British versus American English

“Two nations divided by a common language.” No one knows exactly who said this; some attribute it to Oscar Wilde, others to George Bernard Shaw, and a few say it was Winston Churchill. Nevertheless, it reflects the way many English people feel about American English; some even say that Americans don’t speak English but rather American.

We have 11 official languages in South Africa – the most languages of any country – so our written (and spoken) English can sometimes be quite a mixture of dialects. But in the business world, we should use British English.

Noah Webster Jr. (16 October 1758 to 28 May 1843) has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. He published his first dictionary in 1806, expanded it the following year, and published the final edition in 1828. He had an intense dislike of the British English school textbooks, and set about compiling and publishing a more acceptable grammar and spelling compendium, which became the basis of American English. As a result, British and American English have had divergent paths. To this day, Webster’s is the definitive dictionary in the US.

British and American spellings differ in many ways. Webster adapted spelling to reflect the way that the word sounds when it is spoken, while British English has kept the spelling of words it has absorbed from other languages (for instance in American English you write a check [just like it sounds], but in British English it’s a cheque). The evolution of American English includes many new words borrowed from the languages of settlers, and from the people who were living in the country before the newcomers, so the spelling of these neologisms evolves in tandem with the growth of the language.

Here are some of the ways in which British and American spellings are different.

Words ending in re

Words that end in re in British English often end in er in American English:

British        American

centre         center

fibre            fiber

litre             liter

theatre        theater

Words ending in our

Words that end in our in British English usually end in or in American English:

British            American

colour              color

flavour            flavor

humour           humor

labour             labor

neighbour       neighbor

Words ending in ise

Verbs that are spelled with ise at the end in British English are always spelled with ize at the end in American English:

British           American

apologise        apologize

organise          organize

recognise       recognize

supervise       supervise (Oddly enough, this is one that doesn’t change.)

Words ending in yse

Verbs that end in yse in British English are always spelled with yze in American English:

British              American

analyse              analyze

breathalyse       breathalyze

paralyse            paralyze

Is it one l or two?

The simple rule here is that it’s usually two l’s in British English and in American English, the l is not doubled:

British               American

travelled             traveled

travelling            traveling

traveller              traveler

One last tip:

In British English, programme refers to TV programmes, study programmes and computer programmes. In American English, program is the preferred use for all of the above examples.

Vocabulary

Another difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. Here are a few.

In British English, the front of a car is called the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood.

The storage space in the rear of the car is the boot in South Africa; in America it’s the trunk. (That’s because, in the early days of motoring in America, there was an actual travel trunk strapped to the back of the car.)

Americans go on vacation, while we go on holidays.

They live in apartments, and we live in flats.

South Africans refer to a rubber when talking about an eraser. A rubber in American parlance has a very different purpose!

There are far more examples than we can talk about here. I’d love to hear from you if you have other examples, or if you need help with words that you may get wrong.

“We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary.” – James D. Nicoll

I can help you make sure that you’re using the right words, and I can help you set up your computer to run British English as the default setting. Please get in touch with me to find out how I can make your work – and you – look great.