British and American English
Template:TOC-right This article examines the differences between Commonwealth and American English in the areas of vocabulary, spelling and phonology. In particular, it compares standard British (also known as Received Pronunciation, or RP) and standard American speech (this article uses Midland American English, usually perceived to be the least marked American dialect). Grammatical and lexical differences between British and American English are, for the most part, common to all dialects, but there are many regional differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, usage and slang, some subtle, some glaring, some rendering a sentence incomprehensible to a speaker of another variant.
American and British English both diverged from a common ancestor, and the evolution of each language is tied to social and cultural factors in each land. As an example, the conservatism of speakers in the American South has preserved many of the phonological features of 18th-century British English. This means that upper-class BrE speakers today (who are mistakenly perceived to be very culturally conservative) are actually more innovative, linguistically, than English speakers in today's American South. Cultural factors can affect one's understanding and enjoyment of language; consider the effect that slang and double entendre have on humour. A joke is simply not funny if the pun upon which it is based can't be understood because the word, expression or cultural icon upon which it is based does not exist in one's variant of English.
But it is not only humour that is affected. Items of cultural relevance change the way English is expressed locally. A person can say "I was late, so I Akii-Bua'd (from John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler) and be understood all over East Africa, but receive blank stares in Australia. Even if the meaning is guessed from context, the nuance is not grasped; there is no resonance of understanding. English is a flexible and quickly-evolving language; it simply absorbs and includes words and expressions for which there is no current English equivalent; these become part of the regional English. American English has hundreds of loan words acquired from its immigrants, these can eventually find their way into widespread use, (spagetti, manana), or they can be restricted to the areas in which immigrant populations live. So there can be variances between the English spoken in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Thanks to Asian immigration, a working-class Londoner asks for a cuppa cha and receives the tea he requested. This would probably be understood in Kampala and New Delhi as well, but not necessarily in Boise, Idaho.
Cultural exchange also has an impact on language. For example, it is possible to see a certain amount of Americanization in the British English of the last 50 years. This influence is not entirely one-directional, though, as, for instance, the previously BrE 'flat' for 'apartment' has gained in usage among American twentysomethings. Similarly the American pronunciation of 'aunt' has changed during the last two decades, and it is considered classier to pronounce 'aunt' in the Commonwealth manner, even for speakers who continue to rhyme 'can't' and 'shan't' with 'ant'. Australian English is based on the language of the Commonwealth, but has also blended indigenous, immigrant and American imports.
Applying these same phenomena to the rest of the English-speaking world, and it becomes clear that though the "official" differences between Commonwealth and American English can be more or less delineated, the English language can still vary greatly from place to place.
Vocabulary
Lexical differences are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| aerodrome [mostly obsolete] | airport |
| plane (aeroplane) | airplane |
| aeroport [obsolete] | airport |
| aubergine | egg plant |
| autumn | autumn/fall |
| barrister [courtroom representation] | lawyer |
| beetroot | beet |
| behove | behoove |
| bill | bill/check |
| bonnet | hood |
| boot [of a car] | trunk |
| braces | suspenders |
| brackets (round brackets) | parentheses |
| car-park | parking lot |
| chips (chipped potatoes) | French fries [1] |
| cockerel/cock | rooster |
| courgette | zucchini |
| crisps (potato crisps) | chips (potato chips) |
| curtains | drapes/draperies/curtains |
| drawing room [mostly obsolete: class connotations] | living room |
| dustbin | trash can/garbage can |
| dustman | garbage collector/garbageman |
| estate agent | real estate agent/realtor |
| estate car | station wagon |
| film | movie [2] |
| flat | flat/apartment[3] |
| fortnight/two weeks | two weeks |
| football (Association football)/soccer | soccer |
| full stop | period |
| jumper | sweater |
| knickers | panties |
| lift | elevator |
| lorry[4] | truck |
| main subject [in education] | major |
| maths | math |
| mud guard | fender [of a bike] |
| nappy | diaper |
| off-licence | liquor store |
| pants/underpants | underwear/underpants |
| pavement | sidewalk |
| petrol(eum) | gasoline/gas |
| primary school | elementary school |
| railway | railway/railroad |
| road | road/pavement |
| rubber[5] | eraser |
| rubbish | trash/garbage |
| rug | blanket |
| saloon | sedan |
| sacked | fired |
| solicitor [mainly deskwork; cf barrister] | lawyer |
| spanner | wrench |
| subway | pedestrian tunnel |
| swede [vegetable] | turnip/rutabaga [depending on region] |
| sweets | candy |
| sweetshop | candy store |
| tap [water] | faucet |
| tarmac(adam) | tar |
| tea [sometimes] | supper/dinner |
| tiffin[6] | lunch/luncheon |
| tin | can |
| tomato sauce, ketchup | ketchup[7] |
| torch [with a battery] | flashlight |
| trousers | trousers/pants |
| underground | subway |
| marrow | squash |
| windscreen | windshield |
| wing | fender [of a car] |
| Z [unofficially 'zed'] | zee |
Usage
- The expression 'I guess', common in AmE, is usually replaced in BrE by 'I reckon' or 'I think'.
