British and American English

1. 1
UNIT 2
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICAN & BRITISH ENGLISH
History
The British actually introduced the language to the Americas when they reached these lands by
sea between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling had not yet been standardised. It
took the writing of the first dictionaries to set in stone how these words appeared. In the UK,
the dictionary was compiled by London-based scholars. Meanwhile, in the United States, the
lexicographer was a man named Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words were
spelled to make the American version different from the British as a way of showing cultural
independence from its mother country.
In terms of speech, the differences between American and British English actually took place
after the first settlers arrived in America. These groups of people spoke using what was called
rhotic speech, where the ‘r’ sounds of words are pronounced. Meanwhile, the higher classes in
the UK wanted to distinguish the way they spoke from the common masses by softening their
pronunciation of the ‘r’ sounds. Since the elite even back then were considered the standard for
being fashionable, other people began to copy their speech, until it eventually became the
common way of speaking in the south of England.
DIFFERENCES IN PRONUNCIATION
The Letter R
This is probably the most important difference. British people only pronounce the letter R when
it is followed by a vowel. American people on the other hand, always pronounce this letter.
Sorry /sɒrɪ/
teacher /ti:tʃə/ /ti:tʃər/
Final Schwa
A final Schwa is pronounced as a week vowel in both British and American English, but if it
occurs at the end of speech (if after the schwa we pause or stop), then in British English it often
opens and becomes a sound very similar to / ʌ /, but in American English, it doesn't change.
Teacher /ti:tʃər/ in bre it sounds similar to /ti:tʃʌ / (but in the phonetic transcription
we still use an : /ti:tʃə/
The Vowel (As In Sock)
In American English this vowel is more open than in British English , so it sounds like the
British vowel (as in "father" or "car") but short. [ In British English this vowel
sounds a little bit similar to the vowel (as in fork)].

2. 2
/æ/ Vs. /a:/ Phoneme
In General American the IPA phoneme /æ/ corresponds to the vowel sound in words like "trap",
"hat" and "brand" and also in "bath", "laugh" and "ask".
In Received Pronunciation, /æ/ corresponds to the vowel sound in words like "trap", "hat" and
"brand". In "bath", "laugh" and "ask" /ɑː/ is used.
DIFFERENCES IN SPELLING
British and American English have some spelling -based differences. The common ones are
presented below.
Words ending in –re
British English words that end in -re often end in -er in American English:
Words ending in -our
British English words ending in -our usually end in -or in American English:
British US
colour color
flavour flavor
humour humor
labour labor
neighbour neighbor
Words ending in -ize or -ise
Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise at the end are always spelled
with -ize at the end in American English:
British US
apologize or apologise apologize
organize or organise organize
British US
centre center
fibre fiber
litre liter
theatre theater or theatre

3. 3
recognize or recognise recognize
Words ending in -yse
Verbs in British English that end in -yse are always spelled -yze in American English:
British US
analyse analyze
breathalyse breathalyze
paralyse paralyze
Words ending in a vowel plus l
In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin
with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled:
British US
travel travel
travelled traveled
travelling traveling
traveller traveler
fuel fuel
fuelled fueled
fuelling fueling
Words spelled with double vowels
British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe are just spelled with
an e in American English:
British US
leukaemia leukemia
manoeuvre maneuver
oestrogen estrogen
paediatric pediatric
Note that in American English, certain terms, such as archaeology, keep the ae spelling as
standard, although the spelling with just the e (i.e. archeology) is usually acceptable as well.
Nouns ending with –ence

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Some nouns that end with -ence in British English are spelled -ense in American English:
British US
defence defense
licence license
offence offense
pretence pretense
Nouns ending with –ogue
Some nouns that end with -ogue in British English end with either -og or -oguein American
English:
British US
analogue analog or analogue
catalogue catalog or catalogue
dialogue dialog or dialogue
DIFFERENCE IN VOCABULARY
British English American English
Action Replay Instant Replay
Aeroplane Airplane
Anticlockwise Counterclockwise
Baking Tray Cookie Sheet
Beetroot Beet(S)
Biscuit Cookie; Cracker
Black Economy Underground Economy
Braces Suspenders
Candyfloss Cotton Candy
Car Park Parking Lot
Casualty Emergency Room
Catapult Slingshot
Chemist Drugstore
Chips French Fries

