Ask the Editor
What are the differences between British and American English?
—
Farideh
,
Iran
Answer
The most significantdifferences between British and American English are in their pronunciations, their vocabularies, and their spelling. There are grammatical differences, too, but these are less importantand harder to describe, so we will pass overthem for today.
Pronunciation
British English and American sound noticeably different. Themost obvious difference is the way the letter r is pronounced. In British English, when r comes after a vowel in the same syllable (as in car, hard, or market), the r is not pronounced. In American English the r is pronounced. To hear some goodexamples of this difference, click on this link and watch the YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nAnT3PASak
Vocabulary
There are many differences in American and British English vocabulary. Here are 10common words in American English followed by their British English equivalents:
American / British
- elevator / lift
- garbage / rubbish
- vacation / holiday
- truck / lorry
- sweater / jumper
- cookie / biscuit
- french fries / chips
- line / queue
- parking lot / car park
- silverware / cutlery
Spelling
Finally, there are spelling differences. Beloware three rules you can follow.
- Most words ending in -our in British English are spelled without the u in American English (humour/humor, behaviour/behavior, etc.)
- Most words ending in -re in British English are spelled with -er in American English(centre/center, litre/liter, etc.)
- Many British English verbsending in -ise are spelled with-ize in American English (realise/realize, organise/organize, etc.).
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