DEFINE?

[Kay]

Why do we Brits say ARSE when referring to our bums while US say ASS cos thats a mule!

[Quizmonster]

Basically, because Brits have been around for a lot longer than Americans have. The British version of the word first appeared in print around 1000 AD and its related words existed in older languages such as Teutonic and Greek before then. The American version of the word made its first recorded appearance in about 1930, so it's very much a newcomer. It is just an abbreviated form and has, of course, nothing to do with mules or donkeys.

[Quizmonster]

When I said 'in print' above, I should really have said 'in writing'! Caxton was centuries later, of course.

[New Forester]

(An a*s is not a mule, but a donkey -- a mule is a donkey-horse hybrid).

 

I think it must mainly be an accent thing.  Normal written English went with the colonists with the English spelling, which then developed rather different pronunciation (and later somewhat different spelling).  However, words such as this are not normally written, so when they did eventually write them, I think they just wrote what they now said -- they could hardly ask their relatives in Britain about it: "Dear Great-uncle, my little brother wants to know what is the proper spelling of...."

 

I suspect the same thing has happened with mum/mom.  When an American says mom it sounds very similar to a Brit saying mum, with a similar long indeterminate-vowel sound (of course leaving aside Brits who say mam).

[Drewhound]

I'm British but I say ass not arse, most Americans say butt

[Alej]

Drewhound your just one of the cool people that uses an american word with an english accent, you and Tim Westwood would get along great.  I have a friend that does it and its as annoying as anything!

[Alej]

correction *sorry British accent

[reloaded]

maybe its because they have bigger arses that resemble donkeys .

[Linda F]

It intrigues me how completely Canada is caught in the middle with these slang differences.  I have to disagree about the American pronunciation of "mom/mum."  I lived in California for almost a decade, a state that attracts people from all over the US.  They very clearly say "mom", which to my Canadian ear sounds almost like "mawm" and clearly rhymes with "Tom."  We Canucks are still saying "mum", with the u perhaps a little shorter than yours, although it is increasingly spelled "mom" (which really irks me).  Your "mam" isn't used here at all.  "Arse" is still used in Canada, particularly in the maritimes and amongst our eldest generation from coast to coast.  Younger people say "ass" but many of us still use both. "Bum" is still more common in Canada than "butt", but "butt" is gaining favour.

[Drewhound]

Which American word is that Alej? I've always said ass and so have millions of Brits. As Quizmonster points out the word with this meaning predates America (as we know it). There are many different accents in Britain and there are quite a few words that are pronounced differently from place to place

I'm glad you think I'm cool but it's not something my sons call me lol.

 

I've noticed this Linda F, most Americans do say MOM not MUM and Canadians MUM.