British and American English

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This article examines the differences between British and American English in the areas of vocabulary, spelling and phonology. In particular, it compares standard British (also known as Received Pronunciation, or RP) and American speech of no particular dialect. Lexical differences between British and American English are, for the most part, common to all dialects of American English; for the purposes of phonology and phonetics, this article uses Midland American English (usually perceived to be the least marked American dialect) as an object of comparison.

American and British English both diverged from a common ancestor, and the evolution of each language is tied to social and cultural factors in each land. As an example, the conservatism of speakers in the American South has preserved many of the phonological features of 18th-century British English. This means that upper-class BrE speakers today (who are mistakenly perceived to be very culturally conservative) are actually more innovative, linguistically, than English speakers in today's American South. It is also possible to see a certain amount of Americanization in the British English of the last 50 years. This influence is not entirely one-directional, though, as, for instance, the previously BrE 'flat' for 'apartment' has gained in usage among American twentysomethings.

Vocabulary

Lexical differences are:

British American
aerodrome [mostly obsolete] airport
(aero)plane airplane
aeroport [obsolete] airport
autumn autumn/fall
barrister [courtroom representation] lawyer
beetroot beet
bonnet hood
boot car trunk
braces suspenders
(round) brackets parentheses
car-park parking lot
chips (French/french) fries [1]
cockerel/cock rooster
(potato) crisps (potato) chips
curtains drapes/draperies/curtains
drawing room [mostly obsolete: class connotations] living room
dustbin trash can/garbage can
dustman garbage collector/garbageman
estate car station wagon
film movie [2]
flat flat/apartment[3]
(Association) football soccer
lift elevator
full stop period
gnat [rare] mosquito
knickers panties
lorry/truck[4] truck
nappy diaper
off-licence liquor store
pants/underpants underwear/underpants
pavement sidewalk
petrol(eum) gasoline/gas
railway railway/railroad
road road/pavement
rubber[5] eraser
rug blanket
saloon sedan
solicitor [mainly deskwork; cf barrister] lawyer
spanner wrench
subway pedestrian tunnel
swede (vegetable) turnip or rutabaga, depending on region
sweets candy
sweetshop candy store
tarmac(adam) tar
tea [sometimes] supper, dinner
tiffin[6] lunch, luncheon
tin can
tomato sauce, ketchup ketchup[7]
torch [with a battery] flashlight
trousers trousers/pants
underground subway
vegetable marrow squash
wallet pocket-book
windscreen windshield
wing fender
(unofficially zéd) Z zêe

Usage

  • The expression 'I guess', common in AmE, is usually replaced in BrE by 'I reckon' or 'I think'.
  • In British, one goes 'to hospital' or 'to university'; in American, one goes 'to the hospital' or 'to the university'. However, one goes 'to college' in both.
  • American English generally prefers the singular for collective nouns: 'the government is considering' where British has 'the government are...'. Thus, while 'the United States is topping the medals table', 'England are losing another Test Match'.

Spelling

There are a number of spelling differences, some systemic (most notably in suffixes), and others in individual words.

Suffixes

The most striking differences between the spelling of AmE and BrE are in these suffixes (the accents show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes):

British - American -
-ence defénce -ense defénse
lîcence noun[8] lîcense
offénce offénse[9]
l + l + suffix dîalling -l + suffix dîaling
trávelled tráveled
màrvellous màrvelous[10]
-l fulfíl -ll fulfíll
enrôl enrôll
instål inståll
instíl instíll
-ógue cátalogue -óg cátalog
dîalogue dîalog
démagogue démagog
-our clámour -or clámor
còlour còlor
fâvour fâvor
flâvour flâvor
harbour harbor
hónour hónor
lâbour lâbor
ráncour ráncor
(Many words, however, have -or in both: dóctor, asséssor, sqùalor.)
-p + suffix kídnapping -pp + suffix kídnáping
wörshípped wörshíped
-re céntre -er cénter
mêtre length mêter
manoeûvre maneûver (also no o)
ôchre (ch as k) ôcher (ch as k)
scéptre scépter
thêatre thêater
(But in both, mêter machine, not distance, eûchre *yûker)
-tt + suffix carburétted -t + suffix carburéted

