Differences between

British English and

American English
“England and America are two countries divided
by a common language.”
~George Bernard Shaw
How did this divergence occur?

• The Atlantic ocean served as a major

divide, allowing the two dialects to develop
• American English picked up words from
Native American languages as well as
from Dutch, Spanish, and French settlers
• Noah Webster decided to solidify and
standardize American English in his
dictionary
 Noah Webster
• Writer of the first American
dictionary in 1806
• Believed that Americans’ language
should reflect the way they spoke,
and be distinct from British English
• Came of age during the American
revolution, and therefore placed
great emphasis on America’s
cultural separation from England
• Simplified spellings of many words,
such as ploughplow
centrecenter colourcolor
• Added uniquely American words,
such as squash and chowder
1. Grammatical Differences
2. Differences in Spelling
3. Differences in Pronunciation
4. Lexical Differences
1.Grammatical
Differences
 Verb Phrase
AmE BrE

have have got

Do you have the time ? Have you got the time ?

I don´t. I haven´t.
 Conjugation
AmE : burn burned burned

BrE : burn burnt burnt

AmE : dream dreamed dreamed

BrE : dream dreamt dreamt

 Tenses

AmE sometimes uses the simple past where

BrE has the present perfect.

AmE BrE

I just ate I´ve just eaten

will / won´t shall / shan´t

 Noun Phrase
Some differences of word order
AmE BrE

Hudson River River Thames

a half hour half an hour

 Use of the article
AmE BrE

In the future In future

In the hospital In hospital

 Collective Nouns

AmE prefers collective nouns in the singular

whereas BrE allows also the plural

AmE BrE

The government is…. The government are…

 Clausal patterns…
…sometimes differ
AmE BrE

Come take a look Come and take a look

I asked that he go I asked him to go

 were / was
AmE prefers were to was

AmE BrE

I wish she were here. I wish she was here.

 Adverbials and prepositions
AmE BrE

I´ll go momentarily In a moment

real good really good
backward backwards
It´s twenty of four It´s twenty to four
It´s in back of the It´s behind the building
building
2.Differences in
Spelling
 Spelling
AmE BrE

center centre
color colour
tire tyre
mom, mommy mum, mummy
aluminum aluminium
3.Differences in
Pronunciation
 Pronunciation
- dance, chance
- data
- tune, duty
- bird, floor
 4. Lexical
Differences
 There are three distinctions:
• words that are only found in AmE
• words that are only found in BrE
• words that are established throughout
the world as part of World Standard
English (WSE)
 Words that reflect cultural differences,
and are not part of WSE
AmE BrE

Ivy League A-levels

Groundhog Day Giro
Revenue sharing VAT
 Words that are straightforward,
i.e. they have a single sense and a synonym
in the other variety
AmE BrE

checking account current account

station wagon estate car
 One WSE meaning and one or more
additional meaning(s) in AmE or BrE

caravan in both languages:

„group of travellers through
the desert“

but in the sense of „vehicle towed by a car“:

AmE BrE
caravan trailer
One meaning in WSE and a synonym in one
or the other of the two varieties

both have „pharmacy“

AmE BrE
drugstore chemist´s
 No meaning in WSE
AmE BrE

flyover flypast
 Effect of frequency

Words which are used in both varieties, but are

much more common in one of them:

AmE BrE

apartment flat
store shop
mail post
 Equivalent lexical items
AmE BrE

airplane aeroplane
baggage luggage
cookie biscuit
 AmE BrE

freedom fries chips

gasoline petrol
expressway motorway
first floor ground floor
subway underground
 BrE AmE

holiday vacation
racecourse racetrack
driving license driver´s license
prawn cocktail shrimp cocktail
jumper sweater, pullover
Word confusions with one meaning
American British
Gas Petrol
Truck Lorry
Bathroom Loo
Line Queue
Stove Hob
Napkins Serviettes
Eggplant Aubergine
Zuchinni Courgette
 Translate this sentence!
British English:

“I was waiting in queue for the loo before getting some

petrol for my lorry when I realized I left the hob on and the
aubergines were probably burning!”

American English:

“I was waiting in line for the bathroom before getting some

gas for my truck when I realized I left the stove on and the
eggplant was probably burning!”
 Word confusion with multiple
meanings
• Appetizer/Entree • Flashlight/Torch
• Bank Teller/Cashier • A Flirt/Tart
• French fries/Chips • Hood (car)/Bonnet
• Cigarette/Fag • Jello/Jelly
• Dessert/Pudding • Jelly/Jam
• Eraser/Rubber • Pants/Trousers
• Soccer/Football • Private school/Public
• Sweater/Jumper school
• Suspenders/Braces • Public School/State
• school
Underwear/Pants
• Undershirt/Vest
Potentially embarrassing situations:
“rubber”

Eraser Condom

“Excuse me, do you have a rubber?”

Potentially embarrasing situations”
“pants”

underwear trousers

“ My other jeans ripped, so I’ve been wearing these

pants for the past three days!”
 Potentially confusing situations
*If a British person
Asks you about football…
…they mean soccer
Asks you bring pudding…
…they mean dessert
Puts on a jumper…
…they mean a sweater
Wears braces….
…wears suspenders
Wears suspenders…
…wears garters
 Other confusing situations…
• Ask for chips in England, and you’ll get
French Fries, not potato “crisps”
• Tell a British friend to pick up some jelly at
the store, and they’ll bring home gelatin
(Jell-o) not jam
 A note on schooling
In the US, a public In England, a public
school is government school requires
funded tutition

In the US, a private In England, a state

school requires tuition school is government
funded
 Is there really a language barrier?

In his history of the Second World War, Winston Churchill

records that differences in the interpretation of the verb
"to table" caused an argument between British and
American planners. The British wanted a matter tabled
immediately because it was important, and the
Americans insisted it should not be tabled at all because
it was important. In British English, the term means "to
discuss now" (the issue is brought to the table), whereas
in American English it means "to defer" (the issue is left
on the table).