Maybe you have heard the line, ‘England and America are two countries separated by the same language’?
Attributed to George Bernard Shaw, it appeared in a 1942 edition of Reader’s Digest. Before this, in 1887 Oscar Wilde had also put pen to paper in his work, The Canterville Ghost, to say, ‘We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.’
The British introduced the English language to the Americans on crossing the Atlantic in the 16th and 17th centuries. The language was only standardised later in terms of spelling, lexicographers then using the opportunity to show cultural independence.
All very fascinating, isn’t it, but where does that leave you when you developing content in English?
Do you find yourself a little confused?
Let’s start with first things first …
British or American English?
There is no one single answer to this.
Of course, if your content is aimed entirely at a British audience, then British English is the natural, go-to choice. If your target readers are exclusively American, then the opposite would be true.
But what if this is content targeting several global markets?
In that case, either works. The golden rule is simply to be consistent both within that piece of content AND across all your other content and platforms.
If you are writing within a company, then your company is advised to decide on a version of English and communicate that both internally and to any communications suppliers that may be contracted to support in content development.
And don’t worry, British writers can adapt to American spelling (I do it all the time for clients) as can American writers work the other way.
Do I run the risk of upsetting anyone?
I would say there was a time when the Brits used to get snarkier (now there’s an American word for you!) about not respecting British English spelling, but then American culture made its way en masse across the Atlantic and we chilled out (a little).
There is also a lot of historical evidence to support that the English spoken today in the US is more akin to the English that made its way over the ocean all those centuries ago, but you might not want to mention that to a Brit. At least not straight away!
So, it’s now just a case of choosing to use an ‘s’ or a ‘z’?
Most people are familiar with this one big spelling difference when switching between British and American English spelling: for example, where Brits would write ‘recognise’ Americans would use ‘recognize’.
So, is it that simple? Unfortunately not, as that would be far too boring, wouldn’t it? And also make for a very short post.
To help you on your way, here are a few handy tables resuming some of the main spelling differences.
Watch out for word endings such as …
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British English
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American English
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-ise (e.g. appetiser, familiarise, organise)
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-ize (e.g. appetizer, familiarize, organize)
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-ence (e.g. defence, offence, licence)
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-ense (defense, offense, license)
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-l- (e.g. enrol, fulfil, skilful)
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-ll- (e.g. enroll, fulfill, skillfull)
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-ogue (e.g. analogue, monologue, catalogue)
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-og (e.g. analog, monolog, catalog)
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-re (e.g. metre, fibre, centre)
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-er (e.g. meter, fiber, center)
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Certain letter combinations may also change
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British English
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American English
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-oe-/-ae- (e.g. anaemia, diarrhoea, encyclopaedia)
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-e- (e.g. anemia, diarrhea, encyclopedia)
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-ou (e.g. colour, behaviour, mould)
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-o (e.g. color, behavior, mold)
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-y- (e.g. tyre)
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-i- (e.g. tire)
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-ell- (e.g. jeweller, marvellous)
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-el- (e.g. jeweler, marvelous)
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Last but not least, some sneaky past tense verb conjugations
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British English
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American English
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-t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, leapt)
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-ed (e.g. burned, dreamed, leaped)
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-elled (e.g. cancelled)
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-eled (e.g. canceled)
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On a final note
Spellcheck is your friend, and programmable to any variant of the English language, be it British, American, Canadian or Australian. Do make the most of it and if in doubt, don’t hesitate to reach out to professionals for support.
And remember that spelling differences are one thing, but there are also slight variations in grammar and vocabulary between the old and new continents too.
Flick through EDITO’s blog for more tips.
* Tables sourced from the British Council
