Guys, why can't Americans spell the same as Brits? It's total madness. We speak the same
language but we spell completely differently. So we are going to look at six differences
between British English spelling and American English spelling. Let's get into this madness.
Hello and welcome to Eat Sleep Dream English, if you haven't met me before my name is Tom
and I teach fresh modern British English so that you can take your English to the next
level and achieve your life goals. Now before we get started I was only joking about Americans
not being able to spell, it was a joke. But it does raise the issue of the differences
in spelling between British and American English. So for those of you that write a lot in English,
this is really important to know. If you are writing a business email or you are a journalist
or you are writing an essay for your university getting the spelling correct is really important
and that will depend on whether you speak British English or American English. Take
the word apologise, in American English it ends with -ze but in British English it's
-se. So apologize is -ze and apologise -se. Another example is criticise. -ze in American
English, -se in British English. Difference number two is -or and -our. So take the word
colour, in British English we write -our in American English it's just -or. Another example
favourite. In British English favourite and in American English favorite. So the -our
and the -or. Another example neighbour. So in British English neighbour, in American
English neighbor. Difference number three is the endings of -re and -er so take the
word theatre. In British English we end it with -re in American English it's -er. Another
example centre. So -re in British English -er in American English. This next one is
a classic difference. Now take the word practise. In American English it's with -se at the end.
Now in British English we have -ce but we also have -se. So in British English the noun
will be -ce practice with a -ce so Doctor's Practice is -ce but the verb is -se. So I'm
going to practise the guitar is with an -se. So for the noun it's -ce with the verb it's
-se. Whereas in American English it's the same for both. Makes it a lot easier, right?
Same with the word license. So license is -se in American English, the noun in British
English is -ce and the verb to license something is -se so there's a bit of a difference there.
The next difference is with the Ls. The Ls can be slightly different depending on whether
it's British or American English. For example skilful. In American English it's skillful
whereas in British English it's just one l so skilful. To continue that idea on take
the word travel. Now travel is spelled the same in British and American English but when
you add a vowel on to to it so for example if you want to put it into the past tense
travelled then in British English you add an L so travelled with two Ls but in American
English you stay with one L. Same with travelling, two Ls in British English, one L in American
English. Ok, let's look at some other words that are commonly spelled differently. So
donut in American English, doughnut in British English. Same pronunciation but different
spelling. Aeroplane or airplane. Airplane in American English and aeroplane in British
English. Pronunciation aeroplane, airplane, it's more or less the same when it comes down
to it I'd say aeroplane airplane. I don't know what I say, it's so interchangeable these
days. I wouldn't be too worried what you are saying. And in fact do you know what I probably
write airplane instead of aeroplane. So I use the American English spelling just because
it is simpler in my head. I don't think it matters too much. The word Mum is also spelled
differently. So in British English we spell it Mum. In American English Mom. Maybe that
comes with the pronunciation, it's slightly different but Mum is spelled differently.
Jewellery is another one. So in British English you've got two Ls and in American English
there's one L. Pyjamas, in Britain we throw a Y in there so pyjamas whereas in American
English it's just pa. And finally the colour grey. In British English it's grey and in
American English gray. Guys, what did you think? Did you enjoy that vlog? Did you find
it useful? Did you know the differences between British English and American English spelling?
Let me know in the comments below. If you can think of any other examples of differences
in spelling then let me know in the comments below. If you don't know already guys I'm
on Instagram and I've got daily English content that I put on there so that you can keep updated
with your English. I've also got a Facebook page so go and check them both out. If you've
been here before you'll know that I put new videos out every Tuesday and every Friday
to help you take your English to the next level. Thanks so much for hanging out with
me guys. I've really enjoyed it, alright guys thank you so much for hanging out with me
this is Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.