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 (car) |
| braces | suspenders |
| car-park | parking lot |
| chips | (French/french) fries [1] |
| cockerel (cock) | rooster |
| crisps | chips/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 |
| torch | flashlight |
| trousers | trousers/pants |
| underground | subway |
| windscreen | windshield |
| wing | fender |
Spelling
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[6] | lîcense | ||
| offénce | offénse[7] | ||
| l + l + suffix | dîalling | -l + suffix | dîaling |
| trávelled | tráveled | ||
| màrvellous | màrvelous[8] | ||
| -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 | ||
| 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 |
| ôchre (ch as k) | ôcher (ch as k) | ||
| scéptre | scépter | ||
| manoeûvre | maneûver (also no o) | ||
| mêtre length | mêter | ||
| (But in both, mêter machine, eûchre *yûker) | |||
| -tt + suffix | carburétted | -t + suffix | carburéted |
| In Latin and Greek words where British has ae or oe: | aesthétic | In Latin and Greek words AmE usually has a solitary e | esthétic |
| phoênix | phênix | ||
| foêtus | fêtus | ||
In Latin and Greek words AmE usually has a solitary e in Latin and Greek words where British has ae or oe: aesthétic becomes esthétic, phoênix phênix and foêtus fêtus.
Spelling differences include:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| aluminium | aluminum[9] |
| fillet | filet |
| grey | gray |
| judgement | judgment |
| practise | practice |
-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 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.
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.
- ↑ 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.