The Difference Between British and American English and Which One to Learn (AJ #13)

Hello. This is Jack from ToFluency.com and this is Ask Jack, where I answer your questions

about learning English and the English language. And, today’s question is all about the difference

between American and British English. So, here it is. John from Tanzania asks, "What’s

the difference between American and British English and is British English the proper

one to use?"

Great question. Thank you for sending this in. Before I talk about which type of English

you should study, I’m going to go through some of the differences between British and

American English. It’s also worth noting at this point that there are many different

types of English too. Different countries have their own version of English and it also

varies by country. So, how people speak in the North of England is different to how people

speak in the South of England, for example.

Let’s start with grammar. There are many differences between American English and British

English when it comes to grammar. So, I’m going to give you an example. In the UK, you

will hear people ask, “Have you had breakfast yet?” Have you had breakfast yet? In the

US, you will hear, “Did you have breakfast yet?” Did you have breakfast yet? So, in

the UK, people are using the present perfect tense. In the US, people are using the past

simple in the example I have just given you and there are many other differences when

it comes to grammar.

People use different tenses, sentence structure, prepositions, etc. There are also many differences

in the words used in these 2 countries. So, for example, in the UK, ‘this is a car park’

but in the US they call it a ‘parking lot’. This is a ‘lift’ in the UK and an ‘elevator’

in the US. These are ‘chips’ in the UK but French fries or fries in the US and these

are ‘crisps’ in the UK but ‘chips’ in American English. So, there are many differences

here.

What I want you to do as well, at the end of this video is to write down more differences.

What are other words that are different in American and British English? Pronunciation

can vary between America and the UK too. So, for example, when I go to a restaurant and

I say “Can I have a water?” Usually, the server looks at me and says “A what?”

Because, I pronounce water differently to how Americans pronounce it. Now, just listen

again, okay, water, water. Two things that are different because the American version

is water, water. Now, I’m sorry if my American accent isn’t perfect. But, here it is again,

water, water. So, they use the American ‘t’ and it sounds like a ‘d’. It sounds more

like a ‘d’ than a ‘t’ sound. Whereas in the UK, wat-, water, it sounds like a ‘t’.

The ending of this word is also different. In British English, we use the schwa at the

end, water, water. Whereas, you can hear the ‘r’ in American English, water, water.

So, that is a big difference there.

There are also other differences, yoghurt – yoghurt, so a different vowel sound, vitamin

– vitamin, again a different vowel sound. Many other ways that you can pronounce words

differently in the UK and in the US. There are also many differences with slang, with

phrases and expressions and also with spelling. Here are a couple of examples of words that

spelled differently in the UK and the US. So, the first one is color (colour) and you

can see here, in the British spelling there is a letter U, in the American there is no

U. And, also one which is really interesting is aluminium or aluminum. So, you can see

the difference here with the spelling and also with the pronunciation.

Now, to go back to the second part of your question, where you asked about which one

is proper? And I imagine you have been told or you have read that British English is the

proper way to speak.

Now, this is not true. This is just someone's opinion. There is no right way. And the type of English

that you learn, or the type of English that you focus on will depend on you and your situation.

For example, if you're going to move to the U.S. in the future, then learn American English.

If you are going to work in an industry that uses British English, then it's probably wise

to learn more British English. Additionally, think about exams as well, so, if you are

taking an exam, then go to the past papers, and do the listening, and see which type of

English is used. So, that's a really good tip for those people who are taking exams.

You know, look at which type of English is used and then focus on that for your exam.

The last thing I want to say about this is that it's fun. You know, these differences

are fun. Certain people get very passionate about which one is right, and it's just because

they're used to a certain type of English. You know, people from the UK might say that

British English is correct. And, er, people from the U.S. will disagree. So, it just depends

on you and your situation. But enjoy these differences - these differences are fun. And

knowing these differences, and being aware of them, will help you when it comes to speaking

with people from all over the world.

So, I hope you have found this useful. My question for this video is... well, there

are two parts to the question. The first part is to leave some differences between British

and American English in the comment section. Something I didn't mention in this video.

And then, tell me which type of English you prefer: American, British, or something else.

So, thank you for watching this video, and I'll see you next time.