British and American English

K. Kaviarasu, M.A., M.Phil.,
Assistant Professor of English,
Bishop Heber College (Autonomous),
Tiruchirappalli – 620 017.
kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com

Bringing English to
America.
 Early 1600‟s:

The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrive in North America as part
of the British colonization movement.
They bring English, now an “emigrant language,” to native North
Americans; in addition, the settlers and their families continue to speak
their own native tongue.
 The process of an emigrant language‟s evolution:
1) The language evolves from a specific homeland language.
2) The emigrant language begins to change course because of
lack of direct contact with the homeland.
3) The emigrant language continues to evolve away from
the homeland, gradually creating a new dialect.
4) The homeland dialect continues to evolve as well, diverging
further away from the emigrant dialect of the language.
kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com 2

over the next 400 years…


Between the end of the 17th century and the 21st century, many gradual
changes to the form of the English language have taken place under this
process.
 The process caused the Americans and the British to diverge so drastically
in terms of the forms of their languages that they are now considered two
separate English language dialects.

 1806 – Noah Webster publishes his first dictionary, A Compendious
Dictionary of the English Language.

Up until this time, English dictionaries included strictly British
vocabulary, spellings, and pronunciations.

Webster was convinced that an outline of a common,
American, national language would unify his country.

Webster‟s Dictionaries.


1828 –publishes American Dictionary of the English Language
 1890 – Merriam brothers {who received the rights to Webster‟s
dictionaries after his death} publish Webster’s First International
Dictionary, an all-encompassing look at the English language
 Noah Webster‟s intentions?
To prove that Americans spoke a different dialect than the
British {but a dialect that was in no way inferior – he believed it
deserved a unique documentation of its own trends}
 Merriam‟s intentions?
"The purpose of the dictionary is to provide a record of the
language as it is used by educated people have been speaking
and writing it all their lives.“
-- H. Bosley Woolf {Merriam's editorial director}

British English: history.

 West-Germanic
 A “borrowing language” – enriched by Anglo-Saxon,
Scandinavian, and Norman influences
 Evolved over many centuries; experienced many
shifts/changes
 Spread of British English is attributed to trade and
commerce throughout the established British Empire


Which is correct?

 American and British English are taught in English
as a foreign language programs
 No one version is "correct"
 RULE: be consistent in your usage
 The largest difference is probably in the choice of
vocabulary and pronunciation


British v American English
 American English
 British English (BrE) is

(AmE) is the form of the form of English used
English used in the in the United Kingdom.
United States. It It includes all English
dialects used within the
includes all English United Kingdom.
dialects used within the
 In the United Kingdom,
United States of Received Pronunciation
America. (RP) is considered
 General American "standard“
(GA) is considered to be  also called the Queen's
"standard" or English and BBC
"accentless" English

Visible Changes?

 There are quite a few noticeable differences between the British
English dialect and the evolved dialect of American English.
These are the ones we will cover:

Spelling
Pronunciation {accent}
Pronunciation {affixes}
Pronunciation {stress}
Grammar
Vocabulary






 English spelling was standardized after the
publishing of influential dictionaries
 British-Samuel Johnson‟s A Dictionary of the
English Language (1755)

 American- Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the
English Language (1828)



 A Dictionary of the English Language
aks. Johnson's Dictionary (1755)
 The pre-eminent English dictionary before the

OED
 “one of the greatest single achievements of

scholarship”
 Deduce to the origin

 Illustrate with literary quotations

 Provide Multiple definitions

 With illustrations kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com 11


A Compendious Dictionary of the English
Language (1806)
 Introducing American spelling and words
 American Dictionary of the English Language
(1828)
 Expanding to 70,000 entries
 Spelling reform



 Greek Spelling: -our/-or; -se/-ce; -re/-er
 Latin-derived Spelling: -ise/-ize; -yse/-yze; -
ogue/-og
 Doubled Consonants: -ll
 Dropped “e”


Spelling
 British English   American English

 Centre  Center
 Theatre  Theater
 Realise  Realize
 Catalogue  Catalog
 Programme  Program
 Travelled  Traveled
 Neighbour  Neighbor
 Grey  Gray
 Plough  Plow
 To practise  To practice
 Practise  Practice
 cheque  Check


Spelling.
AMERICAN – “-or”
Color 
BRITISH – “-our”
Colour
Honor Honour
Favorite favourite

AMERICAN – “-ze” BRITISH – “-se”
Analyze Analyse
Criticize Criticise
Memorize Memorise

AMERICAN – “-ll” BRITISH – “-l”
Enrollment Enrolment
Fulfill Fulfil
Skillful skilful

Spelling, continued.

