English

PROJECT ON
Comparative Study Between American and
British English
Academic Year: 2022-‘23
Project submitted in partial fulfilment of Practical Examination for Class XI,

All India Senior Secondary Certificate Examination

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY :

Mr Ashwin Name: Arsha Padmam

Reg no: 4575

Class: XI BN1

SUGUNA PIP SCHOOL, COIMBATORE.

(CBSE, Affiliation No. 1930213)
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms Arsha Padmam, Roll No.

2 of class XI (Session 2022-23), Suguna Pip
School has completed the project based on the
topic “comparative study between American and
British English” as a part of the paper on English.
It is a bonafide piece of work done under my
supervision and guidance to the best of my
knowledge. It is the original work of the candidate
and is a result of her/his effort in partial fulfilment
of the requirement as per the AISSCE curriculum
of class XI.

TEACHER In-charge PRINCIPAL

EXTERNAL

Date of the Examination

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Senior Principal, Dr P.S MARTIN
and Principal, Mr POOVANNAN, Coimbatore for their
immeasurable direction towards the course of action
and support throughout the project.

I would also like to thank my Faculty Guide, Ashwin K,

for his valuable mentoring throughout the project. The
interesting lectures of my knowledgeable teacher have
helped me understand the various concepts related to
American and British English and see their presence in
the actual world.
I got ample opportunity to do research, which enriched
and broadened my knowledge and understanding of this
area. I am seriously indebted to them.
Thanks to my parents, friends and everyone else who
have been directly or indirectly supportive during the
course of my project.

Student Name: Arsha Padmam V

Register no.: 2

Class: XI BN1

Date of submission:
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
When I was 11 years old, I had a social studies
teacher who spoke English with a very posh
accent. My friend and I found it kind of funny and
started mocking her, well not in front of her
though. We did that for almost the whole year and
I started speaking English in that accent without
even my knowledge. We confronted our teacher
about our mischievous job and thought for her to
get mad but she very placidly explained why she
got that accent. She told us she lived in the UK for
almost 13 years of her life with her husband and
when she moved back to India, she wasn’t able to
drop the British accent.
That was how I first realized people in different
domains speak with different accents. I then asked
my father about this and he explained to me that it
was a psychological thing. My 11-year-old brain
couldn’t comprehend what that was.
By doing this project, I hope to study the
“psychology” behind accents and the differences
between the two prominent accents – American
and British.
 ACTION PLAN
 Study the main differences between American
and British English.
 Study the vocabulary between American and
British English.
 Understand and comprehend the differences
used in both American and British English.
 INTRODUCTION

American English is the form of English used in

the United States. It includes all English dialects
used within the United States of America.
British English is the form of English used in the
United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects
used within the United Kingdom. It is also used in
Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India
and other Commonwealth regions.
English was introduced to America through British
colonization in the early 17th century. It also
spreads to many other parts of the world because
of the strength of the British empire. Over the
years, the English spoken in the United States and
Britain started diverging from each other in
various aspects. This led to new dialects in the
form of American English.
 BODY
British and American English can be differentiated
in two ways:

 Language use conventions differ in meaning

and spelling of words, grammar and
punctuation differences.
 Vocabulary: There are several important
differences, particularly in business
terminology.

Some of the key differences:

1) Dates - In British English, the standard way of

writing dates is to put the day of the month as a
figure, then the month (either as a figure or spelt
out) and then the year. For example, 19
September 1973 or 19.09.73. The standard way
of writing dates in American English is to put
the month first (either as a figure or spelt out),
then the day of the month, and then the year. For
example, September 19th 1973 or 9/19/73.
 Commas are also frequently inserted after the
day of the month in the USA. For example, on
September 19, 1973.

