qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq

wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqw

ertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer

tyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty

uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui

opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiop

asdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas

dfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdf

ghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfgh

jklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjkl

zxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx

cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcv

bnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn

mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq

wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqw

ertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyui

British English versus American English

A Comparative Study

13/12/16

Submitted by: Sawsan Fawzy

Term Paper

Sociolinguistics Course

MA Program, Cairo University

Page 1 of 20

Introduction

The question whether American English is a dialect of English, an accent of

it or a separate language is one that is always being asked (Romaine, 2000, p. 17).

Suzan Romaine said the answer depends on one's point of view. Then she cited

varied perceptions of the relationship between the two "codes" (Wardhaugh, 1986,

p. 89). The term "code" is "useful" because it is "neutral;" it is not "inclined to

arouse emotions" such as the terms "dialect, language, standard language and

variety" (Wardhaugh, 1986, p. 89). "Code" can refer simply to "any language or a

variety of a language" that is "a system that two or more people employ for

communication." As for terms such as "language, dialect or variety," I am not

certain which one of these may suit British English code and American English

code.

Among the varied views Romaine cited was the well-known one of George

Bernard Show who ironically "characterized England and America as two nations

divided by a common language" (p. 17). Romaine said that perceiving British

English and American English as two separate languages suggested by, for

example, H. L. Mencken's book title The America Language is for political

purposes; it was to indicate political independence of America through linguistic

independence (p. 17). The term "language" here is to arouse the sense of

independence (Wardhaugh, 1986, p. 89). Similarly, when Noah Webster

"authored his dictionary of American English and consciously employed spellings

for certain words which were different from British English norms," he was trying

to assert political independence of America through linguistic independence (p.

18). On the contrary, when England wanted to cooperate politically with America,

the former British Margret Thatcher conceded, in an interview, that Shakespeare

belonged as much to the Americans as to the British in emphasizing the existence

of a "special relationship" between the US and The UK. Changing stances and "all

that talk about language was really about politics" (Romaine, 2000, p. 18).

Page 2 of 20

Hypothesis

Linguistically, some linguists use the term "accent" to define a language

variety that has special way of pronunciation distinguished from pronunciation of

other varieties of the same language (Romaine, 2000, p. 19). In respect of this

definition, it can be hypothesized that British English and American English are

different accents.

As for the term "dialect," some linguists use it to refer to a variety that is

different from other varieties, dialects, of the same language "simultaneously on at

least three levels of organization: pronunciation, grammar or syntax and

vocabulary" (Romaine, 2000, p. 18). Thus, it can be hypothesized that British

English and American English are two dialects of the same language.

This paper investigates the linguistics features of British English and

American English to discover whether they are "accents" or "dialects" of the same

language (Romaine, 2000, p. 18).

Political, historical and social backgrounds of linguistic differences

"How did British and American English become so different?" In his book

Divided by a Common Language, Christopher Davis suggested some historical

and political answers to this question (p. 1).

Division of language began when the early inhabitants of the US had no

verbal contact with the British. On the other hand, they had contact with the

Europeans who were immigrating to the US bringing their languages with them.

Although English remained the dominant languages, it was affected by contact

with different languages in America. However, the books imported from England

until 1900s kept American English form straying too far (Davis, 2005, p. 3).

Wolfram and Schilling talked about similar sociohistorical explanations of

migration, settlement and languages contact that played roles in the development

of American English (pp. 28-30).

Afterwards, Industrial Revolution brought with it the need for coinage of

hundreds of terms to describe inventions in each country. There were no common

standards to follow when coining terms. The two countries were apart, and

creations were being given different terms by designers of each country (Davis,

Page 3 of 20

2005, p. 3). As time went on, the difference increased, and no great effort was

made to unify terms.

Politically, great efforts were made to assert the linguistic independence of

America. Noah Webster, the well-known American lexicographer, initiated some

of the biggest changes in American spelling through his best-selling American

Speller published in 1783 and his American Dictionary of the English Language

that has become "the standard for spelling and word usage in America" (Davis,

2005, p. 2). "British and American English reached their greatest divergence just

before the Second World War, and since that time have been getting closer"

(Davis, 2005, p. 2). It seems that it was political cooperation that could produce

that linguistic consequence.

I Pronunciation level

According to Hastings (2011), the differences in pronunciation on either

side of the Atlantic have been very well known since Hollywood highlighted these

differences. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sang "Let’s Call the Whole Thing

Off" in the 1937 film Shall We Dance. The iconic American dance partners sang:

"You say neither and I say neither... let’s call the whole thing off."

