Lesser-known differences between British and American English

Heath Pulliam
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Heath Pulliam is an independent education writer with a focus on the language learning space. He’s taught English in South Korea and various subjects in the United States to a variety of ages. He’s also a language learning enthusiast and studies Spanish in his free time.

British and American English are two well-known varieties of the English language. While the accent is often the first difference people notice, there are also subtle distinctions in vocabulary, grammar and even style. Many know about how Brits say boot and lift, while Americans would say trunk and elevator, but what about a few lesser-known differences?

Here, we take a look at a few of the more obscure differences between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE).

Note: British English is underlined and American English isitalicized.

1.Footballerandfootball player

Along with the well-known difference of how in the U.S., football refers to American football, while football in Britain is what Americans like me call soccer, Americans also use player after the sport to denote someone who plays the sport. In British English, the sport with an added -er suffix is more common, like footballer and cricketer, not football player or cricket player.

This is not universal, though. For some sports, the -er suffix is used in both dialects. Both Brits and Americans use the term golfer, not golf player. There are also sports where the -er suffix is never used, like for tennis, cycling and gymnastics. Nobody says tenniser, tennis player is used instead.

People who cycle are cyclists and people who do gymnastics are gymnasts. Sometimes, badminton players are even called badmintonists. Overall, there aren’t really any concrete rules for what to call each player of a sport. Each sport has its own way of calling someone who participates in that sport.

2.I dzܱ’t care lessandI could care less

The American version (I could care less) means the same thing. Although technically incorrect, it is still widely used in North America as an idiom and will be interpreted as not caring at all about something. Although popular, both variations can be heard in North America. Regardless, miscommunications do happen surrounding this phrase.

“I could care less about who Harry Styles is dating right now.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were interested in tabloid news.”

“I’m not! I just said I didn’t care about it.”

“No, you said that you could care less, meaning that it is possible for you to care less about who he’s dating.”

“Ugh! What I mean is that I dzܱ’t care less. Happy?”

3. American simplification

Both British and American dialects are filled with many minuscule differences in spelling and phrasing. For example, the words plough (BrE) and plow (AmE) mean the same thing, but are spelled differently.

When two words differ, American English generally favors the simpler, more phonetic spelling. Hey, there’s another one! Favour (BrE) and favor (AmE). It’s apparent in pairs like analyse (BrE) and analyze (AmE), and neighbour (BrE) and neighbor (AmE).

Many of these small spelling differences can be attributed to Noah Webster, author of Webster’s Dictionary, who sought to distinguish American from British English by simplifying many of the words.

Some of his simplifications to American English are swapping the s for z, (specialised to specialized), dropping the u in words ending in our, (colour to color), and changing words ending in -tre to -ter (theatre to theater).

4. Courgette and zucchini

The history of this vegetable, whatever you may call it, tells us why zucchini is used in American English and courgette is used in British English. If you’ve studied languages, you can probably guess what country each name originated from. England was introduced to this cylinder-shaped vegetable in the 19th century by its French neighbors, while Americans were introduced to it in the early 20th century by the large influx of Italian immigrants.

The word zucchini is something of a mistranslation from Italian, however. What Americans use (zucchini) is the plural masculine form of the proper Italian word, (zucchino).

5.Anticlockwiseand counterclockwise

These terms mean the same thing, the rotation against the way a clock runs. In British English, this movement would be called anticlockwise, and in the U.S., they use counterclockwise.The prefixesanti- andcounter- mean similar things.Anti- means against, andcounter- means contrary or opposite to.

You should use antibacterial soap in order to stop the spread of germs.Buying cheap clothes that only last you a few months is counterproductive in the long term.

Can you guess how they described this movement before the invention of clocks with hands and circular faces? English speakers this long ago used sunwise. This direction at the time was considered auspicious and the opposite of the other direction.

6.Haveand take

Have and take are used often before nouns like shower, break, bath, rest and nap.In the U.S., peopletakeshowers andtakenaps, while in the U.K., peoplehaveshowers andhavenaps. Another example of this is how Americanstakea swim and Britshavea swim. These are called delexical verbs and we use them all the time in English, both British and American.

Although often different, both groups of English speakers have arguments, make decisions and take breaks.

7.Quite

This word is spelled the same in both American and British English, but means something different. In the U.S.,quiteis typically used as an intensifier, like the wordvery.In the U.K., it’s normally used as a mitigator, like the wordsomewhat.

