Hi, sweets!
All the time my students ask if there is a difference between American and British English.
Unfortunately the answer to this question is yes. There are many differences between American and British English, especially in pronunciation and spelling; in grammar there are just a few. In fact, English is the first language in many countries and there are differences between them all, these include: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.
Here you can check some of these differences:
American English British English
Apartment Flat
Band-aid Plaster
Bathroom Toilet
Bureua Office
Busy Engaged
Can Tin
Candy apple Toffee apple
Carnival Funfair
Chips Crisps
Cookies Biscuits
Cotton candy Candyfloss
Detergent Washing powder Dishwashing Washing up
Drapes Curtains
Elevator Lift
Eraser Rubber
Faucet Tap
Ferris wheel Big wheel
Flashlight Torch
Free time Spare time
Freeway Motorway
French fries Chips
Garbage Rubbish
Gas Petrol
Grippe Flu
First floor Ground floor
Highway Main road
Intersection Crossroads
Jelly Jam
Knapsack Rucksack
Movie Film
Movie theater Cinema
Nail polish Nail varnish
Oatmeal Porridge
Pacifier Dummy
Pants Knickers
Panty hose Tights
Parking lot Car park
Private school Public school
Public holiday Bank holiday¹
Purse Handbag
Recess Break (play time)
Report card School report
Rubber Condom
Rubber boots Wellies/wellingtons
Run Ladder
Sedan Saloon car
Sidewalk Pavement
Sink² Basin
Skillet Frying-pan
Slicker Mackintosh
Stocks Shares
Streetcar Tram
Student Pupil
Sweater Jumper
Trash Rubbis
Trashcan Dustbin
Trolley car Tram
Truck Lorry
Trunk Boot
Undershirt Vest
Vacation Holiday
Vacuum cleaner Hoover
Washcloth Flannel
Windshield Windscreen
Yard³ Garden
Zip code Post code
Zipper Zip
Another huge difference that causes great confusion is writing the date. When you write the dates in numbers, American and British English differ. It means, to write the date "7th of September 2010", a British would write day/month/year (07/09/2010) and an American would write month/day/year (09/07/2010). This often causes great confusion. So, it's better to write the date in full: 7th of Sptember, 2010 or September 7th, 2010. It also looks nicer.
As one of my favourite writers said about these differences:
"We have everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language."
(Oscar Wilde, 1887, The Canterville Ghost).
That's all folks!!!
Teacher Jô
¹ "Bank holidays" have to follow certain rules, otherwise they are also known as public holidays in the UK.
² If the "sink" is in the kitchen - it's a "sink", but it's in the bathroom it's a "basin".
³When a British hears the word "yard" in connection with "house", we think of a concrete area, usually full of building materials, or work tools.
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