British English vs American English

British English vs. American English

Introduction English is today the dominant international language in most parts of the world. It is spoken by an estimated 300-400 million people as a native language and by an estimated two billion people as a second language. It is by far the most widely taught and understood language in the world. The use of English in so many parts of the world by so many people has inevitably produced a number of national and regional variations. For historical and political reasons, the most commonly used variations are British and American English. These variations should not be understood as unvaryingly homogeneous dialects, as many regional differences can be observed within them. Nevertheless, one may say that there is a standard version of British English and a standard version of American English. Of course, it should be pointed out that there are more similarities than differences between them. After all, notwithstanding all the differences, English remains one and the same language. Nevertheless, there are in some cases important differences, which may at times cause confusion or misunderstandings even between native speakers. The most important of them include differences in accent, pronunciation, spelling, lexis, and grammar. 

Teaching British English or American English’ Students will often ask, ‘Which is better’?, ‘Which is more correct’?, ‘Which is easier’?. Since this is a matter of personal viewpoint, the answer they get each time depends on the person who gives it. British and American people and, consequently, teachers often tend to praise their respective dialects as ‘better’, ‘more correct’, ‘more polite’, ‘clearer’, ‘simpler’, ‘more prestigious’, and so on. Non-native speakers teaching English may share the views of either side depending on which dialect they have been exposed to, or they may have a very personal impression, which may not be very different from that of a student, or may have no opinion at all. In every case, a biased answer implies that the students should use this or that dialect. Such an attitude ignores the scientific fact that no language or dialect can be regarded as better that another and that each is capable of expressing the ideas and feelings of its speakers. Instead of trying to impose their personal views on the students, teachers should leave it up to them to decide which dialect they prefer to use. This is, of course, not always easy, as students are often primarily exposed to one of them or they lack the knowledge and experience required to be able to distinguish between the two. Students, nevertheless, often come across things they have been taught differently, and it is only natural for them to wonder. The teacher, then, should be able to explain the differences without forcing the students to adopt one or the other as more correct or more proper, but simply saying that this is a matter of choice. It should be pointed out, however, that, whatever their choice is, they should stick to it as consistently as possible. Conclusion Learning British or American English consistently requires that a student have only British or only American teachers and only British or only American course books. This is rarely the case. In the course of their study, students usually have both British and American teachers and very often teachers from other countries as well, both native and non-native speakers. It is, therefore, more likely that a student will get an idea of many different variations and develop some sort of international English. This is not necessarily a drawback, since English does have many variations but at the same time remains a consistent language. To the extent that a student can adopt one variation consistently, this might help make a good impression, but what is far more important is for a student to achieve fluency and accuracy in English, which is one global language regardless of its diversities.

British English vs American English

There are several differences between British English and American English. The two forms of English differ in ways such as grammar, vocabulary usage and meaning, and spelling. 

There are many ways that British and American English differ in grammatical means. Generally both forms of grammar are accepted in American English, however in British English the American English version is often considered incorrect. The biggest differences in grammar occur with possession and the present perfect form. An example of the difference in possession between British and American English would be, ‘Have you got money’’ The British often use the word ‘got’ when dealing with possession, while in American English they would more commonly say something such as, ‘Do you have money’? American English often uses ‘do you have’ instead of ‘have you got’. An example for the difference in present perfect form would be, in British English ‘I have lost my wallet’, while in American English it would more commonly be ‘I lost my wallet.’ (ABOUT) 

Another major difference between British and American English is the meaning or use of vocabulary words. For example, in British English ‘trousers’ are ‘pants’ in American English. ‘Pants’ in British English is underwear. (ABOUT)

The other major difference between British and American English is the spelling. There are many words which have the same meaning and pronunciation in both British and American English, yet vary in spelling. There are several ways in which the spelling difference between the two forms of English occur, which are listed below along with an example of both the British and American spelling for the word. 

British English American English

British and American English also differ in spelling for verbs. For example when attaching ‘ing’ to a verb that ends with ‘l’, in British English you will add an extra ‘l’ while in American English you will generally not add an extra ‘l’. For example the word travel in British English would become ‘travelling’, while in American English it would become ‘traveling’. Another example would be the British English ‘ing’ form of signal would be ‘signalling’ while in American English it would simply be, ‘signaling’. (Jones)

There are also differences in verbs in the past simple form. Often when Americans add ‘ed’ to the end of verbs the British add ‘t’ to the end. For example, to dream in American English becomes ‘dreamed’ while in British English it becomes ‘dreamt’. Another difference is that when Americans use the base form of a verb, they often drop the ‘to’, while the British will drop the ‘to’ and add an ‘ed’ to the end. For example, to fit in American English becomes ‘fit’ while in British English it becomes ‘fitted’. The final difference between verbs deals with irregular verbs in the past simple. In British English they will add ‘ed’ to the end of the verb, while in American English they will not. For example, to light in American English will become ‘lit’ while in British English it becomes ‘lighted’. (Jones)

In conclusion, there are many differences between British English and American English. The most obvious differences are found in certain grammatical rules, vocabulary usage and meaning, and spelling. 

