The English language has grown and changed over time and an example for that is the differences between the American and British English. When people think about the differences between British and American English, the first thing they think about is the accent which is the most noticeable difference. But besides accents, there are many other differences between the two.
The Brits introduced the language to the Americas when they first arrived between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling had not yet been standardised, and it took the writing of the first dictionaries to set the standard of spellings which is now somewhat different between American and British English. Some spelling differences are: British English ence (defence, offence, licence) compared to American English -ense (defense, offense, license). British English -ell- (cancelled. Jeweller, marvellous) compared to American English -el- (canceled, jeweler, marvelous)
The Americans and the Brits have some words that vary from each other. American and British English have evolved differently considering cultural influences that have affected each in a different way, and the way they borrowed words from different languages. Common examples include food- coriander (British, derived from French) and cilantro (American, derived from Spanish), and aubergine (British, derived from Arabic) and eggplant (American, so called because it looks like a purple egg).
While there may be certain differences between American and British English, Americans and Brits can communicate with each other without too much difficulty, and accidentally using one instead of the other will not automatically lead to miscommunication.
It is natural that native speakers from two opposite continents will not have trouble understanding each other, but there is an issue for foreigners, who might confuse and misunderstand the two.
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