British English

British English is the common name for the standardized version of spoken and written English used in the United Kingdom and in most British Commonwealth nations. It differs from standrd US English both in its phonology (pronunciation), spelling, and in some grammatical constructs (e.g. some words in US English which take the definite article "the" , such as Hospital or University, do not take an article in British English).

Differences in spelling between American and British English

re/er

Words such as centre, theatre, and spectre are (usually) in American English spelt "center", "theater", and "specter".

or/our

American spellings tend to eliminate the 'u' in words which, in British English, are spelt with an 'our'. Example: color and colour, parlor and parlour, savior and saviour. However, there are exceptions to this, such as the word 'glamour' which is thus spelt in both dialects.

ae and oe

Many British words tend to retain the ligatures 'oe' and 'ae' in words of Greek or Latin origin. Examples: diarrhoea and diarrhea, orthopaedic and orthopedic, oesophagus and esophagus.

Hyphens and spacing

Words are usually compounded in American English (ex: counterattack), whereas in British English they are usually separated by a hyphen (counter-attack).