ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

American and British English differences

Imagine you have two friends, one who lives in America and another who lives in England. Even though they both speak English, you may notice that sometimes they use different words or pronounce things differently. This is because they speak different versions of English!

For example, in America, we say "elevator," while in England, they say "lift." In America, the word for a small, two-door car is "coupe" (coo-pay), while in England, it's "coupé" (coo-pay-AY).

Another difference is in spelling. In America, we spell words like "color" and "favor" without the letter "u" (which is how they spell it in England: "colour" and "favour"). We also spell words like "center" and "meter" with an "er," while in England, they spell it with an "re" ("centre" and "metre").

There are also differences in grammar and punctuation, like using quotation marks differently and using "have got" in England instead of "have" in America.

So even though both American and British people speak English, there are lots of little differences that make it sound different, look different, and even be written differently!