American English vs. British English
English is the mother language of American and British people. However, when traveling or watching a TV program, you may figure out that there are numerous differences between American English and British English. When American speakers want to exaggerate a trivial matter, they may say “A tempest in the teapot.” In contrast, in British English, the idiom becomes “A storm in a teacup.” Though both idioms refer to the same meaning, American speakers and British speakers use different kinds of words. If non-native speakers make a mistake when talking to native speakers, they may cause embarrassed situations. In order to prevent this circumstance, speakers have to pay attention to the differences of vocabulary, spellings, and accents between American English and British English.
Vocabulary
When it comes to vocabulary, American speakers and British speakers use different words to refer to the same thing such as for food, clothing, housing, and so on. The most common example is the naming of floors in the building. In British English, the street level of the building is called the “ground floor”. Above the street level is called the “first floor” and below it is called the basement. However, in American English, the street level of the building is called the “first floor”, and above the street level is called the “second floor”. Thus, when taking the trip to these two countries, you must pay attention to the button of the elevator. Besides, Americans take an “elevator” while the British take a “lift”. Since there is lots of different vocabulary between two forms of English, it is easy for non-native speakers to get confused. Fortunately, a useful website called AE (American English), established by the US State Department helps speakers to clearly distinguish the terms of American English from British English.
Spelling
Besides, in the aspect of spelling, there are tiny differences between American English and British English. For instance, at the end of verbs in British English, they can usually be spelled with either “ize” or “ise”; while verbs in American English are spelled only with “ize”. America speakers may spell “apologize”; however, the British speakers spell “apologize” or “apologise”. In addition, words in British English are ended in ‘our’, such as “colour”, in contrast; words ended in ‘or’ in American English, such as “color”. The main reason for these differences is because that British English is affected by other languages. They are mainly borrowed from loanwords such as French and German. Understanding the rules and differences of spelling can help non-native speakers build up the basic knowledge of the two types of English.
Accent
Moreover, non-native speakers have to concern with the British accents and the American accents. When watching series or movies, we are able to know whether it comes from America or from the UK by listening to characters’ accent. When hearing “how do you get the job?” you may notice that the different pronunciation of the word “job” from British speakers and American speakers. As British speakers say the vowel “o”, their lips might be slightly rounded. On the contrary, for Americans, their lips will be more open. In addition, American accent is more popular than British accent. Since American music, movies and series are spread all around the world, the majority people are familiar with American accent. Therefore, people learning American English not always exactly understood what British are saying. If non-native speakers want to learn the British accent well, they can watch the British movie, talk to British people, or go to the UK.
To summarize, though American and British people speak in English, there is still differences. Thus, it is easy to cause misunderstanding and confusion for non- native speakers. From the here aspects, vocabulary, spellings, and accents, we may have better knowledge of the differences between these two kinds of English. Keeping these details in mind can help non-native speakers to establish a good conversation with American or British people.
References:
1. Boredpanda (2015) British English Vs American English: 24 Differences Illustrated(picture 1) Retrieved from: https://www.boredpanda.com/british-american-english-differences-language/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
2. Oxford The differences in British and American spelling Retrieved from: https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/differences-in-british-and-american-spelling/
3. ESL stories (2014)Choosing between a British and American accent
Retrieved from: https://blog.esl-languages.com/blog/learn-languages/american-british-accent-language-learning/
4. High.com.(2017)British vs. American English for business (picture3)