Hi Tutors !

…Spelling

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:

Words ending in -or (American) -our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor, flavour etc.

Words ending in -ize (American) -ise (British) recognize, recognise, patronize, patronise etc.

Words ending in -ze (American) – se (British) analyze, analyse , memorize , memorise etc.

Words ending in -er (American) -re (British) theater , theatre , center , centre etc.

Words ending in -ch or -k (American -que (British) check , cheque , bank , banque etc.

Words ending in -ll (American) -l (British) enroll , enrol , fulfill , fulfil , skillful , skilful etc.

Words ending in -ense (American) -enze (British) defense , defence , license , licence etc.

A2) (British) pyjamas , tyre , plough , ageing , draught .. etc.

Great list Fikry! :) I remember many years ago buying a small book for some friends in the US listing the differences and meanings. Some of the different meanings and sayings had us somewhat laughing!

Ok not exactly on topic but I had a friend from New Zealand who got the biggest kick out of the term “fanny pack” He called it a “bum bag” and fanny is not so nice of a term in New Zealand.

Thanks Fikry for the list! Useful to reember a few things…

As a non-native speaker, I tend to mix different spellings a bit, which is really bad… :( And the fact that my computer’s spell-checker is constantly bouncing between BE and AE does not help at all! :((

I try to stick to the British way of spelling, but I tend to replace ‘s’ with ‘z’ all the time in verbs… Oh, well…

Great info Fikry – Do the British spellings also apply to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc?

I find myself writing some words using the American spelling sometimes especially if I am writing to someone in America. Does that make me Bilingual? ;) lol

LOL! Yea, I think so! American and English!

Debbie – LOL!!! :))

It’s a kind of a relief to see that even Brits do the mixing as well…

Do you do that willingly or not?

Sandra!
there are four authentic accents Of English..

1. British english ( the best )

2. American English ( being Muli-national country )

isn’t good to follow and not as clear as British , irrespective of cockoney ( english spoken in london)

3. Nigerian English ( negro accent )

4. Australian English ( better than American ) in my opinion

5. And Canadian accent which is mixed with some french

Hi Debbi!

Thanks for your support guys lol Maybe I will add it to my profile of languages I speak. ‘English and American’ lol

Sandra: I actually change my spelling on purpose and I also adjust words/expressions that I know are not used in America. There are certain words that I now say automatically in ‘American’

Examples: I say a car ‘trunk’ instead of (British) ‘Boot’

Wow.. I really am bilingual!! ;)

Fikri,

Hi…I’m sorry, but you have forgotten scottich, which is english with a twist. Scots have a different pronunciation and spelling. Anyway, we all must remember that all these dialects sprung out of English, British, the original and true one. English is english everywhere, maybe with a twist here and there. Remember all dialects of it started through colonization by the United Kingdom, they used to be unstoppable at it. Then, being a huge power, english became necessary for all other countries, due to commerce and technology, and the United States made it even more necessary due to their power, so now, most of the world speaks some for of english, even if it is very basic.
But in came us, tp spread our knowledge on other languages and make them popular as well!!!!!

Sue

This is a great topic!! I work for an international company and we have to make sure when creating Marketing material we speak to the audience we are marketing to…so many times I have reverted back to my American English (spelling and what not)on England’s marketing materials that I find I have alot of revisions to go over once the rough draft is complete!

Let’s have this quiz on the differences between Amr & Br. English. ( vocabulary)

1. He bought some sweets. He bought some …… .

2. The postman delivered a parcel. The ……..

delivered a ……. .

3. They had three weeks holiday. They had three weeks …….. .

4. In October it is autumn. In october it is …… .

5. Bank notes are easier to carry than coins. ……..

are easier to carry than coins.

6. Between two lessons you often have a break.

Between two lessons you often have a ……. .

7. It was all rubbish. It was all …….. .

1. He bought some sweets. He bought some sweets (should be the same alot of the time) .

2. The postman delivered a parcel. The mailman

delivered a package/the mail .

3. They had three weeks holiday. They had three weeks vacation .

4. In October it is autumn. In october it is fall .

5. Bank notes are easier to carry than coins. Paper money

is easier to carry than coins.

6. Between two lessons you often have a break.

Between two lessons you often have a break .

7. It was all rubbish. It was all garbage/trash .

I like the way the discussion went in this thread! :)

I’m curious what variant of English (in terms of spelling and vocabulary) is learned across the world to foreign speakers… Here in Romania they teach us BE for the most part, but at University there are many professors who deliberately use AE… They tell us to choose what we want, just don’t mixt them up! :))

Sue – what you said about Scottish reminded me of something my high-school teacher once told us: that back in the ‘50s, when English was first introduced as a foreign language in my country, some people wanted the Scottish pronunciation to be taught, because it’s the closest to Romanian (rolled ’R’s and such) and they thought it would be easier for the students! :)) They abandoned the idea in the meantime, however… :D

1. He bought some candy! (not to be confused with Chocolate – nectar of the gods!)
5. Dollar Bills are easier to carry than coins.

Other than that I agree with Chris G!

To tag onto what Sue said – In the States we also have regional stuff. Of course, California is a language all it’s own – like totally! :)

That is interesting about the Scottish. In England we cannot always understand the Scottish accent!! :)

Debbie – I know what you mean! I had more difficulty understanding Scottish than German. I remember one lady trying to tell me where the spiggot was. When I finally figured out what she was saying, I had to figure out that a spiggot was a faucet!

That is so funny!!! :) I agree to about it being harder to understand. Sometimes I have no clue at all if the accent is really thick!

Where I am (the Appalachian Mountain Region of South Carolina) there were many Scottish immigrants. In fact we are said to live in the Southern Highlands. This place also has a language of its own. The thing that water come from in the back yard is a spickot.

1. He bought some sweets.

2 the mailman delivered a box or letter.

3. They had three weeks break time.

4. October is the fall.

5. Bills are easier to carry than change.

6. Between two lessons you often have a break.

7. It was all crap.

For my grand mother a car had a boot, a bonnet, glove-box, and a wind-screen while the truck being a more masculine thing had a hood, a wind shield, a glove compartment, and a bed.

For me a car has a boot, a hood, a glove box, and a wind shield same for the truck I suppose cars have become more masculine :-)

For my son, the car and truck both have a trunk, a hood, a glove compartment and wind shield.

Thus the way that spoken languages often change. He understands what I mean but chooses to use different words.

Sandra – interesting point about the generational influence!

Well, then I’m glad they did not teach us Scottish in school, lol! :)

I think that many language have such variants – the fact that English is so widely spoken only increases their number and range!

For example, I have serious trouble understanding what someone from The Moldavian Republic (a country when they also speak Romanian!) says, when they are speaking faster and using regional words! :)

Great topic Fikry! It was really useful for me and I think for most of the people here.

Has anyone noticed that we have 3 Sandras now? :)