British vs. American English

Upon each of my travels outside the United States boundaries, I have been confronted with the notion that I do not speak English, but American. I find this distinction made supremely by Europeans, who characteristically learn British English. While it is easy to highlight certain differences in speech patterns and structure, I believe the differences between British English and its American counterpart, to be deeply rooted in the cultural distinctions between the Americans and the British dating back to the North American struggles with identity as British, or the distinction as Americans in the 1700s. For the teacher of English as a foreign language, it is equally important to understand the cultural characteristics of your students, as it is the culture of the language you aim to teach.

There is general agreement that there is no ‘correct’  version of English, but that consistency with a particular version is important when teaching the language (ESL Library Weekly). While consistency is paramount in any sort of education, it would be a disservice to English language learners (ELL) to teach in a mixed British-American style, but also to avoid noting similarities and dissimilarities between the two. For example, in American English, British grammar is acceptable, and sometimes preferable, but it is wise to instruct the students that the reverse is often untrue. The ESL Library Weekly uses the following example to illustrate an aspect of the ‘principal differences’ between these versions of English:

British English: American English: I’ve lost my key. I lost my key.

‘...What is important...is that language educators learn to cross...artificial boundaries that divide us and recognize the common concerns, themes, and issues that unite us’ (Tedick). To an American, either form of above example is correct. To the British, the American version is grammatically incorrect. However, there are two important ideas at play here for both the student and teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL). For the foreign language student, the biggest question is usually, ‘will I be understood’? In this particular case, whether or not the British accept the grammar rules followed in the example above, the message can be clearly understood? there is a key missing. This certainly sounds simple, but the complexity of differences grows when adding differences between speaking and writing, which can almost be considered different languages, and a plethora of words with divergent meanings. KryssTal offers many examples of words such as this. Sometimes, given the context of a sentence, in combination with body language, the same word, with different meanings in the varied versions of English can be understood. Examples include jam (UK) and jelly (US), biscuit (UK) and cookie (US) (KryssTal). However, words such as fag, homely, and rubber, have very different meanings in both languages, and could be considered very offensive. In England for example, it would appropriate to ask a 7 year old for a ?rubber?; to American ears however, a ?condom? was requested from the 7 year old, which makes the inquiry remarkably inappropriate. So while there may not be a ?correct? (ESL Library Weekly) version of ?Standard English?, teaching authentic language usage specific to the version of English learned is a necessity, as is the student’s diligence in learning the culture of the language. According to Smith ?...a word or phrase in your own language, with all its connotations, conveys so much more than a dry definition? thus, making it ?futile? to try and offer exact definitions between British and American English. Thus, the knowledge of culture, again, becomes paramount to using any language.

George Bernard Shaw said: ‘The British and Americans are divided by a common language’ (KryssTal). For the culturally conscience teacher, why is it that Americans accept most of the British grammar rules as correct forms of standard American English, but have their own separate set of rules as well? This is where the historical struggle for American identity becomes an important part of not only learning American English, but understanding the American culture. Despite roughly 3,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean (about 1,800 km I believe, but let us remember another cultural difference, Americans don’t use the metric system!) between the former Mother Country and her insolent North American colonies, it took almost two hundred years before Americans finally recognized themselves as such. During the colonization of North America, while the English settlers certainly dominated, the people here were influenced by many other factors both culturally and linguistically. The English citizens brought their language, but so too did the Irish, Scots, and Scots- Irish that came as well, and those were just the English speaking peoples. Americans, as they became in culture and language, existed as a blend of the old with the experiences of the new. This in turn morphed the English language into American. Language is much more than a set of words and rules, language both creates and is created by the culture using it. If the development of language is ‘an evolving process’, just as learning a language is, then it is important to recognize what Smith calls the ‘factors of language change...inheritance, innovation, and isolation...’ It is the effect of these processes over the last 400 years that gave rise to the differences between American and British? (Smith). American English is often considered to be ‘improper British English’ but it is not.