AMERICAN – “-er” BRITISH – “-re”
Center Centre
Meter Metre
Theater theatre

AMERICAN – “-og” BRITISH – “-ogue”
Analog Analogue
Catalog Catalogue
Dialog Dialogue

AMERICAN – “-ck” or “-k” BRITISH – “-que”
Bank Banque
Check Cheque

AMERICAN – “-e”
Encyclopedia
 BRITISH – “-ae” or “-oe”
Encyclopaedia
Maneuver Manoeuvre
Medieval Mediaeval

AMERICAN – “-dg” “-g” “-gu” BRITISH – “-dge” “-ge” “-gue”
Aging Ageing
Argument Arguement
Judgment Judgement

AMERICAN – “-ense” BRITISH – “-ence”
License Licence
Defense Defence


Other word-specific differences --

AMERICAN BRITISH
Jewelry Jewellry
Draft Draught
Pajamas Pyjamas
Plow Plough
Program Programme
Tire Tyre


Spelling {last one!}.

Base words that end in L normally double the L in
British English when a suffix is added.
BASE WORD AMERICAN BRITISH
Counsel Counseling Counselling
Equal Equaled Equalled
The letter can
Model Modeling Modelling double in American
Quarrel Quarreling Quarrelling as well – but ONLY IF
Signal Signaled Signalled the stress is on the
second syllable
Travel Traveling Travelling of the base word.

BASE AMERICA BRITISH
WORD N
Excel Excelling Excelling
Propel Propelling Propelling


PRONUNCIATION


 
The British accent was created by a mixture of the
Midland and Southern dialects of the Middle Ages.
 There are many sub-dialects and varying accents under
British English.
 American English was not so strongly influenced by the
accent as Australia or New Zealand, for example – the
Americas broke away from British control much earlier
and were distanced from direct speakers of the
language as a result.


 
British English = non-rhotic;
American English = rhotic

This means that “R” is only pronounced in British
English when it is immediately followed by a vowel
sound.

“R” in British English is either not pronounced or
replaced with a schwa



 -ary, -ery, -ory, -bury, -berry, -mony
When the syllable before these affixes is stressed, American and
British English pronounce these endings in a similar way:
/əri(ː)/
When it is unstressed, American English uses a full vowel rather
than a schwa while British English retains the reduced vowel or
elides it completely.
{i.e. “military” – American: /'mɪlɪtɛriː/ and British: /' ɪlɪtəriː/
m
or /'mɪlɪtriː/}
Exceptions, in which the full vowel is used in American English even
though the preceding syllable is stressed: library, primary, rosemary


 
Adverbs: -arily, -erily or -orily
British English speakers follow the American practice of shifting the stress to the
antepenultimate syllable {i.e. militarily is /ːm ɪlɪ'tɛrɪliː/ not /'mɪlɪtrɪliː/}
 -ile
When words end in an unstressed “-ile,” British English speakers pronounce them
with a full vowel: /aɪl/ while American speakers pronounce them with either a
reduced vowel /ɪl/ or a syllabic /l/ {i.e. in British English, “fertile” rhymes with
“fur tile” – in American English, it would rhyme with “turtle”}
examples of words this applies to:
mobile, fragile, sterile, missile, versatile, etc.
examples of exceptions to this difference:
reptile, exile, turnstile, senile, etc.
 -ine
When unstressed, this affix can be pronounced as /aɪn/ (like feline), /i(ː)n/ (like
morphine), or /ɪn/ (like medicine). Generally speaking, British English uses /aɪn/
most often while American English favors /in/ or /ɪn/ {i.e. crystalline}


