While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are the two

varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL programs. Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in use. The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you decide that you want to use American English spellings then be consistent in your spelling (i.e. The color of the orange is also its flavour - color is American spelling and flavour is British), this is of course not always easy - or possible. The following guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English. Use of the Present Perfect In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In American English the following is also possible: I lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet. British English: I've just had lunch I've already seen that film Have you finished your homework yet? American English: I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch I've already seen that film OR I already saw that film. Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet? Possession

There are two forms to express possession in English. Have or Have got Do you have a car? Have you got a car? He hasn't got any friends. He doesn't have any friends. She has a beautiful new home. She's got a beautiful new home. While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn't got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British English while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he doesn't have etc.) The Verb Get The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English. Example He's gotten much better at playing tennis. British English He's got much better at playing tennis. Vocabulary Probably the major differences between British and American English lies in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties for example: Mean: (American English - angry, bad humored, British English - not generous, tight fisted) Rubber: (American English - condom, British English - tool used to erase pencil markings) There are many more examples (too many for me to list here). If there is a difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other. One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles. American English - hood British English - bonnet

American English - trunk British English - boot

American English - truck British English - lorry

Once again, your dictionary should list whether the term is used in British English or American English. For a more complete list of the vocabulary differences between British and American English use this British vs. American English vocabulary tool. Prepositions There are also a few differences in preposition use including the following: American English - on the weekend British English - at the weekend

American English - on a team British English - in a team

American English - please write me soon British English - please write to me soon

Past Simple/Past Participles The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple/past participle in both American and British English, however, the irregular form is generally more common in British English (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more common to American English. Burn Burnt OR burned

Dream dreamt OR dreamed

Lean leant OR leaned

Learn learnt OR learned

Smell smelt OR smelled

Spell spelt OR spelled

Spill spilt OR spilled

Spoil spoilt OR spoiled Spelling Here are some general differences between British and American spellings: Words ending in -or (American) -our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor, flavour etc. Words ending in -ize (American) -ise (British) recognize, recognise, patronize, patronise etc. The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to use the spell check on your word processor (if you are using the computer of course) and choose which variety of English you would like. As you can see, there are really very few differences between standard British English and standard American English. However, the largest difference is probably that of the choice of vocabulary and pronunciation.

British and American English

Introduction Spelling Pronunciation Vocabulary Grammar Usage Conclusion

Introduction
Those people who complain about the difficulties of learning German, don't know how lucky they really are - they only have one language to master. Admittedly, there are regional differences of dialect in German-speaking countries, but the non-native speaker who has learned Hochdeutsch (high or standard German) should have no problems in making himself understood by citizens of Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The difficulty for the non-native learner of English on the other hand is that there is no standard English form. He is confronted with two English dialects to learn: British English and American English (leaving aside Australian, Indian, South African English etc.) And despite the many cross-cultural influences, it seems that the vocabularies, spellings and pronunciations of these two dialects are diverging year by year. To be consistent in his use of English and, more importantly, to be understood , the non-native speaker needs to know which words have distinct meanings and pronunciations depending on whether they are used by a Briton or an American. This is necessary not only for sake of communication, but also to avoid embarrassment. For example, if a Londoner tells a resident of New York that she has left her child's dummyin the pram and its nappy in the boot, she will merely be greeted with a look of bewilderment. If the New Yorker then tells the London woman that she has nice pants, he may well wonder why she doesn't seem to take his remark as a compliment.
[In America dummies and nappies are called pacifiers and diapers; prams and bootsare called baby carriages and trunks. For Americans pants are trousers but for Britons pants are what you wear under your trousers.]

What follows are brief examples of the major areas of difference between the two languages, together with some quiz questions: Top

Spelling differences
In general, where there are differences between British English (BE) and American English (AE) spelling, it can be said that American English has the more economical and phonetic spelling. Unnecessary letters are left out and words are spelled how they sound. An obvious example is the omission in AE of the letter u in words such

as color, neighbor, honoretc. Compare also the AE words traveling, jewelry and program with their BE counterparts travelling, jewellery and programme. However, this rule does not always apply. For example, you would expect skilful to be the AE spelling and skillful the BE spelling, but unfortunately you would be wrong!

