BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
SUBJECT: ENGLISH STUDIS
CLASS: SS 3
TERM: FIRST TERM
WEEK: WEEK ONE
TOPIC: SPELLING: BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
Some American spellings are quite different from the British spellings. Americans believe that a word should be spelt as it is pronounced. For example:
Americans differentiate between the verbs “practice” and “practise”. “Practice” is used when you are talking about activities in general, while “practise” is used when you are specifically referring to a skill or an activity that one needs to practise. In British English, both words are spelt exactly the same way and they both mean the same thing. In American English, however, they are spelt differently because of the way they sound
These differences are notable in the following examples:
BRITISH AMERICA
A ‘s’ ‘z’
specialisation specialization
colonise colonize
summarise summarize
organise organize
mechanise mechanize
economise economize
pressurise pressurize
centralise centralize
B ‘our’ ‘or’
habour habor
honour honor
labour labor
neighbour neighbor
favour favor
vapour vapor
odour odor
C ‘re’ ‘er’
centre center
metre meter
kilometre kilometer
D. ‘amme’ ‘am’
gramme gram
kilogramme kilogram
programme program
E. ‘ogue’ ‘og’
dialogue dialog
catalogue catalog
F. In verbs which end in ‘l’ and are not stressed on the final syllable, the ‘l’ is not doubled in the – ing form and the past participle.
British American
travelling traveling
equalled equaled
cancelling canceling
G. There is also the usual practice to replace ‘ae’ or ‘oe’ in words by ‘e’ (Words of Greek and Latin origin). The original spelling is however retained by the British.
British American
Haemoglobin hemoglobin
Diaerrhoea diarrhea
Encyclopaedia encyclopedia
EVALUATION
Give ten words that have different spellings in the British and American spellings.
1. color/colour
2. organize/organise
3. realize/realise
4. practice/practice
5. analyze/analyse
6. realize/realise
7. pyjamas/pajamas
8. cheque/check
9. programme/program
10. offence/offense
READING ASSIGNMENT
Phrases and Clauses.
A phrase is a group of related words that does not contain both a subject and a verb. Phrases typically function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence. In contrast, clauses contain both a subject and a verb. There are two main types of phrases: noun phrases and verb phrases.
Noun phrases typically consist of a noun or pronoun acting as the head word, along with any modifiers, determiners, and complements associated with that noun. Noun phrases can function as subjects, objects, or prepositional complements in a sentence.
Verb phrases consist of a verb acting as the head word, along with any modifiers, complements, or other elements associated with that verb. Verb phrases can function as the main verb, a modifying verb, or a complement in a sentence.
Some examples of noun and verb phrases include “the big dog,” “to walk slowly,” and “had already eaten.” Other examples include “running quickly toward the finish line” and “the brown bear in the forest.” Overall, phrases are an important part of English grammar, as they allow us to create more complex and nuanced sentences.
GENERAL EVALUATION
Comprehension
Death and the King’s Horseman is a play written by British playwright Wole Soyinka. The play follows the story of Elesin, an African king who is preparing to commit suicide. The play explores themes of colonialism, oppression, and death, as well as the conflict between traditional culture and modern society.
1. In three short sentences, summarise the play extract.
2. List the four main points on which Elesin contradicts Pilkings.
3. In what two ways has Pilkings interfered with Elesin’s life?
Structure
4. Use the information provided on page of your Effective English to write a sentence each with hardly, scarcely or barely.
Essay
5. Write an article to illustrate this saying, “A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed”
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
Revision and Tests Part 1, Page 33, Effective English.
