Differences between British and American English
As is popular knowledge, English is a universal language that comes from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of England and later spread to other latitudes. This occurred as a result of the British colonization of some areas, both in North America and Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. From there, it had a marked evolution to different dialects and varieties such as American English, Australian English and other varieties of other countries influenced by this language.
That said, in this article we are going to discuss the differences between British English and American English for readers’ consideration.
British English
Primarily, British English is the English spoken in the United Kingdom and is characterized by strong diction, slower stress, lengthening of vowels, and soft but strong pronunciation of consonants. With regard to vocabulary, British English retains many words from the Germanic language. Likewise, its pronunciation is very heterogeneous, with variations that have to do with the region where it is spoken, be it Ireland, Scotland or England.
On the other hand, because British English developed over a millennium and a half from a mixture of languages spoken by different peoples from other parts of Europe, there is a greater variety of dialects in Britain. Also, the spelling of British English is quite complex, so words with the ending -our- (colour) and -re- (centre) are preserved and are no longer used in other variants of the language. Finally, in British English grammar, group nouns such as –team- (team) can be both plural and singular (the team are/is here).
American English
It can be said that American English is the English spoken in the United States of America (USA) and is basically characterized by subtle diction, faster stress, vowel shortening, and soft consonant pronunciation. Likewise, with respect to vocabulary, American English discarded many words from the original Germanic language, so its pronunciation is very homogeneous and the few variations it has have to do with the regions where its inhabitants settled permanently.
On the other hand, because American English developed through a process of colonization and settlement of populations that initially moved from one place to another, there was a mixture of accents that resulted in a smaller variety of dialects. In the USA. Thus, the spelling of American English is quite simple compared to the original language. In this sense, the endings –our- were simplified by –or- (color) and –re- by –er- (center) in addition to many others. Finally, in American English grammar, group nouns such as –team- (team) can only be singular (the team is here).
From the above, the following differences are presented:
| British English | American English |
| It is the language spoken in the United Kingdom and has its origins in a West Germanic tribe. | It is the language spoken in the United States of America and that comes from the United Kingdom after colonization. |
| It presents a marked diction, slow accentuation, lengthening of the vowels and soft but marked pronunciation of the consonants. | It features subtle diction, faster stress, vowel shortening, and smooth consonant pronunciation. |
| British English spelling is quite complex, retaining many words from the original language. | American English spelling is quite simple, as many endings have been simplified to make way for a new word. |
| It has more dialects. | It has fewer dialects. |