A goal of the project
To find out how English differ in the UK and the USA.
Project objectives
Learn about history of accents
Find out grammar differences
Find out spelling differences
Learn about variety of vocabulary
Learn about pronunciation features
Find examples on TV
Make a conclusion
Introduction
A half of the world speaks English. A lot of people learn English as a second language, because it is the international language. If you want to be able to meet foreign people and feel yourself confident in conversation, you have to learn English. Because of all of this there are so many various English accents. Two main accents are American and British. These accents are very different so that the English learner may not understand the one when they learn another one. So I think the topic of my project is very relevant. It will help people to understand native speakers better.
History
The British actually introduced the language to the Americas when they reached these lands by sea between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling had not yet been standardised. It took the writing of the first dictionaries to set in stone how these words appeared. In the UK, the dictionary was compiled by London-based scholars. Meanwhile, in the United States, the lexicographer was a man named Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words were spelled to make the American version different from the British as a way of showing cultural independence from its mother country.
In terms of speech, the differences between American and British English actually took place after the first settlers arrived in America. These groups of people spoke using what was called rhotic speech, where the ‘r’ sounds of words are pronounced. Meanwhile, the higher classes in the UK wanted to distinguish the way they spoke from the common masses by softening their pronunciation of the ‘r’ sounds. Since the elite even back then were considered the standard for being fashionable, other people began to copy their speech, until it eventually became the common way of speaking in the south of England.
Grammar Differences
1. Present perfect and past simple
In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they consider relevant to the present.
The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, but people often use the past simple when they consider the action finished. This is especially common with the adverbs already, just and yet.
British English: He isn't hungry. He has already had lunch.
- Have you done your homework yet?
- Yes, I've just finished it.
American English: He isn't hungry. He already had lunch.
- Did you do your homework yet?
- Yes, I just finished it.
2. got and gotten
In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.
In American English, people say gotten.
** Note that “have got” is commonly used in both British and American English to speak about possession or necessity. “have gotten” is not correct here.
British English:
You could have got hurt!
He's got very thin.
She has got serious about her career.
Have you got any money?
We've got to go now.
American English:
You could have gotten hurt!
He's gotten very thin.
She has gotten serious about her career.
BUT:
Have you got any money? (NOT Have you gotten ...)
We've got to go now. (NOT We've gotten to ...)
3. Verb forms with collective nouns
In British English, a singular or plural verb can be used with a noun that refers to a group of people or things (a collective noun). We use a plural verb when we think of the group as individuals or a singular verb when we think of the group as a single unit.
In American English, a singular verb is used with collective nouns.
** Note that “police” is always followed by a plural verb.
British English:
My family is/are visiting from Pakistan.
My team is/are winning the match.
The crew is/are on the way to the airport.
BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.
American English:
My family is visiting from Pakistan.
My team is winning the match.
The crew is on the way to the airport.
BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.
4. have and take
In British English, the verbs have and take are commonly used with nouns like bath, shower, wash (to speak about washing) and with nouns like break, holiday, rest (to speak about resting).
In American English, only the verb take (and not the verb have) is used this way.
British English:
I'm going to have/take a shower.
Let's have/take a break.
American English:
I'm going to take a shower.
Let's take a break.
5. shall
In British English, people often use Shall I ...? to offer to do something and/or Shall we ...? to make a suggestion.
It is very unusual for speakers of American English to use shall. They normally use an alternative like Should/Can I ...? or Do you want/Would you like ...? or How about ...? instead.
British English:
It's hot in here. Shall I open the window?
Shall we meet in the café at 5?
Shall we try that again?
American English:
It's hot in here. Can I open the window?
Do you want to meet in the café at 5?
How about we try that again?
Spelling differences
| British English | American English |
| -oe-/-ae-(e.g.anaemia, diarrhoea, encyclopaedia) | -e-(e.g. anemia, diarrhea, encyclopedia) |
| -t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, leapt) | -ed (e.g. burned, dreamed, leaped) |
| -ence (e.g. defence, offence, licence) | -ense (defense, offense, license) |
| -ell- (e.g. cancelled, jeweller, marvellous) | -el- (e.g. canceled, jeweler, marvelous) |
| -ise (e.g. appetiser, familiarise, organise) | -ize (e.g. appetizer, familiarize, organize) |
| -ou (e.g. colour, behaviour, mould) | -o (e.g. color, behavior, mold) |
| -re (e.g. metre, fibre, centre) | -er (e.g. meter, fiber, center) |
| -ogue (e.g. analogue, monologue, catalogue) | -og (e.g. analog, monolog, catalog) *Note that American English also recognizes words spelled with –ogue |
| -y- (e.g. tyre) | -i- (e.g. tire) |
Vocabulary differences
The largest differences between British and American English lie in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties, for example:
Mean: American English - angry, bad humored, British English - not generous, tight-fisted.
American English: Don't be so mean to your sister!
British English: She's so mean she won't even pay for a cup of tea.
Pants: American English - a piece of clothing that covers the lower part of the body from the waist to the feet, consisting of two cylinder-shaped parts, one for each leg, that are joined at the top, British English - a piece of underwear covering the area between the waist and the tops of the legs
The Americans and the British also have some words that differ from each other.
| British English | American English |
| trousers | pants |
| flat | apartment |
| bonnet (the front of the car) | hood |
| boot (the back of the car) | trunk |
| lorry | truck |
| university | college |
| holiday | vacation |
| jumper | sweater |
| crisps | chips |
| trainers | sneakers |
| biscuit | cookie |
| shop | store |
| football | soccer |
Pronunciation
I will tell about standard accents – General British (GB) and General American (GA). There is huge variety of it on both sides of the pond.