There are words borrowed from French that feature stress
differences.
American first-syllable; British last-syllable:
address, mustache, cigarette, magazine
American 1st-syllable; British 2nd-syllable:
liaison, Renaissance
American 2nd-syllable; British last-syllable:
New Orleans



 Most two syllable verbs that end in –ate have first
syllable stress in American English and second-syllable
stress in British English (i.e. castrate, locate)
 Derived adjectives with the ending
-atory differ in both dialects; for British English, the
stress shifts to –at whereas American English will stress
the same syllable as the corresponding –ate verb (i.e.
regulatory, celebratory, laboratory)


Pronunciation
Differences

British English American English
 [o] in spot  [a:] in spot
 [a:] in fast  [ae] in fast
 [t‟] in better  [d] in better
 [r] – sometimes silent  [r] pronounced
everywhere
 [ɪ] in privacy  [aɪ] in privacy


American English
 BATH

 bath=trap in GenAm
 bath=palm=start in RP


Differences in spoken English
AE BE
dance [dæns] [da:ns]
not [nat] [not]
fast [fæst] [fa:st]
clerk [klэ:k] [kla:k]
class [klæs] [kla:s]

Grammar

The differences in American
and British grammar are as
small and few as holds true for
both versions of their lexicon.
Still, here are some of them:


Grammar.


VERBS
NOUNS morphology
In British English, collective  American -- "-ed"
nouns can take either British -- "-t"
singular or plural verb i.e. learned/learnt, dreamed/dreamt
forms, depending on  British English rarely use “gotten;” instead, “got”
whether the emphasis is on is much more common.
the body or the members  Past participles often vary:
within it. i.e. saw – American: sawed; British: sawn
i.e.“A committee was tenses
appointed.”  British English employs the present perfect to talk
“ The committee were about a recent event {i.e. “I’ve already eaten,” “I’ve
unable to agree.” just arrived home.”}
auxiliaries
 British English often uses “shall” and “shan’t”
American English
kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com uses “will” and “won’t” 31

Grammar.Possession

 There are two forms to express possession in English. --
"have" or "have got“
“Do you have a computer?" "Have you got a computer?" "She hasn‟t got
any hobbies." "She doesn‟t have any hobbies." "She has an interesting new
book." "She‟s got an interesting new book.“

 While both forms are correct (and accepted in both
British and American English), "have got" ("have you
got", "he hasn‟t got", etc.) is generally the preferred form
in British English while most speakers of American
English use the "have" ("do you have", "he doesn‟t have"
etc.)



Present Progressive (also known as Present Continuous)


There are some verbs in British English that cannot be
used in the Present Progressive while in American
English they can. Here are two examples:
 American English
 British English
 "I‟m liking this conversation more and
 "I like this conversation more and more.“
more.”

 "I‟m remembering this quite clearly."
 "I remember this quite clearly."


Adverbs
 instead of adverbs. Instead of
Americans tend to use adjectives
"That‟s really good" you might hear them say "That‟s real good" or
instead of "I‟m doing very well" they say "I‟m doing pretty good".

 British English  American English
 He did that really quickly.  He did that real quick.
 Let’s take things slowly.  Let’s take things slow.
 Her car drives more  Her car drives quicker.
quickly.


Plurals

 British English  American English

 types of accommodation  Accommodation
 types of food  Foods
 a lot of fruit  many fruits
 hairs
 strands of hair


Grammatical
Differences



 The past participle of the  is gotten
verb get is got He's gotten much better at
playing tennis.
 differences in
preposition use: 
 at the weekend  on the weekend
 Different from  Different than
 from 5 to 6  from 5 through 6

 Past Simple/Past
Participles
Burnt OR burned dreamt OR dreamed
irregular form is more regular form is more
common in Br. E. common to American
English.

Creation of American Lexicon.

