Today we have not just one English language but several Englishes. There are quite a few varieties of English though the mother of all Englishes is British English. Bernard Shaw once said that England and America are two nations divided by the same language. That’s because there are several differences in the way English is written and spoken by the British and the Americans.This is part of the cultural independence that followed the political independence of the American colonies from Britain. Today in addition to these earlier varieties there are also Australian, Canadian,African and Indian Englishes and others.
In this age of globalization one needs to know the main differences between British English and American English. In today’s international travel and shuttling between regions speaking British English and the American variety one needs to know the characteristics of both also for international business and cultural exchanges. For example we in India follow the British variety whereas the Filipinos follow the American pattern since they had been an American colony for fifty years.
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There is a popular but not a well-informed opinion that any wrong spelling can be termed as American spelling. While it is true American spellings of certain types of words is often different from British spelling it is not haphazard spelling and it has got its own patterns and rules.It is important to know that we follow the British pattern as do all the commonwealth countries since they were all British colonies once. British English and cricket are the two outstanding elements of cultural heritage inherited by the colonies from the British colonial masters and these have become now world heritage not just colonial heritage.
Language is only one instance of British and American cultural differences. Some of the other notable differences are the following. The Americans drive on the right side of the road but the British drive on the left. The Americans date letters beginning with the month followed by the day and the year. The British begin with the day , followed by the month and the year which is incidentally more logical. The Americans begin counting the storeys of a building right from the ground level which they call the first floor whereas for the British it is ground floor.May be the British are more down to earth and are unwilling to leave it so easily.
There are several differences between the American and British varieties in spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary. Some examples of spelling differences are as follows:
British American
Centre center
Colourful colorful
Metre meter
Cheque check
Parlour parlor
Programme program
Axe ax
Plough plow
Defence defense
Demeanour demeanor
Catalogue catalog
Foetus fetus
Marvellous marvelous
Manoeuvre maneuver
Paralyse paralyze
Programme program
Most computers are originally programmed to show American spellings. They can be reprogrammed to show British spellings.
Vocabulary differences
British American
Petrol gasoline
Petrol bunk gas station
Sweets candy
Highway express way
Rail road rail way
Trousers pants
Wire telegram
Bus stand bus station
Toilet, lavatory comfort room
Basin faucet
Rail carriage rail car
antenna aerial
Baby carriage pram
Dance hall Ball room
Slander bad mouth
Hoarding bill board
Out of bounds off limits
Long jump broad jump
Visiting card calling card
Car park parking lot
Coffin casket
Cinema movie house
Cock rooster
Demand draft demand bill
Diversion detour
Public prosecutor district attorney
Drawing pin thumb tack
Casualty emergency
Trash can dust bin
Lift elevator
Torch light flash light
Freight train goods train
Undertaker funeral director
Christian name given name
Bonnet hood
Jumble sale rummage sale
Pavement side walk
Ill mannered punk
Shoe lace shoe string
Sleeping partner silent partner
Spanner wrench
Red light stop light
Flattery sweet talk
Lorry truck
Waist coat vest
There are also differences in referring to the time of the day. Morning and afternoon remain the same for both, whereas the British refer to late afternoon after 4 p.m. as evening but for the Americans evening begins only when it is dark. So one may see still wish good afternoon in the US around 6 p.m. if the sun has not yet set.
Pronunciation and accent differences
In a number of words ending in “tory” the Americans shift the accent to the last but one syllable . Examples are words like laboratory where the British have the stress on the second syllable” bo” but the Americans have the stress on the penultimate syllable “to.” Whereas in British English this is a short syllable in American English it becomes a long syllable. Other such examples are discriminatory, satisfactory, expository. The word ‘schedule’ is pronounced in American English as ‘skedule’. Also the way Americans pronounce the word God is different from the British way of pronouncing. When they say “ My God” it sounds like “ My Gahd”. The ‘o’ sound changes to ‘ah’.
