There are a lot of differences when it comes to English and who is speaking that language. For example, when we take native speaking countries like the UK, Australia, Canada & The United States. There are many differences in the way people speak when it comes to their pronunciation and accents. I always find it difficult when students say they want to learn UK English for example because even within the UK, there are around 200+ accents. There are also differences in spelling between different countries as well as some huge differences in locational expressions and slang. In this article I want to talk about the main differences between UK English and US based English. Although, you’d imagine they are the same, there are some important differences to take into account.
1. Spelling Differences Between UK & US English
Although generally pronunciation of some words can be similar, quite often there are some big differences in spelling. One of the ones that everyone learns is that in the UK we spell it Colour whereas in American English it is spelt Color. Quite often in American English, words are spelt the way they sound. They are generally easier to get your head around if you’re a learner.
Words that share the same sound as Colour are also spelt differently, some examples of this would include, Favourite / Favorite, Flavour / Flavor, Labour / Labor, Neighbour, Neighbor, with the Ou variation being used in UK English. The other big difference I would like to point out is the use of Z. In UK English, Z is used rather sparingly whereas in American English, it is far more common. For US English you will find words like Realize, Recognize & Memorize. In the UK these would be Realise, Recognise & Memorise respectively. These are just a couple to get you started, however, I’d like to point out that there are many many more.
2. Use Of Different Words in the UK & US
In my previous point, I was looking at words that are pronounced the same but spelt differently. Here I will show you some words that are completely different when comparing the two. In the Uk the word Flat is used but in the US they would use the word Apartment. For Uk English chips are fries but in American English chips are potato chips so this can always be a confusing one for those travelling. In the Uk we call it a mobile phone but in the US it’s known as a cell phone. In the UK it’s known as a lift but in the US it’s an elevator.
For the Uk we have rubbish but in the US it’s called trash. As you can see already, there are many differences. Most of these words are generally common knowledge so I would like to say that you can get away with using either if you are in the UK as both are common knowledge. I am however, unsure if this is the same in the US.
3. Pronunciation Differences
In general I think that UK pronunciation is a lot clearer than it’s US counterpart. Generally, T & D sounds are never softened like in the US & this can give UK a clear but slightly jagged sound to it. Whereas US English tends to flow a lot better because of these softened sounds. Of course within both of these countries, this can vary depending on what area the speaker is from. Always remember that the US & Uk have hundreds and hundreds of regional accents, some really nice to hear and others are far thicker and more difficult to understand.
4. Measurements
It’s worth mentioning that the UK and US differ in terms of measurement systems as well which can be quite difficult. In the US, they use Feet, Inches, Pounds, Ounces which is the imperial measurement system. In the Uk, only older people use this system and most people under 30 will be able to use both. It’s worth noting that most countries in the world use Cm & Kg. I would recommend learning this system more than any alternative.
5. Past Tense Verbs In UK English & US English
The last point I’d like to make is that within US english the past tense verbs can vary slightly when compared to UK english. In the US, you should always use Learned as the past tense of learn but in the UK Learnt and Learned are both acceptable. Some other words that follow this system are Dreamed / Dreamt, Burned / Burnt, Leaned / Leant. Another one that is really useful to know is that in US English it’s acceptable to use gotten as past tense of got. In Uk English we exclusively use Got for past tense.
I hope this article can help you work out a few of the differences between UK & US english. Believe me, there are so many differences & also so many similarities that you’d never be able to learn them all, but for now, try to keep these few in mind to get you started.
