UK and US Writing

      The writers need to be vigilant about the region for which they are writing for. English is used all over the world. But, writers need to be aware of the variations between UK and US English in a document. British English is used in the United Kingdom while American English is used in the United States. In this article, I am trying to highlight few differences.

      
      Spelling:

      Major difference that writers can find in both the writing is SPELLING. There are so many words in English which are spelt differently in both the regions. 

•       Words that end with “our” in UK writing, end with “or” in US writing
•        Words that end with “re” in UK writing, end with “er” in US (In British English, only some of them ends with “er” like- September, October, November, December, enter, parameter, tender, chapter, powder, proper etc.)

British English (UK)	American English (US)
Colour	Color
Harbour	Harbor
Humour	Humor
Labour	Labor
Neighbour	Neighbor
Centre	Center
Fibre	Fiber
Goitre	Goiter
Metre	Meter
Theatre	Theater

    

•     In American writing, spellings like Organize, Realize, Recognize, Minimize end with “ize” whereas in British writing it can be written in both the ways by using “ise/ize” i.e. Organise/Organize, Recognise/Recognize.
•       There are many words in British writing that includes “ae” and “oe” are changed to “e” in    American writing. 

British English (UK)	American English (US)
Diarrhoea	Diarrhea
Foetus	Fetus
Anaemia	Anemia
Paediatric	Pediatric

•        Some other examples of spellings are-

o   “ogue” changes to “og”

o   “ll” changes to “l”

o   “ce” changes to “se”

o   “yse” changes to “yze”

British English (UK)	American English (US)
Dialogue	Dialog
Prologue	Prolog
Catalogue	Catalog
Fuelling	Fueling
Cancelled	Canceled
Jewellry	Jewelry
Woollen	Woolen
Defence	Defense
Offence	Offense
Analyse	Analyze
Paralyse	Paralyze

      These were some spelling differences. In the next topic, I would discuss some grammar differences in both the writing.