American English vs British English (2024)

The story of British vs. American English

The English language was introduced to America in the early 17th century by British colonization. Thanks to the power of the British Empire, it also spread to many other parts of the world. Over the years, the English spoken in the United States and Great Britain began to differ in several respects. This led to new dialects in the form of American English.

American vs British accent

Forthe Revolutionary War and American Independenceof the British in 1776, the American and British accents were the same. Both wererhotici.e. speakers pronounced the letterRidifficult. Since 1776the accents variedbut English accents in America have changed less drastically than accents in Britain.

By the end of the 18th century,non-rhotic speech took off in southern England, especially among the upper classes; this "prestige" non-rhotic speech was standardized and has been circulated in Britain ever since.

However, most American accents remained rhotic.

There are a few fascinating exceptions: New York and New England accents became non-rhotic, perhaps because of the region's British connections. However, the Irish and Scottish accents remained rhotic.

To be fair, both American and British English have different types of accents, and there is no true American or British accent.

Noah Webster aBlueback speller

Even after America gained independence, American schools used textbooks imported from England.Noa Webster, an American lexicographer, nationalist and prolific political writer, found them unsatisfactory. He resented the British aristocrat's influence and control over the English language and its pedantic rules of spelling and pronunciation.

Webster then wrote and published in the 1780sA grammar institute for the English languagea compendium that consisted of a spelling book (published in 1783), a grammar (published in 1784) and a reader (published in 1785). The spelling became very popular and over time Webster changed the spelling in the book to be more phonetic (e.gColourinstead ofColour;defenseinstead ofdefense). Webster's changes had a major impact on American English because his grammar books were so popular and used in schools across the country.

This influence was further enhanced by Webster's dictionaries, first published in 1806. Noah Webster was aspelling reformerwho believed that the spelling of words should match their pronunciation as closely as possible.

Differences in the use of tenses

In British English, the present perfect is used to express an action that took place in the recent past and has aeffectcurrently. For example:I lost my pen. Can you help me find it?In American English, the use of the past tense is also allowed:I lost my pen. Can you help me find it?However, in British English it would be considered incorrect to use the past tense in this example.

Other differences involving the use of the present tense in British English and the simple past in American English includeord al,just nowInyet.

British English:I just hadboos. Have you finished your homework yet?American English:I just got food.OFI just got food.
I've already seen that movie.OFI've already seen that movie.

Differences in vocabulary

While some words in British English can mean one thing, the same word in American English can mean something different and vice versa. For example,Athletein British English is someone who takes part in athletic events, whileAthletein American English is someone who participates in sports in general.

Gummiin British English: tool for erasing pencil marks.
Gummiin American English: condom.

There are also some words like AC, Airplane, bridge,ketchup,mobile phoneetc. that are common in American English and not often used in British English. Some words that are commonly used in British English and rarely used in American English are advertise, counterclockwise, lawyer, cat's eye.

Differences in spelling

There are many words that are spelled differently in both forms of English. Some examples are:

The majority of spelling differences between American and British English fall into the following categories:

• Latin-derived spellings
  • -ons(British) and -of(American). e.g. color versus colour
  • -related to(British) and -is(American). e.g. center versus center
  • -ce(British) and -met(American). e.g. defense vs defense
• Greek-derived spellings
  • -while(British) and -maat(American). e.g. centralize versus centralize
  • -cough(British) and -and(American). e.g. analyze vs. analyze
  • -story(British) and -In(American). e.g. dialogue versus dialogue
  • Simplification ofaaInoein American English. e.g. gynecology versus gynaecology

Differences in the use of prepositions

There are also some differences between British and American English in the use of prepositions. For example: While the British wanted to playI and hold, the Americans would playin a team. Another example: While the British wanted outon weekends, the Americans would go outon weekends.

Differences in verb usage

American and British English can also use a basic verb in different ways. For example, Americans would use the past tense for the verb "to dream."dreamedwhile the British would usedreamedin the past tense. The same goes for 'learned' and 'taught'. Another example of different past tense spellings for verbs in American and British English is "forecast". Americans usePredictionwhile the British would saypredictedin the simple past tense.

Differences in pronunciation

Some words that are pronounced differently in American vs British English are controversy, leisure, schedule, etc. There are also some words likeAxe(Axein British) andDefense(Defensein British), which has the same pronunciation but different spellings in both languages.

Timed in British versus American English

Both languages ​​have a slightly different structure for telling time. While the British would saya quarter past tento indicate 10:15, it is not an unusual thing to say in AmericaErna Blockor even-inErna Blockvan.

Thirty minutes past the hour is commonly called half past two in both languages. Americans are always writingdigitaltimes with a colon, i.e. 6:00, while the British often use a period, 6:00.

Differences in punctuation

While the British would write Mr., Mrs., Dr., the Americans would write Mr., Mrs., Dr.

Video explaining the differences

Here's a fun music video that explains the differences between some English and British English words.

Shopping for

• Books on American English
• Books on British English

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences