American vs British English Vocabulary Quiz

Vocabulary Variations

• Everyday Items:
  • American English: elevator, apartment, truck
  • British English: lift, flat, lorry
• Clothing:
  • American English: sweater, pants, sneakers
  • British English: jumper, trousers, trainers
• Food:
  • American English: cookie, fries, zucchini
  • British English: biscuit, chips, courgette
• Transportation:
  • American English: sidewalk, subway, truck
  • British English: pavement, underground, lorry

Spelling Differences

• -or vs. -our:
  • American English: color, honor, labor
  • British English: colour, honour, labour
• -ize vs. -ise:
  • American English: recognize, realize
  • British English: recognise, realise
• -er vs. -re:
  • American English: center, meter
  • British English: centre, metre
• Double Consonants:
  • American English: canceled, traveled
  • British English: cancelled, travelled

Pronunciation Contrasts

• Vowel Sounds:
  • American English often rhotacizes the "r" in words (e.g., "car" pronounced with a clear "r").
  • British English may have non-rhotic accents where "r" is less pronounced (e.g., "car" sounds like "cah").
• Syllable Stress:
  • American English typically stresses the first syllable in words like "advertisement."
  • British English leans toward stressing the second syllable ("advertisement").
• T-glottalization:
  • Common in British English, where "t" is softened or dropped in words like "bottle" (sounds like "bo'le").
  • Less prevalent in American English, maintaining the "t" sound.

Vocabulary Variations

• Everyday items in American English differ significantly from British English, e.g., "elevator" (AE) vs. "lift" (BE).
• Clothing terms also show variation; "sweater" (AE) corresponds to "jumper" (BE), while "pants" (AE) are "trousers" (BE).
• Food terminology varies, with "cookie" (AE) being "biscuit" (BE) and "fries" (AE) referred to as "chips" (BE).
• In transportation vocabulary, "sidewalk" (AE) is known as "pavement" (BE), and "subway" (AE) translates to "underground" (BE).

Spelling Differences

• Spelling differences often involve the endings: "-or" in American English (e.g., "color") switches to "-our" in British English (e.g., "colour").
• Words ending in "-ize" in American English (e.g., "recognize") use "-ise" in British English (e.g., "recognise").
• American English typically opts for "-er" (e.g., "center"), contrasting with British English's "-re" (e.g., "centre").
• Double consonants vary; American English uses "canceled" and "traveled," while British English doubles the consonants to form "cancelled" and "travelled."

Pronunciation Contrasts

• American English rhotacizes the "r," leading to a pronounced "r" in words like "car," while British English may have non-rhotic accents that soften it (sounds like "cah").
• Syllable stress differs, with American English stressing the first syllable in "advertisement," whereas British English emphasizes the second syllable.
• T-glottalization is a feature in British English, where the "t" sound is softened (as in "bottle" sounding like "bo'le"), which is less common in American English.