Quiz 1
In the following table, which words are spelled in American English and which in British English? Can you give the alternative spelling in each case? Example: AE - mustache : BE - moustache
airplane cheque theatre tyre defense woolen pajamas gaol

Go to answers Top

Pronunciation differences
There are of course great regional differences in pronunciation within both countries, but the following is a list of words which are pronounced differently by most Americans and most British. The difference lies either in using different vowel sounds or by stressing the word in a different place.

Quiz 2
Can you say the following words both how an American and how a Briton would say them?
vase route ballet address (noun) ate leisure

buoy tomato advertisement garage

Go to answers

Vocabulary differences

As a percentage of the total English vocabulary the number of words which are used only in one or the other country is very small, but the problem for learners of English is that these words are among the most common in the language. There are many words that are used almost exclusively by Americans which are understood by most Britons, and vice versa. But there are others which can cause difficulty. For example, most Britons know that Americans call biscuits cookies and flats apartments, but not so many know what an alumnus or a fender is. Similarly, Americans know that what they call their yard is called a garden in Britain and that trucks are lorries, but common British English words likeplimsolls or oflicence may mean nothing to them.

Quiz 3
From the lists below, choose the pair of words that have the same meaning and identify them as American English or British English. Example: AE - cookie
closet sweets drapes hood curtains petrol queue thumb tack

BE - biscuit
bonnet caravan

vacation fall lift bill

flashlight subway mailman film

postman baggage movie torch candy check gas trailer line autumn

underground luggage elevator cupboard

drawing pin holiday

Go to answers Top

Grammar
British English and American English grammar are mostly in agreement; there are however some interesting variations. For example there are differences in certain verb forms. In AE the past tense of fit is fit; in BE it is fitted. Americans say I've gotten to know her well; Britons I've got to know her well. In BE the present perfect tense is used for situations in which AE would typically use the past simple. For example using the words just or already, Britons would be more likely to say: I've just seen him or I've already done

it whereas in AE it would be common to hear I just saw him or I already did it. As another example, Americans are much more likely to be technically correct in the agreement of collective noun and verb form than Britons. So in standard AE it would be: The team is playing well this season whereas in BE it is common and acceptable to say The team are playing well. Similar differences can be seen in the use of words like government, committee etc.: The government is .. (AE), The government are .. (BE).

Quiz 4
The following sentences are typically AE. What would the typical Briton say?

Do you have any siblings? It is important that she be told. The jury has not yet reached its decision. Go fetch your book. He dove into the water. You must come visit me real soon.

Go to answers Top

Usage
There are countless other small and interesting differences between AE and BE, which come under the heading of usage. Take the useful expression used in AE through, meaning up to and including. E.g., The exhibition is showing March through June. The equivalent expression in BE is from March to June, but this is ambiguous. Does the exhibition close at the end of May or the end of June? To avoid any misunderstanding, it is necessary to say something like The exhibition is showing from March to the end of June. As another example: for Americans the number billion has 9 zeros (a thousand million); for most Britons it has 12 zeros (a million million).Zero itself is a much more common word in AE than in BE, where noughtis more widespread. Americans are likely to say the

number 453 as four hundred fifty three, whereas in Britain it would almost always be said four hundred and fifty three. And so on!

Quiz 5
Are the following sentences more likely to be said (or written) by an American or a Briton?

I'll try and visit you on the weekend. Please write me when you arrive. Call me as soon as you get there. Most everyone has a telephone and a refrigerator these days. If you make a mistake, you'll just have to do it over. He was born 3/27/1981. The soccer team won two to nothing (2-0). She arrived at twenty of two. The secretary said, "Mr. Clinton will see you soon."

Go to answers Top

Conclusion
It is clear that the poor non-native speaker has an almost impossible task to keep the two languages separated. The best he can do is to acquire a good reference book. Two books that I can recommend on this topic are:

Practical English Usage, M. Swan (1995) , Oxford University Press The Right Word at the Right Time (A guide to the English language and how to use it) (1985) Readers Digest

Top

Answers Quiz 1 - Spelling

In the following table the red spellings are American English and the blue spellings are British English:

airplane - aeroplane check - cheque defense - defence pajamas - pyjamas jail - gaol*

theater - theatre

woolen - woollen tire - tyre

* Jail is more common in BE too nowadays, although gaol is still perfectly acceptable (and pronounced the same as jail!)

