33 Differences between American and British English
“Different school, different pronunciation.” That is commonly heard when someone notice another person pronouncing some words differently. Like me, I’ve been conscious with my pronunciation especially with English terms. I talk rarely because I’m not sure if I say the word correctly. Not knowing, English words have differences depending on where they originated. But how do they differ?
Are you fond of watching movies? Have you tried watching American and British movies? We can see that many viewers have to turn on subtitles to understand British language used in a movie. You may laugh at the characters when you hear their accent and how they pronounce words. Well, it’s normal if you learn English in a different way. You could hardly understand the way other people speak. It’s not easy to learn other language but if you are really interested, it’s not possible.
American and British English are known by their differences especially with their vocabulary. From an English Language and Culture Blog post by Ryan Sitzman, I have gathered the “33 Differences Between British and American Vocabulary”.
1. aeroplane (BrE) — airplane (AmE)
2. biscuit (BrE) — cookie/cracker (AmE)
3. chemist (BrE) — drugstore/pharmacy (AmE)
4. chips (BrE) — fries/french fries (AmE)
5. crisps (BrE) — chips (AmE)
6. dustbin (BrE) — trashcan/garbage can (AmE)
7. cinema (BrE) — movie theater (AmE
8. film (BrE) | movie (AmE)
9. fizzy drink (BrE) — pop/soda (AmE)
10. flat (BrE) — apartment (AmE)
11. football (BrE) — soccer (AmE)
12. holiday (BrE) — vacation (AmE)
13. jumper (BrE) — sweater/sweatshirt (AmE)
14. lift (BrE) — elevator (AmE)
15. lorry (BrE) — semi truck (AmE)
16. maths (BrE) — math (AmE)
17. mobile phone (BrE) — cell phone (AmE)
18. nappy (BrE) — diaper (AmE)
19. pants (BrE) — underwear/panties (AmE)
20. trousers (BrE) — pants/slacks (AmE)
21. pavement (BrE) — sidewalk (AmE)
22. petrol (BrE) — gasoline (AmE)
23. post (BrE) — mail (AmE)
24. pram (BrE) — stroller (AmE)
25. queue (BrE) — line (AmE)
26. to ring (BrE) — to call (AmE)
27. rubber (BrE) — eraser (AmE)
28. sweet(s) (BrE) — candy (AmE)
29. toilet/loo (BrE) — bathroom/restroom (AmE)
30. trainers (BrE) — sneakers/tennis shoes (AmE)
31. underground/”the Tube” (BrE) — subway (AmE)
32. wardrobe (BrE) — closet (AmE)
33. Zed (BrE) — Zee (AmE)
Are you familiar with the terms above? You can see that American and British English is not that far different and they even have similarities. So what style will you choose?