- In British, one goes 'to hospital' or 'to university'; in American, one goes 'to the hospital' or 'to the university'. However, one goes 'to college' in both.
- American English generally prefers the singular for collective nouns: 'the government is considering' where British has 'the government are...'. Thus, while 'the United States is topping the medals table', 'England are losing another Test Match'.
Spelling
There are a number of spelling differences, some systemic (most notably in suffixes), and others in individual words.
Suffixes
The most striking differences between the spelling of AmE and BrE are in these suffixes (the accents, which are not used in English, show stress and pronunciation: see English spellings for a table and English phonemes for a comparison with the International Phonetic Alphabet):
| British | - | American | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ence | defénce | -ense | defénse |
| lîcence noun[8] | lîcense | ||
| offénce | offénse[9] | ||
| l + l + suffix | dîalling | -l + suffix | dîaling |
| trávelled | tráveled | ||
| màrvellous | màrvelous[10] | ||
| -l | fulfíl | -ll | fulfíll |
| enrôl | enrôll | ||
| instål | inståll | ||
| instíl | instíll | ||
| -ógue | cátalogue | -óg | cátalog |
| dîalogue | dîalog | ||
| démagogue | démagog | ||
| -our | clámour | -or | clámor |
| còlour | còlor | ||
| fâvour | fâvor | ||
| flâvour | flâvor | ||
| harbour | harbor | ||
| hónour | hónor | ||
| lâbour | lâbor | ||
| ráncour | ráncor | ||
| (Many words, however, have -or in both: dóctor, asséssor, sqùalor.) | |||
| -p + suffix | kídnapping | -pp + suffix | kídnáping |
| wörshípped | wörshíped | ||
| -re | céntre | -er | cénter |
| mêtre length | mêter | ||
| manoeûvre | maneûver (also no o) | ||
| ôchre (ch as k) | ôcher (ch as k) | ||
| scéptre | scépter | ||
| thêatre | thêater | ||
| (But in both, mêter machine, not distance, eûchre *yûker) | |||
| -tt + suffix | carburétted | -t + suffix | carburéted |
-ise and -ize
Spellings with -ise are common in British English, but -ize has been for centuries the standard spelling of Oxford University Press (in contrast to Cambridge UP which uses -ise) and there is some evidence to suggest that the -ise variant predominated in the UK only after 1945; thus, a spelling such as realize is not a good example of an 'American' spelling. The typical 'British' spelling reflects the French spelling from which these words were borrowed, though many originally came from Greek -ιζειν (which used z) via Latin. Some words, such as advertise, can supposedly only be spelt with s regardless of which side of the Atlantic they are used; however, spellings such as advertize are readily found nowadays.
ae and oe become e
In Latin and Greek words where British has ae or oe, AmE usually has a solitary e: aesthétic becomes esthétic and foêtus becomes fêtus.
