Business english writing - Masterclass International School 2020

British English, American English and other varieties of english

We are aware of the geographical varieties of English and we know that American English and British English are the most taught ones within programs of English language teaching all over the world. There are more than a few grammatical differences between BE and AE, but the outstanding divergences are in pronunciation, vocabulary and spelling. It is important to conform to one of the two standard varieties without mingling American and British elements at the same time. Though, it may be important, if you opt for one of the two standards, to know as many alternatives as you can in the other variety, just to be able to face with the language in most contexts possible.

We are not going to focus on pronunciation here as this is not a book of English phonology. We just aim to remind learners that there are some typical differences in the way the same words are pronounced in the two forms of the language. If you are familiar with the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), you will be able to see how to manage most differences.

As regards spelling we have indicated some of the most typical differences between the two varieties of English, but since exceptions do exist we recommend referencing a good dictionary for a more detailed treatment of the subject.

The final consonant of an English word is sometimes doubled in both spelling systems when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. Normally, this happens only when the word's final syllable is stressed and when it also ends with a single vowel followed by a single consonant. In BrE, however, a final -l is often doubled even when the final syllable is unstressed.

BrE sometimes keeps silent e when adding suffixes. This does not happen in AmE.