-ise and -ize

Spellings with -ise are common in British English, but -ize has been for centuries the standard spelling of Oxford University Press (in contrast to Cambridge UP which uses -ise) and there is some evidence to suggest that the -ise variant predominated in the UK only after 1945; thus, a spelling such as realize is not a good example of an 'American' spelling. The typical 'British' spelling reflects the French spelling from which these words were borrowed, though many originally came from Greek -ιζειν (which used z) via Latin. Some words, such as advertise, can supposedly only be spelt with s regardless of which side of the Atlantic they are used; however, spellings such as advertize are readily found nowadays.

ae and oe become e

In Latin and Greek words where British has ae or oe, AmE usually has a solitary e: aesthétic becomes esthétic and foêtus becomes fêtus.

Other spellings

Other individual spelling variations are:

British American
ádze ádz
alumínium alûminum[11]
ánalyse ánalyze
áxe áx
chéque money chéck all meanings
connéxion/connéction connéction only (cf. compléxion in both)
côsy côzy
diaérisis (both *dî-érisis) diérisis
dràught cold, net, liquids, game, horse dráft all meanings
fíllet fílet
furŏrê fûrŏr[12]
grèy grây
jeŵellery jeŵelry
júdgement júdgment
largésse can also be largéss
môuld môld
moustàche mústache[13]
múm mother mòm
ómelette ómelet
páralyse páralyze
plòugh plòw
práctíse verb (BrE noun is práctíce) práctíce: AmE uses only práctíce, reflecting the pronunciation (not -îse/-îze).
prôgramme arts[14] prógram
pyjàmas pajàmas
refléxion/refléction refléction only (cf. compléxion in both)
roûble rûble
scéptical sképtical[15]
skílful skíllful
súlphur, súlphate, súlphide súlfur, súlfate, súlfide
tŷre car tîre car, tired
wílful wíllful

Also: dôve is an American alternative to dîved as past tense of dîve, with the same spelling as the bird dòve; matinée (mátinèe) normally has a written é accent in BrE but no accent in AmE.

Pronunciation

The pronunciations discussed here are standard British (also called Received Pronunciation), which is associated with London and the Home Counties, and General American, heard in much of the United States and Canada.

Postvocalic r

Most strikingly, ‘postvocalic’ r, that is to say r after a vowel and in the same syllable, is silent in BrE, but pronounced in AmE, in words like fàrm, càrve, cürve, swërve, fïrst, nŏrth, cŏrd, bïrth, ëarth. For some speakers of both, it is heard finally before a vowel in the next word: 'My car isn't ready' ('rizzent') and even an invisible r can be heard: 'relations between China(r)and Russia'; this however is less common in BrE than it used to be.

An r between two vowels can have an effect on the first vowel: márry can sound like Mãry. The e in véry can sound like a stressed schwa. BrE ór is AmE ŏr: BrE órifice, órigin, fóreign, AmE ŏrifice, ŏrigin, fŏreign.

A word like móral can in AmE sound like *mŏrrl. BrE úr is AmE ür: BrE coúrage, cúrrency AmE coürage, cürrency and BrE òr is similarly altered: BrE wòrry AmE wörry.

a

BrE à is very often in AmE a long á: cán’t, lást, fást, hálf, ráther, láther. But not in fàther, Coloràdo, Chicàgo (Sh-), pajàmas (BrE pyjàmas) nor before r: fàrm, stàrve nor before -lm: càlm, pàlm, bàlm. And in some place names where BrE has á, à is preferred by many Americans: one hears Milàn, Vietnàm, Ugànda and Ànkara.

The suffix -ary has a silent a in traditional BrE, but in AmE it is sounded as é: díctionary, vocábulary (*dícshənéry, vəcábyəléry). Indeed, featuring as it does in so much in pop music, the AmE sound has become increasingly common in BrE, and this is also the sound of both varieties in the equivalent adverbs: necessarily (*néssəssérily). Similarly in BrE labóratory AmE láboratŏry one o is stressed, rendering the other redundant: BrE *labóratry, AmE *lábratŏry. Similarly cátegŏry, perémptŏry in AmE, and also céremôny, álimôny and ácrimôny where BrE has o as schwa. However, both varieties have a schwa sound for the a when the preceding syllable is the stressed one: suppleméntary (*súpləméntəry), compliméntary (*compləméntəry).

