American vs British English

• American English as well as British English are two different varieties of English.

• They have many similarities, and most speakers of British English will understand American English pretty well, and vice versa.

• But... there are also many differences!

- Oh no, did you hear the rumour? It is said that our aeroplane is broken and the flight is cancelled… 

- Bollocks! Let’s go and buy some sweets and a few litres of fizzy drink while we are waiting!

- Alright, I’m just going to the loo first.

AmE - BrE

Favor - favour (tjänst)

Deciliter - decilitre

Tire - tyre (däck)

Flavor - flavour (smak)

Center - centre (centrum)

Color - colour (färg)

Airplane - aeroplane (flygplan)

Canceled - cancelled (inställt)

Note that the ground form of the word is cancel in both varieties

AmE - BrE
Theater - theatre (teater)

Jewelry - jewellry (smycken)

Realize - realise

Rumor - rumour (rykte)

Mustache - moustache (mustasch)

Gray - grey (grå)

• In AmE, the suffix is often -or, while in BrE, it is -our. Example: Color - colour

• Most words ending with -re in BrE ends with -er in AmE. Example: Liter - litre

  (exception for words that ends on -cre in AmE/BrE, like mediocre)

• In AmE, words are sometimes spelled with z when spelled with s in BrE
  
  

  Or, you can say that British spelling is more complicated than American.

• fast /faest/ ----- fast /fɑːst/

• tomatoe /təˈmeɪdoʊ/ ----- tomatoe /təˈmɑːtəʊ/

• (but potatoes is the same)

• walking ----- walking

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj7o0AAfM1U

• Subway ----- tube (tunnelbana)

  In Britain, subway can mean a tunnel under a road, for pedestrians

  In North America, tube can mean television: “I was watching the tube in a country bar”

• Soccer ----- football (fotboll)

  In North America, football is what the rest of the world refer to as American football

• Apartment ----- flat (lägenhet)

  
  

• Candy ----- sweets (godis)

  In Britain, candy is crystallized sugar

• Pants ----- trousers (byxor)

• Underwear ----- underpants (underkläder)

• Line ----- queue (kö)

• Faucet ----- tap (kran)

• Soda ----- fizzy drink, soft drink (läsk)

  Soda can be used in both varieties, but in slightly different ways.

  
  

  
  

• Bangs ----- fringe (lugg)

  Note that bangs always are in plural, ex: “After brushing her hair and letting her bangs fall over her forehead, Jewel went into the kitchen of her apartment”

  Fringe, however, is singular: “Scott put out his cigarette in the ashtray, and wiped his hand across his forehead, pushing back his fringe”

• Truck ----- lorry (lastbil)

• Moose ----- elk (älg)

• Restroom ----- loo (toalett)

  Note that loo is more informal than restroom

  More on toilets:

  American: washroom, men's room, ladies' room, comfort station

  British: WC, water closet, public convenience, cloakroom, the Ladies, the Gents, powder room, earth closet

• Sidewalk ----- pavement (trottoar)

  In AmE, pavement is the hard surface of the road. Ex: “If John hadn't been holding onto her, she would have crashed painfully to the hard pavement of the street below her feet.”

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj7o0AAfM1U

• In AmE, “that” is used more often than “which” in constructions like this one: I was controlling the car that was first in line. 

  In BrE, it would have been I was controlling the car which was first in line.

• In informal AmE, it’s okay to say some plural nouns as singulars, for example a scissors, a scale.

• Collective nouns - for example family, government, Manchester United - are treated differently in AmE compared to BrE.

  Ex: In BrE you use a verb in the plural form when speaking about football teams, Manchester United win on penalties whereas in AmE, it would have been Manchester United wins on penalties.