It can also mean completely if it modifies certain adjectives. (e.g., It’s quite impossible to learn a language in one month.)

American English: That Mexican food we had yesterday was quite spicy.

Translation: That Mexican food we had yesterday was very spicy.

In British English, quite means something more on the lines of kind of, or a bit.

British English: Thank you for the meal, it was quite good.

Translation: Thank you for the meal, it was somewhat good.

8. Clothing differences

The category of clothes is one of the richest, with differences between the two English variants.How about those pants that people used to only wear at the gym and around the house, but now wear them everywhere?

Brits call themtracksuit bottomsand Americans call themsweatpants. What about a lightweight jacket that protects from wind and rain?Brits might call this ananorak(derived from the Greenlandic word), but Americans would call it awindbreaker. Both variants also useraincoatfor this article of clothing.

9.Torchandflashlight

As an American, I’ve been confused before when coming across the word torch while reading the work of an English author.

To Americans, a torch is a piece of wood with the end lit on fire for light.What Brits are referring to when they use the wordtorchis aflashlight (AmE), a small, battery-run electric lamp.

10.’t and don’t need to

Ah, the English contraction. Many English learners don’t particularly love learning these, but they are an essential and everyday part of the language. ’t, however, is one that I don’t think I’ve ever heard another American say.

In the U.K., this contraction is fairly common. ’t, when separated, becomes need not.

British English: “You needn’t come until Tuesday night.”

Americans would say the relatively simpler don’t need to.

American English: “You don’t need to come until Tuesday night.”

Don’t be fooled into thinking British English has necessarily more difficult contractions than the U.S., though. Just come to the American South and prepare to hear famous (or infamous) contractions like y’all (you all) and ain’t (am not, is not, are not)!

Conclusion

There are hundreds of differences between British and American dialects, we’re only scratching the surface here.Some of these make more sense than others, but luckily, both Brits and Americans can usually understand the meaning of any English word through context.

Some people would even say that Brits speak English while Americans speak American.Although each dialect from across the pond seems very different, they have far more similarities than differences.

Read our posts 'Understanding dialects in the English language' and 'What are the most spoken languages in the world?'

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    2. Let them listen first

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    3. Drill, repeat, drill, repeat, drill…

    Beginners need lots of repetition and drilling, especially as they get to grips with the sounds of their new language. It might seem boring to go over the same sentences again and again, but it is necessary. When practicing a new sentence, try back-drilling, breaking the sentence down into manageable units and then building it back up, working backwards from the end to the beginning; this helps ensure that your intonation is natural and that you get elements of connected speech right. For example, break down “Would you like a cup of tea?” as follows:

    tea > cup of tea > like a > like a cup of tea > Would you > Would you like a cup of tea?

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    5. Avoid metalanguage

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    b) a student may think they have understood when in fact they haven’t.

    6. Don’t forget that your students are fluent in their own language(s)

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    • more easily discouraged by failures.
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    Make sure training is hands-on

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    Manage expectations

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    Make time to experiment and explore

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    Back up technical training

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    Make their lives easier

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    If you've ever had the feeling a word doesn’t look right after you've typed it, you are not alone.The most commonly misspelled words from this list pose challenges for more people than you think. English native speaker or not, hard-to-spell words are determined to give you a headache. And if bad spelling does happen, it’s usually in very important contexts like a vital application letter or during a conversation with your crush – which can really change the tone and potentially cause confusion or embarrassment.

    English has drawn inspiration from many different languages, so it’s perfectly normal to get confused because of its double consonants and silent letters. We all know that moment when you stare at a word for ages and still can’t believe it has two sets of double letters. There are many such examples. In fact, “misspelled” is one of them and people often misspell it.

    Here are some of the most commonly misspelled words in English (both British and American, where necessary), along with their common misspellings.

    1. Accommodate not accomodate

    Also commonly misspelled as:acommodate

    Let’s start strong with a typical example of double consonants – two sets of them.

    2. Acquire not aquire

    Think of this rhyme whenever you encounter the word: 'I c that you want to acquire that wire'.

    3. Awkward not akward

    It also describes how we feel when we realize we’ve just misspelled a word.

    4. Believe not belive

    Remember the rhyme ‘I before E, except after C’. The same rule applies to 'believe', so use this mnemonic when in doubt.There are some exceptions to the rule, so be careful.

