A few verbs are different. The most noticeable would be the use of ‘gotten’ in AE. We tend to use the past participle of get, which is got.
SPELLING
There are quite a few differences between AE and BE spelling. The Americans wanted to be separate from the British after American Independence in 1776. So they decide to change the spelling of words that originated from England. The Americans tended to change words so that they were easier to spell and pronounce. Many of BE words originate from either French, Greek or Latin. As the Americans were not as easily influenced by these cultures as the British were, their spellings do not reflect words which we ‘borrowed’.
Many words with double ‘l’ in them, were deleted to just a single consonant. An example would be woollen, which is spelt woollen in AE. Jewellery is spelt jewlery and travelled, to travelled.
British ‘-our’ becomes ‘-or’ in American English. Colour is color, labour is spelt labor etc.
British English words ending in ‘-re’ were changed to end in ‘-er’. So therefore centre became center and litre became liter. Words such as organize and prioritise were changed to organise and prioritise. Here, the consonant ‘z’ was simply swapped with the letter ‘s’.
PRONUNCIATION
The pronunciation features of American English most define the two languages. In AE, the post vocalic /r/ as in car is said as /kar/. In Received Pronunciation it is said /ka:/ We tend not to say the letter ‘r’ when it comes at the end of a word.
AE also pronounce words such as fast, with a long flat <a>. In RP we say /fa:st/ and in AE they say /fa::st/
Words such as tomato are also said differently. The middle vowel sound is spoken differently.
VOCABULARY
The difference between AE and BE vocabulary is extreme and can be very confusing at times. Words that exist in British English can have a completely different meaning in American English. A few examples would be chips, which in England is recognized to be a food made out of potatoes. In AE, it is what they tend to call crisps. In the USA pants are what we British call trousers.
There are many AE words which are simply not recognized in the BE language. Zucchini, pacifier and pantehose are to name but a few.
Everyday, we use words and expressions which originate from AE, but we do not realise that they are not British words. Teenager, commuter, face the music, reliable, influential and grapevine. These are just an example of some words and phrases which have crept into the BE language for America.
With America being a country which tends to export a lot of its goods, such as McDonalds, it is no wonder we now have words like burgers and shakes in the BE language.
The USA leads the way in computer technology. The computer term GIGO, (garbage in, garbage out) has spread into many languages, including BE.
CONCLUSION
American English does not seem to corrupt the British English language in any way. It simply enriches it with new words and phrases. The borrowing of words has existed for many years, and Americanisms is no different. Foreign borrowings make different languages easier to understand and can label things we have not already named. When two cultures meet, there are bound to be exchanging of words. This is simply shows that our language is evolving.
