US/British English

Introduction

In an episode of the US sitcom Frasier, the eponymous hero, thinking he has offended some English people, tries to prove what an Anglophile he is by confessing: "I even spell 'color' with a 'u'." Probably through Sesame Street and American educational books, the colour/color variation is one of the best known British/US differences. There are, however, several areas in which the two forms of English vary. With US English becoming the standard in academia and in English teaching in the Far East, Br. English speakers are in the minority. Canadian English is a blend of Br. and US English, but a quarter of Canadians are French speakers. As a rule, Br. English covers the Commonwealth, but there are wonderful variations in this versatile tongue that make a person's origins detectable. It could therefore be said that there is more variation within Br. English than there is between US and Br. English.

With US globalisation and its military and cultural dominance, the subtle differences in its language will probably become more ingrained, but British English, with its history and literature, is too deep-rooted simply to fade away overnight. To American ears, British spoken English can sound aloof, educated, cold or evil (just consider how many movie villains are English). Likewise, the written form can look old-fashioned, quaint or fussy, but that could be because Americans aren't used to it.

What is more, many of the differences are restricted to written English; if an Americal says "colour" in a movie, nobody cares how it is spelt. What all forms of English have in common is the grammatical structure; the general subject–verb–object arrangement prevails. And no American would read a British newspaper and be at a loss to glean meaning from the words. We are the same – but different. You say baseball, I say rounders.

Differences

Spelling

structures

Easily the most noticeable difference, US spellings jump out at the British reader and make the text unmistakably American. There are several groups of differences.

-our

British words such as colour, harbour, armour, odour, honour and humour become color, harbor, armor, odor, honor and humor. This rule also applies with inflections and derivatives – favourite/favorite, savoury/savory. Note that "glamorous", "humorous" etc. are the same in both Englishes, and "Pearl Harbor" is a proper name and should remain spelt the US way.

-re

British fibre, theatre and centre become fiber, theater and center in the US. However, the World Trade Center is a proper name and should retain its US spelling, as would a specific theatre in the US. Note also that theatrical and central are the same in both cases.

Greek derivations

Many words in British English are of Greek origin, but the ones we are dealing with are those that are sometimes joined in ligature, i.e., oe (œ) and ae (æ). Traditional Br. English writers would use encyclopaedia, foetus, archaeology and mediaeval, whereas Americans would have encyclopedia, fetus, archeology and medieval. This form of spelling is creeping into British English, especially "encyclopedia", which is universally acceptable. There is no doubt that the US spelling is easier to read, particularly for a foreigner, and since many of these Greek-derived words have medical uses, the simpler use probably makes sense when working in the field. Americans do use the British aesthetics and amoeba, but esthetics and ameba are just as common.

-gue

Analogue, catalogue and dialogue become analog, catalog and dialog. Tongue and vogue remain constant. Again -gue is a phonetic blind alley and the US spelling is much simpler.

-ise

The -ise/-ize ending is something of a borderline case, as both are acceptable in British English, but the -ise ending is rarely seen in the US. Indeed, many British dictionaries use the -ize ending in words like customize, solarize and realize, where verbs are created from nouns, so it's probably safer to stick to -ize unless an archetypically British feel is sought. The word "analyse" has caused much gnashing of teeth in the US. It comes from the Greek lysis, to split, not from "anal"; therefore it should, according to US purists, never be spelt "analyze" (after all there is no word "analyzis"). It looks like the Z brigade will win out in the end, though, and "analyze" is acceptable. Anyway, it's a -yze spelling, not an -ize one!

Double "l"

British and American writers disagree fundamentally here. Whereas a Br. English writer would write travelled, signalling and counsellor, a US writer would use traveled, signaling and counselor. In these cases the vocal stress is not on the "l". Where it is, Americans sometimes use the British spelling, i.e., compelled, rebelling and excelled (although the single "l" versions are also used).

The British, however, use a single "l" in enrolment, fulfilment and skilful, where as the Americans double up (enrollment, fulfillment and skillful).

The difference is in the letter following the "l". Vowels double the "l" in British but not in American, consonants double the "l" in US English, but keep it single in British.

