British and American English
This article examines the differences between British and American English in the areas of vocabulary, spelling and phonology. In particular, this article compares standard British (also known as Received Pronunciation, or RP) and American speech of no particular dialect. Lexical differences between British and American English are, for the most part, common to all dialects of American English; for the purposes of phonology and phonetics, this article uses Midland American English (usually perceived to be the least marked American dialect) as an object of comparison.
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 upper-class BrE speakers today (who are perceived to be very culturally conservative) are more innovative, linguistically, than English speakers in the American South. It is also 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, and the previously BrE 'flat' has gained in use among American twentysomethings.
Vocabulary
Lexical differences are:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| aerodrome [mostly obsolete] | airport |
| (aero)plane | airplane |
| aeroport [obsolete] | airport |
| autumn | autumn/fall |
| barrister [courtroom representation] | 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 [mostly obsolete: class connotations] | 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 |
| gnat [rare] | mosquito |
| knickers | panties |
| lorry/truck[4] | truck |
| nappy | diaper |
| off-licence | liquor store |
| pants/underpants | underwear/underpants |
| pavement | sidewalk |
| petrol(eum) | gasoline/gas |
| railway | railway/railroad |
| road | road/pavement |
| rubber[5] | eraser |
| rug | blanket |
| saloon | sedan |
| solicitor [mainly deskwork; cf barrister] | lawyer |
| spanner | wrench |
| subway | pedestrian tunnel |
| sweets | candy |
| sweetshop | candy store |
| 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 |
| windscreen | windshield |
| wing | fender |
Usage
- The expression 'I guess', common in AmE, is usually replaced in BrE by 'I reckon' or 'I think'.
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[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
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 | 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 before a consonant, is silent in BrE, but pronounced in AmE, in words like fàrm, càrve, cürve, swërve, fïrst, nŏrth, cŏrd, bïrth, ëarth.
Similarly, 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).
-ile
The suffix -île in BrE is usually schwa in AmE so that vólatîle becomes *vólatle, stérîle *stérral, míssîle *míssle = 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:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| bárrage (-àzh) | barràge (*bəràzh) |
| gárage (-àzh) | garàge (*gəràzh) |
| mássage (-àzh) | massàge (*məssàzh) |
t between vowels
In AmE t between vowels, of which the first is stressed, is vocalised and sounds like d: lâter, *lâder, bútter, *búdder, lítter, *lídder, shoôting, *shoôding; BrE speakers pronounce this as t, often aspirated. In twénty it blends with the n and disappears altogether.
Others: same stress
In some individual cases, a particular sound is different, but the stressed syllable remains the same:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| ámateur (eur as schwa: ámətə) | also; or various more phonetic variants, typically ámateûr (*ámatyure) |
| ámbergrìs | ámbergrís |
| amen *à-mén | *â-mén |
| ápparâtus (either stressed) | apparátus |
| áristocrat | arístocrat |
| authóritative | authŏritâtive |
| Baghdád | Bághdad |
| Bërnard | Bernàrd |
Others: different stress
In other cases, a different part of the word is stressed:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| addréss | áddress |
| ádult | adúlt |
| advërtísement | ádvertîsement (cf. ádvertise in both) |
| alumínium | alûminum (different spelling, too) |
| Al-Qàêda (-Kŷda) | Al-Qâeda |
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).