Project BritainProject Britain

British Life and Culture

by Mandy Barrow

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British life and culture - England, Scotland and Wales
Why do Americans speak differently than the British?

"The Americans are identical to the British in all respects except, of course, language." Oscar Wilde

"We (the British and Americans) are two countries separated by a common language." G.B. Shaw

English spoken in the different countries has evolved over time.

Accents - how you say it

Accents play a part in the different ways people speak English around the world. Generally, an accent difference uses the same words for things, but pronounces them differently. Americans have accent differences in different regions such as the South, Boston or New York and so do the British from region to region.
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Dialect - the words you use

In British English, not only do we pronounce the same words differently (accent), we also use different words for the same things making it more a difference in dialect.

For example:

Don't comment on British pants!

"pants" usually referred to underwear in the UK - not trousers.

American, Canadian, Australian and the British use a lot of the same words . . . but they say them differently and/or the words have different meanings.

Australian English sounds like the British English accent to most Americans, but Australians have added aborigine words to the language which constitute a dialect difference.


Culture has an effect on language too. Cultural differences give rise to different vocabulary, phrases and different developments in grammar. America and Britain have very different cultures.

What differences are there between British English and American English? 

American and British Spellings

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