The reason for varied differences between
the European English and American is attributed to Noah Webster who had brought
Webster’s Dictionary. English language was first introduced to the Americans by
the British a long back in 1607 and this language spread to other parts of
America as well as on global within a short time. Noah Webster brought wholesome
changes in the American dictionary and language by advocating a strict spelling
reform which made the words appear slightly different from its European English
counterparts.
There is wide range of difference between
the American and British English on different scales and terms. One good
example can be related to the consideration of ‘singular’ and ‘plural’ noun in
similar circumstances. An American English speaker happens to consider group of
people as a singular noun. Therefore they would say “The audience was rising to
their feet”. But British English considers audience as plural noun and says
“The audiences were rising to their feet”.
Extreme
Differences In Vocabulary
There is huge difference between the
vocabulary shared by American and British native speakers which can easily be
seen in the use of writing and speaking. The difference doesn’t mean that the
word used as synonym or antonym or for regular is wrong in any context. It
simply translates that people from these different continent speaks and thinks
about same thing with different names which kind of act as synonym in reality.
For example Amercan native speakers term football as ‘soccer’ while British
counterpart adheres to ‘football’ word usage for defining that sport.
The List of Vocabulary Based Differences
Are As Follows:
British
|
American
|
|
|
Bin
|
Trash Can
|
Bin Liner
|
Trash Bag
|
Biscuit
|
Cookie
|
Bonnet
|
Hood
|
Boot
|
Trunk
|
Braces
|
Suspenders
|
Called
|
Named
|
Chemist
|
Pharmacist
|
Cooker
|
Stove
|
Dear
|
Expensive
|
Estate Agent
|
Realtor
|
Fag
|
Cigarette
|
Football
|
Soccer
|
Garden
|
Yard
|
Hire
|
Rent
|
Holiday
|
Vacation
|
Marks
|
Grades
|
Nappies
|
Diapers
|
Mobile Phone
|
Cell Phone
|
Pavement
|
Sidewalk, Footpath
|
Petrol
|
Gasoline, Gas
|
Post
|
Mail
|
Rob
|
Steal
|
Roster
|
Schedule
|
Solicitor
|
Lawyer, Attorney
|
Spanner
|
Wrench
|
Tap
|
Faucet
|
Taste
|
Flavour
|
Toilet
|
Restroom, Bathroom
|
Torch
|
Flashlight
|
Windscreen
|
Windshield
|
Trolley
|
Cart
|
Spelling
Differences Between British And American English
It is widely known that the both the kinds
of English phonetically different from each other on a lesser level but there
are also widespread spelling differences. The spelling differences also leads
to the pronounciation differences to a great extent.
Some of the differently spelled words are
as follows:
British English
|
American English
|
Aeroplane
|
Airplane
|
Aluminium
|
Aluminum
|
Checque
|
Check
|
Gramme
|
Gram
|
Jewellery
|
Jewelry
|
Kerb
|
Curb
|
Learnt
|
Learned
|
Manoeuvre
|
Maneuver
|
Mould
|
Mold
|
Moustache
|
Mustache
|
Skeptical
|
Sceptical
|
Storey
|
Story
|
Sulpher
|
Sulfer
|
Pyjamas
|
Pajamas
|
Routeing
|
Routing
|
Tyre
|
Tire
|
There s also an obvious differences in the
use suffixes of words throughout the English and American English. Suffixes
used in English language such as –ise in words like supervise, minimize etc.
are written with –ize suffixes in American English though the meaning remains the
same. Some other examples are:
English
|
American
|
Example
|
-ise
|
-ize
|
Minimise, Minimize
|
-our
|
-or
|
Behaviour, Behavior
|
-re
|
-er
|
Centre, Center
|
-ce
|
-se
|
Defence, defense
|
Another difference which can be seen is how
some words are spelled with “ae” in the English vocabulary but in American is
substituted with a simple ‘e’. Some of the words like Anaesthesia, Archaelogy,
Encyclopaepedia and paedophile are written as anesthesia, archeology,
encyclopedia and pedophile.
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