American English vs British English

2511 Words11 Pages
American English is the English spoken in the United States, which differs in some ways from English spoken in Britain and other countries. The English language used in England as distinguished from that used elsewhere. Why is America English different with British English? Because people speaking in any two separated regions will eventually pick up their own quirks of speech which do not transfer between two regions because of the separation. Some other common words are also spelt differently. British American programme program* bank cheque bank check defence defense speciality specialty aluminium aluminum sceptic skeptic * In British English “program” is used for computer software, but “programme” for other meanings. When adding a suffix (e.g. -ed, -er, -ing) to some words ending with l British spelling doubles the l, whereas American spelling does not. British American travelled traveled counsellor counselor cruellest cruelest -re vs. -er Words ending in -re in British English are usually written -er in American English. British American centre center metre meter litre liter theatre theater fibre fiber American vs. British spelling When writing assignments in New Zealand most lecturers will expect you to spell words in the British rather than the American fashion. Note however that some lecturers only insist on internal consistency: it should either have totally British spelling or totally American spelling. Ensure that your computer's spell-checker is set to the correct variety of English, or check in a good dictionary. British vs American English : Pronunciation in the EFL Classroom University essay from Karlstads universitet/Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation Author: Fredrik Östlund; [2006] Keywords: British English; American English; Mid-Atlantic English; pronunciation; attitudes; prejudice; English as
Open Document