is dense in 'Americanisms'.
You can also say,"I've translated this from journalese/business language/ postmodern intersectional discourse", even though those aren't technically languages either.

 

[Roman55]

I have a French book which says it's traduit de l'américain, i.e., "translated from the American."

It's just their way of indicating, in fewer words, that the original was written in American English. It's very common.

They do know that it's not a language, though. Or at least most of them do.

 

[GoesStation]

I agree. Inhabiting this forum has helped me realize that American and British English have more differences than I had noted before, but to describe them as different languages is absurd.