British and American English
This article examines the differences between British and American English in the areas of vocabulary, spelling and phonology.
Vocabulary
Lexical differences are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| aerodrome | airport |
| aeroplane | airplane |
| aeroport | airport |
| autumn | autumn/fall |
| barrister | lawyer |
| bonnet | hood |
| boot car | trunk |
| braces | suspenders |
| (round) brackets | parentheses |
| car-park | parking lot |
| chips | (French/french) fries [1] |
| cockerel/cock | rooster |
| (potato) crisps | (potato) chips |
| curtains | drapes/draperies/curtains |
| drawing room | living room |
| dustbin | trash can/garbage can |
| dustman | garbage collector/garbageman |
| film | movie [2] |
| flat | flat/apartment[3] |
| (Association) football | soccer |
| lift | elevator |
| full stop | period |
| knickers | panties |
| lorry/truck[4] | truck |
| nappy | diaper |
| off-licence | liquor store |
| pants | underwear/underpants |
| pavement | sidewalk |
| petrol | gasoline/gas |
| railway | railway/railroad |
| road | road/pavement |
| rubber[5] | eraser |
| rug | blanket |
| saloon | sedan |
| solicitor | lawyer |
| spanner | wrench |
| subway | pedestrian tunnel |
| sweets | candy |
| sweetshop | candy store |
| tea (sometimes) | supper, dinner |
| tiffin | lunch, luncheon |
| tin | can |
| tomato sauce, ketchup | ketchup[6] |
| torch | flashlight |
| trousers | trousers/pants |
| underground | subway |
| windscreen | windshield |
| wing | fender |
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 show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes):
| British | - | American | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ence | defénce | -ense | defénse |
| lîcence noun[7] | lîcense | ||
| offénce | offénse[8] | ||
| l + l + suffix | dîalling | -l + suffix | dîaling |
| trávelled | tráveled | ||
| màrvellous | màrvelous[9] | ||
| -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 is acceptable; e.g. realize is not a strong example of an 'American' spelling. The 'British' spelling reflects the French spelling from which these words were borrowed, though they originally came from Greek -ιζειν via Latin, which used z. Some words, such as advertise, can supposedly only be spelt with s regardless of which side of the Atlantic they are used on; 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, phoênix phênix and foêtus fêtus.
Other
Other individual spelling variations are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| ádze | ádz |
| alumínium | alûminum[10] |
| 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[11] |
| grèy | grây |
| jeŵellery | jeŵelry |
| júdgement | júdgment |
| largésse | can also be largéss |
| môuld | môld |
| moustàche | mústache[12] |
| 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[13] | prógram |
| pyjàmas | pajàmas |
| refléxion or refléction | refléction only (cf. compléxion in both) |
| roûble | rûble |
| scéptical | sképtical[14] |
| 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 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.
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.
- ↑ 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).