`American English

I. Introduction

American English, variety of the English language spoken in the United States. Although all
Americans do not speak the same way, their speech has enough in common that American
English can be recognized as a variety of English distinct from British English, Australian
English, and other national varieties. American English has grown up with the country. It began
to diverge from British English during its colonial beginnings and acquired regional differences
and ethnic flavor during the settlement of the continent. Today it influences other languages and
other varieties of English because it is the medium by which the attractions of American culture–
its literature, motion pictures, and television programs–are transmitted to the world.

II. Characteristics of American English

All speakers of English share a common linguistic system and a basic set of words. But
American English differs from British English, Australian English, and other national varieties in
many of its pronunciations, words, spellings, and grammatical constructions. Words or phrases
of American origin, and those used in America but not so much elsewhere, are called
Americanisms.

A. Pronunciation

In broad terms, Canadian and American speakers tend to sound like one another. They also tend
to sound different from a large group of English speakers who sound more British, such as those
in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. For example, most Canadians and Americans
pronounce an r sound after the vowel in words like barn, car, and farther, while speakers from
the British English group do not. Also, some British English speakers drop h sounds at the
beginning of words, so that he and his are pronounced as if they were spelled ee and is. The
English spoken in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa sounds more like British English
than American English does because these varieties have had less time to diverge from British
English. The process of separate development began later in these countries than in North
America.

Although Canadians and Americans share many speech habits, Canadian speakers of English
sometimes tend more toward British English because of the closer historical association of
Britain with Canada. One prominent difference between American English and Canadian English
is the vowel sound in words like out and house. Americans often say that the Canadian
pronunciation sounds as if the words were spelled oot and hoose.

In some cases there are differences between American English and British English in the rhythm
of words. British speakers seem to leave out a syllable in words like secretary, as if it were
spelled secretry, while Americans keep all the syllables. The opposite is true of other words,
such as specialty, which Americans pronounce with three syllables (spe-cial-ty) while British
speakers pronounce it with five syllables (spe-ci-al-i-ty). Vowels and consonants may also have
different pronunciations. British speakers pronounce zebra to rhyme with Debra, while
American speakers make zebra rhyme with Libra. Canadian and British speakers pronounce the
word schedule as if it began with an sh sound, while Americans pronounce it as if it began with
an sk sound.

B. Words

The most frequently used words are shared by speakers of different varieties of English. These
words include the most common nouns, the most common verbs, and most function words (such
as pronouns, articles, and prepositions). The different varieties of English do, however, use
different words for many words that are slightly less common–for example, British crisps for
American potato chips, Australian billabong for American pond, and Canadian chesterfield for
American sofa. It is even more common for the same word to exist with different meanings in
different varieties of English. Corn is a general term in Britain, for which Americans use grain,
while corn in American English is a specific kind of grain. The word pond in British English
usually refers to an artificial body of water, whereas ponds also occur naturally in North
America. British English chemist is the same as American English drugstore, and in Canada
people go to the druggist. Many of the words most easily recognized as American in origin are
associated with aspects of American popular culture, such as gangster or cowboy.

C. Spelling

American English spelling differs from British English spelling largely because of one man,
American lexicographer Noah Webster. In addition to his well-known An American Dictionary
of the English Language (1828), Webster published The American Spelling Book (1783, with
many subsequent editions), which became one of the most widely used schoolbooks in American
history. Webster's books sought to standardize spelling in the United States by promoting the use
of an American language that intentionally differed from British English. The development of a
specifically American variety of English mirrored the new country's separate political
development. Webster's most successful changes were spellings with or instead of our (honor,
labor for the British honour, labour); with er instead of re (center, theater for the British centre,
theatre); with an s instead of a c (defense, license for the British defence, licence); with a
final ck instead of que (check, mask for the British cheque, masque); and without a
final k (traffic, public, now also used in British English, for the older traffick, publick). Later
spelling reform created a few other differences, such as program for
British programme. Canadian spelling varies between the British and American forms, more
British in eastern Canada and more American in western Canada.

D. Grammar

The grammar of educated speakers of English differs little among national varieties. In the
speech of people with less access to education, grammatical variations in regional and social
varieties of American English are very common as normal, systematic occurrences (not as
errors). One major difference between British and American English is that the two attach
different verb forms to nouns that are grammatically singular but plural in sense. In American
English, the team is..., or the government is... (because they are viewed as single entities), but in
British English, the team are..., or the government are... (because teams and government are
understood to consist of more than one person). Sometimes function words are used differently:
The British stay in hospital but Americans stay in the hospital.
ONE: Vocabulary

This is one of the most noticeable differences between UK English and US English. There are
thousands of variations that intersect businesses of all types, from retail and fashion to
manufacturing. An American would walk to work on the sidewalk, whereas a Brit would use
the pavement. The American would then reach their office on the top floor using an elevator, and
a Brit would use thelift. A long journey by road in the US would probably involve a drive along
the freeway while in the UK, the motorway would allow fast road connections between major
cities.

