In this assignment the difference between British and American English will be closely looked at, both in regards to difference in grammar as well as difference in vocabulary. Examples will be given to better explain these differences. The reader will also be made aware of the personal view of this assignment’s author, his take on whether is better; the British or American English and why he feels this way. The subject of English courses in the Icelandic school system will also be considered in regards to which variation it uses and if the schools should take more into account this difference.

The biggest differences between British and American English lie in the different spelling and pronunciation. There is also a difference in the usage of words and their meaning.

The difference in spelling between the two dialects is extensive. Hundreds of pages could be filled with words that are spelled differently between the two dialects; here we will only focus on a few common spelling differences.


American – British
-or & -our
Color – colour
Humor – humour
Favorite – favourite

-er & -re
Center – centre
Meter – metre
Theater – theatre

American – British
-og & -ouge
Analog – analogue
Catalog – catalogue
Dialog – dialogue

-dg & -dge (or -g & -gu)
Aging – ageing
Argument – arguement
Judgment – judgement



It is quite common that different words have the same meaning. An American tourist in Britain can run into a lot of trouble if he isn’t familiar with the British words. He could ask to use the bathroom and be escorted to a tub when he wanted to use the toilet! Even in this short text an American word was used that the British might not recognize, that word is “tub”, but the British use the word “bath”.
The following is a list of some common differences in word usage between the two dialects, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.

American – British
Pants – trousers
Panties – pants
Vacation – holiday
Cross walk – zebra crossing
Apartment – flat
Chips – crisps
French fries – chips

Personally I try to use the British version of English since it is more original but actually I speak a mixture of both dialects, having learnt British English in school but being highly influenced by American television and movies. Aesthetically speaking I do not prefer one over the other.

The Icelandic school system focuses on the British version of English, the so-called Oxford English. However the students also learn the difference between the two dialects to a small extent. My personal opinion is that there is no need to put any more effort in teaching the difference than there already is.