American and British English
Standard American English (‘General American’) and standard British English are very similar. There are a few differences in the use of structures and in spelling rules, and rather more differences of vocabulary and idiom. Modern British English is heavily influenced by American English, so some contrasts are disappearing. Pronunciation is sometimes very different, but most American and British speakers can understand each other easily.
An excellent, very detailed guide to grammatical differences, particularly differences in the grammar of individual words, is John Algeo’s British or American English? (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Note that the term ‘American English’ is used here for the standard English of the United States, but that some of the statements apply more widely to North American English in general.
Grammar: I’ve never gotten … / I’ve never got …
Here are examples of the most important differences. Some other differences are dealt with in other entries. In many cases, two different forms are possible in one variety of English, while only one of the forms is possible or normal in the other variety.
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| He just went home. (or He’s just gone home.) | He’s just gone home. (see here) |
| I’ve never really gotten to know her. | I’ve never really got to know her. (see here) |
| I (can) see a car coming. | I can see a car coming. (see here) |
| It’s important that he be told. | It’s important that he should be told. (see here) |
| ‘Will you buy it?’ ‘I may.’ | … I may (do). (see here) |
| The committee meets tomorrow. | The committee meet/meets tomorrow. (see here) |
| (on the phone) Hello, is this Susan? | Hello, is that Susan? (see here) |
| He looked at me real strange. (very informal) (or He looked at me really strangely.) | He looked at me really strangely. (see here) |
| He probably has arrived by now. (or He has probably arrived …) | He has probably arrived by now. (see here) |
| Should I call the hospital? | Shall/Should I call the hospital? |
Besides get, some other verbs have different forms in British and American English (see here).
For the Southern US second person plural pronoun you all, (see here).
Vocabulary: sidewalk/pavement
There are very many differences. Sometimes the same word has different meanings (BrE mad = crazy; AmE mad = angry). And very often, different words are used for the same idea (BrE lorry = AmE truck). Here are a few examples, with very brief information about the words and their meanings. A very useful guide to vocabulary differences is Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions – Making Sense of Transatlantic English, edited by Orin Hargraves, Oxford University Press.
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| airplane | aeroplane |
| anyplace, anywhere | anywhere |
| apartment | flat, apartment |
| attorney, lawyer | barrister, solicitor, lawyer |
| biscuit | scone |
| busy (phone) | engaged |
| call collect (phone) | reverse the charges |
| can | tin, can |
| candy | sweets |
| check/bill (in a restaurant) | bill |
| coin-purse | purse |
| cookie, cracker | biscuit |
| corn | sweetcorn, maize |
| crazy | mad, crazy |
| crib | cot |
| crosswalk | pedestrian/zebra crossing |
| cuffs (on trousers) | turn-ups |
| diaper | nappy |
| doctor’s office | doctor’s surgery |
| drapes | curtains |
| elevator | lift |
| eraser | rubber, eraser |
| fall, autumn | autumn |
| faucet (indoors), spigot, tap (outdoors) | tap (indoors and outdoors) |
| fired (from a job) | sacked, fired |
| first floor, second floor, etc | ground floor, first floor, etc |
| flashlight | torch |
| flat (tire) | flat tyre, puncture |
| French fries | chips |
| garbage, trash | rubbish |
| garbage can, trashcan | dustbin, rubbish bin |
| gas(oline) | petrol |
| gear shift (on a car) | gear lever |
| highway, freeway | main road, motorway |
| hood (on a car) | bonnet |
| intersection | crossroads |
| jello | jelly |
| jelly | jam |
| jug | pitcher |
| mad | angry |
| math | maths |
| mean | nasty, mean |
| movie, film | film |
| one-way (ticket) | single (ticket) |
| pants, trousers | trousers |
| parking lot | car park |
| pavement | road surface |
| period | full stop |
| pharmacy | chemist’s |
| pitcher | jug |
| (potato) chips | crisps |
| purse, (hand)bag | handbag |
| railroad | railway |
| raise (in salary) | rise |
| rest room, bathroom | (public) toilet |
| résumé | CV (curriculum vitae) |
| round trip | return (journey/ticket) |
| schedule, timetable | timetable |
| sidewalk | pavement |
| sneakers (= sports shoes) | trainers |
| stand in line | queue (up) |
| stingy, cheap (opposite of generous) | mean |
| subway | underground, (London) Tube, metro, subway |
| take-out | takeaway |
| truck | lorry, van |
| trunk (of a car) | boot |