It is the language of a people that in general, were willing to expatriate themselves from England in hopes of finding in America greater freedoms of opportunity not found in their homeland. The language too, expresses that notion. While, Americans accept British grammar, we too have created our own phraseology and grammar rules as uniquely American as the development of the nation. Hence, the divide between the British and Americans, actually quite similar in culture, truly can be found in the common language we share as described by George Bernard Shaw. 

Grasp the subject, the words will follow. To learn a language is not to memorize rules and words, it is to embrace another culture, another system of beliefs and attitudes. Even when the words are the same, their usage can exist on different plains. The differences between British and American English are many, but they are both versions of the same language: It is up to the teacher of language to help students make the distinctions. 

Speaking a second language is like having a second soul.

British English vs American English

1.Introduction

When teaching English worldwide, one has to consider that there are two major dialects: The British (BrE) and the North American (AmE). A decision should be made by any responsible teacher as to which he or she teaches. A reason to adopt the AmE form could be teaching students for tourism jobs, because of the larger number of US- American tourists there are compared to British ones, while the BrE dialect might be preferable for business students because it is still considered an advantage in some work areas.

In the following article we will go through some of the most common differences. However, the interested reader should consult the sources indicated in the annex when willing to obtain a capacity of consistent teaching of either of the two.

2.Grammar

Apart from "drillable" differences such as irregular versus regular past tenses of verbs - which can be overcome by sheer learning - BrE and AmE differ significantly in the use of some verbs (example below: ?to get?) and in the use of some tenses (example below: the past simple versus the present perfect).

In AmE, the past participle of "to get" can either be "got" or "gotten". Thus, a distinction is possible between "She has got two children." and "She has gotten a new child." (the latter meaning the recent birth of another baby). In BrE, "gotten" is not used commonly.

While in BrE, events in the recent past are told using the present perfect and conjunctions like "already" or "yet", in AmE there is a distinction between talking about facts (using the present perfect) and talking about expectations (using the past simple). An example is "Have you done your homework yet?" (BrE) versus "Did you do your homework yet?"(AmE).

3.Spelling

The main difference between BrE and AmE spelling results from the influence of Noah Webster’s "American Dictionary of the English Language", published in 1825, in which he tried to reduce the influence of "French" spelling in modern English. Thus, words ending on -re in BrE are commonly spelled -er in AmE ("fibre" versus "fiber"). The same applies for -our versus -or ("harbour" vs. "harbor") and for AmE "simplifications" of "ae" and "oe" to "e" ("leukaemia" versus "leukemia"; "diarrhoea" versus "diarrhea").

Other "systematical" differences include the hyphenation of compound words in BrE where this phenomenon does not exist in AmE ("counter- attack" versus "counterattack") or the doubling of final consonants when using suffixes ("travelled" versus "traveled"). However, there are many miscellaneous spelling differences that have to be learned and taught apart.

4.Pronunciation

Until recently, the accent of educated southeast English people - the so-called "Received Pronunciation" - was considered to be the most correct and preferable pronunciation, and was taught around the world outside the USA. Professional success was often linked to having or not having an RP accent, e.g. the BBC hired only RP speakers until the late sixties. However, this has changed in the last years, so today it is no longer strictly necessary to have an RP accent to obtain a successful career. But many people still consider it the preferred accent and might be willing to being taught that way.

The pronunciation considered "accent-free" in the USA is the one prevailing in the Midwest states like Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois, called "General American". It differs from RP mainly in being "rhotic", i.e. always pronouncing the "r" and not only if it comes immediately before a vowel as in the "non-rhotic" RP, in having a more open pronunciation of vowels and in some consonant pronunciation changes like "flapping", i.e. the pronunciation of "t" and "d" as an alveolar flap.

Transatlantic Translations

Winston Churchill once said of America and Great Britain, “We are separated by a common language.” He was right. People in these countries both claim to speak English, while insisting the other doesn’t. When you think about it, it’s surprising. Most of the British colonists that crossed the Atlantic spoke perfectly good Elizabethan English. So what happened? One explanation may be that the early Americans wanted so badly to be different from their European predecessors that they went out of their way to stake whatever claim they could on the language. America’s second president, John Adams, even said, “As the people through this extensive country will speak English, their advantages for polishing their language will be great, and vastly superior to what the people of England ever enjoyed.”

Regardless of the historical reason, the differences between the languages are staggering, but not so much that they defy at least some classification. There are three main categorical differences between American and British English: Word choice differences, spelling differences, and differences that stem from nonlinguistic sources.

