# 🇮🇪 English - British vs American
> [!quote] Oscar Wilde, _The Canterville Ghost_, 1891
> Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that _**we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.**_
> [!hint] 🇬🇧⁉️🇺🇸
> This: 🇬🇧 is meant to be an emoji of the British flag. If it only appears as "GB" to you, then your device does not support country flag emojis.
Britain (or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and America (The United States of) share the English language, and thanks to their cultural hegemony, English has spread far and wide. There are differences between the two however, and these can be used to identify a speaker's natural English tongue. Below is a table of common American vs British words, and some notes as appropriate.
UK (United Kingdom - 🇬🇧) and US (United States - 🇺🇸) will be used as abbreviations.
## Americanization of British
Some American English words are slowly creeping into British English, and so these can be used as definitive indicators that someone isn't who they say they are. These words they will be highlighted with a 🐢 below.
| 🇬🇧 British English | 🇺🇸 American English | 📜 Notes |
| ------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Realise, etc. | Realize, etc. | -ise is typically UK and -ize is typically US, though -ize is still technically correct in British English |
| Metre, etc. | Meter, etc. | 🐢 Both -re and -er are in common usage in the UK, most as misspellings |
| Colour, etc. | Color | -our in UK becomes -or in US for other words too |
| Pavement | Sidewalk | |
| Tap | Faucet | |
| Rubbish (bin) | Trash (can) | 🐢 |
| Mum | Mom | Some parts of the UK use "mom", but most use "mum" |
| Pants | Underpants | 🐢 But can be confusing, as "pants" also means… |
| Trousers | Pants | 🐢 |
| Bum bag | Fanny pack | "Fanny" is a slang word for female genitals in British English |
| Public school | Private school | UK "public" schools are those that charge for entry |
| Crisp | (Potato) Chip | Some companies and brands use "chip" in the UK, but people generally still call them "crisps" |
| Chip | Thick-cut French fries | |
| Fries | Fries | |
| Aluminium | Alumunum | |
| F\*g | Cigarette | In the UK, it can be used in both offensive and non-offensive ways |
| CV/Curriculum vitae | Résumé/resumé/resume | Can be confused with the other meaning of "resume", i.e. "to resume after a pause" |
## Schools and education
The US education system has different names for school levels and years than the UK system.
| 🧒 Age range | 🇬🇧 British English | 🇺🇸 American English | 📜 Notes |
| ------------ | ------------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1-4 | Nursery/Playgroup | Daycare | |
| 3-5 | Reception | Preschool/Pre-K | 🇬🇧: Primary School starts |
| 5-6 | Year 1 | Kindergarten | 🇬🇧: Elementary School starts |
| 6-7 | Year 2 | 1st Grade | |
| 7-8 | Year 3 | 2nd Grade | |
| 8-9 | Year 4 | 3rd Grade | |
| 9-10 | Year 5 | 4th Grade | |
| 10-11 | Year 6 | 5th Grade | |
| 11-12 | Year 7 | 6th Grade | 🇬🇧: Secondary School/High School starts 🇺🇸: Middle School/Junior High School |
| 12-13 | Year 8 | 7th Grade | |
| 13-14 | Year 9 | 8th Grade | |
| 14-15 | Year 10 | 9th Grade | 🇺🇸: High School Starts. Freshman Year |
| 15-16 | Year 11 | 10th Grade | 🇺🇸: Sophomore Year |
| 16-17 | Year 12 (Lower 6th Form) | 11th Grade | 🇬🇧: At 16, students either stay in school, attend college, or start working 🇺🇸: Junior Year |
| 17-18 | Year 13 (Upper 6th Form) | 12th Grade | 🇺🇸: Senior Year |
| 18+ | University | College | |