Do You Speak English?

Pointing out the differences between American and British English.

Do You Speak English?

Of approximately 6 billion people on Earth, over 30% speak English as their first language. An additional 7% speak English as a second language, having studied it in school. However, is it really the same language? Is the United Kingdom's English the same as that of the United States, or Australia, or Barbados, or Sierra Leone, or Ireland? The answer is a qualified 'yes'. While the residents of the British Isles have established the basis for the language, various countries and parts of countries have modified it to suit themselves. Such complexity is shown in this partial list of countries where English is considered to be the primary language:

American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Liberia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Marianas, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States.

While all the English speaking people can presumably watch a television show and enjoy it through the common visual and language bond, the differences are also evident in puzzling words and phrases as well as almost automatic translations adjustments in vocabulary, phrase and accent. Just as Americans must on occasion strain to filter an unfamiliar New England accent or Southern accent through their own regional ears, the exuberant Australian English must present a challenge to Yorkshire understanding.

We will highlight a few of the spelling variations between British and American English.

The -or/-our group:

American
color
vigor
labor
honor
armor
odor
flavor
endeavor
valor
humor
savor
neighbor
 

British
colour
vigour
labour
honour
armour
odour
flavour
endeavour
valour
humour
savour
neighbour
 

The -ize/-ise group:

American
Civilize
Organize
Apologize
Analyze
Digitize
Categorize
Emphasize
Realize/Realization
Colonize/Colonizers
Colonization
 

British
Civilise
Organise
Apologise
Analyse
Digitise
Categorise
Emphasise
Realise/Realisation
Colonise/Colonisers
Colonization
 

The -er/-re group:

American
Center
Somber
Fiber
Meager
Liter
Theater
Specter
 

British
Centre
Sombre
Fibre
Meagre
Litre
Theatre
Spectre
 

The -eo/-oeo group:

American
Esophagus
Fetus
Estrogen
Fetid
 

British
Oesophagus
Foetus
Oestrogen
Foetid
 

Other Words:

American
Aluminum
Trapezoid
Gasoline
Main Street
Story (of a building)
Check
Sulfur
 

British
Aluminium
Trapezium
Petrol
High Street
Storey (of a building)
Cheque
Sulphur
 

Some differences are as simple as familiar words or familiar things that are practically synonyms, easily used interchangeably on both sides of the Atlantic, as are the following examples:

One of the interesting differences between British and American English is the tendency for the British to lengthen words or phrases as in:

I have done                               I have
Departmental store                     department store

Or perhaps it’s the Americans who tend to shorten things.

Some words or phrases can cause great misinterpretation because the British/American meanings may be different – in some cases completely opposite. Here is a sampling of the intricacies and color/colour of our glorious language:

If a motion picture or play is dubbed a ‘bomb’, it is a dismal failure in the America but a smashing success in England.

An American might want a ‘cookie’, but must ask for a ‘biscuit’ in England.

In England a ‘casket’ is a small box; Americans use casket interchangeably with ‘coffin’.

An American might wander through the woods with a 'flashlight', but you will require a 'torch' in England to do that.

Americans following the rules of parliamentary procedure might ‘table’ an item to set it aside without further consideration, but in England the item would be submitted for discussion.

Tell your visiting English friend to hang his clothes in the ‘closet’ and he will hang them in the watercloset (bathroom). If you are his guest, he does not expect you to hang your wardrobe in the kitchen when he tells you the ‘cupboard’ is available.

In England, a lady’s handbag should never be called a pocketbook – that term is reserved for a gentleman’s billfold or notecase.

Can you count to a billion? In England that is 1,000,000,000,000 (called a trillion in the U.S) but in the U.S. it is only one thousand million (1,000,000,000 and called a milliard in England).

In Australia, 'lollies' are sweet treats; Americans use the word 'candy'.

In America it is commonly regarded as 'Jelly'; In Australia 'Jam or Preserves'.

Americans refer to this fruit as 'cantaloupe'; In Australia it is considered a 'rockmelon'.

Yes, we speak the same language, but the dialects need translation on occasion. We are all better for our willingness to learn to communicate in our own or an adopted language.


Please check out this forum for writers who do not speak English as a first language. l have no doubt it will be beneficial in the long run!

English as the Second Language  (13+) Let's unite to share the joys and sorrows! #1360886 by Nathii M.

Source: The Volume Library - A Modern, Authoritative Reference for Home and School Use