The titular topic has already been discussed in a multitude of ways and explored from an array of aspects, and the article is not trying to invent the wheel, but the dance of the language duo is arguably an appealing topic for genuine English language gourmets at any given time. These two English varieties are by no means the same, but they aren’t too different either.

Blowing your own trumpet (Br) when you should be tooting your own horn (Am)

Generally, differences between the two varieties include vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, grammar, punctuation, idioms, as well as formatting of dates and numbers. Nevertheless, written forms of British and American English as those in textbooks and newspapers differ little in their elemental features and mutual intelligibility is not affected in most cases.

Considering the different varieties (in addition to the above, there’s Canadian English, Australian English, South African English, etc.), learning the English language can cause confusion among learners, especially when it comes to different words for things. Of course, there can be differences in the use of certain words even depending on dialects and regions within the USA and the UK.

The article focuses on vocabulary differences between British English and American English, because it is the most noticeable difference. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different and the examples are given below.

You want cookies or biscuits with your tea?

The Americans and the British have words that differ from each other and there are occasional differences that might cause embarrassment. Saying that it was a nice fall in a British environment might suggest that someone’s misfortunate accident of falling was something enjoyable to see, when in fact the reference was made to a season, which is autumn in British English and fall in American English. Also, in American English a rubber is usually interpreted as a condom rather than an eraser, whereas in British English rubber is simply a piece of rubber used for erasing pencil marks. And if they tell you that you look smart in Britain, they are not necessarily impressed by your intelligence, but rather that you are well dressed, whereas in the US to be smart implies that you are intelligent and clever, even a wonderful company.

Is it a draw or is it a tie?

The first one is from our fellow British speakers and the second one is an American word used in competitive sport when the results are identical or inconclusive. British and American English have evolved differently due to the cultural influences that have affected each independently, and the way they have borrowed words from the languages introduced by those cultures.

This is very common with words for food, such as coriander (British but derived from French; in fact, French has influenced English in more ways than a proud English speaker would be willing to admit, but that can be a topic of another article altogether) and cilantro (American, derived from Spanish); another pair is aubergine in British, which actually derived from Arabic, and eggplant in American English, simply because it looks like a purple egg. Further, British starter is an American appetizer, ice lolly is a popsicle, courgette is a zucchini.

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my candy

The first part of the subtitle above was borrowed from the title of a popular early 1960s tune that was originally recorded and performed by the Drifters. The second part is an intended pun to demonstrate another example of vocabulary variations (original lyrics read “sugar for my honey”), as sweets is in Britain what Americans call candy. A spanner is a wrench, a tin is a can, a single ticket is a one-way ticket, a lift is an elevator, a lorry is a truck, and we’re not nearly done.

New Yorkers go on vacation and Londoners go on holidays

In the spirit of the discussed topic, the table below presents even more common words that have different names in the two language varieties, depending on what form of English you are using. But if you are up for a challenge, the list is actually a lot longer and you’re welcome to contribute.

If still not sure whether it is a car park or a parking lot, if you should take the high street or the main street, whether you should talk to your boss or with your boss, whether it will be done at the weekend or on the weekend, stay tuned, have a doughnut (or American donut, if you prefer) and keep learning new things. Whichever form you tend to use, make sure you use it consistently.

*coined using the words vocabulary and delicious; to indicate that an idea or a thought explained is appealing because of how it was explained and because of the words used to explain it; the word can be used in any English variety, especially in those that favour (note: British spelling has been used here as opposed to the American favor, but that will be presented in one of future segments) coining new words.