2) Usage of ‘o’ and ‘ou’ - In British English, the

standard way of writing words that might
include either the letter ‘o’ or the letters ‘ou’ is
to use the ‘ou’ form. For example, colour,
humour, honour, and behaviour. The standard
way of writing such words in American English
is to use only ‘o’. For example, color, humor,
honor, and behavior.
3) Usage of ‘l’ (single L) or ‘ll’ (double L) - In
American English, a single ‘l’ is used in such
words as traveled or counseled. In British
English, ‘ll’ is used as travelled or counselled. In
British English, some words that end in a double
‘ll’ lose one ‘l’ when a suffix is added: skill
becomes skilfully, will become wilfully. In
American English, the double ‘ll’ is retained:
skill becomes skillfully, will becomes willfully.
4) Usage of ‘z’ and ‘s’ in words - In British
English ‘s’ is generally used in words such as
‘recognise’ and ‘authorise’. In American
 English, the letter ‘z’ is used in such words as
‘recognize’ and ‘authorize’. However, it is not
wrong to ‘z’ in such words while using British
English as standard.
5) Usage of ‘er’ or ‘re’ in words - In
American English, the ‘er’ ending is used in
words like theater, center, meter, and fiber. In
British English, these words are spelt theatre,
centre, metre, and fibre.
6) Usage of ‘oe’ or ‘ae’ in words - Some
scientific terms retain the use of the classical
composite vowels ‘oe’ and ‘ae’ in British
English. These include diarrhoea, anaesthetic,
gynaecology, and homoeopathy. In American
English, a single ‘e’ replaces the composite
vowel: diarrhea, anesthetic, gynecology, and
homeopathy.
7) Usage of have and got - In American
English, it is quite acceptable to use the word
got without have in sentences like ‘I got two
tickets for the show tonight’. In British
English, it is more usual to say ‘I’ve got two
tickets for the show tonight’.
8) Usage of while or whilst - In British
English both while and whilst are used. In
American English, while is the right word to
use, whilst is regarded as pretentious
affectation.
9) Usage of -se or -ce in words - In British
English, the verb that relates to a noun ending
in -ce is sometimes given the ending -se. For
example, advice (noun) / advise (verb),
device/devise, licence/license,
practice/practise. American English uses -se
for both the noun and verb forms of these
words. It also uses -se for other nouns which
in British English are spelt -ce, including
defense, offense, and pretense.
10) Usage of the Present Perfect Tense -
In British English, the present perfect is used
to express an action that has occurred in the
recent past that affects the present moment.
For example, I’ve lost my key. Can you help
me look for it? The following is possible in
American English: I lost my key. Can you help
me look for it? In British English, the above
would be considered incorrect. However, both
forms are generally accepted in standard
American English. Other differences involving
the use of the present perfect in British English
and simple past in American English include
already, just and yet.
 VOCABULARY
BRITISH ENGLISH AMERICAN
ENGLISH
Football Soccer
Film Movie
Anti-clockwise Counter-clockwise
Trousers Pants
Holiday Vacation
Post Mail
Flat Apartment
Lorry Truck
University College
Jumper Sweater
Crisps Chips
Biscuit Cookie
Chemist Drugstore
Shop Store
Autumn Fall
Dustbin Garbage can, trash can
Lift Elevator
Motorbike Motorcycle
Maize Corn
Pavement Sidewalk
Pub Bar
Rubber Eraser
Tin Can
Torch Flashlight
Tube Subway
Windscreen Windshield
Zip Zipper
Timetable Schedule
Taxi Cab
Mad Crazy, insane
Main road Highway
 CONCLUSION
Today we live in a global village where all its
inhabitants badly need a common language. In
this regard, the consideration for English comes
first as it is a very widely used and common
language. But it has so many varieties, British and
American being the major ones. Besides, English
is a dynamic and fast-growing language and so
the changes in its varieties are to be welcomed by
some international authorities. Assessing the
differences between British English and American
English- it is not huge. We can also find the fact
that the mixing up of the two varieties does not
exactly pose a lot of severe problems all the time.
So, if this process of sharing and borrowing goes
on, the learners of the English language will
greatly be benefited and the differences between
the two varieties will remain at a negligible level.
And finally, it is hoped that from the knowledge of
differences, one will feel comfortable in handling
the two varieties of English, and soon we may get
English in a standard accepted form by all for the
sake of global human communication.
STUDENT REFLECTION
From doing this project I understood the major
differences between American and British
English. This project helped me get a clear
view of why words of the same meaning were
used variedly.
Living in a country like India, where there
was implementation and adaptation of
colonized British English in the past and
because of modernisation and westernisation,
the adaptation of American English in the
present generation. This resulted in
bewilderment in usage. Normally people go by
the mix-age of both American and British
English and formed a new English called
Indian English. Although the Indian education
system solemnly only follows British English,
the “GEN Z’s” prefer the usage of American
English.
By doing this project, I got a clear view of
both types of English as mentioned above.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
I have taken help from the following sources:

Sites – google.com, youtube.com, Wikipedia,

enago.com

Books – oxford dictionary

People – parents, sister

Today we live in a global

village where all its
Inhabitants are badly in need of
a common language. In this
regard, the consideration for
English comes first as it is a
very
widely used and common
language. But it has so many
varieties, British and American
being the major ones. Besides,
English is a dynamic and fast-
growing language and so the
changes in its varieties are to be
welcomed by some
international authorities.
Assessing the above picture
with care, we can very easily
say
that the number of differences
between the two varieties
Today we live in a global
village where all its
Inhabitants are badly in need of
a common language. In this
regard, the consideration for
English comes first as it is a
very
widely used and common
language. But it has so many
varieties, British and American
being the major ones. Besides,
English is a dynamic and
fast-growing language and so
the
Changes in its varieties are to be
welcomed by some
international authorities.
Assessing the above picture
with care, we can very easily
say
that the number of differences
between the two varieties