This section consults Snezhina Dimitrova's pronunciation

guide entitled British and American Pronunciation published in

2010 on University of Reading website and a research paper

published in 2015 in Journal of Language Teaching and Research.

The section also consults other guides and papers referenced in the

above-mentioned paper that adopted the same comparative

method of analysis of Dimitrova's guide and of the other sources

in order to summarize simply and briefly the main differences

between the two main pronunciation models in Britain and America.

International Phonetic Alphabet IPA symbols are used

to compare and describe sounds of the two pronunciation models

including vowels, comprising monophthongs and diphthongs, and consonants.

Page 4 of 20

Figure 1. IPA Chart

The comparisons made here are simple and brief; they include neither

details about the articulation of sounds in different positions nor explanations of

any exceptional articulation of some of them when they are found in specific

positions. These details are too many to include in this paper. The reader is

advised to consult the referenced sources to discover these details.

Page 5 of 20

In Britain, the "standard" model of pronunciation is

named "Received Pronunciation" or "RP." "Received" means

acceptable. This model is the appropriate one to be used in

teaching English as a foreign language. RP has a lot of varieties among which is

the one heard on BBC. This variety has been recently termed "BBC

Pronunciation" (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 2).

In America, the "standard" pronunciation model that is widely accepted and

used by the majority of the population of the United States is termed "General

American" or "GA." It is used by most TV and radio announcers, and it is also

used in teaching English as a foreign language (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 1).

The two pronunciation models differ in many ways. They differ most in

their vowel systems, and they also differ in their consonant sounds and clusters.

I.A Vowels

I.A.1 Monophthongs

For example, the back rounded /ɒ/ vowel, which is heard in BBC English in

words such as not, lot, block, is replaced in GA with the back unrounded vowel

/ɑː/. Most dictionaries show the pronunciation differences between the two

“standard” models by retaining the length diacritic [:] in the transcription of the

GA vowels (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 4). Examples of these differences are:

BBC pronunciation General American (GA)

Knowledge /ˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/ /ˈnɑː.lɪdʒ/ 1

On the other hand, BBC and GA exchange the vowels in some other words

(Dimitrova, 2010, p. 4):

BBC GA

Pass /pɑːs/ /pæs/1

Hosseinzadeh, Kambuziya and Shariati (2015) elaborated on the BBC /ɑː/ and the

GA /æ/: when one of the sounds /s, f, t, ns, nt, ʃ/ follows the GA /æ/, it changes to

BBC /ɑː/ (p. 649).

1- All the paper examples and their transcriptions are taken from Cambridge Dictionary

Online.

Page 6 of 20

The long back mid rounded vowel /ɔː/ which in BBC English occurs in

words such as "thought, walk, law" is usually opener and less rounded in GA

(Dimitrova, 2010, p. 5):

BBC GA

Thought /θɔːt/ /θɑːt/

All GA vowels are characterized by r-colouring when they are followed by

the letter r in the spelling (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 5):

BBC GA

Car /kɑː/ /kɑːr/

The difference between unstressed /ə/ and /ɪ/ is often lost in GA

(Dimitrova, 2010, p. 6):

BBC GA

Packet /ˈpæk.ɪt/ /ˈpæk.ɪt/

The pronunciation of [ju:] in BBC becomes [u:] in GA after /s, z, l, t, d, and

n/ (Gómez, 2009, p.8):

BBC GA

Student /ˈstjuː.dənt/ /ˈstuː.dənt/

Vowels that are nasalized in GA are not in BBC (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015,

p.650):

BBC GA

Can't /kɑːnt/ /kæ῀nt/

Page 7 of 20

I.A.2 Diphthongs

BBC pronunciation has 3 diphthongs ending in /ə/: /ɪə, eə, ʊə/, as in near,

care, pure. General American has no separate phonemic diphthongs which end in

/ə/. It has alternative sounds (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 6):

BBC GA

Near /nɪər/ /nɪr/

Care /keər/ /ker/

Pure /pjʊər/ /pjʊr/

BBC /əʊ/ becomes /oʊ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015, p.651):

BBC GA

Go /ɡəʊ/ /ɡoʊ/

BBC /ɑː/ becomes /eɪ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015, p.651):

BBC GA

Vase /vɑːz/ /veɪs/

BBC /eɪ/ becomes /æ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015, p.652):

BBC GA

Apricot /ˈeɪprɪˌkɒt/ /ˈæprɪˌkɑt/1

BBC /ɪ/ becomes /aɪ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015, p.652):

BBC GA

Advertisement /ədˈvɜː.tɪs.mənt/ /ˈæd.vɝː.taɪz.mənt/

1. This example is taken from Macmillan Dictionary Online as Cambridge Dictionary

Online does not show the difference between BBC and GA.

