For the most part, British and American culture are fairly similar, which goes far beyond

the fact that

they speak the same language. However, there are some cultural differences that could provide a
lengthy conversation between a Brit and an American.

History

The British actually introduced the language to the Americas when they reached these lands by sea
between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling had not yet been standardised. It took the
writing of the first dictionaries to set in stone how these words appeared. In the UK, the dictionary was
compiled by London-based scholars. Meanwhile, in the United States, the lexicographer was a man
named Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words were spelled to make the American version
different from the British as a way of showing cultural independence from its mother country.

Over the past 400 years, the form of the language used in the ​Americas​ — especially in the
United States​ — and that used in the United Kingdom have diverged in a few minor ways,
leading to the ​dialects​ now occasionally referred to as American English and British
English. Differences between the two include ​pronunciation​, ​grammar​, ​vocabulary (lexis)​,
spelling​, ​punctuation​, ​idioms​, formatting of ​dates​ and ​numbers​, and so on, although the
differences in written and most spoken grammar structure tend to be much more minor
than those of other aspects of the language in terms of mutual intelligibility. A small
number of words have completely different meanings between the two dialects or are even
unknown or not used in one of the dialects. One particular contribution towards
formalizing these differences came from ​Noah Webster​, who wrote the ​first American
dictionary​ (published 1828) with the intention of showing that people in the United States
spoke a different dialect from Britain, much like a regional accent.

Spelling differences

British and American English have some spelling differences. The common ones are presented in the
table below.

mericans vs. British: Everyday Life

America was only formed in 1789, but with its great development, it is now the country with the

largest economy in the world. It’s also nominated as the melting pot, meaning it is the place that

many cultures come together. This makes America seem like a small world. The reason why

America is called the melting pot is because it is a nation of immigrants. America and British are

the two most immigrant countries in the world. People from around the world came to America to
live and along with them; they brought their traditions and customs. This made America a

multicultural country. Coming to America, you may come across any cultures and if you don’t

have the right knowledge to understand other people from different cultures, you may

misunderstand their gestures and feel really confused. About American lifestyles, they tend to

highly value their individualism. They always want to do things their own way that is not

like anyone else’s. This is why they don’t like to be called a “typical American”, they

always aim to be the difference

but there are some subtle comparisons to be made. For example, there's not much of a language barrier
between America and Britain because both cultures predominately speak English. However, there are
some differences in word choices and word meanings between the two cultures. Consider the following
examples:

In the U.S. we stand in line to wait for something. In Britain, it's called a queue.

In the U.S. you might give a crying child a pacifier, but the British call it a dummy.

A baked potato in the U.S. would be called a 'jacket potato' in Britain.

Probably the most obvious and well known is the difference between soccer and football. Britain, and
pretty much everywhere else in the world, if we're being honest, refers to soccer as football, not to be
confused with American football, which is what many Americans tend to avoid church for.

Music and Literature

Given the length of time that Britain has been around, which is far longer than the United States, they
certainly have a much more substantial list of celebrated writers and artists. While the U.S. can proudly
offer up writers such as Faulkner, Hemingway, and Flannery O'Connor, Britain has Shakespeare, the
famous poet and playwright from the 16th century. As far as most literary scholars are concerned,
Shakespeare trumps all.

When it comes to music, classical excluded, the United States probably takes the cake. The blues, which
originated in the Mississippi Delta, has influenced nearly every known rock and roll icon, both British and
American. Even though Britain can claim Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, both of them have
credited American music style as their inspiration. Oh, The Beatles, you say? America has Elvis.

Elvis Presley - The King of Rock and Roll.

Elvis

Humor
One of the most apparent cultural differences between American and British culture is humor. This is
partly because of the differences between the American and British perspective on life. The British tend
to be more fatalistic or pragmatic, while Americans are more optimistic, and perhaps in some ways,
considered entitled. British humor tends to be more dry, witty, sarcastic or high-brow, which simply
means intellectual. American humor, on the other hand, tends to be a little more slapstick. The
differences here, though, are often so subtle it's quite often up for debate. However, there is certainly a
difference between Monty Python's Flying Circus and Saturday Night Live.

Goverment

American government consists of two parts: Congress and Party. There are 100 Senators,

two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year

terms of office. The Senators represent all of people in a state and their interests. The head

of a government is called President. He or she is elected every four – year term of office

with no more than full term allowed by the voters. American citizens who are at least 18

years of age have the right to vote.

As for the political aspect of the UK, Great Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a
constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the State. The two main parties are
the Conservative party and the Labor party. The Liberal Democrats is a weaker third
party. Both Scotland and Wales have nationalist parties whose goal is the independence of
those respective regions

Education
Education is an important part of British society. They have three systems of public

education – one for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland, and one for Scotland.

These three systems are different in many ways. There are hundreds of schools, colleges

and universities, including some of the most famous in the world. British children

between the ages of 5 and 16 are required by law to go to school. There are several types

of high school in Great Britain, which could be grammar schools or a more general,

technical, or vocational education. The most attended school is comprehensive schools

which provide all type of high school education. Most of the school in the state system

care free and 95% of the children attend these schools. Private schools on the other hand,

are supported by fees paid by parents. The leading public schools are the English public

schools which prepare for Oxford or Cambridge, 2 oldest and most honored universities

in Britain.

in America it is student centered, the students feel more comfortable and confident to
directly communicate with the teachers and they become more active, they challenge and
argue with the teachers to build their lessons and gain their knowledge.