S S H

E I TI
N C R
E B AN
E R N I C
F E E R
I F E
D TW AM
E
B D IS H
N
A GL
E N
BRITISH ENGLISH VERSUS AMERICAN ENGLISH

There are some clear differences

between American English and
British English.
Do some brainstorming together and
write down as many words in each
category as you can think of.
 Vocabulary

Pronunciation
Differences between
British and
American variety
Spelling

Grammar
Here are some examples of differences in vocabulary:

British English American English

pants trousers
football soccer
Mobile phone Cell phone
handbag purse
I suppose I Guess
petrol gas
cooker stove
rubber eraser
condom Rubber (slang)
flat apartment
British English American English
Lift elevator
mad angry
crazy mad
(Patato) chips Fries or crisps (Nor:
chips)
Biscuit cookie
Rubbish garbage, trash
 PRONUNCIATION

Use Cambridge Dictionary and find out

what the pronunciation f the words from
exercise 4 (pronunciation) is.

What are the most obvious pronunciation

differences?
Pronunciation Pronunciation
differences differences

The pronunciation of the letter

R in words like: Your, car, The pronunciation of O/A in
mother, longer, after, water, words like: hot, pot, dog, off
paper

The pronunciation of the letter /JU:/ becomes /U:/ in words

A/Æ in words like: can´t, after, like: student, news, tune
last, ask, laugh, dance, bath.

The pronunciation of T/D in

words like: butter, better, letter,
water, bottle
EXERCISE 6 ON PAGE 43

Try pronouncing these sentences with a

partner and reflect on the differences
between American and British
pronunciation.
Exercise 4 (Spelling) on page 42 provides a list
of words spelled in American English. Try to
find in one online dictionary of your choice
the American spelling of these words.
Many Norwegian students speak English with an
American accent and use American vocabulary,
but use British spelling and writting. Can you
spot the combination of British and American
English in these sentences?

1. This is my favourite brand of fries.

2. What is the colour of your new

cellphone?
Exercise 5 d on page 42
Grammar differences ex 7 on page 43

If time exercise 8 on page 43

Homework for next Monday:

Ex 9 on page 43- instead of a note you have to write a
paragraph.
 WORK TO DO

Do exercise 5, 7 and 8 at page 42 and 43

Homework: Exercise 9 at page 43

Sources

Balsvik, Lilian, Øyvind Bratberg, Stephen Henry, Julia Kagge and Rikke Pihlstrøm. Targets. Oslo:
Aschehoug, 2015.

Differences in vocabulary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_words_not
_widely_used_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
List_of_words_having_different_meanings_in_Ame
rican_and_British_English
b Differerences in spelling:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_En
glish_spelling_differences
c Differences in pronunciation:
For further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_
differences
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/spelling.htm
http://esl.about.com/od/toeflieltscambridge/a/dif_ambrit.htm
http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/usgbintr.html
http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?docid=152820