British and American English
The famous quote from the Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language" may be a slight exaggeration but there are a number of important differences between these two varieties of the language, especially as regards vocabulary.
But before discussing the different use of lexis, let's look at differences in spelling.
-our/-or ,
British - colour, flavour etc.
American - color, flavor ...
-ise / - ize
British - aplogise, realise
American - aplogize, realize
and re/er in the word theatre, centre (Br) and theater, center (Am)
There is no CORRECT usage; both forms are correct but it is important to be consistent
There is also some difference in the use of grammar, for example with the verb to have
Two forms exist to express possession in American and British English but in the British prefer the "have got" form:
Have you got a brother?
Do you have a brother?
American is more flexible with the use of the present perfect and the past simple (especially with the adverbs just, already and yet)
I just had lunch
I've just had lunch
Whereas the British only consider the second example as correct
As regards the past participle of verbs the most important is the verb 'to get'
BrE - get, got, got
AmE - get, got, gotten
But generally where there are two acceptable forms, a regular and irregular past particple, the Americans prefer the regular form and the British the irregular form
e.g. dreamed/dreamt, learned/learnt, burned/burnt, smelled/smelt etc.
The vocabulary differences are in all sorts of areas, from food to clothes to jobs, and often depend on the influence of the many nationalities that arrived in the US to make what is now American English. However, in some cases the words used derive from British dialects or older usage that has NOT changed in the US.
Here are a few examples, but you can test your knowledge on the quiz page:
Br Am
biscuits cookies
sweets candies
lift elevator
pavement sidewalk
trousers pants