When new vocabulary is coined and borrowed
in response to new circumstances and new phenomena, the changes in grammar have
been relatively few even though there are differences between American English (AmE) and British English (BrE).
Differences between AmE and BrE to be found
in pronunciation, vocabulary and spelling. However, while punctuation seems to
be insignificant, grammatical and stylistic differences are more extensive and
important than most observers initially recognize
Minor differences do not cause disruptions,
but these features are interlinked with the synthesis of lexical choices,
pronunciation, spelling etc.
Articles
In informal AmE, the indefinite article
‘an’ is replaced with the phoneme /ə/ as in a orange, a area, due to the influence
of Black English
AmE uses the definite article to a greater
extent than BrE,
AmE My son is at
the university
BrE My son is at
university
AmE Fred is in the
hospital
BrE Fred is in
hospital
Genitive
s-genitive is used in both AmE and BrE
animate nouns, particular in the singular,
are constructed with the sgenitive, as in the girl’s parents
other nouns are constructed with the
of-construction, as in the color of my car.
abstract nouns, such as swimming and
jumping, get the s-genitive
AmE Anita Nall
and Summer Sanders – swimming’s “New Kids on the Block”
AmE [S]how
jumping’s prize money doesn’t yet approach golf or tennis . . .
Number
AmE speakers tend to prefer the plural form
accommodations
BrE speakers use the singular form
accommodation
AmE speakers say math while BrE speakers
say maths.
AmE the first noun is generally in singular,
as in drug problem, trade union, road policy, chemical plant. In BrE the first
noun is sometimes in plural, as in drugs problem, trades union, roads policy,
chemicals plant.
Verbs
Modiano (1996) acknowledges the differences
in verb forms as perhaps the most significant dissimilarity between AmE and
BrE. A number of BrE verbs have a t-inflection while AmE verbs tend to conform
to the standardized –ed structure.
AmE BrE
burn, burned burn, burnt
dwell, dwelled dwell, dwelt
get, gotten get, got
learn, learned learn, learnt
smell, smelled smell, smelt
spell, spelled spell, spelt
spill, spilled spill, spilt
spoil, spoiled spoil, spoilt
Prepositions
In BrE ‘the restaurant is in the High Road’
and ‘he was in Paris at the weekend’ while in AmE ‘the restaurant is on the
Main Street’ and ‘he was in Paris on the weekend’.
BrE ‘fill in a form’ and in AmE ‘fill out a
form
Toward – AmE Towards – BrE
Among - AmE Amongst - BrE
AmE - She walked around the block
BrE - She walked round the block
plural nouns as organizations, businesses,
official agencies, etc., are often treated as plural entities in BrE, - given the verb are,
in AmE, the same nouns are considered
singular and they get the verb is
Punctuation
the hyphens are more frequently used in BrE
when writing compound nouns whereas, in AmE, they are written with two words;
in AmE, they are written with two words;
for instance, in BrE co-operation and in AmE cooperation
BrE, there is no comma between the second
and the last item, while in AmE there is a comma following the second to the
last item
AmE The cover
has red, white, and blue flowers
BrE The cover
has red, white and blue flowers
Spelling
AmE -or compared to BrE –our as in color/colour,
AmE -re compared to BrE -er as in centre/center,
AmE -log compared to BrE - logue
as in catalog/catalogue, AmE–ense compared to BrE–ence as in license
(noun)/licence (noun)
BrE practise(verb),while in AmE it is
spelled practice (verb)
use of double ‘l’ in BrE while AmE spelling
use one ‘l’, as in travelled/traveled
verb ending –ize is the prevalent spelling
in AmE, as in fraternize, jeopardize, militarize BrE rather use the –ise ending
both variations sometimes are accepted, as
in organize/organize, naturalize/naturalise, etc
AmE check while BrE cheque, AmE plow while
BrE plough, and AmE tire while BrE tyre.
Pronunciation
·
Individual sounds
1.
systematic (predictable) 2. non-systematic (unpredictable)
post-vocalic /r/, thus some AmE speakers
speak with a rhotic dialect.
father, mother, pleasure, and tar are
pronounced with an audible [r];
intervocalic9 /t/. In BrE, /t/ is
articulated as a voiceless stop
Intervocalic /t/, in AmE, tends to sound as
a /d/, as in butter, batter, better, and fatter.
vowels in the words dance, example, half,
fast, bath pronounced [æ] in AmE
far, car, calm, and palm. Similarly, in AmE
father and sergeant have [a:]
Stress
AmE
BrE
ancillary *ˈænsɪˌlærɪ] *ænˈsɪlərɪ]
capillary *ˈkæpɪˌlærɪ] *kæˈpɪlərɪ]
corollary *ˈkͻrəˌlærɪ] [kəˈrɒlərɪ]
laboratory *ˈlæb(ə)rəˌtͻrɪ] [ləˈbɒrət(ə)rɪ]
AmE
BrE
commentary *ˈkɒmənˌterɪ+ *ˈkɒmənt(ə)rɪ]
category *ˈkæDəˌgͻrɪ+ *ˈkætəg(ə)rɪ]
cemetery *ˈseməˌterɪ+ *ˈsemət(ə)rɪ]
AmE
BrE
fertile *ˈfɜrDəl]
*ˈfɜtaɪl]
hostile *ˈhastəl]
*ˈhɒstaɪl]
virile *ˈvɪrəl]
*ˈvɪraɪl]
Vocabulary
- · Category 1 Words that differ but are understood by both AmE and BrE speakers
AmE BrE
Gas pedal Accelerator
Room and board Accommodation/s
Elastic band Rubber band
Airplane Aeroplane
Stick shift/Gear shift Gear lever
Fall (noun) Autumn
Gauze Bandage
- · Category 2 Non-interchangable terms which indicate the same thing
AmE
BrE
Apartment Flat
(noun)
The term flat is
also used in flat tyre (in AmEflat tire), and to express a battery without
electricity, as in BrE flat battery (in AmE dead/empty battery).
Room mate
Flat mate
Switchblade Flick knife
Two weeks
Fortnight
Period (punctuation) Full stop
Amusement park Funfair
First name Given
name
- · Category 3 Terms which likely cause disruption or confusion
AmE BrE
Sidewalk
Pavement
The term
pavement in AmE means the area of the street on which vehicles pass. The area
alongside the street which is designated for pedestrians is called sidewalk.
Many Americans will be confused if someone
uses the term pavement when referring to
The pedestrian walkway.
Cigarette Fag
Fag is slang in
BrE and, furthermore, it is slang for homosexual in the US which can cause
offensive misunderstandings.
Second floor First floor
These terms
often cause confusion, because in BrE there is a ground floor followed by a
first floor, whereas in AmE ground floor is referred to as first floor. Thus
BrE first floor is second floor in AmE.
Soccer Football
Band aid Plaster
Private school Public school
Public schools,
in BrE, are privately owned institutions which areassociated with the upper
class and prestige. The term public school, in AmE, refers to schools which are
operated with public funds. The term private school, however, is understood internationally.
Principal Head
master/mistress
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