The list could go on; however, these examples are many, and only a native speaker would have
knowledge of all of them. To ensure a quality localization project, an expert from the specific
target country should always be used to translate content and provide linguistic review.

TWO: Spelling

Along with vocabulary, spelling is another noticeable difference between these two forms of
English. There are five main differences between American and British spelling. These are listed
below:

British (UK) versus American (US) spelling examples:

 UK: our (flavour) versus US: or (flavor)

 UK: re (centre) versus US: er (center)
 UK: ogue (dialogue) versus US: og (dialog)
 UK: ence (defence) versus US: ense (defense)
 UK: ise (localise) versus US: ize (localize)

In some cases, American English does not include double consonants at the end of a word,
especially in the case of the letter ‘L’. An example of this can be seen with a word such as ‘fuel’.
When the letters -ed, -ing or -er are added to these words, British English would add another ‘l’ to
the end of the word (fuelled, fuelling), whereas American English would not (fueled, fueling).
THREE: Grammatical Differences

There are a few grammatical difference. Firstly, collective nouns, which are used when referring
to a group. American English always refers to collective nouns as singular entities. For example,
“The team is successful.” In British English, collective nouns can be either singular or plural.
“They are a successful team,” or “It is a successful team,” would both be acceptable.

A similar situation can be seen with past tense verbs. Americans would be more likely to use the
ending -ed, as in ‘learned’, whereas a British English speakers would be more likely to use –t, as
in ‘learnt’. Although Brits tend to see the American version as false, either spelling would be
acceptable and understandable to both speakers.

The use of prepositions differs between these two forms of English. Here are a few examples.

British (UK) versus American (US) grammar examples:

 UK: At the weekend versus US: On the weekend

 UK: At the front/back versus US: In the front/back
 UK: At school versus US: In school
 UK: Get on (with somebody) versus US: Get along (with somebody)

FOUR: Numerical Considerations and Measurement

In British English “and” is inserted between the tens and units when spelling out numbers, (one
hundred and ninety one). In American English, the “and” is not used (one hundred ninety one).
When writing or pronouncing dates in British English, the day normally precedes the month, such
as 25 December. In American English the month always precedes the day, December 25. The 24
hour clock is used primarily in Europe; however, is rarely used in the United States.

These are some of the key linguistic differences. There also exists many cultural and demographic
differences that must be taken into consideration when developing localization programs. This is
definitely especially important for global digital marketing activities and software localization and
testing programs. Although target audiences may be united by “one language,” their language
habits and traits will vary a lot, depending on which country they are based in. Relying on experts,
in-country, will establish a basis of nuances and adaptation standards for all content types, from
social to technical. The subtleties can define success and failure in localization and engaging with
your target market.
LEXICAL DIFFERENCES

Words and phrases that have their origins in AmE

Speakers of BrE are likely to understand most common AmE terms, examples such as
“sidewalk”, “gas (gasoline/petrol)”, “counterclockwise” or “elevator (lift)”, without any
problem, thanks in part to considerable exposure to American popular culture and literature.
Certain terms that are heard less frequently, especially those likely to be absent or rare in
American popular culture, e.g. “copacetic (satisfactory)”, are unlikely to be understood by most
BrE speakers.

An early factor in the evolution of American English was the need to name unfamiliar features of
the landscape, flora, and fauna of the New World. One source for such words was the rich, but
often difficult (for English speakers) vocabulary of the Native Americans. Captain John Smith,
in trying to transcribe the Algonquian word meaning “he scratches with his hands”–arakun—
wrote rahougcum (1608). This is the source of our now-familiar word, raccoon. Other words
derived from Native American languages include: caucus (possibly from Algonkin cau’-cau-
as’u, used by Captain John Smith, who spelled it “Caw-cawaassough”), hickory (< pohickery),
hominy, moccasin, moose, muskrat (< muskwessu), opossum, papoose, pecan, persimmon, pone,
powwow, skunk, squash (< asquutasquash), squaw, succotash (from Narragansett msiquatash),
terrapin, toboggan, tomahawk, totem, wigwam, and woodchuck(< otchek).

Earlier Spanish and Portuguese explorers, encountering Native Americans in the West Indies,
Mexico, and Central and South American, had provided forms that became the English words
barbecue (<Arawak barbacoa, “a raised platform of sticks”), cannibal, canoe (<Arawak canoa),
chocolate (<Nahuatl chocolátl), maize (<Arawak marisi), potato, tomato (<Nahuatl tomatl), and
savannah. Although it enters the language somewhat later (ca. 1825), the word coyote also
derives from the Nahuatl word coyotl (via Spanish).

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pronounciation-differences-between-american-and-british/