| two weeks | fortnight, two weeks |
| vacation | holiday(s) |
| windshield (on a car) | windscreen |
| yard | garden |
| zee (the name of the letter ‘z’) | zed |
| zipper | zip |
Expressions with prepositions and particles
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| check something (out) | check something |
| different from/than | different from/to (see here) |
| do something over/again | do something again |
| in a course | on a course |
| live on X street | live in X street |
| look around the church | look (a)round the church (see here) |
| meet with somebody (planned) | meet (with) somebody |
| Monday through/to Friday | Monday to Friday |
| on a team | in a team |
| on the weekend | at the weekend |
| ten after/past four (time) | ten past four |
| ten to/of/before/till four | ten to four |
Spelling: color/colour
A number of words end in -or in American English and -our in British English (e.g. color/colour). Some words end in -er in American English and -re in British English (e.g. center/centre). Many verbs which end in -ize in American English (e.g. realize) can be spelt in British English with -ise or -ize (see here). Some of the commonest words with different forms are:
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| aluminum | aluminium |
| analyze | analyse |
| catalog(ue) | catalogue |
| center | centre |
| check | cheque (paid by a bank) |
| color | colour |
| defense | defence |
| disk | disc, disk |
| enroll | enrol |
| fulfill | fulfil |
| honor | honour |
| inquire | enquire, inquire |
| jewelry | jewellery |
| labor | labour |
| license (noun) | licence |
| liter | litre |
| meter (measure) | metre |
| neighbor | neighbour |
| organize | organise/organize |
| pajamas | pyjamas |
| paralyze | paralyse |
| practice (verb) | practise |
| program | programme |
| realize | realise/realize |
| skillful | skilful |
| theater/theatre | theatre |
| tire | tyre (on a wheel) |
| trave(l)ler | traveller (see here) |
| whiskey | (Scotch) whisky, (Irish) whiskey |
Pronunciation
There are, of course, many different regional accents in both Britain and America. The most important general differences between American and British speech are as follows:
-
Certain vowels are nasal (pronounced through the nose and mouth at the same time) in some varieties of American English, but not in most British accents.
-
British English has one more vowel than American English. This is the rounded short o (/ɒ/) used in words like cot, dog, got, gone, off, stop, lost. In American English these words are pronounced either with /ɑː/, like the first vowel in father, or with /ɔː/, like the vowel in caught. (This vowel is also pronounced rather differently in British and American English.)
-
Some words written with a + consonant (e.g. fast, after) have different pronunciations: with /ɑː/ in standard southern British English, and with /æ/ in American and some other varieties of English.
-
The vowel in home, go, open is pronounced /əʊ/ in standard southern British English, and /oʊ/ in American English. The two vowels sound very different.
-
In standard southern British English, r is only pronounced before a vowel sound. In most kinds of American English (and most other British varieties), r is pronounced in all positions where it is written in a word, and it changes the quality of a vowel that comes before it. So words like car, turn, offer sound very different in British and American speech.
-
In many varieties of American English, t and d both have a very light voiced pronunciation (/d/) between vowels – so writer and rider, for example, can sound the same. In British English they are quite different: /ˈraɪtə(r)/ and /ˈraɪdə(r)/.
-
Some words which are pronounced with /uː/ in most varieties of American English have /juː/ in British English. These are words in which th, d, t or n (and sometimes s or l) are followed by u or ew in writing.
- enthusiastic: AmE /ɪnˌθuːziˈæstɪk/ - BrE /ɪnˌθjuːziˈæstɪk/
- duty: AmE /ˈduːti/ - BrE /ˈdjuːti/
- tune: AmE /tuːn/ - BrE /tjuːn/
- new: AmE /nuː/ - BrE /njuː/
-
Words ending in unstressed -ile (e.g. fertile, missile) are pronounced with /aɪl/ in British English; some are pronounced with /l/ in American English.
- fertile: AmE /ˈfɜːrtl/ (rhyming with turtle) - BrE /ˈfɜːtaɪl/ (rhyming with her tile)
-
Some long words ending in -ary, -ery or -ory are pronounced differently, with one more syllable in American English.
- secretary: AmE /ˈsekrəteri/ - BrE /ˈsekrətri/
-
Borough and thorough are pronounced differently.
- AmE /ˈbʌroʊ, ˈθʌroʊ/
- BrE /ˈbʌrə, ˈθʌrə/
-
Words borrowed from French are often stressed differently, especially if their pronunciation ends with a vowel sound. The final vowel is usually stressed in American English but not in British English.
- pâté: AmE /pɑːˈteɪ/ - BrE /ˈpæteɪ/
- ballet: AmE /bæˈleɪ/ - BrE /ˈbæleɪ/