What are the Differences Between UK and US English

What are the Differences Between UK and US English American and British English Spelling Differences ChaptersWhy Has American English Changed?Noah Webster and the Push for Simple SpellingHow to Learn English Spelling: American vs BritishAs a learner of English as a foreign language, you’ll be faced with the decision between adopting British or American spelling in your English writing skills practice.There is no ‘right’ answer to this dilemma, but it is usually down to personal preference and your situation.For instance, if you are planning to get a job or take English courses in London and want to improve your English skills, you may find it useful to adopt British spelling. However, many non native English speakers choose to use US spelling as a default from the day they start to learn English, since it is the most prevalent in the English-language media.US English spelling is also simpler and more phonetic than UK spelling, so it is easier to become fluent in written English.This is because American spelling has been adapted to make it closer to the way words are pronounced in spoken English, so it is a clear winner for teachers of English courses, those studying English who are looking to improve their language skills.The differences are usually subtle, and only involve changing one letter, so many of them go unnoticed.Other changes are much more obvious, and involve changing a few letters or even using a completely different word.This can seem bizarre to speakers of British, Australian and South African English, who generally follow the same spelling and grammar rules as each other.However, differences between these two versions of English rarely cause confusion, and every native English speaker on each side of the Atlantic can enjoy each other’s TV and films as well as literature with ease.Are you looking for resources for learning English online?UKUSAPaediatricianPediatricianOestrogenEstrogenAnaemiaAnemiaIt’s not difficult to understand why these changes were made.Nevertheless, both British and American spelling is accepted in the world of sci ence.Another major difference concerns tenses, in particular, forming the past tense.For regular verbs, forming a past participle generally means adding the suffix ‘ed’.So ‘play’ becomes ‘play’, ‘stay’ becomes ‘stayed’, ‘talk’ becomes ‘talked’, and so on.It’s important to note the pronunciation of these past participles. Sometimes the ‘ed’ is pronounced as a ‘D’, and sometimes as a ‘T’.And this point is the reason for the next difference.When it comes to forming the past tense of ‘learn’ and ‘dream’, the Brits and Americans once again disagree, with the Brits choosing to, this time, spell phonetically as ‘learnt’ and ‘dreamt’, whereas the Americans use ‘learned’ and ‘dreamed’.Again, this causes little confusion and is really down to personal preference.However, it’s important to take into consideration the fact that the pronunciation differs slightly, too.For ‘learnt’ and ‘learned’, only the final letters di ffer in sound, however for ‘dreamt’ and ‘dreamed’, the difference is more noticeable, with the Brits pronouncing ‘drempt’ and the Americans saying ‘dreemd’ â€" which reflects their preferred spelling.Underground or Subway? ¦ source: Pixabay - PublicDomainPicturesAnother difference which, this time, affects an entire category of words, is how US English spells verbs ending in ‘ise’, choosing to replace the ‘S’ with a ‘Z’, making ‘ize’.Here are just a few examples of how this looks:UKUSCategoriseCategorizePrioritisePrioritizeOrganiseOrganizeSo, again, the actual difference is nothing major, but rather the scale of it is what is noticeable.It’s a similar story for words ending in ‘nce’ in UK spelling, where speakers of US English prefer to use an ‘S’ instead of a ‘C’.This change goes largely unnoticed. So much so, that British people sometimes ‘misspell’ certain words as their American counterparts.Take a look at the similarity:UKUSOff enceOffenseDefenceDefenseLicenceLicenseSometimes, however, the differences in UK and US spelling are not so subtle.For instance, where the Brits write a cheque, the Americans write a ‘check’.This change was obviously brought about to get rid of the ‘foreign’ and silent ‘u-e’ ending as well as making the spelling more phonetic.While the Americans categorize their colors and worry about canceling their theatre tickets, the Brits do it slightly differently.As a non native  speaker, it really doesn’t matter whether you choose to use UK or US spelling when you study English.However, we recommend that you choose one system and stick to it whilst your improve your vocabulary and work on your English speaking skills, listening skills, English conversation and English reading and listening comprehension so that your writing remains consistent.It's also a good idea to choose one English system in your language learning as each one favours its own English grammar rules, slang and idiomatic expressions and phrases.This approach is particularly useful if you want to learn English with a particular goal in mind.If you're an English learner hoping to achieve English fluency and teach English for the British Council, you'll need to focus on gaining the skills learn to confidently speak English to the level of a native British speaker.This means regular grammar exercises, English listening quizzes, learning to use new words in conversation, incorporating new nouns, adverbs, and adjectives into your sentences when practising speaking English, as well as getting used to how British English speakers pronounce their words and even practising tongue twisters!A good tip is to watch English TV and films from English speaking countries. By doing this, you can listen to English being spoken and see how the pronunciation matches the spelling and punctuation in the subtitles.All of this literacy and listening practise will see you achieve a high level of proficiency as you learn to speak English fluently, and is much more valuable than a dictionary when it comes to exams.Wherever you come from, and wherever your knowledge of English takes you, don't forget to enjoy it!