Other spellings
Other individual spelling variations are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| ádze | ádz |
| alumínium | alûminum[11] |
| ánalyse | ánalyze |
| áxe | áx |
| chéque money | chéck all meanings |
| connéxion/connéction | connéction only (cf. compléxion in both) |
| côsy | côzy |
| diaérisis (both *dî-érisis) | diérisis |
| dràught cold, net, liquids, game, horse | dráft all meanings |
| fíllet | fílet |
| furŏrê | fûrŏr[12] |
| grèy | grây |
| jeŵellery | jeŵelry |
| júdgement | júdgment |
| largésse *larzhéss | can also be largéss |
| môuld | môld |
| moustàche | mústache[13] |
| múm mother | mòm |
| ómelette | ómelet |
| páralyse | páralyze |
| plòugh | plòw |
| práctíse verb (BrE noun is práctíce) | práctíce: AmE uses only práctíce, reflecting the pronunciation (not -îse/-îze). |
| prôgramme arts[14] | prógram |
| pyjàmas | pajàmas |
| refléxion/refléction | refléction only (cf. compléxion in both) |
| roûble | rûble |
| scéptical | sképtical[15] |
| skílful | skíllful |
| súlphur, súlphate, súlphide | súlfur, súlfate, súlfide |
| tŷre car | tîre car, tired |
| wílful | wíllful |
Also: dôve is an American alternative to dîved as past tense of dîve, with the same spelling as the bird dòve; matinée (mátinèe) normally has a written é accent in BrE but no accent in AmE.
Pronunciation
The pronunciations discussed here are standard British (also called Received Pronunciation), which is associated with London and the Home Counties, and General American, heard in much of the United States and Canada.
Postvocalic r
Most strikingly, ‘postvocalic’ r, that is to say r after a vowel and in the same syllable, is silent in BrE, but pronounced in AmE, in words like fàrm, càrve, cürve, swërve, fïrst, nŏrth, cŏrd, bïrth, ëarth. For some speakers of both, it is heard finally before a vowel in the next word: 'My car isn't ready' ('rizzent') and even an invisible r can be heard: 'relations between China(r)and Russia'; this however is less common in BrE than it used to be.
An r between two vowels can have an effect on the first vowel: márry can sound like Mãry. The e in véry can sound like a stressed schwa. BrE ór is AmE ŏr: BrE órifice, órigin, fóreign, AmE ŏrifice, ŏrigin, fŏreign.
A word like móral can in AmE sound like *mŏrrl. BrE úr is AmE ür: BrE coúrage, cúrrency AmE coürage, cürrency and BrE òr is similarly altered: BrE wòrry AmE wörry.
a
BrE à is very often in AmE a long á: cán’t, lást, fást, hálf, ráther, láther. But not in fàther, Coloràdo, Chicàgo (Sh-), pajàmas (BrE pyjàmas) nor before r: fàrm, stàrve nor before -lm: càlm, pàlm, bàlm. And in some place names where BrE has á, à is preferred by many Americans: one hears Milàn, Vietnàm, Ugànda and Ànkara.
The suffix -ary has a silent a in traditional BrE, but in AmE it is sounded as é: díctionary, vocábulary (*dícshənéry, vəcábyəléry). Indeed, featuring as it does in so much in pop music, the AmE sound has become increasingly common in BrE, and this is also the sound of both varieties in the equivalent adverbs: necessarily (*néssəssérily). Similarly in BrE labóratory AmE láboratŏry one o is stressed, rendering the other redundant: BrE *labóratry, AmE *lábratŏry. Similarly cátegŏry, perémptŏry in AmE, and also céremôny, álimôny and ácrimôny where BrE has o as schwa. However, both varieties have a schwa sound for the a when the preceding syllable is the stressed one: suppleméntary (*súpləméntəry), compliméntary (*compləméntəry).
BrE åu and åw are AmE àu and àw: BrE åwful, låw, cåught, AmE àwful, làw, càught, but BrE AmE wår, AmE wårrior BrE ẁarrior. BrE ŏught and is AmE *ót or *àt; similarly with cåught, bŏught, fŏught and other words with this ending (see English spellings, Retroalphabetical List).
wh-
In words beginning wh- (apart from who, which is pronounced *hoô in both varieties) the h is ignored in BrE but sounded before the w in AmE, so that whén and whístle are pronounced *hwén and *hwíssle.
-ile
The suffix -île in BrE is usually schwa in AmE so that vólatîle becomes *vólatle, stérîle *stérral, frágîle *frájle and míssîle *míssle, sounding like míssal prayers.
-duce
The suffix -dûce, as in redûce, indûce, prodûce verb and próduce noun is dyoôss or -joôss in BrE but -doôss in AmE.