Page 8 of 20

I.B Consonants

BBC non-rhotic /r/ becomes rhotic /r/ in GA (Gómez, 2009, p. 3):

BBC GA

Force /fɔːs/ /fɔːrs/

BBC /t/ between vowels becomes flap /ɾ/ in GA; it is one of the most

typical features of GA (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 8). Cambridge Dictionary Online uses

a different symbol for flap /ɾ/ that seems closer to /t/ and more familiar to EFL

learners:

BBC GA

Writer /ˈraɪ.tər/ /ˈraɪ. ɚ/

BBC /ʃ/ in some specific positions becomes /ʒ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al.,

2015, p.653):

BBC GA

Version /ˈvɜː.ʃən/ /ˈvɜː.ʒən/

BBC /z/ becomes /s/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2015, p.653):

BBC GA

Erase /ɪˈreɪz/ /ɪˈreɪs/

BBC /ð/ in some specific positions becomes /θ/ in GA (Hosseinzadeh et al.,

2015, p.654):

BBC GA

Booth /buːð/ /buːθ/

Two accents of the same language

Regarding the differences mentioned above, it has become clear that British

English has special model of pronunciation distinguished from pronunciation

model of American English that belongs to the same English language. Therefore,

British English and American English can be considered two accents of the same

Page 9 of 20

language (Romaine, 2000, p. 18). "Accent is the term which linguists use when

they refer to the pronunciation features typical of people who belong to the same

geographical region or social class; speakers’ accents may also reflect their age,

sex, level of education, etc" (Dimitrova, 2010, p. 1).

II Vocabulary

An estimated 4000 words in everyday life in Britain are used differently in

America (Davis, 2005, p. 1). Davies (2005) organised his comparisons of British

and American vocabulary around different settings such as theatres or situations

such as shopping an ordering food. For example, he gathered the frequently used

theatre terms as shown in table 1 (p. 47):

Table1

On different vocabulary of roads in both countries, for instance, he explained

terms of roads giving definitions of transportation means and road names, laws

and signs. Table 2 shows some examples (pp. 54-56):

Table 2

Some Terms of British and American Roads

British English American English

Motorways Interstates

B road State road

A road Highway

Slip roads On ramps/Off ramps

Central reservation Median/Median strip

Lorry Truck

Overtake Pass

Page 10 of 20

The book also explains pairs of words that have similar, but sometimes not

identical, connotations in the British and American social contexts. For instance,

in Britain, bank holidays include New Year's Day, May Day, Easter Monday, and

Good Friday (p. 52). In America, the term legal holidays is used instead of bank

holidays in order to refer to New Year's Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day and

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (p. 52).

Zhang and Jiang (2009) presented in their paper examples of words that

have different meanings in the two countries; "the same word expresses different

meanings in British and American English" (p. 71). Table 3 explains some

examples.

Table 3

"Same Word, Different Meanings" (p. 71)

Oxford Living Dictionaries Website lists a concise list of 281 words used to

describe the same things in both countries; it is a list of equivalents. Table 4

presents some examples.

Table 4

Some British Words and Their American Equivalents: Same Meaning, Different

Words

British English American English

accommodation Accommodations

action replay instant replay

aerofoil Airfoil

block of flats apartment building

Word American English British English

Bill Bank note A demand for payment of a

debt

Billion A thousand million A million million

Guy Fellow, any person A ridiculous figure

Pressman An operator of a printing office A newspaper man

Public school A municipal-run school A private school

Page 11 of 20

cot Crib

cot death crib death

cotton bud cotton swab

current account checking account

danger money hazard pay

demister (in a car) Defroster

dialling tone dial tone

diamante Rhinestone

double cream heavy cream

windcheater Windbreaker

windscreen Windshield

wing (of a car) Fender

worktop Countertop

zebra crossing Crosswalk

zed (letter Z) Zee

zip Zipper

Claudine Dervaes and John Hunter compiled a pocket-size handy guide of

British vocabulary and their American equivalents. Table 5 shows a small part of

the concise "dictionary" (p. 19).

Page 12 of 20

Table 5

A UK to USA Concise Dictionary

Regarding the above-mentioned examples of vocabulary differences

between British English and American English, it has become clear that they vary

on the vocabulary level.

III Grammar level

Zhang & Jiang (2009) presented in their academic paper published in Asian

Social Science journal some of the grammatical differences between British

English and American English.

Differences in prepositions (p. 70)

Two aspects of differences: (1) different use of prepositions in phrases; (2)

omitting prepositions.

