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# English language/British English

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There are many differences between the English language spoken and written in the United Kingdom from that of the United States, in general they are not an impediment to understanding (but see the vocabulary section below).

Note to Wikipedians: There are a vast number of resources on the net in this area, all of which are suprisingly inaccurate and incomplete. I hope the process here will lead to a more useful reference. In particular, I would appreciate it if the Brits here would fill in usage details I may not know about.

## Spelling

Some words shared by all English speakers are spelled differently by Americans and Britons. many of these are American "simplification" of the original spellings.

- Words ending in "our": British colour, favour, flavour, honour, humour, labour, savour, etc.; American color, favor, flavor, honor, etc. Also derivatives and infected forms: British favourite, savoury; American favorite, savory.
- Words ending in "tre": British centre, fibre, metre, theatre; American center, fiber, meter, theater. Britons use "meter" for a measuring device and "metre" for the unit of measure. The British forms are recognizable by Americans and occasionally found in American texts, though their usage may be considered an affectation.
- Verb past tenses with "t": British dreamt, leapt, learnt, spelt; American dreamed, leaped, learned, spelled. As with the "tre" words, these are occasionally found in American texts. (The two-syllable form "learned" still used to mean "educated" in British English)
- Other verb past tense forms: British fitted, forecasted, knitted, lighted, wedded; American fit, forecast, knit, lit, wed. Also, the American participle gotten is never used in British English, which uses got (as do some Americans). British usage retains the forgotten form, though.
- Greek-derived words with ae and oe: British aeroplane, aesthetic, amoeba, anaesthesia, archaeology, diarrhoea, encyclopaedia, foetus, gynaecology, mediaeval; American airplane, esthetic, ameba, anesthesia, archeology, diarrhea, encyclopedia, fetus, gynecology, medieval. British manoeuver seems to be a special case: its "oe" was not derived from Greek, but was apparently changed to maneuver in American English on the mistaken belief that it was. Some of the British forms are common in American usage as well, particularly aesthetic and amoeba.
- Words ending in "gue": British analogue, catalogue, dialogue; American analog, catalog, dialog. The "ue" forms are still common in some American usages such as demagogue.
- Words ending in "ise": British colonise, harmonise, realise; American colonize, harmonize, realize. Derivatives and inflected forms: British realisation; American realization. Also: British analyse; American analyze.
- Some words ending in "que": British banque, cheque; American bank, check.
- Words ending in "xion": British connexion, inflexion, reflexion; American connection, inflection, reflection.
- Nouns of direction with "wards": British forwards, upwards, afterwards, etc.; American forward, upward, afterward (though the British forms are often used as well).
- British English generally doubles final "l" when adding postfixes that begin with a vowel, where Amercian English doubles it only on stressed syllables. British counsellor, equalling, modelling, quarrelled, signalling, travelled; American counselor, equaling, modeling, quarreled, signaling, traveled. But compelled, excelling, propelled, rebelling in both. Britons sometimes use a single "l" before postfixes beginning with a consonant where Americans use a double: British enrolment, fulfilment, skilful; American enrollment, fulfillment, skillful.
- British English often keeps silent "e" when adding postfixes where American English doesn't. British ageing, arguement, judgement, routeing; American aging, argument, judgment, routing.
- Nouns ending in "ce" with "se" verb forms: American Enlgish retains the noun/verb distinction in advice / advise (pronouncing them differently), but has lost the same distinction with licence / license and practice / practise that British English retains. American English uses "practice" exclusively for both meanings, and "license" for both meanings (although "licence" is an accepted variant spelling). Also, British defence, offence, pretence; American defense, offense, pretense.
- Miscellaneous: British aluminium, draught, gaol, jewellery, kerb, mould, plough, pyjamas, programme, speciality, sulphur, tyre; American aluminum, draft, jail, jewelry, curb, mold, plow, pajamas, program, specialty, sulfur, tire. "Curb" is still used in British for the verb meaning "to lessen", but the edge of a roadway is always a "kerb". "Program" is coming into more common British usage, especially for the "computer program" usage. British use storey for a level of a building and story for a tale; Americans use story for both. Americans use vise for the tool and vice for the sin, while British use vice for both.

## Grammar

- Collective nouns: Nouns like "team" and "company" that describe multiple people are often used with the plural form of a verb in British English, and with the singular form in American. British "the team are concerned"; American "the team is concerned".

## Vocabulary

The differences most likely to create confusion are in the use of different words for concepts. Most of these are for modern concepts where new words were coined independently, or else the terms are slang or vulgar. Regional variations even within the US or the UK can create the same problems.

    	British			American

    	aerial			antenna?
            arse                    ass (buttocks)
    	barrister		lawyer (litigator)
    	bicarbonate of soda	[baking soda]?
    	biscuit			cracker or cookie?
            bloody                  fucking
            bollocks                balls (testicles)
    	bonnet			hood? (of a car)
    	boot			trunk? (of a car)
            bum		        butt (buttocks)
    	cafe			diner?
    	candy floss		[cotton candy]?
    	chemist                 pharmacist, pharmacy
    	concession		discount?
    	crisps			chips? (e.g., potato or corn)
    	current account		[checking account]?
    	dialling code		[area code]?
    	dummy			pacifier?
    	engaged tone		[busy signal]?
            fag		        cigarette
    	fairy cake		cupcake?
    	fanny			vagina - fanny=buttocks in Amer. Eng.
    	flat			apartment?
    	indicator		[turn signal]?
            laundrette	        laundromat
    	lift			elevator?
    	limited (Ltd)		incorporated?
    	lorry			truck?
    	lounge			[living room]?
    	MD (managing director)	CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
    	mobile (phone)		[cell phone]?
    	nappy			diaper?
    	paraffin		kerosene?
    	petrol			gasoline
    	pavement		sidewalk?
    	pissed			drunk
    	pram			[baby carriage]?
    	pudding			dessert
    	randy			horny?
            ring someone            call someone
            rubbish	                garbage / trash
    	settee			couch?
    	shag			fuck?
    	silencer		muffler?
    	skip			dumpster?
    	solicitor		lawyer (negotiator)
    	sticking plaster	Band-Aid?
    	torch			flashlight?
    	tube			subway?
    	underground		subway?
    	zed			z (the letter)

British and American English differ in words borrowed from foreign languages. British English includes many words from the languages of its empire while American English has words from its Spanish speaking neighbors and European immigrants. Curry to a British speaker is a type of reportedly edible food. To an American, it is a rarely used spice called curry powder that you might throw in chili. British speakers may recognize cowboys but perhaps not vaqueros (not to be confused with huevos rancheros). For more on American borrowed words, see American English.

/British English Talk

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Last edited July 25, 2001 8:22 pm (diff)
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