G0472
Week 11 :
Editing American and British English
1
Learning Outcomes
The students are expected to
be able to edit American
English and British English
manuscripts.
2
Singular and plural for nouns
In BrE, singular nouns that describe multiple
people are often treated as plural, particularly
where one is concerned with the people
constituting the team, rather than with the team
as an entity. The singular form is usually used in
American. For example, British "the team are
worried"; American "the team is worried".
3
Singular and plural for nouns
Proper nouns which are plural in form take a plural
verb in both AmE and BrE. Examples:
• BrE: "The Clash are a well-known band." AmE:
"The Clash is a well-known band." Both: "The
Beatles are a well-known band."
• BrE: "Pittsburgh are the champions." AmE:
"Pittsburgh is the champion." Both: "The
Steelers are the champions".
4
Use of tenses
• BrE uses the present perfect tense to talk about
an event in the recent past and with the words
already, just and yet. In American usage, these
meanings can be expressed with the present
perfect (to express a fact) or the simple past (to
imply an expectation). This American style has
become widespread only in the past 20 to 30
years; the "British" style is still in common use
as well.
5
Shift in Tense
•"Have you done your homework yet?" /
"Did you do your homework yet?"
•"I've just got home." / "I just got home."
•"I've already eaten." / "I already ate."
6
Subjunctive Mood
• The subjunctive mood is more common in AmE
in expressions such as: "They suggested that he
apply for the job". BrE would have "They
suggested that he should apply for the job" (or
even "They suggested that he applied for the
job", although this last sentence can be
ambiguous). However, the British usage
("should apply") is also heard in the United
States, but is often regarded as erroneous in
writing.
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•
Miscellaneous grammatical
differences
In AmE, some prescriptionists feel that
which should not be used as an antecedent
in restrictive relative clauses. According to
The Elements of Style (p. 59), "That is the
defining, or restrictive pronoun, which the
nondefining, or nonrestrictive." This
distinction was endorsed by Fowler, but the
use of which as a restrictive pronoun is
common in great literature produced on
both sides of the Atlantic.
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Miscellaneous grammatical
differences
English writers everywhere occasionally make
new compound words from common
phrases; for example, health care is now
being replaced by healthcare on both sides
of the Atlantic. However, AmE has made
certain words in this fashion which are still
treated as phrases in most Commonwealth
countries. For example, Americans write
trademark, but some other countries write
trade-mark or trade mark.
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Some differences between American &
British English
• Different Spelling, Although Same Pronunciation
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plough — plow
colour — color
centre — center
Cheque — check (noun form [bank]
Defence — defense (noun form)
licence (noun form) — license
Alright — all right
manoeuvre — maneuver
tyre — tire
Ageing — aging;
gaol — jail
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Same Concept, Different Terms or
Expressions; (or) Same Word, Differences in
Style, Connotation and Frequency
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•
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Hire a car — rent a car
Petrol — gasoline;
Saloon — sedan, Estate car — station wagon
Boot — trunk (storage area);
silencer — muffler (to reduce exhaust noise); other auto
terms
• Fortnight — two weeks; Goods train — freight train
• Barrister vs. solicitor ['brief', 'silk'] — lawyer, attorney,
attorney-at-law
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