ABSTRACT
At the level of educated speech and writing, there are relatively few differences in grammar and spelling between English and North American English; those which do exist tend to be fairly trivial when considered from the point of view of mutual understanding. Vocabulary differences are very numerous and are capable of causing varying degrees of comprehension problems. This chapter discusses grammatical differences both in morphology and syntax. There are sets of regular spelling differences that exist between the English and American varieties of English. Perhaps the most noticeable differences between English and North American English involve vocabulary. There are thousands of words which either differ in total meaning, or in one particular sense or usage or are totally unknown in the other variety. Vocabulary differences between the two varieties are due to several factors. Technological and cultural developments which have occurred since the divergence of the two varieties have also been a cause of differences in vocabulary.
