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English, a global language since it is the most spoken language of more than 50 nations around the globe. People find this language straightforward. Thus, they use it for conversation and other formal and informal reasons.

British and American English: A comparison

A famous saying states that America and Great Britain are ‘two nations split by a shared language.’ Guess the name of the language? English and only English! However, there are differences between American and British English, which we will highlight through this blog. 

Before the late 16th and early 17th millennia, Colonization brought the English language to the Americans. The contrasts separating American and British English in multilingual communities emerged after the first immigrants came to The United States. These people started talking in this style known as rhotic speech, in which the use of ‘r’ sounds of words is there. However, in the United Kingdom, the upper classes tried to separate themselves from the ordinary people by flattening their articulation of the ‘r’ sounds.

Have a look at the differences between the most common forms of English below:

• Spelling: There are various minor spelling differences between British and American English. Let us look at some of the examples below:

1. In American English, words ending in ‘our’ are generally followed by ‘or.’ British English follows this ‘our’ approach. For example, the ‘color’ is for American English and ‘colour’ is for British English.
2. ‘Apologise’ is in British English, whereas ‘Apologize’ is in American English.
3. Words end with ‘yse’ in British English and ‘yze’ is used in American English. ‘Analyse’ is common in British English, and it is ‘analyze’ in American English. 

• Accent: When there is such a vast diversity of accents within both locations, it’s hard to discern distinctions between them. There are, nevertheless, few broad distinctions that a person can consider. Although both Texans and New Yorkers belong to America, their dialects are vastly different, and the same goes for British people as well. The American pronunciation of every ‘r’ in a word differs from the British pronunciation of the ‘r.’ For Britishers: the case is valid only for the first letter of the phrase.

• Differences in Grammar: Collective nouns are typically singular in American English (example: The galaxy of stars is soothing). For British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. However, the plural form is more frequently employed (example: The galaxy of stars are soothing).

In addition, the British are more prone to favour formal speech, while the Americans prefer informal speaking. Another distinction between American and British Grammatical rules is auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs are verbs that assist in the formation of linguistic constructions. “Shall we begin walking?” a Britisher would ask in question form. “Should we start walking?” an American would undoubtedly ask.

• The difference in punctuations: Punctuation in American and British English is another key linguistic variation. The flipped usage of quotation marks in Poetry and prose may confuse an American. Double quotation marks are for introductory quotes in the United States, whereas people consider single quotation marks when a quotation is inside  another remark. The converse is true for British territory.

• The use of dates is entirely different: Month-day-year is how Americans express days. In the United Kingdom, dates are day-month-year. Consider an example, In the USA, people will write as 11-12-2000, but this date will be in 12-11-2000 format for Britishers.

• Vocabulary: The distinctions in terminology between British and American English are no less perplexing. When referring to a particular object in British and American English, separate words are there. There are several examples of this in both forms, like High street is for British English, and the Main street is a part of American Vocabulary. Britishers use Lift while Elevator is present in American English.

These words are in a single form at times. However, there is an issue when a term is both forms but has opposite meanings, as in for British People Subway is passage underneath a road or railway. It is an underground railway for Americans.

These were some of the differences between the common language of two separate regions. However, we must first learn why British and American English are dissimilar in syntax, accent, vocabulary, date, and other factors. Some of the causes for this are below:

1. Since French has inspired English than English-speaking people would want to admit, British English is more like French.
2. As a sort of revolution, the American language got its form.
3. The American English language enjoys omitting words entirely.
4. Both varieties of English use copied terms from other languages.

Key Takeaways 

When delivering to a linguist from any English-speaking nation, discerning what is preferable in America and Britain can be highly beneficial. Moreover, practice consistently to learn the language of any region as both are useful in their context. And don’t get too riled up over the distinctions; they don’t count all that much.

Also published on Medium.