The British and the Americans clearly speak the same language, even though there is enough variation to create different versions of the language with slightly different characteristics. Are the British and the Americans really \u2018divided by a common language\u2019? How different are these two, really?<\/p>\n
N.B.: For the record, the United Kingdom is a sovereign state consisting of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is an island comprised of England, Scotland and Wales. Consider this when using (or misusing) the terms \u2018UK\u2019 or \u2018England\u2019; they are not interchangeable.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to clearly distinguish between American and British accents when such a wide variety of accents\u00a0exists within\u00a0both the US and the UK. A Texan and a New Yorker are both Americans, but have very different accents. The same goes for British accents in London, Manchester and Glasgow. However, some very general distinctions can be made. For example, Americans usually pronounce every \u2018r\u2019 in a word, while the British tend to only pronounce the \u2018r\u2019 when it\u2019s the first letter of a word.<\/p>\n While the British retain the more complex spelling of words with Greek or Latin roots dating as far back as the 14th century, the Americans prefer their terminology simplified. A basic\u00a0rule of thumb<\/em>\u00a0which covers spelling rules is that American English spelling tends to be simplified and pronunciation-based, while British English favors the words as they\u00a0originally appeared in the language from which they were borrowed from.<\/p>\n E.g. Can you do me a\u00a0favor<\/strong>\u00a0(US)? vs Could you do me a\u00a0favour<\/strong>\u00a0(UK)?<\/em><\/p>\n E.g. I\u2019d like to\u00a0apologize<\/strong>\u00a0for my\u00a0behavior<\/strong>\u00a0(US) vs I\u2019d like to\u00a0apologise<\/strong>\u00a0for my\u00a0behaviour<\/strong>\u00a0(UK).<\/em><\/p>\n E.g. We have a strong line of\u00a0defense<\/strong>\u00a0(US) vs We have a strong line of\u00a0defence<\/strong>\u00a0(UK).<\/em><\/p>\n The US and the UK\u2019s imperial histories and modern influence over the world have changed the English language forever \u2013 and it\u2019s continuously evolving. Because it was exported to countries all over the world, it has been forced to accept different adjustments to its vocabulary based on the impact of cultural differences.<\/p>\nAccent<\/h2>\n
Spelling<\/h2>\n
Vocabulary<\/h2>\n