American
english Versus British
english. Why do American and British people sound different even though they both speak
english? Over many years people of different cultures immigrated to America. The
english was mixed together and became a new branch of
english different from the British one. We can see these differences in many aspects of the language such as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary and more. British
english is the form of
english used in the United Kingdom. It includes all
english dialects used within the United Kingdom. American
english is the form of
english used in the
united states of America. It includes all
english dialects used within the
united states. The
english language was first introduced to the Americas by British Colonization in 1607. Over the past 400 years the form of the language used in the
united states and that used in the United Kingdom have deviated in a few minor ways, leading to the versions now referred to as American
english and British
english. British and American
english are the reference norms for
english as spoken and written language for teaching in the rest of the world. Member nations of the Commonwealth countries where
english is not spoken natively, such as
india, often closely follow British
english forms, while many American
english usages are followed in other countries which have been historically influenced by the
united states Let's look at the various differences. Firstly, the spelling is different. For example, "color" in American
english is spelled as "colour" in British
english. Also, "analyze" in American
english is spelled as "analyse" in British
english Secondly, if we look at the differences between American
english and British
english we notice plenty of differences in vocabulary. The words are different, but they mean the same thing. In American
english, we will say "apartment" instead of "flat" as it is used in British
english. Also, in British
english we use the term "mate" instead of "buddy" like in American
english to refer to a friend. If you order "chips" in
england, you will be served what are known as
french fries in the
united states. You need to ask for "crisps" in Great Britain if you actually want potato chips. Although many words are spelled the same in both forms of
english, they may differ in pronunciation. For example: the pronunciation (accent) of British
english is different from the pronunciation of American
english. General American pronunciation is "rhotic", which means that the letter r is always pronounced. This is the pronunciation used by educated Americans, on television and on radio. Received Pronunciation is the pronunciation of the British upper class; it is often called the Queen's
english. This is the pronunciation that you will learn at a British language school. Grammar rules are also often different in American and British
english. For example, writers of American
english include periods after every initial such as C.I.A. However, writers of British
english exclude the full stops. British writers also normally include punctuation marks outside of the quotation marks. For example, "She ran all the way home". American
english writers place the quotation marks inside the quotation marks: "She ran even faster when she heard her mother call!" Date and time is also written in a different format. For example; Christmas Day will be written as 25/12/2013 in the United Kingdom and 12/25/2013 in the America. This often leads to confusion. The UK makes us of the 24 hour clock, whereas America mainly makes use of the 12 hour clock with AM and PM. In conclusion, I think that one cannot really say one version of
english is better than another. It is about personal preference in the end. Sure, American
english is more famous than British
english thanks to all the movies and music that America supplies worldwide. Britain also makes movies and music, but in a much lesser quantity.