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GRAMMATICAL DIFFERENCES
The main difference between British English and American English is in pronunciation. Some
words are also different in each variety of English, and there are also a few differences in the
Cinema
Movie Theater; The
Movies
Cornflour Cornstarch
Cot Crib
Crisps Chips; Potato Chips
Driving Licence Driver’s License
Dustbin Garbage Can
Engaged (Of A
Phone)
Busy
Full
Stop (Punctuation)
Period
Garden Yard; Lawn
Lift Elevator
Mobile Phone Cell Phone
Motorway Expressway; Highway
Physiotherapy Physical Therapy
Postbox Mailbox
Postcode Zip Code
Potato Crisp Potato Chip
Railway Railroad
Sailing Boat Sailboat
Saloon (Car) Sedan
Shopping Trolley Shopping Cart
Sweet(S) Candy
Trainers Sneakers
Transport Cafe Truck Stop
Zed(Letter Z) Zee
Zip Zipper

6. 6
way they use grammar. Here are five of the most common grammatical differences between
British and American English.
1. Present perfect and past simple
In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they consider
relevant to the present.
The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, but people often use the
past simple when they consider the action finished. This is especially common with the
adverbs already, just and yet.
British English American English
He isn't hungry. He has already had
lunch.
- Have you done your homework yet?
- Yes, I've just finished it.
He isn't hungry. He already had
lunch.
- Did you do your homework yet?
- Yes, I just finished it.
2. got and gotten
In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.
In American English, people say gotten.
** Note that have got is commonly used in both British and American English to speak about
possession or necessity.
3. Verb forms with collective nouns
In British English, a singular or plural verb can be used with a noun that refers to a group of
people or things (a collective noun). We use a plural verb when we think of the group as
individuals or a singular verb when we think of the group as a single unit.
British English American English
You could have got hurt!
He's got very thin.
She has got serious about
her career.
BUT:
Have you got any money?
We've got to go now.
You could have gotten hurt!
He's gotten very thin.
She has gotten serious about her career.
BUT:
Have you got any money? (NOT Have you
gotten ...)
We've got to go now. (NOT We've gotten
to ...)

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In American English, a singular verb is used with collective nouns.
** Note that police is always followed by a plural verb
British English American English
My family is/are visiting from
Pakistan.
My team is/are winning the match.
The crew is/are on the way to the
airport.
BUT:
The police are investigating the
crime.
My family is visiting from
Pakistan.
My team is winning the match.
The crew is on the way to the
airport.
BUT:
The police are investigating the
crime.
4. have and take
In British English, the verbs have and take are commonly used with nouns
like bath, shower, wash to speak about washing and with nouns like break, holiday, rest to speak
about resting.
In American English, only the verb take (and not the verb have) is used this way.
5. shall
In British English, people often use Shall I ...? to offer to do something and/or Shall we ...? to
make a suggestion.
It is very unusual for speakers of American English to use shall. They normally use an
alternative like Should/Can I ...? or Do you want/Would you like ...? or How about ...? instead.
British English American English
It's hot in here. Shall I open the
window?
It's hot in here. Can I open the
window?
British English American English
I'm going to have/take a shower.
Let's have/take a break.
I'm going to take a shower.
Let's take a break.

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British English American English
Shall we meet in the café at 5?
Shall we try that again?
Do you want to meet in the café at
5?
How about we try that again?
Final point
While there may be certain differences between British and American English, the key
takeaway is that the two have more similarities. Accidentally using one instead of the other will
not automatically lead to miscommunication. Americans and Brits can usually communicate
with each other without too much difficulty, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you are unable
to memorise the nuances of both languages.