Page 13 of 20

Examples of different uses of prepositions are "Your daughter’s name

stands first in the list (BrE)," "Your daughter’s name stands first on the list

(AmE)," "These dresses are in a sale (BrE)," "These dresses are on sale. (AmE)"

When talking about time, British "ten past nine" is the American "ten after nine"

or "nine ten." When talking about "weekend" and "Christmas," British speaker

uses "at" or "over," while American speaker uses "over" or "on."

Omitting preposition also differentiates British English from American

English. British speaker uses "on" before "day, week or certain day," but

American speaker does not use them. Examples are "The new term begins on

September (BrE),""The new term begins September (AmE)."

Differences in articles (p. 72)

Most phrases of British English have articles, while those of American

English do not have. The British "the" in the expressions "all the afternoon, all the

winter, all the week, this time of the year," is usually omitted in American English

e.g. "The swimming pools are open all summer, I’ll be here all afternoon."

British English uses articles in front of "sickness, river" and some other

geographical features, while American English does not. For example, British

speaker says "the measles, the mumps, the flu, the Niagara Falls," while American

speaker says "measles, mumps, flu, Niagara Falls."

Differences in adjectives and adverbs (P. 73)

British English and formal American English use only adverbs to fulfill

adverbial functions e.g. "a really good meal." Informal American English uses

adjectives as adverbs, for example "a real good meal."

American English adverbs move freely in respect of position. They can go

either in front of auxiliary verbs or behind them. Prepositions' movements do not

change meanings. For example, both sentences "They never will agree to it" and

"They well never agree to it" give the same meaning. British English adverbs go

usually behind the first auxiliary verb. For example, "They will never agree to it."

Maxwell and Clandfield presented in their article published on One Stop

English educational website some grammatical features that distinguish British

English form American English.

Page 14 of 20

Differences in pronouns (pp. 72-73)

British English and American English use different pronouns to repeat the

indefinite pronoun "one." British English uses "one." For example, "One cannot

succeed unless one tries hard,""One should learn to take care of oneself."

American English uses "he," for example, "One cannot succeed unless he tries

hard," "One should learn to take care of himself."

Differences in verbs

a. Past forms differ from British to American English. Table 6 shows

examples (Maxwell and Clandfield):

Table 6

Past Tense Forms of British and American English

Infinitive Simple past

(Br)

Simple past

(Am)

Past participle

(Br)

Past participle

(Am)

Burn burned/

burnt

burned/

burnt

burned/

burnt

burned/

burnt

Bust Bust Busted Bust Busted

Dive Dived dove/

dived

Dived Dived

Dream dreamed/

dreamt

dreamed/

dreamt

dreamed/

dreamt

dreamed/

dreamt

Get Got Got Got Gotten

Lean leaned/

leant

Leaned leaned/

leant

Leaned

Learn learned/

learnt

Learned learned/

learnt

Learned

Plead Pleaded pleaded/

pled

Pleaded pleaded/

pled

Prove Proved Proved Proved proved/

proven

Saw Sawed Sawed Sawn sawn/

sawed

Smell smelled/

smelt

Smelled smelled/

smelt

Smelled

Spill spilled/

spilt

Spilled spilled/

spilt

Spilled

Spoil spoiled/

spoilt

spoiled/

spoilt

spoiled/

spoilt

spoiled/

spoilt

Stink Stank stank/

stunk

Stunk Stunk

Wake Woke woke/

waked

Woken Woken

Page 15 of 20

b. Use of delexical verbs (have and take) (Maxwell and Clandfield):

"In British English, the verb 'have' frequently functions as what is

technically referred to as a delexical verb, e.g. it is used in contexts

where it has very little meaning in itself but occurs with an object noun

which describes an action." For instance, "I'll have a shower." In

American English, "take" is used for these functions, e.g. "I'll take a

shower."

c. Use of auxiliaries and modals (Maxwell and Clandfield):

In British English "needn't" is often used instead of "don't need to," e.g.

"They needn't come to school today." In American, auxiliary verbs are

used instead, e.g. "They don't need to come to school today." In British

English, "shall" is sometimes used as an alternative to" will" to talk

about the future, e.g. "I shall/will be there later." In American English

"will" is normally used instead of "shall." In British English "shall I /

we" are often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g. "Shall we ask

him to come with us?" In American English, "should" is often used

instead of "shall," e.g. "Should we ask him to come with us?"

d. Verb agreement with collective nouns (Maxwell and Clandfield):

In British English, collective nouns can be followed by a singular or

plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or

as many individuals, e.g. 'My team is winning/My team are winning.' In

American English, collective nouns are always followed by a singular

verb.

