Differences b/w UK English or US English.?
By Blueguy999
@Blueguy999 (352)
India
September 8, 2011 6:09am CST
I am not asking which language is better because languages cant be compared.My discussion is about few confusions..I want to be sured..about.
I am from India.We were ruled by Britishers so the english we study in schools,colleges is UK english...but now its global world and we all use internet.
On many sites during sign up or on installing any program you are asked to choose the English(uk)or English(us).
I am curious to know the basic differences.
-Are these just based on pronunciations?
e.g. the word 'Schedule' - as skedjual(trying to write the pronunciation)
-Grammatically different?
Few words that I find in Ms word with different spellings e.g. Colour is color.is it only ms word's default programming or in US english 'colour' is spelled as 'color'?
There are many more words I dont remember right now.but many of you also have seen few words underlined in red,when you type in ms word(or utility programs which are US based).
Pleasd dont forget to correct me if am wrong any where in this topic because I heard about canadian english too so that can also be in for these changes..I am not sure though.
7 responses
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
8 Sep 11
We learnt UK English at school but now I don't care much about it...UK or American spelling is fine to me. As long as me and the other party understand the communication then it's alright. Beside the vowel case there are also some words which have different letter position yet the same meaning like centre and center.(^^)
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
9 Sep 11
@CT yes I agree that there should be no problem with the language as long as you are able to convey your message to the people you are communicating with.But you can't rule it out that there is a problem creates when your personality is judged by this and because of that your real ability is pushed to secondary.
Anyway thank for bringing this word 'centre' in to the 'center' of this discussion.I think I need a dictionary now he he.:)
1 person likes this
@waflay (2737)
• Nairobi, Kenya
8 Sep 11
British English and American English have specific differences in both grammar and spellings. I remember sometime back when I was doing a certain English test online. The site i was working on use only American English, and there was this question that I was supposed to choose the correct grammatical sentence from multiple choices given. 'John and I are working online or John and me are working online', I was surprised to know that 'whoever and Me' is correct according to American English.
Although there is no big differences, a person who is used to British English will have problems when it comes to written American English.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Sep 11
It doesn't bother me much when I get a spellcheck underline when I type something in UK English here on Mylot..I can let that go..but I wasn't aware there were grammatical differences too!
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
8 Sep 11
Hey waflay!thanks you know what you were surprised to see that in online english test but we are tought to correct these kind of sentences in our school days.Now I think how silly the system was or is...?our motto should be with the language to convey our message to others..How? in particular form? that is secondary.
..So far as your sentence that confused you ..it should be 'I' not 'Me' according to english we studied i.e uk english.I am not surprised if you say you are from US.He he.US english should be everywhere because its flexible and not that confusing and developed itself with time.
@ shepherdspy yes there are some grammatical differences too..you wont believe ...even I wasn't aware.. in fact I am still not sure but I have seen many people using the word 'Dont' with singular noun/subject,they dont use 'doesn't'(same with do and does..)
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Sep 11
The most noticeable differences between US and UK English seem to be when dealing with words derived from English root languages,Like Aeon becoming Eon,and "redundant" vowels being dropped..It's only going to be a problem when doing a Crossword puzzle,or in an exam,or trying to get a password right!
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
8 Sep 11
hmmm..just wondering..doesn't Crossword puzzles come in american tabloids,news papers..?
..as you saying it seems us english is more easier to spell.
@ebuscat (5935)
• Philippines
8 Sep 11
For me yes because many are not good to English so that they know how to be good in right a way word.
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
8 Sep 11
I am not sure if I got the sense ..but I agree if you are saying we shouldn't stick to strict guidelines when we communicate in day today life.We should emphasize on the content and the sense full meaning to convey our thoughts to others rather than start judging someone by his/her language.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
9 Sep 11
The differences between UK and American english are surprising especially if you're used with only one and then encounters the other. Just like the word schedule, American english normally pronounce the word as you indicated but it's different in the British english since it's pronounce shedjual. American english uses z in some words which normally has an s in British english, like Organization and organisation. There are a lot more. Now I am not aware that there's canadian english as well because I can't tell the difference from the americans.
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
9 Sep 11
yes ybong some differences are very surprising.We pronounce the word 'schedule' as it is in uk english.I got surprised when I saw this word in subtitles of hollywood movie I heard they pronounced that in that different way I tried mention.You are right it surprses more if you have been using only one english language..
Interesting fact of 'z' sound in pronunciation..but true now it is commonly used now.We learned the spellings with 's' but even in UK english 's' sounds 'z' in such '..zation' words you have mentioned..there are many more..sorry my memory is not serving me right now.Thanks a lot.
@naseemkum (1803)
• India
8 Sep 11
I dont know which english im using but i dont use colour now a days but only using as color. But normally i like only american english which is better to communicate even though british ruled my country im attracted towards only american english. I always select US ENGLISH as my prefered language in all the things i see. According to me british english is somewhat confusing me.
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
8 Sep 11
I also select US english during any installation or registration with the thought that the most programs or sites wont have any problem with that.
I dont know the actual basic differences so I cant say which one is easier or better to communicate...I heard same from the guys who joined American english classes that they were more comfortable with American english.
@voracious (624)
• Philippines
9 Sep 11
I prefer US English than British English because it's easy to communicate using US English without having a hard time with accents while British English as far a I know they are much meticulous regarding the accent which may I find a little difficult besides US English can adopt many changes.
@thestavreva (151)
• Greece
8 Sep 11
1.British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom.It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom.
2.
American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States.It includes all English dialects used within the United States.
The English language was first introduced to the Americas by British colonization,beginning in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. Similarly, the language spread to numerous other parts of the world as a result of British trade and colonization elsewhere and the spread of the former British Empire, which, by 1921, held sway over a population of 470–570 million people, approximately a quarter of the world's population at that time.
All the information above is taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences
For further information and more details visit the webpage it's big article about your question!!!
@Blueguy999 (352)
• India
8 Sep 11
Oh mate thanks.Thestavreva for all your efforts.I know its Uk people went to US and lived in US in colonies.I wanted to restrict to technical and basic differences in both countries' english.I know English originated in Uk thanks.