Silent r
The most obvious difference between standard American (GA) and standard British (GB) is the omission of ‘r’ in GB: you only pronounce a written if there is a vowel sound after it, so we don’t say it in PARK /pɑːk/, HORSE /hɔːs/ or FURTHER /ˈfɜːðə/. In American, though, we pronounce every written /r/ so /pɑrk/, /hɔrs/ & /ˈfɜrðər/.
“Roast dinner will be pork, carrots and turnips.”
Vowel Sounds
Many of the 20 vowel sounds are very similar in American and British pronunciation, however, there are 8 sounds that significantly change:
/ɒ/ to /ɑ/
In British (GB) we use back rounded open sound /ɒ/ for words like SHOP /ʃɒp/, LOST /lɒst/ and WANT /wɒnt/. In American (GA) we don’t round the lips, so it’s: /ʃɑp/, /lɑst/ & /wɑnt/.
“John wants a stop watch.”
/ɔː/ to /ɔr/ & /ɑ/
Long back rounded /ɔː/ as in SWORD /sɔːd/, FORCE /fɔːs/, THOUGHT /θɔːt/ & LAW /lɔː/ is pronounced in 2 ways in American. /ɔr/ for words with ‘r’ so SWORD /sɔrd/ & FORCE /fɔrs/, and /ɑ/ for words without /r/ so THOUGHT /θɑt/ & LAW /lɑ/. This means that for many American speakers, COT /kɑt/and CAUGHT /kɑt/ are the same, though COURT /kɔrt/ would be different. In British English CAUGHT /kɔːt/ and COURT would be the same, COT /kɒt/ would be different.
“I caught four walkers talking Norse.”
/əʊ/ to /oʊ/
In standard GB English the diphthong /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth GO, NO & SHOW, whereas in American it starts to the back /oʊ/: GO /goʊ/, NO /noʊ/, SHOW /ʃoʊ/. There is great variance on both sides of the Atlantic for this sound.
“Don’t throw stones over the road.”
Vowel Length
There is a greater difference in British English between the length of vowel sounds, with some being pronounced significantly longer than their American counterparts.
Consonant Sounds
/t/
When /t/ appears after a stressed vowel and before a weak vowel, American speakers often make a voiced flap – a bit like a very fast /d/: WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT. In Standard British this would be pronounced as a normal /t/ WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT, though in regional British accents, most famously cockney, this would be a glottal stop: WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT.
“My daughter bought a motorbike.”
Word Stress
Some words are stressed differently in American English, particularly those of French origin where American keeps the last syllable stress and British goes for first syllable: GARAGE, GOURMET, BALLET, BROCHURE, though this is reversed in the words ADDRESS and MOUSTACHE.
Examples of British and American accents
Obviously, to understand differences between accents better it’s necessary to hear both of them. I prepared some examples of British and American accents in cartoons and films.
The first one is the video number 1. It’s a moment from the British cartoon “Sarah & Duck”. In comparing there is the second video (video number 2), where is a moment from the American cartoon “The owl house”.
Go to films: video number 3 – British film “Enola Holmes”, video number 4 – American series “Never Have I Ever”
Exercises
1. Divide the following words into two groups (British and American), paying attention to the spelling of the words:
favorite – favourite, apologize – apologise, labour – labor, catalogue – catalog, theatre – theater, counselor – counsellor, license – licence, color – colour, hypnotise – hypnotize, center – centre, specialize – specialise, traveller – traveler, humour – humor, dialog – dialogue, defence – defense, neighbour – neighbor, kilometre - kilometer.
Key: British – favourite, apologise, labour, catalogue, theatre, counsellor, licence, colour, hypnotise, centre, specialise, traveller, humour, dialogue, defence, neighbour, kilometre.
American – favorite, apologize, labor, catalog, theater, counselor, license, color, hypnotize, center, specialize, traveler, humor, dialog, defense, neighbor, kilometer.
2. Divide words into two groups (British and American)
trousers – pants, gas – petrol, a boot – a trunk, candy – sweets, a flashlight – a torch, autumn – fall, an apartment – a flat, underground – subway, a lift – an elevator, first floor – ground floor, post – mail, cookies – biscuits, chips – French fries, a truck – a lorry, rubbish – garbage, holiday – vacation, soccer – football, a jumper – a sweater, a cab – a taxi, a tin – a can, an eraser – a rubber, a film – a movie, sneakers – trainers.
Key: British – trousers, petrol, a boot, sweets, a torch, autumn, a flat, underground, a lift, ground floor, post, biscuits, chips, a lorry, rubbish, holiday, football, a jumper, a taxi, a tin, a rubber, a film, trainers.
American – pants, gas, a trunk, candy, a flashlight, fall, an apartment, subway, an elevator, first floor, mail, cookies, French fries, a truck, garbage, vacation, soccer, a sweater, a cab, a can, an eraser, a movie, sneakers.
Conclusion
To sum up, accents are the most important part in learning and understanding English well. And because of the history of British colonization almost half of the existing countries speak English with their own features. That can be very difficult to understand. People in different countries use different words for naming things and conditions. It may confuse people who only start learning English. However it will not be that difficult anymore after some practice. So everything is possible.
Sources
https://www.thoughtco.com/differences-between-american-and-british-english-1212216#:~:text=The%20three%20major%20differences%20between,of%20specific%20tools%20or%20items
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/british-english-and-american-english
https://www.britishcouncilfoundation.id/en/english/articles/british-and-american-english
https://pronunciationstudio.com/american-vs-british-pronunciation/
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