Watch Your English!
If you were working for a British-English-speaking company, would it be correct to write “She will send it towards the end of April” or “She will send it toward the end of April”? Or “This sentence needs a period” or “This sentence needs a full stop”? How about “The team are playing well” or “The team is playing well”?
English has become the lingua franca of the global economy. It represents the language with the third-largest number of speakers; is spoken in more than 100 countries and is an official language in 35 countries; and is the most common studied foreign language. Yet many PR pros forget this language has two major forms: American English, spoken mainly in the U.S., and British English, used in the U.K. and many former British colonies. In fact, most English-speaking countries, including such economic leaders as Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and South Africa, use British English.
Although American English and British English are generally interchangeable, there are enough differences to cause awkward errors. And in an increasingly globalized business world, it’s important to be as adept as possible with both forms. (By the way, the answers to the questions above include the sentences with the words “towards,” “full stop” and “are.”)
For help, here’s a rundown of differences between common American-English and British-English words that can cause confusion, along with some resources for further guidance. Having an awareness of these will help your work be that much more accurate and inclusive in a world where British English represents another element of diversity that PR pros should strive to be appreciative of.
Same Words with Different Spellings
American English British English
airplane -aeroplane
canceled-cancelled
program-programme
theater-theatre
toward-towards
traveled-travelled
Different Words with Same Meaning
American English-British English
calendar (appointment book)-diary
ad-advert
anchor (for media outlet)-presenter
period (punctuation mark)-full stop
résumé-CV (curriculum vitae)
zee (pronunciation of letter “z”)-zed
Same Words with Different Meanings
American English-British English
biscuit (small piece of bread)-(small cookie)
chips (potato chips)-(French fries)
pants (clothing for lower part of body)-(underwear for lower part of body)
pudding (sweet dish made with sugar, flour and milk)-(dessert)
toilet (commode)-(restroom)
torch (stick with flame on end)-(flashlight)
What Day?
In American English, the month-day-year format is used. In British English, it’s the day-month-year format.
American: Amy is coming on March 16, 2020.
British: Amy is coming on 16 March 2020.
Quote Me on This
In American English, periods and commas are always enclosed in closing quotation marks, and question marks and exclamation points follow unless they are part of quoted matter. In British English, only those punctuation marks that appear in the original material should be enclosed.
American: “I won’t go,” John said.
British: “I won’t go”, John said.
One or Many?
In British usage, collective nouns that represent groups often take a plural verb.
American English: The band is loud.
British English: The band are loud.
More Help
Website - Cambridge Dictionary
Book - The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English by Lynne Murphy