Differences between British English andAmerican EnglishAbstract: British English and American English are the two most important variants of the English language. They influence each other and are mutually complementary. Due to the historical, political, cultural and environmental factors, the two language variations have some differences in various aspects. These varieties may be regional or national. To understand the differences between American English and British English and to grasp their rules are very important .This paper will describe the differences in the following aspects: pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and usage.Key words: British English, American English language, differences, varieties.I . IntroductionNowadays, English is popular around the world, which has experienced great changes during a long time of American colonization, English has been the language of the United States. From then on, English language were grouped into two major kinds, British English and American English, which have their own characteristics. As time the time goes, America begins take part in international affairs. Especially, America plays a important role in international stage from Second World War to now. Recent 20 years, American English develops quickly in politics, economy, culture, education and so on. So American English develops rapidly, and is discussed and studied in world.In modern society, some people think learning American English is fashionable, but the concept of differences must not be taken too far, because British English and American will be two major varieties of one language, not two different languages, with the development of modern science, technology, mass media, the differences between these two nations are becoming smaller. In practice, the tendency is towards better understanding between the people of the two countries. In order to help the English learners better understand the differences between British English and American English, this paper tries to analyse the main differences between British English and American English in pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and usage.II.pronunciation differences :There are a number of easy-to-hear differences in the way that English is pronounced by British and American speakers. Here we will look at the following areas :British and American speakers have different stress patterns in their speech when they say certain words with two or more syllables. For example:In words with several syllables like secretary, American speakers emphasize the ending more than British speakers, so that the word seems to have an extra syllable:Americans retain the “r” at the end of the words. For example:III. Spelling differences:Most vocabulary’s spelling in the two languages are the same, but there are a few words’ spelling obvious differences. Some of the differences are the result of the development of American English, especially in the 19th century when Doctor Webster put the American characters into British English and American English on the spelling of old English. Anyway, there is regularity in the different spelling of British English and American English.a. American spelling always avoids the repetition of the letter of consonant. Generally, “ l ” is not doubled in American English. For example:BE: traveller, levellingAE: traveler, levelingb. Some words end in “-ter” in American English, and “-tre” in British English. For example:BE: theatre, centreAE: theater, centerc. Some words end in “-or” in American English, and “-oure” in British English. For example:BE: labour, honour, colour, humourAE: labor, honor, color, humord. American spelling always omits the un-pronounced letters. For example:BE: catalogue, axe, dialogue, good-byeAE: catalog, ax, dialog, good-byIV. Differences in vocabulary and meaningDue to the differences in the population structure, physical environment, social and economic conditions, American English has diverged somewhat from British English. Most vocabulary in British English and American English have the same meaning. Few words reflect the differences in vocabulary and meaning. There are three important types of differences in the meaning of words in the two varities.A. The same object may have the different names.Using different words to describe one meaning is the most obvious difference between British English and American English. Some of the biggest differences are inB. One word in different meaningsSome vocabulary developed individually in the two languages. This phenomenon make the words lost their basic meaning and gradually obtained some new meanings. This finally changed the meaning of the vocabulary in the two languages.C. Words of cross meaningIt is a special phenomenon between the two former differences. A word may have different meanings in British English and American English But it may have the same meaning in its modification with another word’s modification. B iscuit in British English means cookie in American English while biscuit in American English means scone. It is very interesting that dessert in American English means pudding in British English, while pudding in American English means custard in British English.Grammar differences:British English and American English grammar is mostly in agreement; there are however some interesting variations.A. Americans use a simple past tense in some cases where British people use a present perfect.AE: He just went home.BE: He has just gone home.B. There are differences in certain verb forms :BE: fit-fitted AE: fit-fitC. Americans use the verb “ have ” a little differently from British people in some cases.BE: Have you got a cold?AE: Do you have a cold?D. Americans are much more likely to be technically correct in the agreement of collective noun and verb form than Britons.BE: The team are playing well.AE: The team is playing well.F. In informal speech, Americans sometimes use adverb forms witho ut “-ly”. AE: He looked at me real strange.BE: He looked at me really strangely.G. on the phoneBE: Hello , is that Jane?AE: Hello, is this Jane?Usage differencesThere are countless other small and interesting differences between British English and American English, which come under the heading of usage. For example: For Americans the number billion has 9 zeros (a thousand million); for most Britons it has 12 zeros (a million million). Zero itself is a much more common word in AE than in BE, where nought is more widespread. Americans say the number 624 as six hundred twenty four, whereas in British it would be said six hundred and twenty four.ConclusionAmerican and British English will be two major variants of one language because of the similarities of the basic word stock, the basic grammar and the basic phonetic system, and because of rapid development of modern science, technology, mass media, and constant cultural and economic exchanges between these two nations.References1. An Introduction To English Lexicology, 林承璋，刘世平著，武汉大学出版社2. British and American English，by Don R. McCreary3.British English and American English，陈福生，厦门大学外文系4. David S. Jackson，流行美语，上海世界图书出版公司，2004。
