Unknown Facts

What is the Difference between British English and US English?

Before knowing the Difference between British English and US English, let us know a little about Language!

Language is one aspect that can never be ignored. There are various ways in which a person communicates with peers, family, or friends. There are varieties with respect to both the dialect.

The language of English has spoken differently in the US as well as Britain. US English is often considered to be grammatically incorrect.

However, none of the versions are declared as the perfect ones. The main difference between British English and US English would be with respect to spelling. In the case of British English emphasis is given to the present tense.

Any other way of speaking would be considered incorrect. For eg, In the case of Britain English, the following would be applicable: I’ve lost my pen. Can you please look for it? The US English would go as: I lost my pen. Can you please look for it? So basically the Americans believe in phrasing sentences in the simple past tense while Britains believe in the present tense.

Similarly, Britain prefers to present perfect as compared to the simple past. The American English might include already, yet and just. An example of American English would be: I just had breakfast.

The Britains would also say I’ve just had breakfast. The other important difference is the use of have vs has. The Americans would any day prefer to use have rather than has. So it could behave, haven’t I, haven’t got, etc. Britain’s on the other hand prefer has.

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The other important differentiation is the use of the verb. Americans prefer saying gotten (got) while Britain’s would stick to using got in communication. There are certain vocabulary changes in both.

The word rubber can mean a condom in the case of American English while an object to erase out markings in Britain. The main differentiation could be the use of prepositions. The Americans prefer saying on the weekend as compared to at the weekend (British English).

Even spellings have a huge difference in both forms. Many word documents would show the American accepted words. They might be spelled differently in Britain. You need to be sure of all these words such as (American–British):

  • Color – Colour
  • Favor- Favour
  • Humor – Humour
  • Recognize – Recognise

The best way is to follow global English which could be used anywhere across the globe. You would need to be consistent in your dialect. The majority of people prefer American English as it sounds most rustic, consists of slang and not formal.

In India, we use both British and American English and many will not be known why they speak 2 different words for the same meaning unless they read this article.

We got the accent of British mainly because of the establishment of the British East India Company and they ruled for some time and with America, we had trade and other communications so ultimately we learned mixed English.

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