Your English dictionary
American English or British English?
Vidste du, at der er forskel på amerikansk-engelsk og britisk-engelsk, altså udover deres meget forskellige accenter?
If not - or if you just need a little refresher - I've put together a quick overview, which you can use when you're next writing content to your English-speaking customers. Then you're sure not to mix the two dialects and end up with a text that doesn't hit your target audience.
But - let me start by answering the question that we're all pondering: how on Earth can the Americans and Brits, who all speak English, not agree on how to spell...
Meet Noah Webster
The US celebrates their independence from the UK in the 1700s, but that's not enough - Noah Webster wants more. He wants the US to be completely rid of the Brits and first step is to make the English language look more American.
And how does he got about that? He starts working on a new dictionary, and instead of all the unnecessary u's and c's and s's (you'll see what I mean in the guide below), Webster wanted all words to be spelled how they were pronounced.
So instead of leather, mould, wonder, worship, and thirst, he suggested they were spelled lether, mold, wundor, wurthscipe, and thurst.
Thank goodness he failed (as awful as that sounds). And then again - he didn't completely. Yes, we don't write wimmen instead of women, but US English is its own dialect so kudos, Webster!
Mini-guiden til amerikansk og britisk
There are heaps and heaps of differences between the two dialects, many more than what I have listed below. Like I said, they can't even agree on trousers/pants. But I don't want to bombard you with info, so let's start small.
Your quick-guide to US English and UK English:
With or without u
As in favour or favor.
The Brits spell those words with -ou whilst the Americans have gotten rid of the u.
UK English
behaviour
neighbour
labour
US English
behavior
neighbor
labor
-ise or -ize
As in specialise or specialize.
Typically, you'll see -ize used in US English and -ise in UK English. But - a word to the wise - you can't just throw on a -ize ending because you're writing US English; compromize is not a word.
UK English
organise
apologise
advertise
US English
organize
apologize
advertize
The same rules more or less go for -yse and -yze -yse og -yze
The Brits prefer to use s and the Americans z.
UK English
analyse
catalyse
paralyse
US English
analyze
catalyze
paralyze
-re or -er
As in metre or meter.
The Americans swap the r and e - just like Webster would have wanted it - to spell the words as they're pronounced. The Brits, on the other hand, use -re.
UK English
litre
theatre
centre
US English
liter
theater
center
Nouns that end in -ence or -ense
As in defence or defense.
Britisk-engelsk bruger endelsen -ence, og amerikansk-engelsk endelsen -ense.
UK English
offence
pretence
licence
US English
offense
pretense
license
ll or just l
The Brits add an extra l to words that already end on l when conjugated, whilst the Americans keep it simpel and just add the ending.
UK English
shovel
shovelled
shovelling
US English
shovel
shoveled
shoveling
Nouns that end in -ogue
Like analogue or analog.
The Brits use the ending -ogue, which the Americans have shortened to -og.
UK English
dialogue
catalogue
monologue
US English
dialog
catalog
monolog
ae, oe or just e
As in archaeology or archeology.
The Brits can't get enough of vowels so there are lots of them in some words, whilst the Americans are more strict (and maybe straight-forward) and keep it to a simple e.
UK English
paediatric
manoeuvre
oestrogen
US English
pediatric
maneuver
estrogen
Feeling ready to write your next English newsletter? Of course, you are. But if it gets overwhelming, get in touch. I'm here to help.
References
Aeon Ideas, Noah Webster’s civil war of words over American English (2019)
Babbel, What Are The Differences Between American And British English? (2020)
Lexico.com, British and American spelling
Noah Webster, A compendious dictionary of the English language (1806)
Oxford International English Schools, The differences in British and American spelling
Quick and Dirty Tips, Why Are British English and American English Different? (2009)
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