Quick tips: British vs. American spelling

Zach McLaughlin

Some of the differences between British and American English spellings follow well-known patterns, such as -our (British), as in “colour,” and -or (American), as in “color,” or -re (British), as in “centre,” and -er (American), as in “center.”


There are also some that are just simplifications (which resulted from Noah Webster’s spelling reforms), like “cheque” (British) and “check” (American) or “doughnut” (British) and “donut” (American).


However, while most people are familiar with these differences, there are also some weird ones that may leave even native English speakers puzzled. For me, one of the weirdest-looking is “ageing” (used in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand). Canadians like me are usually familiar with British spellings, but this is an odd one because we use “aging” (used in North America). In fact, Google Docs has placed a red underline under the word “ageing” in this article to let me know that it’s "wrong"! 


So, if you see an English word spelled differently in different places, it might not be a mistake. Most dictionaries will provide information about alternate spellings, so look the word up if you’re not sure!


專欄文章僅代表作者個人觀點,不代表咖啡滔客的立場。

回應 (0)

登入之後,添加評論 登入 »
Premium ribbon

來自:

住在:

授課種類

講師會的語言

英語   母語程度
日語   只能說一點

講師專欄排行榜

  • 英語

    Surprise!

    Photo: DH News TorontoOne of the most surprising things in Canada is the spring weather! Having liv...

    Zach McLaughlin

    Zach McLaughlin

    0
    7126
    2021年 5月 31日
  • 英語

    A new phase of life for students and teachers

    Photo: Gabriel Benois on UnsplashFor many people, it feels like life is on pause because of the cor...

    Zach McLaughlin

    Zach McLaughlin

    0
    6809
    2021年 3月 22日
  • 英語

    My Bucket List

    Photo by Heather McKean on Unsplash   My bucket list is a fairly short and affordable one! Short-t...

    Zach McLaughlin

    Zach McLaughlin

    0
    6734
    2021年 7月 20日
  • 英語

    Cheers!

    Without a doubt, beer is my favourite alcoholic beverage! It wasn’t always that way, though… My mo...

    Zach McLaughlin

    Zach McLaughlin

    0
    6359
    2021年 6月 7日
« 返回講師專欄的一覽表

線上客服諮詢