There are some well-known spelling differences between British English and American English.
Many of these spelling differences result from French influence on English. British English has a tendency to keep the spelling of many words of French origin. Americans try to spell words more
closely to the way they sound phonetically and they tend to omit some letters.
The general spelling differences between British and American English are listed below.
|
British -our vs. American -or difference
|
|
armour
|
armor
|
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behaviour
|
behavior
|
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colour
|
color
|
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favourite
|
favorite
|
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flavour
|
flavor
|
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harbour
|
harbor
|
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honour
|
honor
|
|
humour
|
humor
|
|
labour
|
labor
|
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neighbour
|
neighbor
|
|
rumour
|
rumor
|
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saviour
|
savior
|
|
|
British -re vs. American -er
difference
|
|
amphitheatre
|
amphitheater
|
|
centimetre
|
centimeter
|
|
centre
|
center
|
|
fibre
|
fiber
|
|
kilometre
|
kilometer
|
|
litre
|
liter
|
|
lustre
|
luster
|
|
louvre
|
louver
|
|
manoeuvre
|
maneuver
|
|
metre
|
meter
|
|
spectre
|
specter
|
|
theatre
|
theater
|
|
|
British -ae/-oe/-oeu vs.
American
-e/-o/-eu difference
|
|
archaeology
|
archeology
|
|
gynaecology
|
gynecology
|
|
leukaemia
|
leukemia
|
|
manoeuvre
|
maneuver
|
|
mediaeval
|
medieval
|
|
mementoes
|
mementos
|
|
oestrogen
|
estrogen
|
|
orthopaedic
|
orthopedic
|
|
paediatric
|
pediatric
|
|
palaeontology
|
paleontology
|
|
toxaemia
|
toxemia
|
|
|
British -se vs. American -ze difference*
|
|
analyse
|
analyze
|
|
apologise
|
apologize
|
|
appetiser
|
appetizer
|
|
catalyse
|
catalyze
|
|
civilise,
civilisation
|
civilize,
civilization
|
|
colonise,
colonisation
|
colonize,
colonization
|
|
criticise
|
criticize
|
|
emphasise
|
emphasize
|
|
organise
|
organize
|
|
popularise,
popularisation
|
popularize,
popularization
|
|
prise
|
prize
|
|
realise
|
realize
|
|
recognise
|
recognize
|
|
|
British -l vs. American -ll difference
|
|
enrolment
|
enrollment
|
|
fulfil
|
fulfill
|
|
instalment
|
installment
|
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skilful
|
skillful
|
|
British -ll vs. American -l difference
|
|
counsellor
|
counselor
|
|
fuelled
|
fueled
|
|
travelling
|
traveling
|
|
parallelled
|
paralleled
|
|
quarrelling
|
quarreling
|
!Remember: In British English, verbs that end in -l preceded by a vowel usually
double the final -l when a suffix -ed/-ing is added. In American English the final -l is doubled only when the
last syllable is stressed.
|
|
British -ogue vs. American
-og difference
|
|
analogue
|
analog
|
|
catalogue
|
catalog
|
|
dialogue
|
dialog
|
|
monologue
|
monolog
|
|
British –ence vs. American
-ense difference
|
|
defence*
|
defense
|
|
licence
(noun)
license (verb)
|
license (both
noun and verb)
|
|
offence*
|
offense
|
|
pretence
|
pretense
|
*But note: defensive, offensive
|
|
*Additional notes:
:: British English uses both "-ise" and "-ize" forms but tends to prefer -ise (-isation)
form.
:: Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either "-ize" or "-ise" at the end are always spelled with
-ize in American English.
:: Verbs in British English that end in "-yse" (e.g. analyse) are always spelled "-yze" in American English
(analyze).
|
|
British -dge/-gue vs. American -dg/-gu)
|
|
judgement
|
judgment
|
|
arguement
|
argument
|
|
British -que vs. American
-k/–ck difference
|
|
banque
|
bank
|
|
cheque
(money)
|
check
|
|
|
British -gramme vs. American -gram difference
|
|
programme (noun)
(TV/radio programme or programme of events - plans, conferences, a theatre programme etc.)
|
program
|
|
programme
(verb) (to instruct)
|
program
(-mm-)
|
|
program (programme)
(computer program)
|
program
|
|
gram (gramme)
|
gram
|
|
kilogram (kilogramme)
|
kilogram
|
|
