British English

British English sometimes referred to as the Queen's tongue, is the common name for the standardized version of spoken and written English used in the countries of the United Kingdom and in most British Commonwealth nations. It differs from standard 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

The general rule is that American English spellings have improved to more concise and more phonetic forms than in British English.

re/er

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

or/our

American spellings tend to eliminate the 'u' in words which, in British English, are spelled 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 (American: diarrhea), orthopaedic (orthopedic), oesophagus (esophagus).

Hyphens and spacing

Words are usually compounded in American English (ex: counterattack, runoff), whereas in British English they are more likely to be separated by a hyphen (counter-attack, run-off).