BrE åu and åw are AmE àu and àw: BrE åwful, låw, cåught, AmE àwful, làw, càught, but BrE AmE wår, AmE wårrior BrE ẁarrior. BrE ŏught and is AmE *ót or *àt; similarly with cåught, bŏught, fŏught and other words with this ending (see English spellings, Retroalphabetical List).

wh-

In words beginning wh- (apart from who, which is pronounced *hoô in both varieties) the h is ignored in BrE but sounded before the w in AmE, so that whén and whístle are pronounced *hwén and *hwíssle.

-ile

The suffix -île in BrE is usually schwa in AmE so that vólatîle becomes *vólatle, stérîle *stérral, frágîle *frájle and míssîle *míssle, sounding like míssal prayers.

-duce

The suffix -dûce, as in redûce, indûce, prodûce verb and próduce noun is dyoôss or -joôss in BrE but -doôss in AmE.

-age

In three similar words from French, where BrE has an anglicised version, AmE prefers to keep the French model, so á in the first syllable cedes its stress to the suffix -àge (this is not to be confused with the cockney pronunciation of 'garage' as 'garridge', for example):

British American
bárràge (-àzh) barràge (*bəràzh)
gáràge (-àzh) garàge (*gəràzh)
mássàge (-àzh) massàge (*məssàzh)

t and d between vowels

In AmE t and d between vowels, of which the first vowel is stressed, are voiced and sound like d, though actually the sound is a [ɾ] (a 'tap' or 'flap', i.e. a very rapid contact just behind the top front teeth): lâter, *lâ[ɾ]er, bútter, *bú[ɾ]er, lítter, *lí[ɾ]er, shoôting, *shoô[ɾ]ing; BrE speakers keep these as t or d. In AmE twénty, t blends with the n and disappears altogether. The 'flap' often appears as the Scottish English pronunciation of /r/. BrE speakers often partially or completely 'glottalise' t where AmE speakers produce a flap. This glottal stop [ʔ] is common in London English, for example: bu[ʔ]er 'butter'. It also often replaces /t/ at the end of a syllable: ca[ʔ] 'cat'. The glottal stop, which is formed by the vocal cords briefly coming together to restrict airflow, is not a phoneme of English and so speakers will usually identify it as a variant of t.

Other pronunciations

Other individual differences are:

