American English v. British English have grown apart. Here's why.
- Tom Lockhart
- Apr 22
- 3 min read
The differences between American English and British English started to emerge not long after the first English settlers arrived in North America in the early 1600s. But it wasn’t just a case of the language "drifting." A few key social, political, and linguistic reasons explain how and why they diverged:
📌 1. Isolation + Independence (1600s–1700s)
The American Declaration of Independence
Once the British colonists arrived in North America, they were cut off from language changes happening back home in England. While British English went through shifts (like the rise of the Received Pronunciation accent), American settlers preserved older pronunciations and spellings.
🔍 Example: Americans still pronounce the “r” in words like car, whereas the British dropped the “r” sound in non-rhotic accents.
📌 2. Noah Webster and the “American English” Movement
Noah Webster — yep, the dictionary guy — was a major influence. He wanted American English to reflect independence from Britain. In his dictionaries and grammar books (published in the early 1800s), he:
Changed spellings to be simpler and more phonetic
colour → color, centre → center, organise → organize
Advocated for clear, national standards
Rejected British class-based pronunciation and formalism
Webster's Dictionary helped to speed up the change between British and American English.
📌 3. Influence from Other Languages
American English absorbed loads of words from:
Indigenous languages (e.g. moose, raccoon, squash)
Spanish (e.g. ranch, canyon, patio)
Dutch and German (especially in the Northeast)
Meanwhile, British English absorbed different terms from colonial territories, like India and Africa.
📌 4. Cultural and Technological Divergence (1900s–today)
As the two cultures evolved separately, new inventions, industries, and media led to new vocabulary:
🇺🇸 truck, apartment, cookie, elevator
🇬🇧 lorry, flat, biscuit, lift
Mass media like films and TV sped up the global influence of American English, especially post-WWII.
📝 Summary
American and British English started in the same place, but history, people, and culture made them grow in different ways. Today, both are correct — just a little different!
Do you know your British English from your American English? Take the test in our next blog post to find out!
🗝️ Keyword Definitions
Accent – A way of speaking that shows where someone is from.
Advocate – To support an idea (e.g. Webster supported simpler spelling).
American/British English – Two main types of English with different accents, spelling, and vocabulary.
Colonial territories – Countries ruled by another (e.g. India under British rule).
Cut off – Separated from something (e.g. from changes in British English).
Dictionary – A book/website that explains the meaning and spelling of words.
Diverge – To become different over time.
Global influence – The power to affect people all over the world.
Independence – Being free from control by another country.
Indigenous languages – The first languages of people who lived in a place before others arrived (e.g. Native American languages).
Industries – Areas of work or business, like farming, technology, or film.
Linguistic – About language and how it works.
Media – TV, films, radio, internet used to share information.
New inventions – Things that are created for the first time (e.g. the telephone, the internet).
Non-rhotic – An accent where the “r” sound at the end of words is not pronounced.
Political – About governments, laws, and power in a country.
Pronunciation – The way a word is said.
Received Pronunciation accent – A formal British accent used in education, the media, and by some people in southern England.
Settlers – People who move to live in a new place (e.g. British people in North America).
Social – About people, how they live, and how they connect with others.
Spelling – How a word is written.
Vocabulary – The words used in a language.