Question:

Is AMERICAN ENGLISH much different than BRITISH ENGLISH??..?

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I am Italian and next year I' m probabily studying abroad..I chose to study in the USA but here, in my school, we study the BRITISH ENGLISH..do you think i will have problems for it when I will come back to my Italian school??..

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  1. No.


  2. yep it is we say rubbish in england in American English they say Garbage..

  3. yes,i never knew they spelt money-muny

  4. Both dialects of English will be understood in the U.S.

    We speak slightly different english in the U.S. from the western Europeans, but both are very similar and will be understood.

  5. Some American spellings of English words are the original English spellings.

    The 'ize' words for instance, are spelled 'ise' in England.  This was due to the 'Frenchification' of spelling during the course of the Nineteenth Century, an attempt to obliterate the German origin of many words.  This process was disliked by Dickens & Carlyle, & many others also fulminated against the change.  Artizan is now spelled Artisan, but the Artizans Dwelling Act is spelled the original English way.  

    If you read a first edition of Dickens novel, 'Hard Times' there are several instances of spelling which appear to us to be Americanized.  At the time of writing they were the normal way of spelling in England.  Subsequent editions have been altered to current spelling.

    In some ways American English words/spellings are the original true English, take for instance 'gotten', a word which has become archaic in Britain, but continues to be used in everday speech in USA.  This is because Americans were not subject to the linguistic influences to which Britain was exposed in the Nineteenth Century, & therefore continues to use the original English words/spellings.

    The answer to the question therefore is no, but remember they do have influences from more cultures then we have.  This no doubt explains many differences of pronunciation.

  6. I don't think it's all that different.

    A few spelling differences such as

    American - Color

    British - Colour

  7. Yes. They are both constantly evolving, although the basic grammar structures stay the same. Mostly its a use of terms for everyday stuff that causes problems... like you would iron an american mans pants, but and englishman's most certainly not!

  8. I don't think you will have any problem adjusting. In the U.S. our English may vary a relatively small amount from England. It is presumptuous to say that our English is in any way a different language.

    If you were to spell color "colour" here we aren't going to kill you or anything. Don't worry! I know that being an American I would be thrilled to meet someone from Italy to learn about your culture.

    I acknowledge England's English as the true English, but to say that ours is a less intelligent version denotes an excessive arrogance. The first Americans settled here long ago. How could British English not have not have evolved into something else on a different continent? I think both of our dialects our full of rich history and should not be scrutinized. British and American English are really just two different dialects of a common language.

  9. oohermissus- you sound stuck up...Americans speak a "lazy" form of English??? Give me a break. Honestly, do you think your anti-American rhetoric is not going to draw up an American out there to feel patriotic when you type out some backhanded statement from the safety of your computer across the pond? Have you ever been to America, or do you just do it to fit in with the other people who do it? Too bad for you, I'm sure the rest of your countrymen are great.

    To answer the question, I think it'll take a slight adjustment, but nothing major. You should be fine.

    You'll find people willing to help you out if you need it. Most of all, they will want to learn all about you.

    Hope you have a great stay in the USA.

  10. You've partly answered your own question there. The standard English would be; 'much different from...' The basic language structure and grammar are pretty much the same, the main differences are just in their respective vocabularies.

    It has been said that we are "two nations divided by a common language."

    To "the last word" up there; if you're going to be smug and correct people, at least make sure you have it correct yourself:

    ...different FROM, identical TO

  11. Generally speaking, no.  

    But the answers will vary relative to how pompous people are.

  12. Not really, the major differences are with the spelling.

    In American English, the letter 'U' is omitted from words ending in 'our'. For example; 'colour' is spelt 'color, humour becomes humor and flavour is flavor.

    Also words ending in 'ise' become 'ize' is American English such as recognise/recongnize and patronise/patronize.

    There are also some slight variations in prepositions, such as 'at the weekend' or 'in a team' would, in American English become 'on the weekend' or 'on a team'.

    Then there are changes in vocabulary such as bonnet is a hood and boot is a trunk.

  13. Yes.  There is only ONE English, and that is English English, from England.

    Americans speak some slang/lazy/drawl type of English.

    It is different TO English, not different THAN English...... I rest my case

  14. I'm American and my friend, who speaks French, cannot tell a big difference between u.s. english and u.k. english.

    I wouldn't worry about it; British accents are nice to have, but so are American accents. All about opinion.

  15. yes, but it few difference and you will usual at American language

  16. No, you'll be fine. There are differences but they are not very big. Most of the differences are on the accent, which is okay because in the same country people from different states will have different accents, so the pronounciation will not gonna be a big deal. And another difference is on spelling, which is also not a big difference either. I have studied English in England and in the USA and I never had problems with the differences. It is actually cool that you already learn british english and will learn american english because they will make you see both sides, different culture, different slangs, accents and spellings, which will make ypu have a better understanding of the language.

    Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

  17. No, there isn't that much difference, if there was the UK would never be able to sell programmes to the US & vice versa.  Slang does cause complications as that can vary significantly from country to country.  

    If you're up to it, Bill Bryson's book, Mother Tongue has an interesting chapter on the differences & evolution of English in the US and the UK.

  18. Hey,

    The answer to your question is no, however there are obviously differences in the accent (from a vocal perspective) and in certain spelling cases.

    For example the word color is the American spelling whilst the English spelling (actually the correct one) is colour. There are several words like these - if you're used to English English like me and you use a Word Processor you'd find it's pretty annoying because it sees real English words as spelling errors.

    Hope this helps

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