From the beginning, Americans borrowed words from Native American
languages for unfamiliar objects {i.e. opossum, squash, moccasin}
They took many “loanwords” from other colonizing nations {i.e. cookie, kill,
and stoop from Dutch; levee , prairie, and gopher from French; barbecue,
canyon, and rodeo from Spanish}
British words were obviously borrowed, but often evolved to mean new things
in an American landscape {i.e. creek, barrens, trail, bluff, etc.}
With the development of the new continent, new words were necessarily
brought in to describe new things: split-level {in real estate}, carpetbagger
{in politics}, commuter {in transportation}, and a variety of vocabulary to
distinguish among professions.
Many words originated as American slang: hijacking, boost, jazz, etc.


Vocabulary.
AMERICAN BRITISH
American
& British 
Apartment
Argument
Flat
Row
English Carriage/coach Pram
sometimes Bathroom Loo
have Can Tin
Cookie Biscuit
different
Diaper Nappy
words for Elevator Lift
the same Eraser Rubber
things -- Flashlight Torch
Fries Chips
Gas Petrol
Guy kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com Bloke/chap 39

More Vocabulary.
AMERICAN 
BRITISH AMERICAN BRITISH
Highway Motorway Truck Lorry
Hood {of a car} Bonnet Trunk Boot
Jelly Jam Vacation Holiday
Kerosene Paraffin Windshield Windscreen
Lawyer Solicitor License Plate Number Plate
Line Queue Pacifier Dummy
Mail Post Parking lot Car park
Napkin Serviette Pharmacist Chemist
Nothing Nought Sidewalk Pavement
Period Full stop Soccer Football
Potato chips crisps Trash can Bin

More Vocabulary.

 speakers often use the
American and British English
same words but intend very different meaning with
them:
WORD AMERICAN BRITISH
Biscuit Dinner roll Cookie
Brew Beer Tea
Bureau Chest of drawers Writing table/desk
Casket Coffin Jewelry Box
First Floor Ground Floor “Second” Floor
To hire To employ To rent


Lexical Differences

British English American English
 Pardon?  Excuse me?
 Autumn  Fall
 Film  Movie
 Trousers  Pants
 Flat  Apartment
 Tin  Can
 Mobile phone  Cell phone
 Biscuit  Cookie
 lorry  truck


Quiz: What are the British
equivalents?

1. Q: Vocabulary „round trip' - I booked a round trip.
Return ticket
2. Q: Spelling 'check' - I wrote a check for the full
amount. cheque
3. Q: Spelling 'tire' - Do you know how to change a tire?
tyre
4. Q: Vocabulary 'subway' - I took the subway to work.
underground

5. Q: Spelling 'color' - Do you have this shirt in a
different color?
colour

6. Q:Vocabulary 'trunk' - Put your luggage in the
trunk.
Lorry


8. Q: Vocabulary 'flashlight' - The lights have gone
out. Where is the flashlight?
torch
9. Q: Expression with preposition 'Monday
through Friday' - He works Monday through
Friday
to
.
10. Q: Grammar 'seven hundred thirty' - eight
thousand seven hundred thirty
And thirty

12. Q: Vocabulary „gas' - I think we need some gas.
petrol kaviarasu.kk@gmail.com 44

13. Vocabulary call collect' - (on the telephone) I'd
like to call collect 'reverse the charges
14. Grammar 'this' - (on the telephone) Hello, is
this Peter? that

15. Past participle form - He's gotten more
difficult. got
17. Q: Vocabulary 'diaper' - Honey, can you
change the baby's diaper?
nappy
18. Q: Grammar 'committee meets' - The
committee meets tomorrow.
will meet

19. Q: Vocabulary 'chips' - I'm hungry. Let's stop
and get a bag of chips at the supermarket.
crisps


20. Q: Vocabulary 'intersection' - Take a left at the
second intersection. crossroads


21. Q: Vocabulary 'stand in line' - We had to stand
in line for three hours to get into the concert. queue
22. Q: Expression with preposition 'do over' - Can I
do that over? again
23. Q: Vocabulary 'garbage' - Why is there so much
garbage in here? rubbish

23. Q: Vocabulary 'rest room' - Excuse me, where is
the rest room? Public toilet

25. Q: Vocabulary 'vacation' - We went on a two
week vacation last month. holiday



http: // iteslj. org/v/e/ck-british-american.html

http://www.englisch-
hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/alle_words.htm


Thank you
and
Good bye!


British and American English

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