关键词： 英国英语, 美国英语, 英语变体

Abstract: English is one of widely used languages in the world. But, under the influence of geography, history, culture and social customs, English has divided into two major varieties: British English and American English,each having its own characters.This paper deals with the main differences between British English and American English in regard to spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. The more noticeable differences are phonetic and especially lexical. Grammatical differences between Br.E and A.E are few and trivial. Generally speaking, American English and British English in spelling are essentially the same, except that, as the following divergences show, the American variant is simpler than its English counterpart. The differences of American and British English vocabulary can be grouped into three categories.But the concept of differences must not be taken too far, because Br.E and A.E will be two major varieties of one language, not two different languages. With the rapid development of modern science, technology, mass media, constant cultural and economic exchanges bewteen these two nations, differences between them are becoming smaller. In practice, the tendency is towards better understanding between the people of the two countries.

Key words: British English, American English, variety