Differences in tenses (preset perfect usage) (Maxwell and Clandfield):

In American English, the present perfect tense is used far less than in

British English. In spoken American English, it is very common to use the simple

past tense as an alternative to the present perfect. The two situations where this is

especially likely are:

a. In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the

present:

"Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much." (British English )

"Jenny feels ill. She ate too much." (American English)

b. In sentences which contain the adverbs already, just or yet:

A: Are they going to the show tonight?

Page 16 of 20

B: No. They've already seen it. (British English)

A: Are they going to the show tonight?

B: No. They already saw it. (American English)

A: Is Samantha here?

Regarding the above explained and exemplified grammatical differences, it

has become clear that British English and American English vary on the

grammatical level.

III.A Spelling preferences

Many of the spelling differences that distinguish British English from

American English are graphological; they do not change meanings or functions of

the words (Halliday, 2004, pp. 6-7). They sometimes change only sounds of

words. However, numerous spelling differences have to do with morphology; they

change meanings and functions of words. Therefore, it may be convenient to

attach this sub-section of spelling preferences to grammatical level section in this

comparative study.

Salama & Ghali (1982) presented in their book that Webster's New

Collegiate Dictionary, 1956, pp. 1147-1154, compared comprehensively

American spelling preferences and British spelling preferences in a long list (p.

10). Tables 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 show varied extracts form this list.

Page 17 of 20

Table 7

Spelling Preferences (p. 10)

Table 8

Spelling Preferences: Suffixes (p.11)

Table 9

Spelling Preferences: Infixes (p. 14)

Page 18 of 20

Table 10

Spelling Preferences: Unaccented Final Syllables (p. 15)

Table 11

Spelling Preferences: Accented Final Syllables (p. 17)

Conclusion

Dialects of the same language

In the light of section I conclusion, British English and American English

can be considered two accents of the same language (Romaine, 2000, p. 18).

Considering sections I, II and III, it is clear that British English and American

English vary on three levels of organisation. Therefore, they can be considered

two dialects of the same language (Romaine, 2000, p. 18).

Page 19 of 20

References

Cambridge Dictionary Online. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Davies, C. (2005). Divided by a common language: a guide to British and

American English (Vol. 13). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=m1Iq294l_5gC&pg=PR1&lpg=PR1

&dq=Divided+by+a+Common+Language:+A+Guide+to+British+and+Ame

rican+English&source=bl&ots=WTY8aGfvRd&sig=JhIYS7CcaeduH9KdM

5K7ecig37Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTi_nmkvHQAhWMBcAKHe

CHCu8Q6AEIPDAG#v=onepage&q=Divided%20by%20a%20Common%2

0Language%3A%20A%20Guide%20to%20British%20and%20American%

20English&f=false

Dervaes, Claudine & Hunter, John. (2012, Jan. 9). The UK to USA Dictionary

British English vs. American English Full Collection. Solitaire Publishing

Inc.

Dimitrova, S. (2010). British and American Pronunciation. Retrieved from

https://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~llsroach/phon2/sd10.pdf

Gómez, P. (2009). British and American English pronunciation differences.

Halliday, Michael A. K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 3rd

ed. London:

Hodder Arnold, 2004.

Hastings, Chris. (2011, March 13). How British is your English? Research shows

Americanisms AREN'T taking over the British language. Daily Mail Online.

Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365751/How-

British-English-Americanisms-ARENT-taking-language-research-

shows.html

Hosseinzadeh, N. M., Kambuziya, A. K. Z., & Shariati, M. (2015). British and

American Phonetic Varieties. Journal of Language Teaching and Research,

6(3), 647-655.

IPA Chart. (2015). International Phonetic Association. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press & International Phonetic.

Macmillan Dictionary Online. Retrieved from

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

Maxwell, Kerry and Clandfield, Lindsay. (n.d.). Differences in American and

British English grammar. One Stop English. Retrieved from

http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference/american-

english-vs-british-english/differences-in-american-and-british-english-

grammar-article/152820.article

Page 20 of 20

Oxford Living Dictionaries. Retrieved from

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/british-and-american-terms

Romaine, S. (2000). Language in society: An introduction to sociolinguistics.

Oxford University Press.

Salama, N., & Ghali, M. (1982). American and British English Preferences:

Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Prepositions, Vocabulary. Nancy Salama.

Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=pUghrDokKpsC&printsec=frontcove

r#v=onepage&q&f=false

Wardhaugh, R. (1986). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Wolfram, W., & Schilling, N. (2015). American English: dialects and variation

(Vol. 25). John Wiley & Sons.

Zhang, B., & Jiang, Z. (2009). On Grammatical Differences Between Daily

British and American English. Asian Social Science, 4(6), 69.