Comparing Words: American VS British English

There is a lovely song by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong called “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off.” In the song, Louis Armstrong pronounces tomato as both American English (to-may-to) and British English (to-mah-to). Clearly they mean the same thing – tomato, the edible red fruit.

We all know that British English sounds a bit different than American English. Both forms of English are widely known and instantly recognizable. We notice these distinctions in the many types of content we consume, like in films and television shows. Think of Harry Potter (British) versus Disney’s The Princess and The Frog (American).

They are both variations of the English language, yet some words have different meanings. As you pirouette your way through studying English, spice up your vocabulary with these terms.