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British English vs. American EnglishThe English language is said to be about 400 million peoples? first language, the second language of around 400 million more people, and is the official or semi-official language in more than 60 countries (Burgen). Although British English and American English are highly similar versions of the English language, there are some intrinsic distinctions that exist between the two versions of English, besides the audible differences in regional accents. American English refers to the dialects of English spoken throughout the united states, while British English refers to the dialects of English spoken throughout the united kingdom. The dissimilarities that exist between the two versions extend to differences in vocabulary, spelling, grammar, punctuation, the format of dates, and pronunciation. To a learner of the English language, the existence of such differences between British and American English may seem like something that would serve to complicate the matters of his or her language education. However, it is unlikely that a teacher from America will choose to teach British English and vice versa. For that reason, learners of English to simply need to be aware of the origin of their teacher?s English and some disparities exist. This piece will review of some of the vocabulary and spelling disparities that exist between British (BrE) and American (AmE) English. Of all the distinctions between AmE and BrE, the most predominant difference that exists is the vocabulary used to express the same thing. I had a personal experience of one such difference during a childhood trip to england and scotland. For my first meal, I ordered ?fish and chips? and became somewhat surprised when my fish came with what I had always termed ?fries.? It was then that I learned fries (AmE) are called chips (BrE) and chips (AmE) are called crisps (BrE). I was also schooled on other lexical variations, which I needed to be aware of, to avoid any further confusion with the food I desired. For example, a cookie (AmE) is a biscuit (BrE), sneakers (AmE) are trainers (BrE), an eggplant (AmE) is an aubergine (BrE) and an elevator (AmE) is a lift (BrE). Thankfully, for a learner or speaker of English it is not essential to have a working knowledge of the vocabulary used in both American and Britain, just one of the two will suffice. The fact that spelling of many words in the English language is already peculiar is somewhat compounded by the fact that there are a series of differences in the way British and Americans spell the same words. In many instances, this difference in spelling also reflects a difference in pronunciation. Examples of such spelling changes fall into a few specific categories. With Latin derived spellings, the ?or Am. ending is changed to -our Br. ending [color à colour], the ?er Am. ending is changed to ?re Br. ending [center à centre], and the ?se Am. ending is changed to ?ce Br. ending [defense à defence]. There are also changes that occur to the Greek derived spellings, the ?ize Am. ending is changed to the -ise Br. ending [centralize à centralize], the ?yze Am. ending is change to ?yse Br. ending [analyze à analyse], and the ?og Am. ending is changed to ?ogue Br. ending [dialog à dialogue]. Moreover, there is a simplification of the Br. ae and oe in Am. English [aether (Br) à ether (Am)]. In spite of such distinctions between BrE and AmE, it is not impossible to navigate either language if one has been exposed to one over the other. It is simply a matter of familiarizing oneself with the distinctions and creating a reference for the nuances of each version of English. However, prior to deciding whether a familiarity with both is necessary, the learner of English must have determined whether his or her goal is to be able to speak English in Britain or America. It would certainly seem impractical to learn a more British version of English if the intention is to exist or travel in America, and vice versa. References: American and British English differences. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences American English vs. British English. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from http://www.diffen.com/difference/American_English_vs_British_English Beare, K. Differences between American and British English. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from http://esl.about.com/od/toeflieltscambridge/a/dif_ambrit.htm Burgen, S. (1999). A short history of english. Lonely planet: British phrasebook (pp. 11). Austrailia: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd.
