How British English differs from American English

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are many interesting nuances.

British and American are two of the most requested varieties of English.

British English is spoken by residents of the United Kingdom and other European countries. American English is preferred in North America and Canada. Residents of Latin America and most of Asia also adhere to the American standard. In Russia, British English is mainly taught.

What are the differences between British and American options worth knowing

In connection with the historically established separate development of American English, there are distinct differences in the structure of these two versions.

Sounds and pronunciation

The most prominent distinctive marker of pronunciation is the [r] sound. The Briton will omit the [r] in the middle and end of the word, extending the preceding vowel instead. This feature appeared due to the influence of the London dialect. An American, on the other hand, will pronounce the [r] sound distinctly.

For example:

• Star - [stɑ:] (Brit.); [star] (Amer.).
• Card - [kɑ: d] (Brit.); [kard] (Amer.).

More details about the sound [r] are described in this video:

Another feature of American English is the letter o in a closed syllable, which the American will pronounce either with a short [ʌ] or a long [ɔː]:

• Hot - [hɒt] (Brit.); [hʌt] (Amer.).
• Dog - [dɒɡ] (Brit.); [dɔːɡ] (Amer.).

You can listen to examples in this video:

There is a difference in the staging of stress in some words. A significant layer of English vocabulary is borrowed from the French language. When pronouncing such words, the American will put stress on the first syllable. The Briton will choose the latter, as in the French original. For example:

• Address - AD-ress (American); ad-RESS (UK).
• Adult - A ‑ dult (Amer.); a ‑ DULT (UK).

More examples in the video:

At the same time, in the speech of Americans, there is a mixture of these two options, depending on the place of residence and the degree of historical influence of British speech on the pronunciation of the local population.

Intonation and melody

The melody of American speech is reminiscent of jazz: the tone rises and falls. In articles, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, intonation usually falls. In general, Americans speak faster, more energetically, and sharper.

In the speech, it would seem, very restrained in the emotions of the British, there is a huge variety of even more complex intonations and melodies. It can be incredibly difficult to catch them. British English, which can be heard on radio and TV, sounds deep, "round" and more aristocratic than the American version.

An excerpt from The Night Show with Jimmy Fallon illustrates this nicely:

In addition, there are about 40 internal dialects in the UK, each of which has its own differences in pronunciation. This diversity makes it easier for a beginner to learn English to understand American pronunciation than British.

Grammar

There are also differences in grammar between the two English variants. Talking about the news, the Briton will use the Present Perfect time. An American who always strives for simplification can easily replace Present Perfect with a version in Past Simple, even if the sentence contains the just marker.

This approach is clearly visible in the cinema:

Collective nouns that denote a group of people (team, committee, class, government), the American will put in the singular, and the British - in the singular or plural. It depends on whether the described subjects act independently or form a single whole:

• The class has a test next Monday. - The next Monday the class takes the test (singular, since the class acts as a whole).
• The committee usually raise their hands to vote “Yes”. - The committee votes for a show of hands (here it is plural, since individuals raise a hand, not the committee as a whole).

The irregular verbs, which we all carefully memorize in school, also differ slightly in the two versions of English. For example, British verbs ending in -t in the American equivalent are converted to words ending in -ed:

• learnt → learned;
• dreamt → dreamed.

And the three forms of the verb get - got - got (in British English) become get - got - gotten (in American).

However, it is worth knowing that simplified grammar and disregard for the rules are found exclusively in colloquial American speech, films, and television shows. In educational institutions, Americans adhere to the classical grammar, which is considered more appropriate in business communication.

Spelling

In American English, there is a growing trend towards simplified spelling, more adapted to the sound of words. For example:

• Loss of the letter u in some words: favorite, honor (Brit.) → favorite, honor (Amer.).
• Converting the ending -re to -er: center, liter (British) → center, liter (American).
• Change the endings -ise, -yse to -ize, -yze: realize, recognize, analyze (Brit.) → realize, recognize, analyze (Amer.)

In 1783, the American linguist Noah Webster fixed a single spelling standard for a number of English words, which can now be easily found in (the Merriam brothers bought the rights to publish it after Noah Webster's death).

Both spelling options are essentially correct, but one should stick to the written language. And in business correspondence, the British still holds the palm.

Vocabulary

If you are going to play football in the United Kingdom, then in the USA you will be playing soccer. After working in the UK, you will go up to the 1st floor to open the flat with the key, and in America it will already be the 2nd floor and a cozy apartment.

Idioms also differ: they are drier and more verbose in British, shorter and more biting in American. For example:

• To throw a spanner in the works (British). - Put a spoke in wheel.
• Play hardball (American). - I'm ready to do anything to win.

In order not to fall into the trap of sarcasm, it is worth paying special attention to slang. In different versions of English, the set of such words and phrases is different and is constantly being updated.

It should also be borne in mind that the lexical composition of the American language is filled with Germanisms, Hispanisms, Gallicisms, which have penetrated into speech together with representatives of different peoples. For example:

• dumb - "stupid" (Germanism);
• hurricane - "hurricane" (Spanishism);
• tutor - "tutor" (gallicism).

What kind of English to choose to study

In general, there is no single variant of English that is considered the norm. The choice will depend on your goals and preferences.

For study

If you are planning to study at a Russian university, then any option will do. When entering a foreign university, the choice will depend on the country of study, the specific institution and the examination requirements for the level of knowledge of English as a foreign language. Typically, you will need TOEFL (American) certification in the US and Canada, IELTS or CAE (British) certification in the UK and other European countries.

For work

As in higher education, the American option will be in demand mainly when working in the United States and Canada. And excellent knowledge of the British version is a pass not only to prestigious classrooms, but also to the offices of companies in the UK, Italy, Denmark, Poland and other European countries. This is especially true of employment in areas related to the maintenance of technical documentation, work with English-language interfaces, sources and literature. That is, the British version is necessary for IT specialists, journalists, engineers, pilots, and so on.

For life

British English is a safe bet when traveling to any English-speaking country. You can not be afraid of anything, you will always be understood. You can read English easily and easily understand speech in movies and TV shows. However, if you are a true connoisseur of American authors and cinema and want to understand the subtlest nuances in literature or in the dialogues of characters on the screen, you need to master all the subtleties of American English.