-age
In three similar words from French, where BrE has an anglicised version, AmE prefers to keep the French model, so á in the first syllable cedes its stress to the suffix -àge (this is not to be confused with the cockney pronunciation of 'garage' as 'garridge', for example):
| British | American |
|---|---|
| bárràge (-àzh) | barràge (*bəràzh) |
| gáràge (-àzh) | garàge (*gəràzh) |
| mássàge (-àzh) | massàge (*məssàzh) |
t and d between vowels
In AmE t and d between vowels, of which the first vowel is stressed, are voiced and sound like d, though actually the sound is a [ɾ] (a 'tap' or 'flap', i.e. a very rapid contact just behind the top front teeth): lâter, *lâ[ɾ]er, bútter, *bú[ɾ]er, lítter, *lí[ɾ]er, shoôting, *shoô[ɾ]ing; BrE speakers keep these as t or d. In AmE twénty, t blends with the n and disappears altogether. The 'flap' often appears as the Scottish English pronunciation of /r/. BrE speakers often partially or completely 'glottalise' t where AmE speakers produce a flap. This glottal stop [ʔ] is common in London English, for example: bu[ʔ]er 'butter'. It also often replaces /t/ at the end of a syllable: ca[ʔ] 'cat'. The glottal stop, which is formed by the vocal cords briefly coming together to restrict airflow, is not a phoneme of English and so speakers will usually identify it as a variant of t.
-euse
This ending has two pronunciations in AmE: in words such as AmE masseûse, the final e can also be sounded: chanteûsê. BrE has only the French-style massëuse, rhyming with the masculine plural form massëurs.
Other pronunciations
Other individual differences are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| addréss | áddress |
| ádult | adúlt |
| advërtísement | ádvertîsement (cf. ádvertise in both) |
| alumínium | alûminum (different spelling, too) |
| Al-Qàêda (-Kŷda) | Al-Qâeda |
| ámateur (eur as schwa: ámətə) | ámateur; or various more phonetic variants, typically ámateûr (*ámatyure) |
| ámbergrìs | ámbergrís |
| amen *à-mén | *â-mén |
| ántì- | ántî- |
| ápparâtus (either stressed) | apparátus |
| ásthma (*ássma) | *ázma |
| áristocrat | arístocrat |
| àunt | áunt uncle (= ánt insect) |
| authóritative | authŏritâtive |
| Baghdád | Bághdad |
| Bërnard | Bernàrd, generally, although not always[16] |
| bêta | bèta |
| bòrough (*búrə) | bòrôugh town (= búrrow ground) |
| càdre (-der) | càdrè |
| cándidate (-ət) | cándidâte |
| capíllary (kəp-) | cápillãry |
| Caribbêan (*Cárri-bêən) | Caríbbêan (-bêən) |
| Cécil (*Séssle) | Cêcil (*Sêazle) |
| cérebral | cerêbral |
| chágrín (sh-) | chagrìn (*shəgrêen) |
| charàde (sh-) | charâde (sh-) |
| cigarétte | cígarette |
| clìchè | clichè (where the American is closer to the French; the French accent may be written: cliché) |
| cómplex | compléx |
| cómrâde | cómráde |
| córrugate | cörrugate |
| coyôtê | *kîôte |
| dâta | dáta |
| Dâvíes (= Dâvis) | Dâvìês (-êez) |
| débris (*débrêe or dâybrêe) | *dəbrêe; the French accent may be written: débris |
| derby (à) | dërby |
| defénce | dêfense (this pronunciation is for sport only, but always the different spelling) |
| dêtail | detâil |
| dôcîle | dócile (*dóssle) |
| dýnasty | dŷnasty |
| económic, -al, -s (ê-) | (é-) |
| Edinburgh (-brə) | (-bórô) |
| eîther | êither |
| entreprenëur | entrepreneûr (both ón-) |
| êra | éra (= BrE érror) |
| erâse (-z) | erâse (-s) |
| ërr | érr |
| évidently | evidéntly |
| explêtive | éxpletive |
| fålcon | fálcon |
| fígure (*fígə) | (can be *fígyùr) |
| fíllet rhymes with bíllet, t pronounced | *filây (after French) |
| furŏrê | fûror (different spelling, too) |
| gàla | gâla |
| génuíne | génuîne |
| gêyser water (= gêezer man) | geŷser |
| grimâce | grímace |
| hárass | haráss |
