American English vs. British English
There are differences lie between American English and British English. Both of them are English, but it is hard for an American to understand a British native speaker’s words. On the other hand, it is also difficult for a British to realize what Americans are talking about right away. Indeed, there are magnificent differences between American English and British English. There are countless differences, and if they have to be categorized, then two main aspects would be highlighted. That is, the pronunciations and the vocabulary custom
To begin with, the way British people speak must be mentioned. British English is known for its special pronunciations. Those accents are the main reason that separates it from American English. We can easily tell that if a person is from Britain or America through listening to retroflex. British people don’t make retroflex clearly. For instance, when a British mentions park, he/she would say “paak” instead of ”park.” Another feature is that a British spell every single word clearly while Americans usually stick words together while speaking. As a result, British English would sound stronger than American English while the latter one sounds more influent than the former one. Those features are just the basic and most obvious ones, there are more example show that how different British English and American English are.
Aside from the pronunciation, the way American and British understand vocabularies is also quite dissimilar. For example, an “apartment” means a building where it can accommodate a lot of people in America English. However, a British would call it a “flat.” Despite that it may be a little confusing, it is actually kind of interesting to know that the same thing can be called in totally different way in a language. Another example is that the first floor in America is called “ground floor” in Britain. However, the ”first floor” in Britain is actually the second floor from the surface. Other examples such as “pants” and ”trousers” or ”airport” and ”aero port” also prove that British English and American English have indeed developed in diverse way.
Though there is diversity between British English and American English that include the pronunciation and vocabulary usage, they are eventually the same language. As a result, there is no need to separate American English and British English. They are both useful in some ways. What’s more? Both sides are trying to adjust to each other. There are British that speak like Americans and people in the U.S. sometimes speak in British way. British English and American English are different, but I think those differences will never become obstacles.