American English facts for kids
American English or United States English is the way the English language is spoken in the USA. It's a bit different from other types of English, like British English. Many parts of American English came from local ways of speaking in England a long time ago.
Today, lots of people know about American English, even if they live in a country where another kind of English is spoken. This is often because they hear and read American English through movies, TV shows, and the Internet. American English is very common in these.
The English language is always changing and getting new words because people all over the world use it. This has been happening for hundreds of years. For example, many people who speak Indian English often add American English words to their speech, mixing them with British English and words from different Indian languages.
Sometimes, people learn American English exactly as it's spoken in America. For instance, in telephone call centers in India and other places, people often learn American English to sound more like their customers from the USA. These people sometimes keep using American English in their daily lives too.
The meaning of many words can be different in American English. Most language changes start small. For example, Italian, Spanish, and French all grew from the ancient language called Latin.
Spelling Differences
Many words sound the same in American and British English but are spelled differently. Here are some examples:
- Words that came from French and end in "-our" in British English (like behaviour, colour, honour, neighbour) end in "-or" in American English (behavior, color, honor, neighbor).
- Words from French that end in "-re" in British English (like metre, centre) end in "-er" in American English (meter, center).
- Verbs that end in "-ise" in British English (like criticise, realise) end in "-ize" in American English (criticize, organize, realize). However, the "-ize" ending is also sometimes used in British English.
- Noah Webster, who created an American dictionary after the American Revolutionary War, changed some spellings. For example, he changed words like "travelled" to "traveled" by removing a double "l".
Some more spelling differences in American English include:
- aluminium is spelled "aluminum"
- doughnut is sometimes spelled "donut"
- draught is spelled "draft"
- gaol (which is not common) is spelled "jail"
- plough is spelled "plow"
Different Words
There are also some words that are used differently in American English compared to British English. Here are a few:
- aeroplane is called "airplane"
- ladybird is called "ladybug"
- lift is called "elevator"
- toilet is called "bathroom", "restroom", or "comfort station"
- lorry is called "truck"
- nappies are called "diapers"
- petrol is called "gas" (or "gasoline")
- the boot of a car is called a "trunk"
- a dummy is called a "pacifier"
- trousers are called "pants"
- underground is called "subway"
- football is called "soccer"
- braces are "suspenders" (in British English, "suspenders" are worn to hold up socks or stockings)
Regional Accents
General American English is the type you hear most often in movies and on TV. It usually pronounces the letter "R" quite strongly. However, in some places, people "drop" the "R" sound if it comes after a vowel. For example, words like "car" and "card" might sound like "cah" and "cahd." This happens in areas like Boston.
Images for kids
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This map shows areas in the U.S. where more than half of white speakers did not pronounce the "R" sound after a vowel in the 1990s. This "R-dropping" can also be heard among Black speakers across the country.
See also
In Spanish: Inglés estadounidense para niños
