EXPLORENOW-The differences between and British and American English

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BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH

Amongst the 12 countries that use English as a first language, there are huge differences in accent, pronunciation and slang. The first country to declare English as their native language was England, and as England colonised a huge percentage of the world over the centuries, English language changed in accent, pronunciation, and in the case of American English, with spelling too. We thought it would be fun and interesting to share this information with you that we have learned during our travels, so hopefully we'll all be able to understand each other's English a bit more!

British English will be looked at from the side of Australian English.

SPELLING DIFFERENCES
This can be a source of frustration when doing spell checking using American computer software! There are several subtle differences with American words omitting the letter 'u' from words. eg: endeavour, colour, demeanour, flavour, harbour, favour, neighbour, labour and other words where letters are swapped around or different letters are used (British written first, American second) eg: centre / center, theatre / theater, appetiser /appetizer, realise / realize
PRONOUNCIATION DIFFERENCES
Sometimes this an absolute laugh and other time very annoying. Rebecca and Brad still have problems communicating with each other after many years! Here's some examples and phonetic help for Australians communicating with Americans.
WORD	AUSTRALIA	USA
scone	skon	skone
adidas	A-dee-das	a-DEE-das
buoy	boy	boo-ee
tartar	tar-tair	tar-ter
herbs	herbz	erbz
aluminum	al-yoo-min-i-um	a-loo-mi-num

WORD MEANINGS
Australia is well known for having an unusual amount of slang that can take up a dictionary for non-Aussies to understand. America has it's own fair share of slang but is more well known through TV and movies. For now, aside from slang, here are many every day words that we have had confusion with.
AUSTRALIA	USA	AUSTRALIA	USA
jug of beer	pitcher of beer	car indicator	car blinker
thongs	flip flops / thongs	toilet	restroom / bathroom
shopping centre	mall	bitumen	ashphalt
footpath	sidewalk	ute	pick-up truck
3 or 4 wheeler	ATV(all terrain vehicle)	tomato sauce	ketchup
super market trolley	shopping cart	rubbish / bin	garbage / trash
cutlery	silverware	serviette	napkin
main course	entree	bum bag	fanny pack
autumn	fall / autumn	yobbo	redneck
capsicum	bell pepper	rockmelon	cantaloupe
port-a-loo toilet	port-a-john	4 wheel drive	SUV(sport utility vehicle)
jumper	sweater	tracksuit	sweatsuit / sweats
lucked-in	lucked-out	stubby holder	coozie
entree	appetizer	see-saw	teeter-totter / see-saw
petrol	gas	singlet	tank top