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If you are not proficient in English language yet, you may be asking yourself what the difference between American and British English are. Well, Americans and British clearly speak the same language, but there are enough variations to create versions of the language with slightly different accents, personalities and flavors. So, let’s begin. At the first sign it might be difficult to distinguish US and UK accents when there is such a wide variety of accents all over the world. For example, the accents vary even depending which state of US the person is from. The same goes for British accent in London, Manchester and Glasgow. However, we can make very general rules of distinction. Americans tend to pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British usually pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a word. Also, one of the most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the front of the car ‘the bonnet’, while Americans call it ‘the hood’. Interesting, isn’t it? If you were from UK, you would go on holidays, not on vacation, like Americans. As well as New Yorkers live in apartment; Londoners line in flats. Of course, most people can easily guess the meaning through the context of a sentence. There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American English, but at the end they have far more similarities than differences. So, the main goal is to learn English and it doesn’t really matter which type you prefer. If you can understand one style, you should be able to understand the other style easily. I want to give you an example of one the differences in vocabulary. In British English, people often use: ‘Shall I…?’, to offer to do something and/or: ‘Shall we …?’, to make 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 ...? How about …?’. With the exception of some regional dialects, most Brits and Americans can understand each other without too much difficulty. They watch each other’s TV shows, sing each other’s songs, and read each other’s books. And they tend to make fun of each other’s accents. While there may be certain differences between British and American English, the key takeaway is that the two have more similarities. Accidentally using one instead of the other will not automatically lead to misunderstanding. Americans and Brits can usually communicate with each other without too much difficulty. As the most-spoken second language on the planet, English has to be flexible. After all, it’s not just spoken in the countries we’ve discussed above. So whether you speak English like a Brit or like an American this should not be an obstacle when communicating with people on the opposite side of the pond, or anywhere else in the world. Just be proud of your unique accent and don’t be afraid to speak.
