What are the differences in spelling between British and American English?

What are the differences in spelling between British and American English?

Usage. American spelling avoids -ise endings in words like organize, realize and recognize. British spelling mostly uses -ise (organise, realise, recognise), though -ize is sometimes used. The ratio between -ise and -ize stood at 3:2 in the British National Corpus up to 2002.

Why are English words Spelt differently to American?

The differences often come about because British English has tended to keep the spelling of words it has absorbed from other languages (e.g. French), while American English has adapted the spelling to reflect the way that the words actually sound when they’re spoken.

When did spelling become standardized?

Samuel Johnson, poet, wit, essayist, biographer, critic and eccentric, broadly credited with the standardisation of English spelling into its pre-current form in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755).

What words are Spelt differently to American?

Whilst American English spellings are based mostly on how the word sounds when it is spoken….The differences in British and American spelling.

Do British say lift or elevator?

Everyone knows that for the Brits, an elevator is a “lift,” an apartment is a “flat,” and those chips you’re snacking on are actually called “crisps.” But British people also say some other really weird, confusing things. 1.

Why do Brits say floor instead of ground?

“Floor” was an archaic word for “ground” centuries ago. And according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “floor” has been used in the game of cricket to refer to the ground (but this must be an uncommon usage, since it doesn’t currently appear in any standard British dictionaries).