If you are a content writer and you are looking for the difference between American and British style of writing, this article will help.
Curiously, two versions of the same language can be so different from each other. The versions of English spoken in Britain, as well as America, have the same origins, and yet, the pronunciations, words of some everyday things, and way of expression are so unlike each other in both of them. Even the accents and the sense of humor in both parts of the world are wildly different.
Here are some notable distinctions between either of the counterparts of English:
- Vocabulary – the differences in the vocabulary is one of the first things that one might notice when two people are talking from Britain and America. The differences in culture in both countries are reflected in the vocabulary as well. For example, the British live in a ‘flat’ whereas the Americans live in ‘apartments’ and Britain. The same activity is also sometimes referred to as differences in both the cultures, like vacation and holiday. Americans, take a vacation where the British go on a Holiday.
- Accent – The most apparent difference in both languages is how they are spoken. The accents are very different from each other. Although distinctions exist within the accents of the same countries, generalizations can be made as a whole. For example, in America, people pronounce the ‘r’ in every word, and in Britain, they don’t. In British English, the ‘a’ sound is usually dragged and in America, it is not.
- Spellings – in American English, they mostly drop the ‘u’ in most of their words. For example, in color and honor, etc the ‘u’ is not used whereas, in original versions, u is still used. This was because Noah Webster, an American lexicographer wanted to reform English and prove their independence from Britain. He also didn’t like the inconsistencies in the language and wanted to write the words as they were spoken which is why he started omitting the ‘u’ and other such letters from the language.
- Grammar – There are a lot of differences in the grammar of the languages as well. For example, in British English, they never use the gotten. The prepositions are different too. In America, they use ‘on’ before the weekend, and in Britain, they use ‘at’ before it. In the same way, collective nouns are also treated differently. Words that are used for describing a group of people like a family, team, or the government are treated as singulars in American English and plurals in British English.
Having gone through all these points of differences, as a website content writer or editor you must be clear now that these two are very different but it is also apparent that they have more similarities than they have differences. Speaking one of these will mostly not lead to miscommunication and that is evidence enough that they are sisters dressed differently. Americans can understand what The British are saying and communicate with them effortlessly and vice versa and that is because of the inherent similarities between them. But the distinctions that come with the different cultures in both languages is what makes them special and fun. Help other content writers by sharing what you know now.
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