This wrap is a bomb.

English is the most frequently accepted language of global communicators, ranging from professional journalists to Internet chatters.

However, American and British media and communication people often do not understand the slang and technical jargon that is indigenous to each region.

Many millions of American and British people are part-time and full-time employees or students in advertising, broadcasting, film, journalism, printing, public relations, publishing, telecommunications, theater and other media and communication fields.

In our "media society," the general public also is interested in the lingo used by performers, reporters and others. So, let's take a look at some of the differences between media jargon in the U.S. and U.K.

Almost everyone knows that Americans call a lift an elevator and a WC (water closet) a bathroom. In a British theater, a platform that elevates the musicians is an orchestra lift.

Similarly, it's well known that a line of persons is a queue. However, it's not called a queue in the U.S., though American museums and other attractions now refer to a system of crowd control as a queing system and the route of the lines as a que path. British advertisers call a budget a costing.

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Many linguists believe that British people of all demographics tend to be more correct in their grammar, spelling and vocabulary. Even in America, the standard or correct usage of the English language is called the Queen's English (or King's English), which implies sanction by the British monarchy.

Received Standard English - the form of English speech used by educated upper-class people in England - is becoming rare. Its colloquial replacement relies heavily on slang and informal speech.

Americans are more likely to use compound words. An example of a rapid transition is Electronic mail to E-mail to Email to email.

In words with two consecutive vowels, Americans tend to omit one of the vowels. The most common example is color instead of colour. Classier examples are apheresis instead of aphaeresis and dieresis instead of diaeresis. Here are a few other spelling differences from the media and communication fields.

U.S.                                   U.K.

catalog                                catalogue
center                                 centre
draftsman                              draughtsman
font                                   fount
program                                programme
organization                           organisation

With regard to pronunciation, here are three (among hundreds) of classic examples.

                          U.S.                      U.K.

advertisement             ad-ver-tize-ment          ad-vur-tiz-ment
process                   prah-sess                 proh-sess
schedule                  sked-yule                 shed-yule

The computer has radically changed communication, particularly printing and the print media. However, hundreds of terms from the days of hot type still are used by journalists, printers, graphic artists and others. Perhaps more so in the U.K., where many of the processes originated.

Divinity circuit is a type of bookbinding with extended flexible cover ends that bend over the body of the book, also called divinity edges or circuit edges, and often used for Bibles and prayer books. It was invented by William Yapp, a 19th-century London bookseller, and is called yap.binding in England.

Though no longer used as a British coin, the shilling still is well known throughout the world. This may explain why British printers call a virgule (a slanted line that now is common on computer keyboards) a shilling bar. Americans tend to call it a slash bar or slash.

A loose proof of color separations not assembled with the type or other elements is called a first proof in the U.S. and a progressive proof in the U.K. A composite proof of color separations in position is a final proof in the U.S. and an imposed colour proof in the U.K.

Inked impressions of material to be printed are called proofs in the U.S. and pulls in the U.K. Printers on both sides of the Atlantic pull proofs.

Wood is the slang word of Fleet Street and other British journalists for a very large-size headline, as on page one of a tabloid. It's so large that it was set by hand, using wood instead of metal type.

Even in these days of computerized type, the instruction "wood it" still is shouted. Since many British editors now work in the U.S., the term also is used at the New York Post, Boston Herald, National Enquirer and other American publications.

Here is a small collection of British slang that is not used in the U.S.

assembler                a film or tape editor
backcloth star           a secondary performer who attracts
                         attention away from the star
bananas on bananas       excessive or glitzy advertising or graphics
barracuda                a telescopic support for lights
batters                  damaged letters (type)
Beeb                     British Broadcasting Corporation
blab-off switch          a remote control device to mute the sound
                         of a TV program
bumf                     government studies, news releases and
                         other expendable mail; from bum fodder
                         (toilet paper)
cakes                    a performer's supplementary allowance
                         for hotel, meals and other expenses
chargehand               a supervisor, such as a chargehand painter
earth                    zero voltage
Fleet Street             general name for the London newspapers
leader                   a major editorial in a newspaper
PA                       personal assistant
splash                   the major story in a newspaper
subeditor                a specialized editor, such as a page sub-
                         editor (layout) or copy subeditor
telly                    television
thumbsucker              an off-the-record briefing for the media
                         or an unofficial press conference
two-hander               a play with only two performers

The most colorful language of any occupation is used in show business. For example, upon completion of a take (a scene or shot), British film directors sometimes say, "It's a buy," indicating approval. Americans say, "It's a wrap." In the U.S., a bomb is a big failure, whereas it's a big hit in the U.K.