    5. Bizarre not bizzare

    It’s bizarre that there is only one Z but that’s the way It is.

    6. Colleague not collegue

    Also commonly misspelled as:collaegue, coleague

    It’s hard to get this one right! Make a funny association like 'the big league of the double Ls', you may just win the misspelling match.

    7. Embarrassed not embarassed

    Also commonly misspelled as:embarrased

    If you remember this one, you’ll reduce the chances of finding yourself in an embarrassing bad spelling situation.

    8. Entrepreneur not enterpreneur

    Also commonly misspelled as:entrepeneur, entreprenur, entreperneur

    It’s not only hard to spell, but also hard to pronounce. The origins? It’s a French word coming from the root entreprendre (‘undertake’).

    9. Environment not enviroment

    The N is silent, so it’s quite easy to misspell this one too. Luckily, it’s similar to 'government' whose verb is 'to govern' which ends in N. A very long, but good association.

    10. Definitely not definately

    Also commonly misspelled as:deffinately, deffinitely, definitley

    You’ll definitely get this one right if you remember it’s not a case of double letters. Neither does it feature any As.

    11. Liaison not liasion

    There’s a reason why you’re never sure how to spell 'liaison', 'bureaucracy', 'manoeuvre', 'questionnaire' and 'connoisseur'. They do not follow the same patterns because they are all French words.

    12. License not lisence

    In American English, it’s always spelled 'license' – no matter what. On the other hand, in British English, it’s spelled 'license' when it’s a verb and 'licence' when it’s a noun. Once you decide which spelling you’ll use – American or British – it’s best to go forward with that and stick to it.

    13. Publicly not publically

    Words ending in 'ic' receive the 'ally' suffix when transformed into adverbs (e.g., organically). But 'public' makes an exception so it’s understandable if you misspell it.

    14. Receive not recieve

    Remember the 'I before E, except after C' rule? This is the kind of word where the rule applies. It also applies to 'niece' and 'siege', but it doesn’t apply to 'weird' or 'seize'. So remember the rule but keep in mind it has some exceptions.

    15. Responsibility not responsability

    People often get tricked by this word’s pronunciation. And if you think about it, it does really sound like it has an A in the middle. Safe to say – it doesn’t. So keep an eye out.

    16. Rhythm not rythm

    This is another borrowed word; in this instance it comes from the Greek word ‘Rhuthmos’ which mean a reoccurring motion.

    17. Separate not seperate

    'Separate' is apparently one of the most misspelled words on Google and it’s understandable why. The same as with 'responsibility', its pronunciation can trick you into thinking there’s an E there.

    18. Strength not strenght

    Even spelling pros will sometimes have to think twice about this one. Our mind is probably used to seeing the H after the G because of words like 'through'. Not this time though (wink wink).

    Don’t forget that the same goes for 'length' (and not 'lenght').

    19. Successful not successfull

    Also commonly misspelled as:succesful, sucessful

    There are so many double consonants in English, that it can become tempting to double them all at times. But for the love of English, don’t do that to 'successful'.

    20. Succinct not succint

    Some people would say two Cs are enough. This is why the word 'succinct' gets misspelled so frequently. The third S is indeed very soft, but don’t let pronunciation deceive you.

    21. Thorough not thurough

    You may have heard of this tongue twister: “English can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.” It’s hard not to get confused with so many similar-looking words. You add an O to 'through' and its pronunciation changes completely.

    22. Until not untill

    In fact, 'until' was spelled with two Ls in the Middle Ages. If it helps you remember, you can think it just lost some weight but getting rid of the last L (unlike 'still').

    23. Whether not wether

    Not as confusing as the 'through' and 'thorough' example, but still pretty challenging.

    24. Which or witch not wich

    Do you know which one is which?

    Advice to avoid misspellings

    One obvious answer would be spell-checkers, but the truth is that spell-checkers won’t actually help you to improve your spelling. You will continue to misspell words and they’ll continue to correct them. This process is passive and won’t stimulate you to learn the correct spelling because somebody else already does the job for you.

    The best advice? Practice, practice and practice!

    If you keep attempting to spell challenging words and checking them it will begin to sink in and become second nature over time. Using tools like dictionaries and language learning apps such as Mondly can help you practice and learn spelling. If you persevere and practice you can avoid any spelling mishaps.