-ce

British defence, pretence and offence become defense, pretense and offense in the US. Advice (noun) and advise (verb) keep their Br. English spellings in the US, but there is no word "practise" in US English, as "practice" is the spelling for the noun and the verb.

-t endings in past tense

Whereas a British English person would write dreamt, spelt and learnt, an American would use dreamed, spelled and learned; the -ed forms of these words are also seen in Br. English, but the -t form is rarely seen in US English.

Specific spellings

Many US words sound (roughly) the same as their British equivalents, but are spelt differently. This list is not exhaustive.

British	American
aluminium	aluminum
cheque	check
grey	gray
plough	plow
programme	program*
speciality	specialty
sulphur	sulfur
storey	story
tyre	tire
vice (clamp)	vise**

* To program a computer (verb) or a computer program (noun) are the same in both US and British English, but British writers always use "programme" for a TV show, a pamphlet or a course/method.
** This does not apply to a human imperfection; "vice" is used on both sides of the Atlantic for this.

US English speakers tend to use forward, backward and afterward, whereas British English tends to use Backwards, forwards and afterwards. Both forms are interchangeable in both forms of English, as long as consistency is maintained.

Words

Americans have different words for certain objects. There are too many for a complete list, but here are a few:

British	American
biscuit	cookie
bonnet (car)	hood
boot (car)	trunk
braces	suspenders
bum (slang, backside)	fanny
- (tramp, layabout)	(bum)
- ("loose" woman)	(tramp)
bumper	fender
draughts	checkers
first floor	second floor
flat	apartment
ground floor	first floor
laundrette	laundromat
lift (in a building)	elevator
lift (in a car)	ride
nappy	diaper
outside lane (on motorway)	inside lane (on freeway)
pavement	sidewalk
petrol	gas
pushchair/buggy	stroller
queue	line
ring (on finger)	band
spanner	wrench
windscreen	windshield

... and there are many more. Most of the "American" words are recognisable as English words but with different meanings. It's important to keep in touch with context and to be in no doubt as to which version of English is being used.

The American participle "gotten" is never used in British English (except in the phrase "ill-gotten gains"). In the US, "It has got a lot worse" would become "It has gotten a lot worse".

Grammar

Collective nouns

Teams and companies usually take a plural form in British English (West Ham were successful) and singular in US (Microsoft is very powerful). Again, interchangeability occurs.

Transitive verbs

An American would write "he wrote me" whereas a Briton would put "he wrote to me".

Punctuation

Quotation marks

Americans tend to use single quotes with doubles inside quotations, but the British lean towards double quotes with singles inside. Both forms are acceptable in both versions of English; this is really a stylistic matter where consistency is the only rigid rule.

Commas and full stops inside quotations

This has been covered in Punctuation 2, but as a general rule, Americans always put commas and full stops inside the quotes, British people put them inside when relevant in quoted material, and outside when the quoted material is not a self-contained clause.

Listing commas

Where there is a list of items within a sentence, British English writers leave out the comma before the "and" or the "or" (He saw two camels, a dog, fourteen rats and a carpet lizard). Americans would put a comma before the last item (He saw two camels, a dog, fourteen rats, and a carpet lizard).

Dashes

US English typesetting usually has closed-up em dashes—like this, or even spaced em dashes — like this, in parenthetical structures. Although em dashes are seen in British English, the spaced en dash – like this – is generally preferred. Like single/double quotes, it's largely a matter of taste.

Mid-Atlantic English

This form of English is not that spoken by fish or Ascension Islanders. It is essentially British English with parts of US English (for example -ize spellings and US quotation protocols) thrown in for good measure. It should be better than either form of English, as it takes the simplest parts of each, but as its use can be confusing it's often best to stick to one or the other. After all, if someone is described as a tramp, who would know what were their characteristics?

Concluding remarks

By the proofreading stage, the copy editor should already have put the text into British or US English and her instructions should show this. Sometimes, a simple "US English" instruction is placed in the specifications and the copy does not have individual corrections. Other times, certain aspects of both US and Br. English are desired, but the consistency rule once again appears. It's very easy for an editor to overlook an -ize spelling or put a comma outside a quote in US English work, so proofreaders can pick up Brownie points here.