The main difference is that British English keeps the spelling of words it has absorbed from other languages, mainly French and German. Whilst American English spellings are based mostly on how the word sounds when it is spoken. English was introduced to what is modern day America in the 17 th century by the British settlers. British definition: 1. belonging to or relating to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or its…. Learn more. These are both British dictionaries, and both seem to treat American pronunciations more or less as a side issue; they don't always get them correct. They are very reliable for the definitions of the words (at least the British English definitions, which are the same for most words as the American definitions) and the British pronunciations. The Received Pronunciation (which is the "British Standard", in a way, the one which is also exported) suggests the first one "spee-sheez". Source: Oxford English Dictionary. The US pronunciation accepts both. Source: Macmillan Dictionary. Probably the biologists would use the second one, as internationally there is more consensus on that variant. February 2018 ·. Brandon Baird. This matched-guise study investigates not only the perceptions of Spanish-accented English, but also of Lexically Specific Phonology Switches (LSPS) on loanwords Canadians are indeed subjects of the Queen, but they are also neighbours – and the greatest trading partners – of the United States. The British may be family, but Americans are friends. Or .

british american english pronunciation differences