Geko Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) As a native french speaking I often wondered why Brits and Yanks are using different vocables for the part that covers the engine: BONNET for Brits, HOOD for Yanks while Brits use HOOD for the soft-top. My attention was drawn further two days ago when I emailed a man from Germany to whom I wanted to buy a convertible and asked him whether the "HOOD" was fabric or Vinyl ? Here is what he responded: "The hood (you mean the soft top roof?) is black fabric." British english language is made of latin-rooted vocables (say French) for about 60%, the rest from proto-germanic languages (roughly) In French "CAPOT" is the part that covers the engine and "CAPOTTE" is the soft-top. These two are closely related but in French a convertible car is called "déCAPOTable". In french "BONNET" means headgear and only that. In proto-germanic "HOET" and old english "HOD" mean cap or headgear and only that. Now we have the latin-french headgear "BONNET" and the old english and proto-germanic headgear HOET, HOD,...HOOD My explanation: Modern British English has retained the latin-french vocable BONNET to name the part that covers the engine whereas the WASP Yanks/American English have probably retained the proto-germantic language HOOD to name the part that cover the engine at a time there was no specific wording for it. Later the french language has adopted CAPOT as a derivative of CAPOTTE which also means waterproof rain-gear with a hood (and condom) at a time there was no specific vocable for it. Later also British english has adopted HOOD for the soft-top at a time there was no specific vocable for it. However empirical this explanation could be this would match the surprise of my german correspondent to whom the "HOOD" was actually the "BONNET". Hope it makes sense Edited February 1, 2014 by Geko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Did we agree on tonneau? A barrel cover for when vehicle bodies were made of wood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hi Stef, as somebody stated many years ago. the British and Americans are two nations seperated by a common language. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Did we agree on tonneau? A barrel cover for when vehicle bodies were made of wood. Originally yes and it has retained its original purpose: concealing cargo . In french it's actually called "couvre-tonneau" or barrel-cover. Using "tonneau" only is a short form. Edited February 1, 2014 by Geko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hi Stef, as somebody stated many years ago. the British and Americans are two nations seperated by a common language. Roger I love it ! Always a pleasure to read you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeF Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Ho, very good, you chanced on a favourite topic of mine! I would say that quite a lot of English automotive terms are actually derived from French, because the French were early into making cars. So far as British and American English is concerned because of the mixed origins of English as you noted, (and our habit of freely borrowing words from other languages and inventing new ones,) English speakers always have a choice of words. Just look a an English/other language dictionary - the English section is always larger.) So you often find that our American cousins chose one word and we chose another. The choice between hood and bonnet was probably analogous to roads and ways when adapted to make a term for the then new iron tracks The Brits went for railways Americans for railroads. Fall and Autumn were in common use on both sides of the Atlantic but now we Brits think of fall as an Americanism when we could as easily say its an archaic word for autumn. (and them the other way round). Overall though the traffic is now more one way and we Brits use far more American expressions than we realise - we are a minority in our own Language. (especially when you think also of Indian English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, New Zealanders and other variants). Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Years back I had a visit from some Calinfornian computer engineers. They had hired a Renault and this must have had one of the early speaking dashboards. As they tried to drive away it warned them "BOOT A JAR". They had no idea what this meant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 And don't Americans speak of fenders, meaning (I believe) wings (or mudguards?)? So, what do Americans call the car's bumpers, which to me could be fenders in that they fend off damage to front and rear. We used to have railway stations, but they seem to have become train stations, which is perhaps logical since we have bus and coach stations. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Railway is an obsolete composite word like "wireless". Gradually these come unstuck. For a while we had British Rail not railways. Same with "airways", as in BOAC, and "air". This is the result of corporate rebranding, to try to appear more modern. But then we have "journo-speak" which is running the other way. We no longer have any "changes" we have "sea-changes" and no more "food" but a "food-chain". Both of these terms had a legitimate use before suffering universal dilution. We have no future to be in now but we are "going forward" anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Larnder Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi Geko I see you are from Bread Pudding Land to quote Tony Hancock in the episode The Radio Ham. The same terminology is used in Spain as France with the hood being a CAPOTE, I am frequently asked here where it is when I drive with the HOOD off. A bullfighters little black hat is also called his Capote. The only Americanism I use is when the clocks go back or forward, to remember which way we say SPRING Forward and FALL back. Please let´s not get into American gallons, but one thing you will NEVER get the YANKS to change to the metric system is that of flange and bolt terminology it´s always things like TABLE D etc. in the petroleum business, I found that out when we were making loading arms for liquids to be pumped onto ships, we were pumping Phosphoric Acid at the time and the worst type , Diluted!, the dock authority were very worried about leaks across their domain, and were always in attendance when pumping, rather like the HSE mob. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 I think I read somewhere that Fall is old English deriving from Leaf Fall. Just to confuse things further. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lynchpin Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi Don"t get me started on this i haven"t got the time, what is it with pregnancy and trimesters whatever happened to months, and why do we get a chance precipitation and not good old rain!!!!! Cheers Phil.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Roger hits the spot. A farmer neighbour found an american couple searching around his yard. He asked them why. They pointed to his sign: 'Free Range Eggs'. Keen to find these free eggs they were searching his range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Imagine what non English would make of the sign 'National Sheep Dog Trials' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Yes quite, I dread to think what a Welsh National Sheep Dog Trial might consist of . . . . Given the current Police and Crown Prosecution Service obsession with pursuing supposed sexual misdemeanours of decades ago, they should be able to have a field day ? Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlejim Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Yes quite, I dread to think what a Welsh National Sheep Dog Trial might consist of . . . . Given the current Police and Crown Prosecution Service obsession with pursuing supposed sexual misdemeanours of decades ago, they should be able to have a field day ? Cheers Alec Many years ago ago at a 'bad taste night' somebody (for decoration) supplied me with a cartoon from an English magazine, that pictured the lady at a 'dog show' desk looking (slightly stunned) over her pince nez at a chap holding a dog in front of his crotch, the dog had all its extremities and hair in rigid extension. The chap's trousers were round his angles, the sign read: "Enter Your Dog Here" Edited February 5, 2014 by littlejim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chris59 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) In french "BONNET" means headgear and only that. Well, not exactly chap : as a French native, you shouldn't forget that "bonnet" is also use for the determination of the size of, well, the upper parts of the women' anatomy underwear. We all came across Triumph underwears, at least once in our life, don't we ? Edited February 6, 2014 by Chris59 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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