The differences in vocabulary are divided into three categories, depending on
how they differ and in what sense they might cause confusion. The first category indicates
that the terms not only share the same meaning, but are readily understood and, to varying
degrees, are used in both the UK and the US. The second category indicates that there are
two different terms for the same referent, but in this case the terms are not
interchangeable. Despite the differences in preference, they rarely cause breakdowns in
communication. The third category indicates more complicated terms which cause
misunderstandings and failure in communication, as the terms have completely different
meanings. In the third category, the potential of breakdowns in communication are much
greater than in categories one and two. Below there is a conceptual chart with examples
from all three categories and it illustrates how the terms might be interpreted by AmE and
BrE speakers (p. 23-70):