“You don’t speak English. You speak American.”
This is actually a very common thought to all of the English speaking countries that were raised speaking British English (like me). I am also guilty of saying this on more than one occasion. Many Americans can’t even point to England on a map let alone (a survey has been done in America to show that this is true) know the difference in language, but they know something's not quite right.
Another thing I was told by a Filipino man was that I wasn't speaking proper English. His teacher from school was from America so he believed that only the way he was thought was the correct way. To which I laughed in his face and then walked away. Not very mature, I know but I was 16 and didn't feel like arguing.
But are American and British English really so different?
Vocabulary
The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the front of a car the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood.
Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.
New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats. (Irish people can live in either, main difference is whether or not it's furnished)
There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence.
Collective nouns
There are a few grammatical differences between the two varieties of English. Let’s start with collective nouns. We use collective nouns to refer to a group of individuals.
In American English, collective nouns are singular. For example, staff refers to a group of employees; band refers to a group of musicians; team refers to a group of athletes. Americans would say, “The band is good.”
But in British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. You might hear someone from Britain say, “The team are playing tonight” or “The team is playing tonight.”
Auxiliary verbs
Another grammar difference between American and British English relates to auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are verbs that help form a grammatical function. They “help” the main verb by adding information about time, modality and voice.
Let’s look at the auxiliary verb shall. Brits sometimes use shall to express the future.
For example, “I shall go home now.” Americans know what shall means, but rarely use it in conversation. It seems very formal. Americans would probably use “I will go home now.”
In question form, a Brit might say, “Shall we go now?” while an American would probably say, “Should we go now?”
When Americans want to express a lack of obligation, they use the helping verb do with negative not followed by need. “You do not need to come to work today.” Brits drop the helping verb and contract not. “You needn’t come to work today.”
Past tense verbs
You will also find some small differences with past forms of irregular verbs.
The past tense of learn in American English is learned. British English has the option of learned or learnt. The same rule applies to dreamed and dreamt, burned and burnt, leaned and leant.
Americans tend to use the –ed ending; Brits tend to use the -t ending.
In the past participle form, Americans tend to use the –en ending for some irregular verbs. For example, an American might say, “I have never gotten caught” whereas a Brit would say, “I have never got caught.” Americans use both got and gotten in the past participle. Brits only use got.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Don’t worry too much about these small differences in the past forms of irregular verbs. People in both countries can easily understand both ways, although Brits tend to think of the American way as incorrect.
Tag questions
A tag question is a grammatical form that turns a statement into a question. For example, “The whole situation is unfortunate, isn’t it?” or, “You don’t like him, do you?”
The tag includes a pronoun and its matching form of the verb be, have or do. Tag questions encourage people to respond and agree with the speaker. Americans use tag questions, too, but less often than Brits.
Spelling
There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American English. You can thank American lexicographer Noah Webster for this. You might recognize Webster’s name from the dictionary that carries his name.
Noah Webster, an author, politician, and teacher, started an effort to reform English spelling in the late 1700s.
He was frustrated by the inconsistencies in English spelling. Webster wanted to spell words the way they sounded. Spelling reform was also a way for America to show its independence from England.
You can see Webster’s legacy in the American spelling of words like color (from colour), honor (from honour), and labor (from labour). Webster dropped the letter u from these words to make the spelling match the pronunciation.
Other Webster ideas failed, like a proposal to spell women as wimmen. Since Webster’s death in 1843, attempts to change spelling rules in American English have gone nowhere.
An Ongoing Debate
The debate over the correct spelling of words first began when Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755, followed by Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. While people in England preferred Johnson's spellings, Webster's simplified variations became increasingly popular in the United States.
Common Differences Between American and British Spelling
Although the differences between American and British spellings are often subtle, they are still significant. For example:
(American spelling - British spelling)
* analyze - analyse
* apologize - apologise
* behavior - behaviour
* canceling - cancelling
* catalog - catalogue
* center - centre
* check - cheque
* color - colour
* encyclopedia - encyclopaedia
* favorite - favourite
* fiber - fibre
* fulfill - fulfil
* gray - grey
* humor - humour
* jewelry - jewellery
* labor - labour
* license - licence (noun)
* pajamas - pyjamas
* practice - practise (verb)
* theater - theatre
* tire - tyre
Not so different after all
British and American English have far more similarities than differences. We think the difference between American and British English is often exaggerated. If you can understand one style, you should be able to understand the other style.
With the exception of some regional dialects, most Brits and Americans can understand each other without too much difficulty. They watch each other’s TV shows, sing each other’s songs, and read each other’s books.
They even make fun of each other’s accents.
Spelling Rules to Remember
If you must frequently work with both American and British spellings, you may find it helpful to keep in mind these spelling rules:
* Words ending in -RE in British English have been changed to -ER in American English.
* Words ending in -OUR in British English have been changed to -OR in American English.
* Many verbs ending in -YSE or -ISE in British English have been changed to -YZE or -IZE in American English, although there are exceptions.
* Many words ending in -ISATION in British English have been changed to -IZATION in American English, although there are exceptions.
* Some nouns that end with -ENCE in British English are spelled -ENSE in American English.
* Some words that end with -OGUE in British English end with -OG in American English.
* In British English, words ending in a vowel plus -L double the -L when adding verb endings that begin with a vowel (-ED, -ING). In American English, the -L is not doubled.
* British English words that are spelled with the double vowels -AE or -OE are just spelled with an -E in American English.
Which Spelling is Correct?
Technically, both American and British spellings are correct. However, American spellings are gaining an advantage in many circumstances because Microsoft Word is set to default its spell check feature to American spellings. Thus, all British spellings will appear as incorrect when using this program.
If you are a student preparing a research paper, ask your teacher which spelling he or she prefers. If your instructor has no preference, simply choose either American or British spellings and be consistent throughout the piece.
British and American Punctuation Differences
Writers who are interested in spelling differences between American and British English may also find it useful to remember a few simple punctuation tips:
* While British English often favors hyphenated compounds, such as counter-attack, American English discourages the use of hyphens where there is no compelling reason.
* In British English, writers typically use two spaces after a semicolon. American English encourages writers to use just one space.
* Although American English typically calls for commas and periods to be included inside the quotation marks, even if they are not part of the quoted sentence, British English shows clearly whether or not the punctuation is part of the quoted phrase.