Most of the best known differences between the dialects comes from different words used to identify the same things. For example, Americans refer to the storage area in the rear of a car as a “trunk” because it resembles a traditional piece of luggage in size and function. The British refer to this area as a “boot” because, when the car is anthropomorphized, the storage area is at the opposite end of the car as the proverbial brain (engine). Two definitions that each make sense, yet don’t seem to have any immediate connection to each other. It’s this kind of word choice that makes up the bulk of the difference between American and British English. There are dozens of other examples, for further reading, there is a handy translation program that can be found for free at http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blbritam.htm. Spelling can be defined as a visual representation of pronunciation. Since pronunciation varies in both countries, it’s stands to reason that the rules of spelling would as well. One characteristic of British English is that more emphasis is placed on vowels. A written example of this is the vowel strong syllable -or in American English that expands to -our in British English in words like color/colour honor/honour. Other spelling differences result from history. For example, the American word “center” is spelled centre in England. This is a leftover piece of Middle English from the days of Geoffrey Chaucer when the rules of spelling hadn’t yet been codified.

It’s interesting to note that these British spelling differences are starting to be phased out of use thanks to spell checkers. Since the programs are written in the US, they don’t recognize the British spellings. It will be fascinating to see if the British spelling style survives another 20 years.

Different dialects of English are not the only differences between the US and UK. Other cultural discrepancies can result in even more linguistic issues. For example, England uses the metric system of measurement, the US does not. As a result, many British texts make no sense to Americans. If a recipe calls for 500 grams of sugar, many Americans would have no idea what that means. Add to the fact that even if the measurement unit “cup” is used, equals two different amounts of liquid. Another example is the twenty four hour clock, Americans with no military or international background wouldn’t know what a clock reading 17:00 meant. These are cultural differences that have no connection to language, yet can create a thick language barrier.

British and American English are undeniably different. However, those differences are not that serious when you think about it. The alphabet, grammar, and most of the phonics are the same. The only things worth worrying about are the distinctive British accent and difference in nouns. That makes American English and British English no different than any other two regional dialects (aside from the thousands of miles of ocean that separate them). That’s how EFL teachers should approach it. If the students have a solid foundation in the language, they should be able to adapt to any dialect with only a minimum of extra preparation.

British English Vs American English

The distinction between British English and American English came about in the seventeenth century after British colonialist settled in North America. Over the years, influences from Irish, Scottish, Spanish and French immigrants amongst many, have led to what is now known as modern American English. There are variations in pronunciation and intonation within American English, most notably between northern and southern states; however in its written form it is highly standardized. The Midwest accent as it is vaguely termed is most widely used in television and in most media. This has largely come to be accepted as mainstream American English, and is what most foreign language speakers come to know through Hollywood broadcasts and multimedia around the world. 

British English in its oral form is more difficult to standardize and comprehend, as the development of local variations and dialects started a lot earlier in history. This makes it difficult for foreign language speakers and native English speakers alike to understand the variations from area to area. Television English or the Queen’s English as it has been coined has become accepted as the mainstream dialect in the United Kingdom. Amusingly however, it is said that this dialect does not actually trace back to any group of people other than those in the British media and the Queen. For academic purposes, this is the version of British English that is normally taught to foreign language speakers.

Depending on where you are teaching in the world, students will have their preference as to which version they would like to learn. Countries in South and Central America generally sway towards American English due to their proximity to the United States. Similarly, countries in Europe tend to prefer British English as most dealings within Europe, especially in the European Union, tend to be in British English. Other areas such as in Asia and Africa tend a little more towards American English; however it largely depends on the school and the individual students as to which version is taught.

The variation between the two versions is noticeable in both its written and oral forms. In its written form there are many obvious differences such as the use of ‘ise’ and ‘ize’ in words like standardise /standardize or the ‘our’ and ‘or’ in words like ‘flavour / flavor’.

The way the two dialects sound is also very different and can be confusing to non native English speakers. An example of this is the pronunciation of words like dance and trance. In American English, ‘dance’ and ‘trance’ both rhyme with the word ‘ants’; as appose to British English where the two words sound closer to the word ‘cars’. Sentence structures can also vary between the two dialects such as in the use of the present perfect tense. In British English one would say ‘I’ve coloured my hair’ however in American English one might say ‘I colored my hair’ and still be correct.

For all practical purposes it is important for the teacher to be aware of the students needs when teaching either American English or British English. It is a good idea that students are exposed to all kinds of English, both American and British, although it is important to be consistent in which version is taught in the class. This can be ensured by taken practical measures like adjusting the spell check on your computer so your lesson plans are consistent. 

The End!!!!!!

Sources – I read an article from a website called about.com and an article on wikipedia. I have hyperlinked these two articles in as my references. Nothing was actually copied directly. I just read the two articles, spoke to American and British friends of mine and wrote my findings.