American English is the variety of English spoken and written in the United States. It developed from British English after the colonization of North America but has evolved differently due to various historical and cultural influences.

Characteristics

Vocabulary: The American English vocabulary includes many unique words and phrases. For example, what the British call a "lift" is an "elevator" in America, "rubbish" becomes "garbage" or "trash," and a "flat" is an "apartment.". These differences extend to many areas of everyday life, from food to transportation.

Pronunciation: A distinctive feature of American English is that it is generally rhotic, meaning that the "r" is pronounced in all positions of the word. As linguist John Algeo notes, "The retention of postvocalic r is perhaps the most notable phonological feature distinguishing American English from British English" (Algeo, 2001, p. 20).

Spelling: American English tends to simplify the spelling of certain words. For example, "color" becomes "color", "center" becomes "center", and "organisation" becomes "organization". These differences are largely due to the spelling reforms proposed by Noah Webster in the 19th century (Venezky, 1999).

Grammar: Although grammatical differences are minor, there are some notable variations. For instance, in American English, regular verbs tend to form the past and past participle with "-ed" (learned, spelled), while in British English it's more common to see irregular forms (learnt, spelt).

Differences

| American English | British English |

• apartment | flat |
• elevator | lift |
• garbage/trash | rubbish |
• vacation | holiday |
• cookie | biscuit |
• sidewalk | pavement |
• truck | lorry |
• gas | petrol |