How American and British English differ

Those who complain about the difficulty of learning German do not even know how lucky they are - after all, they only have to learn one language. Of course, there are different dialects in German-speaking countries, but those who have learned Standard Literary German (Hochdeutsch) will have no problems and will be easily understood by the people of Germany, Austria or Switzerland.

The difficulty for those who study English is that there is no standard in this language. You have to learn two options: British English and American (even if you ignore the Australian, Indian, South African dialects, etc.). Despite the mutual cross-cultural influence, it seems that the vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation of British and American English grows more and more different every year.

In order to stick to any one option and, more importantly, to be correctly understood, you need to know which words differ in meaning and pronunciation in America and Great Britain. This is important not only for simple communication, but also in order to avoid awkward situations.

For example, if a London woman says to a New Yorker: “I have left my child's dummy in the pram and his nappy in the boot,” she will only get a puzzled look. If a New Yorker says to her: "You have nice pants", she can easily consider it an insult.

In Britain, a baby pacifier is called a dummy, in America - a pacifier, diapers in the first case are called nappies, in the second - diapers. The British call the baby carriage a pram, the Americans call it a baby carriage. What is boot for the British is trunk for the Americans. In America the word pants means pants, while in Britain it means underwear (panties).

Below are examples of the main differences between the two languages, as well as some exercises.

Differences in spelling

In terms of spelling for British English (BrE) and American (AmE), Americans tend to be more economical and phonetic. Unpronounceable letters are skipped, and words are written closer to their sound. The most obvious example is the absence of the letter u in American words like color, neighbor, honor, etc.

Compare also the words traveling, jewelry and program with their British equivalents - traveling, jewelery and program. However, this rule does not always apply. You might think that in America it is spelled skilful, and in Britain it is spelled skillful, but in fact the opposite is true!

Differences in pronunciation

Of course, both countries have their own regional pronunciations, but the following words are pronounced differently by most Americans and Britons. The differences are mainly in the sound of vowels or stress.

Differences in vocabulary

The percentage of words that are used only in one country is very small, but the problem for English learners is that these words are among the most used. Many words are only used by Americans, but most British people understand them, while others can be difficult.

For example, the British know that Americans call biscuits cookies, and flat - apartment, but not many people know what alumnus (college or university graduate) or fender (mud shield over the wheel of a car) are. In turn, Americans know that a yard (yard) in Britain is called a garden, and a truck (a truck) is a lorry, but the usual British words plimsolls (sneakers) or off-license (liquor store) will not tell them anything.

Differences in grammar

The grammar of British and American English is almost the same, but there are some interesting variations, for example, in some verb forms. In AE the past tense of the verb fit - fit; in BrE - fitted. Americans say I've gotten to know her well; British - I've got to know her well. BrE often uses Present Perfect where AmE would rather use Past Simple.

For example, when using the words just or already, the British are more likely to say I've just seen him or I've already done it, and the Americans are more likely to say I just saw him or I already did it.

Another example is the Americans

much more often they agree on collective nouns with the verb. In standard AmE it is correct to say The team is playing well this season, while in BrE it is acceptable to say: The team are playing well. The same applies to words such as government, committee, etc. In the American - The government is ..., in the British - The government are ...

Use of words

There are countless interesting nuances between AmE and BrE that relate to the use of words. AmE has a useful preposition through, which means "by, inclusive." For example, The exhibition is showing March through June. Its BrE equivalent is from March to June, but this can be understood in two ways.

Will the exhibition run until early June or until the end? To avoid misunderstandings, it is better to say, for example: The exhibition is showing from March to the end of June.

Another example: For Americans, billion contains 9 zeros (billion). For most Britons, it has 12 zeros (a trillion). As for zero itself, the word zero is more common in AmE, while in BrE it is nought. Americans would rather pronounce 453 as four hundred fifty three, and Brits almost always pronounce it four hundred and fifty three. And this is only a small part!

How British and American English differ can be found .

Conclusion

It is quite obvious that for those who are not native speakers, it will be very difficult to separate the two dialects. The best thing to do in this case is to get a good reference book. We can recommend two books on this topic:

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