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Differences in English, American spelling

March 18, 2008

The Oxford Dictionaries Web site www.askoxford.com lists these as the main differences between American and British spellings of English words:

British English words that end in -re (centre, fibre, theatre) often end in -er in American English (center, fiber, theater).

British English words that end in -our (colour, humour) usually end in -or in American English (color, humor).

Verbs in British English that can be spelled with -ize or -ise at the end (recognise, recognize) are always spelled -ize in American English.

Verbs in British English that end in -yse (analyse) are always spelled -yze in American English (analyze).

In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel (travel, travelled). In American English, the l is not doubled (traveled).

British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe (archaeology, manoeuvre) are just spelled with an e in American English (archeology, maneuver).