In the U.S., theater is used more often than theatre, which sometimes is considered classier. In the U.K., theatrical terms often reflect their usage in the Shakespearean or earlier era.

The areas of the building itself often have different designations. Obviously, American theaters do not have a royal box. Less obvious is that in an American theater, the first upper floor often is called the mezzanine, the second is the first balcony and the third is the second balcony. In British theatres and American opera houses and concert halls, the first upper floor is the dress circle, the next tier of seats is the upper circle, next is the balcony and at the top is the gallery.

Brits sometimes called the topmost seating area the gods or the peanut gallery. The origin is not that the spectators looked, from the stage, as small as peanuts, but rather that the audience in the cheapest seats often ate peanuts.

"Play the balcony" describes an American performer who overacts or caters to the audience in the cheaper seats. British performers play to the gallery, too.

Here's another delightful expression - "Has the ghost walked?" The question was asked by performers of a theater company, particularly in the U.K., on payday (Friday). The reference was to the person who played the ghost in "Hamlet." This person usually was also the elusive stage manager who also paid the performers.

Incidentally, theater audiences throughout the world associate West End with London theater and Broadway with New York theater, regardless of the exact location.

Film, stage and TV electricians (gaffers), all over the world, have dozens of colorful names for luminaries (lights), including baby, broad, brute, kicker, polecat, pup and scoop. My favorite is inky dink, a small spotlight. The origin is from incandescent and dinky (small), which may be from dink, the Scottish word for neat. British grips (assistants) call a large dolly (a mobile platform) a billyboy.

British electricians commonly use a spotlight with an ellipsoidal reflector and call it a profile spot. It's similar to the PAR light (from parabolic) or birdseye, which was invented by Clarence Birdseye, an American who developed methods for quick-freezing foods.

Part of the orientation of a performer is the location of the stage manager at rehearsals. In the U.S., the prompt desk or prompt table usually is on the left side of the stage. In the U.K., it's usually on the right side.

In the U.K., Canada and elsewhere, a rush ticket is a general-admission ticket for a non-reserved seat (a rush seat), placed on sale on the day of the event. The practice no longer is in use in the U.S., though reduced price tickets are sold. They're called twofers (buy two and pay for one) even if it's not half-price.

The metric system still is not standard in the U.S. - in spite of legislative and other mandates. As a result, International Standards Organization (ISO) designations are not always used in the U.S. For example, ISO designates rectangular paper sizes - the A series - by metric sizes. A4 paper is 210 by 297mm and is commonly used for letterheads outside of the U.S. This size, which is about 8-1/4 by 11-3/4 inches, is slightly longer than the size (8-1/2 by 11 inches) commonly used in the U.S.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI, pronounced ann-see) sets standards for computer, communications and other equipment. Before 1982, this New York-based organization was called the American Standards Association and its designations (such as the ASA index to rate speed or light sensitivity of photographic materials) still is used in the U.S.

Similarly, temperature in the U.S. is expressed in the scale developed by Fahrenheit, a German physicist. The system developed by Celsius (a Swedish astronomer) is used in the U.K. and most countries. I admit that it makes more sense.

Royal Mail is the unit of the British Post Office that is responsible for letters, but not parcels. The U.S. Postal Service (commonly called the Post Office) also handles parcels. (Parcel Post was started in the U.S. in 1913.) First-Class Mail is a trademarked term of the U.S. Postal Service.

In many countries, the Postal Service is a government agency that also handles telecommunications. The U.S. Postal Service, which does not handle telecommunications, was established in 1971 as the successor to the Post Office Department and is an independent agency within the executive branch of the government.

Richard Weiner is a language expert (author of "Webster's New World Dictionary of Media and Communications"), writer and PR expert. He is senior consultant at Porter-Novelli in New York City. He will be an "Expert of the Week" on CW Online from January 16-29. Go to http://www.iabc.corn/members to access CW Online via the Member Centre.