British American
addréss áddress
ádult adúlt
advërtísement ádvertîsement (cf. ádvertise in both)
alumínium alûminum (different spelling, too)
Al-Qàêda (-Kŷda) Al-Qâeda
ámateur (eur as schwa: ámətə) ámateur; or various more phonetic variants, typically ámateûr (*ámatyure)
ámbergrìs ámbergrís
amen *à-mén *â-mén
ántì- ántî-
ápparâtus (either stressed) apparátus
ásthma (*ássma) *ázma
áristocrat arístocrat
àunt áunt uncle (= ánt insect)
authóritative authŏritâtive
Baghdád Bághdad
Bërnard Bernàrd, generally, although not always[16]
bêta bèta
bòrough (*búrə) bòrôugh town (= búrrow ground)
càdre (-der) càdrè
capíllary (kəp-) cápillãry
Caribbêan (*Cárri-bêən) Caríbbêan (-bêən)
Cécil (*Séssle) Cêcil (*Sêazle)
cérebral cerêbral
chágrín (sh-) chagrìn (*shəgrêen)
charàde (sh-) charâde (sh-)
cigarétte cígarette
clìchè clichè (where the American is closer to the French; the French accent may be written: cliché)
cómplex compléx
cómrâde cómráde
córrugate cörrugate
coyôtê *kîôte
dâta dáta
Dâvíes (= Dâvis) Dâvìês (-êez)
débris (*débrêe or dâybrêe) *dəbrêe; the French accent may be written: débris
derby (à) dërby
defénce dêfense (this pronunciation is for sport only, but always the different spelling)
dêtail detâil
dôcîle dócile (*dóssle)
dýnasty dŷnasty
Edinburgh (-brə) (-bóro)
eîther êither
entreprenëur entrepreneûr (both ón-)
êra éra (= BrE érror)
erâse (-z) erâse (-s)
ërr érr
évidently evidéntly
explêtive éxpletive
fålcon fálcon
fígure (*fígə) (can be *fígyùr)
fíllet rhymes with bíllet, t pronounced *filây (after French)
furŏrê fûror (different spelling, too)
gàla gâla
génuíne génuîne
gêyser water (= gêezer man) geŷser
grimâce grímace
hárass haráss
hegémony (híg-) hégemôny (héj-)
hërb *ërb
húrricane (a as schwa: -cən) húrricâne
ídyll idyllic îdyll = îdle lazy = îdol god
improvisâtion (o as schwa, -əvî-) improvisâtion (-óví-)
inquîry = enquîry ínquiry = enquiry (*ínkwəry)
îron (*îən) (*îrən or *îərn)
jágûar (*jágyûə) jáguàr (*jágwàr)
kílomêtre kilómeter (different spelling, too)
Kósovo Kôsovo
labóratory láboratŏry
Lébanon (-ən) Lébanón
léisure lêisure
lêver léver
lieuténant (léft-) (lût-)
massëuse (after French) masseûse
Maurice (= Mórris) Maurìce (*Mərìs, after French)
moôg môog (can be capital M in both)
Móscôw can be Móscòw
moustàche (*məstàsh) mústache (*mústásh, also different spelling)
múltì- múltî-
Mùslim Múslim
nåusea (-zìə) (-shə)
neîther nêither
nónchalant (ch as sh) *nonshalàn
offénce óffense (sport only, but always)
páprika paprìka
partisán (-zán) pàrtisan (-zən)
përfume perfûme
prêdecessor prédecessor
prémier government premìêr (= premìêre)
prémiére performance premìêre (= premìêr)
prívacy prîvacy (but prîvate in both)
prôcess prócess
prôgress noun prógress noun: progréss verb in both
qùadruplet (second u as schwa) quadrûplet (similarly with quínt- etc.)
râbid rábid
récŏrd noun (rhyming with cŏrd) récord (o as schwa: -kərd)
renâissànce rénaissànce
resëarch rêsëarch
resŏurce rêsource
réspîte réspíte
roûte journey (= roôt plant) ròute (= ròut victory)
sándwich (-ídge) (-ích)
scenàrio scenãrio
schédule (shé-) (ské-)
simultâneous (sí-) (sî-)
spínach (-ídge) (-ích)
stâtus státus
stràta strâta (= BrE strâighter)
stràtum strâtum
thòrough (*thúrə) thòrôugh
tomàto tomâto (cf. potâto in both, ‘potàto’ being an invention of Cole Porter)
vàse (-z) vâse (*vâce, rhyming with báse)
vërmouth vermoûth
vítamin vîtamin
yógurt yôgurt

Notes

  1. Though strictly, these are two different shapes, chips being broader than fries.
  2. ‘Movie’ is nowadays normal in BrE when talking Hollywood.
  3. Increasingly heard in British English; in San Francisco, California, at least, a city of small, shared buildings, both "flat" and "apartment" are used, mostly interchangeably. Purists, however, distinguish between the two: an "apartment" is in a building that has a shared main entrance; a "flat" has its own outside entrance door.
  4. British trucks are traditionally small, and pulled, typically on rails.
  5. A pitfall for British visitors to America, where 'rubber' is a vulgar term for a condom.
  6. Used in India.
  7. In AmE, 'tomato sauce' refers to any kind but ketchup.
  8. lîcense is the verb in BrE, cf. licensêe in both. Mostly -ence is used in both, as with fénce; but sénse, dénse and suspénse in both.
  9. In American sporting contexts, one may hear óffénse and dêfénse.
  10. but BrE wílful AmE wílful or wíllful
  11. Also pronounced differently: ['æləmɪnjəm] in British English, [ə'lu:mɪnəm] in American.
  12. Also pronounced differently: [fjʊ'rɔri] in British English, ['fʊrɔr] in American.
  13. Also pronounced differently: [mə'stɑʃ] in British English, ['mʌstæʃ] in American.
  14. prôgram computer is also BrE, but usually -grám in both: grám, dîagram, càrdiogram.
  15. The k spelling is of course more logical, cf. scêne view (= sêen see), scént smell (= sént send).
  16. St. Bernard's, a prominent, and exclusive, school for boys in New York City is pronounced in the British fashion.

See also