| hegémony (híg-) | hégemôny (héj-) |
| hërb | *ërb |
| húrricane (a as schwa: -cən) | húrricâne |
| ídyll idyllic | îdyll = îdle lazy = îdol god |
| improvisâtion (o as schwa, -əvî-) | improvisâtion (-óví-) |
| inquîry = enquîry | ínquiry = enquiry (*ínkwəry) |
| îron (*îən) | (*îrən or *îərn) |
| jágûar (*jágyûə) | jáguàr (*jágwàr) |
| kílomêtre | kilómeter (different spelling, too) |
| Kósovo | Kôsovo |
| labóratory | láboratŏry |
| Lébanon (-ən) | Lébanón |
| léisure | lêisure |
| lêver | léver |
| lieuténant (léft-) | (lût-) |
| massëuse (after French) | masseûse |
| Maurice (= Mórris) | Maurìce (*Mərìs, after French) |
| mãyor town (= mãre horse) | mâyor |
| médicine (*médsən) | (*médísən) |
| moôg | *môag (can be capital M in both) |
| Móscôw | can be Móscòw |
| moustàche (*məstàsh) | mústache (*mústásh, also different spelling) |
| múltì- | múltî- |
| Mùslim | Múslim |
| nåusea (-zìə) | (-shə) |
| neîther | nêither |
| nónchalant (ch as sh) | *nonshalàn |
| offénce | óffense (sport only, but always) |
| páprika | paprìka |
| partisán (-zán) | pàrtisan (-zən) |
| përfume | perfûme |
| prêdecessor | prédecessor |
| prémier government | premìêr (= premìêre) |
| prémiére performance | premìêre (= premìêr) |
| prívacy | prîvacy (but prîvate in both) |
| prôcess | prócess |
| prôgress noun | prógress noun: progréss verb in both |
| qùadruplet (second u as schwa) | quadrûplet (similarly with quínt- etc.) |
| râbid | rábid |
| récŏrd noun (rhyming with cŏrd) | récord (o as schwa: -kərd) |
| renâissànce | rénaissànce |
| resëarch | rêsëarch |
| resŏurce | rêsource |
| réspîte | réspíte |
| roûte journey (= roôt plant) | ròute (= ròut victory) |
| sándwich (-ídge) | (-ích) |
| scenàrio | scenãrio |
| schédule (shé-) | (ské-) |
| simultâneous (sí-) | (sî-) |
| spínach (-ídge) | (-ích) |
| stâtus | státus |
| stràta | strâta (= BrE strâighter) |
| stràtum | strâtum |
| thòrough (*thúrə) | thòrôugh |
| tomàto | tomâto [cf. potâto in both, ‘potàto’ being an invention of Cole Porter] |
| vàse (-z) | vâse (*vâce, rhyming with báse) |
| vërmouth | vermoûth |
| vítamin | vîtamin |
| yógurt | yôgurt |
Notes
- ↑ Though strictly, these are two different shapes, chips being broader than fries.
- ↑ ‘Movie’ is nowadays normal in BrE when talking Hollywood.
- ↑ Increasingly heard in British English; in San Francisco, California, at least, a city of small, shared buildings, both "flat" and "apartment" are used, mostly interchangeably. Purists, however, distinguish between the two: an "apartment" is in a building that has a shared main entrance; a "flat" has its own outside entrance door.
- ↑ British trucks are traditionally small, and pulled, typically on rails.
- ↑ A pitfall for British visitors to America, where 'rubber' is a vulgar term for a condom.
- ↑ Used in India.
- ↑ In AmE, 'tomato sauce' refers to any kind but ketchup.
- ↑ lîcense is the verb in BrE, cf. licensêe in both. Mostly -ence is used in both, as with fénce; but sénse, dénse and suspénse in both.
- ↑ In American sporting contexts, one may hear óffénse and dêfénse.
- ↑ but BrE wílful AmE wílful or wíllful
- ↑ Also pronounced differently: ['æləmɪnjəm] in British English, [ə'lu:mɪnəm] in American.
- ↑ Also pronounced differently: [fjʊ'rɔri] in British English, ['fʊrɔr] in American.
- ↑ Also pronounced differently: [mə'stɑʃ] in British English, ['mʌstæʃ] in American.
- ↑ prôgram computer is also BrE, but usually -grám in both: grám, dîagram, càrdiogram.
- ↑ The k spelling is of course more logical, cf. scêne view (= sêen see), scént smell (= sént send).
- ↑ St. Bernard's, a prominent, and exclusive, school for boys in New York City is pronounced in the British fashion.