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Differences between American and British English That PR Pros Should Know

Posted on Apr. 2, 2015  /  Subscribe 0

By: Joseph Priest, Corporate Writer, Syniverse

If you were working for a British-English-speaking company or customer, would it be correct to write “She expects to send it towards the end of April” or “She expects to send it toward the end of April”? Or “He traveled there last year” or “He travelled there last year”? How about “That team is able to do anything” or “That team are able to do anything”?

English has become the lingua franca of the global economy. However, this language has two major forms: British English, used in the U.K. and many former British colonies, and American English, spoken mainly in the U.S. In fact, according to the CIA World Factbook, English is now the official language of at least 50 of the 240 countries and territories listed in that resource. Yet many if not most of these countries and territories, including such economic leaders as Canada, Australia, India, Singapore, and South Africa, use British English.

Although American English and British English are generally interchangeable, there are enough differences to occasionally cause awkward errors in communications created by or targeted to speakers of both language forms. And in an increasingly globally integrated business world where British-English-speaking countries are forming a greater part of the mix, it’s important for PR pros to be as adept as possible with both forms of English. (By the way, the correct answers to the questions in the first paragraph include the sentences with the words “towards,” “travelled” and “are.”)

To help PR pros navigate these differences, below is a rundown of differences between common American English and British English words and usages that can cause confusion, along with a few resources that can provide further guidance. Having an awareness of these will help your work be that much more accurate and effective in a world where British English represents a significant part of business communication.

Note: The words on the right above represent words commonly used in place of the words on the left, but they are not necessarily the only words used in place of the words on the left.
 

What Day?
In American English, the month-day-year format is used to write dates. In British English, it’s the day-month-year format.

• American: Jennifer is coming on May 13, 2015.
• British: Jennifer is coming on 13 May 2015.

No Periods, Period
In American English, abbreviations such as "Mr.," "St." and "Dr." are properly written with a period. In British English, these are typically written without a period. This latter usage follows the rule that a period is used only when the last letter of the abbreviation is not the last letter of the complete word.

• American: Mr. Carlin and Dr. Fox arrived late.
• British: Mr Carlin and Dr Fox arrived late.

You Can Quote Me on This
In American English, periods and commas are always enclosed in closing quotation marks. Colons and semicolons always follow closing quotation marks, and question marks and exclamation points follow unless they are part of the quoted matter. In British English, however, only those punctuation marks that appear in the original material should be enclosed in quotation marks.

Additionally, in American English, single quotation marks are only used to enclose quoted content within a larger piece of quoted content, or in certain typographical styles, such as for headlines. In British English, though, the practice is generally the reverse: single quotation marks, also referred to as inverted commas in British English, are used as double quotation marks would be in American English, and double quotation marks are used to enclose quoted content within a larger piece of quoted content.

• American: “I won’t go,” Marissa said.
• British: ‘I won’t go’, Marissa said.

• American: What time does this “Twitterthon” start?
• British: What time does this ‘Twitterthon’ start?

One or Many?
In British usage, collective nouns that represent groups of people often take a plural verb.

• American English: I think the government is on the right course.
• British English: I think the government are on the right course.

Where to Turn for Help
Here are some handy resources to help distinguish differences between American English and British English words:

• Website - Cambridge Dictionaries (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/)
• Book -The UK to USA Dictionary: British English vs. American English (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0933143400/)
• Book - Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English (http://www.amazon.com/Divided-Common-Language-British-American/dp/0618911626/)

 
Have a question about a difference between American and British English? Please send it to me at [email protected].

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