Quiz 2 - Pronunciation
Americans and Britons agree in most cases on where a word in stressed. For example, everyone says pencil and relax, cinema and consider, but the following words from the table are stressed differently in the two dialects:

ballet - BE : ballet - AE address - BE : address * - AE garage - BE : garage - AE advertisement - BE : advertisement - AE

The differences in pronunciation of the other words lie in the vowel sounds, not in differently-stressed syllables. They are therefore more difficult to illustrate in writing without recourse to phonetic script, which few people know. Their proununciations are illustrated therefore by reference to common words with the same sound

vase: vars as in cars (BE) : vace as in face (AE) route: root as in shoot (BE) : rout * as in shout (AE) buoy: boy as in toy (BE) : booey as in the French name Louis (AE) ate: et as in let (BE) : ate as in late (AE) tomato: tomarto (BE) : tomayto * (AE) leisure as in pleasure (BE) : leesure (lee as in she) (AE)

* Some Americans pronounce these words as Britons do.

Quiz 3 - Vocabulary
The AE words are shown in red, the BE words in blue: : closet - cupboard : vacation - holiday : fall - autumn : thumb tack drawing pin : flashlight - torch : subway - underground : baggage luggage : movie - film : drapes - curtains : elevator - lift : hood - bonn

et: mailman - postman : check - bill * : line - queue : candy - sweets : gas- petrol : trailer - caravan : * In England you ask the waiter for the bill at the end of your meal. In America you ask for the check. A bill in AE is a synonym for a banknote.

Quiz 4 - Grammar

AE BE AE BE AE BE AE BE AE BE AE BE

Do you have any siblings? Have you got any brothers or sisters? It is important that she be told. * It is important that she is told. The jury has not yet reached its decsion. The jury have not yet reached their decision. Go get your book. Go and fetch your book. He dove into the water. He dived into the water. You must come visit me real soon. You must come and visit me really soon.

* AE is much more likely to use a subjunctive form than BE.

Quiz 5 - Usage
This was a trick question because in fact all of the sentences are more likely to be said or written by an American than a Briton! Here they are again with their English equivalents:

AE - I'll try and visit you on the weekend. BE - I'll try to visit you at the weekend. AE - Please write me when you arrive. BE - Please write to me when you arrive. AE - Call me as soon as you get there. BE - Ring me (phone me) as soon as you get there. AE - Most everyone has a telephone and a refrigerator these days. BE - Almost everyone has a telephone and a fridge these days. AE - If you make a mistake, you'll just have to do it over. BE - If you make a mistake, you'll just have to do it again. AE - He was born 3/27/1981. BE - He was born on 27/3/1981.

AE BE AE BE AE BE

The soccer team won two to nothing (2-0). The soccer team won two-nil (2-0). She arrived at twenty of two. She arrived at twenty to two. The secretary said, "Mr. Clinton will see you soon." The secretary said: "Mr Clinton will see you soon."

The difference in the last two sentences is in the punctuation.

British and American English Writing Help from the PhraseBook for Writing Papers and Research in English The differences in writing between British and American English are small. Apart from minor spelling, vocabulary and punctuation differences, written English is essentially the same worldwide: as well as British and American English, national varieties such as Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, Irish and South African English also have only minor differences, particularly in writing. Similarly, differences in speech should not be exaggerated: there is greater variation in spoken English between London and Glasgow than between London, San Francisco, Cape Town or Sydney. A number of spelling and vocabulary differences in British and American English are listed below. For differences in punctuation click on the Writing Help links to the right.

-ou- and -oBritish arbour ardour armour behaviour candour clamour colour demeanour enamour endeavour favour fervour flavour glamour harbour honour humour labour mould neighbour odour parlour rancour some meanings rigour rumour saviour American arbor ardor armor behavior candor clamor color demeanor enamor endeavor favor fervor flavor glamour or glamor harbor honor humor labor mold or mould neighbor odor parlor rancor rigor rumor savior or saviour

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