BRITISH v AMERICAN ENGLISH - Differences - Spelling - Grammar - with Mr Duncan

Hi everybody this is mr. Duncan in England how are you today are you okay?

I hope so are you a happy I hope so

in today's lesson we will look at one of the most varying parts of the English

language which seems to cause a great deal of confusion for those who are in

the process of learning it today we will look at the differences between British

and American English

when we say British English what we are actually referring to is the way in

which English is spoken in the United Kingdom this includes Wales Scotland and

Northern Ireland where English is spoken widely for some people the term British

English is a misleading one but the fact remains that this terminology is the

usual one when it comes to describing the way in which English is spoken here

in the UK these days the terms standard English is slowly being used less and

less mainly due to the realisation that there is no real standard way of

speaking English the basic academic rules of English tend to be the same

wherever in the world it is being used it is a common question and one which is

often posed to me what are the differences between the way English is

spoken here in England and the way it is used in the USA well this is not an easy

question to answer quickly it would be better to break the differences down

into sections differences between nouns differences between spelling and grammar

differences between pronunciation

when it comes to word usage there are quite a large number of words which

differ between British and American English now we will take a look at some

of these words this list is not exhaustive but many of the words here

are in common use general words flat apartment building block pavement

sidewalk road route motorway freeway Junction fork roundabout traffic circle

phone box phone booth these days payphone is used in both British and

American English film movie headmaster principal caretaker janitor photo

snapshot public school private school state school public school marks grades

term semester when it comes to actually speaking English then the slight

differences between British and American English become more obvious American

English tends to put more emphasis on the consonant sounds especially the

letter R this is very apparent in words beginning with r such as red red really

really robert robert and rich rich vowel sounds such as those made by the letter

A are also emphasized the letter T is a good one to look closely at occasionally

in American English the T sound is not pronounced the same as it is in British

English for letter letter better better bottle

bottle throttle throttle metal medal more general words tap for sit power

socket power outlet power cut out inch tin pan shopping trolley shopping cart

shop store food shop grocery store corner shop convenience store sellotape

scotch-tape tippex wite-out Ceti sofa couch holiday vacation maths math iced

lollies popsicle crisps potato chips sweets candy candy floss cotton candy

cash point ATM till cash register estate agent real tall there are many ways of

finding out the differences between American and British English

most English dictionaries now point out these variations within their word

definition listings normally with the alternative spelling being placed next

to whichever word is being defined parts of a car or an automobile bonnet hood

boot trunk petrol gas windscreen windshield number plate license plate

gear lever gearshift exhaust pipe tailpipe lorry truck fire engine fire

truck caravan trailer police car patrol car estate car station wagon car park

parking lot car journey roadtrip overtake pass clothing trousers pants

slacks pants underwear shorts jockey shorts pumps plimsolls gym shoes

trainers sneakers polo neck jumper turtleneck sweater dressing-gown

bathrobe wellington boots galoshes jumper pullover sweater nappy diaper

waistcoat vest vest undershirt

the British slang word for a cigarette is fag while in American English this

word has a very different and offensive meaning it is a derogatory and insulting

word for a gay man or homosexual so asking an American for a fag may at the

very least cause some confusion and at the very worst a great deal of offense

past simple past participle the following verbs have two acceptable

forms of the past simple past participle in both American and British English

however the irregular form is generally more common in British English and the

regular form is more common to American English burn burnt or burned dream

dreamt or dreamed lean lent or leaned learn learnt or learned smell smelt or

smelled spell spelt or spelled spill spilt or spilled spoil spoilt or spoiled

in present perfect temps there are some slight differences for example I've lost

my wallet I lost my wallet possessive clauses there are two forms to express

possession in English have or have got do you have a car have you got a car he

hasn't got any friends he doesn't have any friends she has a

beautiful new home she's got a beautiful new home while

both forms are correct and acceptable in both British and American English have

got have you he hasn't got our generally the

preferred forms of British English while most speakers of American English use do

you have he doesn't have they don't have

the verb get the past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English

for example he's got much better at playing tennis he's gotten much better

at playing tennis there are some words which are unique to American English a

good example of this is the word busboy which means a person in a restaurant who

collects the dirty plates and cutlery from the tables not to be confused with

a waiter who takes the orders and serves the food there are some differences

between the spelling of British and American English words for example words

ending with E are such as Center and meter and words ending with C e such as

license and defense words ending in I s e such as minimize patronize prize

recognize specialized there are some differences in the way

prepositions are used for example at the weekend on the weekend in the team on

the team write to me soon write me soon some

words are pronounced differently between British and American English for example

aluminium aluminium basil basil data data duty duty oregano oregano process

process tomato tomato tube tube VARs vase

more differences between spelling the most well-known difference between

British and American English appears in words ending with oh you are such as

color favor flavor honor neighbor and of course words such as colored favorite

dishonor neighborhood when it comes to word definitions there are not that many

serious variations between words used in England and those used in the USA it is

not as if you are having to learn two new languages I know that when someone

says mailman they mean postman I know that a freeway is a motorway and I know

that pence are trousers when it comes to basic grammar British and American

English are almost the same it is also worth remembering that word usage can

vary even in one country a word used in one part of the USA may not be used in

another the same rule is also true here in the UK

more general words property or land real estate supermarket assistant clerk bank

cashier teller postman mailman chemist pharmacy drugstore label tag helicopter

chopper injection jab shot rubbish garbage trash waste bin garbage can

trash can mobile phone cell phone TV erial antenna wardrobe closet curtains

drapes mortuary morgue coffin casket prison

penitentiary child kid mum or mother mum pew line believe it or not English is

one of the easiest languages to learn but it can also be one of the most

confusing the differing uses between British and American English may appear

to make the language very complicated but in oral English the differences are

far fewer if I were to visit the USA I would have very little trouble

understanding what people were saying in fact when it comes to speaking the only

real difficulty may come from the misconception or negative thinking that

there will be a problem I may imagine that there will be difficulties when in

fact there are virtually none the real differences tend to exist within the

various regional accents rather than the type of English being spoken when it

comes to speaking English be it British or American

there are many accents around that subject we will save for another lesson

there is one important word which I have left are for long lives

and I have decided to leave it to last in British English you go to the toilet

all of the lavatory in American English you go to the washroom men's room or

bathroom the British slang words for toilet are

fog or blue while the American slang words for toilet are jar or well that is

all I have for you today I hope you will drop by for another lesson real soon

until then this is mr. Duncan in England saying thank you for watching me

teaching you...ta ta for now and have a nice day