why does  the US and UK have different meanings for the same words?
409854
What like gas and petrol you mean?  Not sure, maybe because one of the words already has a different meaning (in Britian gas is a fuel used for heating systems and cooking, petrol is a liquid that vehicles run on.\n\nI find this fascinating too.
301109
2 reasons:\n\n1. In many former colonies, 'English is used to dfine the imperial British empire, while 'British' is used to define the current, friendly 'United Kingdom'. THis can get especially funny here in America, where britian is both our greatest ally and the people we shot at to become a country.\n\n2. Before and during the change from 'Britian' to the 'United Kingdom' it was considered 'polictally correct' to refer to oneself as 'British', an inisuation that the old ethnities (irish, Welsh, Brition, Scottish, etc.) were no longer important, but that everyone belong to the unitied kingdom's 'british' ethnicithy. This backfired in the scottish and irish cultures and the use of the term 'English' is often seen as assoiciating oneself with the old, imperial empire.\n\nAmericians have a simliar issue with the term 'conferate' or 'southern dixie'.
590085
They both legislate to avoid compliance, The US openly, the UK through subversive 'non-speak' legal jargon.\n\nBest I have, I'm afraid.
195391
Yep, it's OK in the US.  Not in UK, though.\n\nIn the US it's only normally used with 'go' and 'come'.  Example: 'You come see your old Ma next week!'\n\nIn UK we use 'come and see' and 'go and get' etc.\n\nWinston Churchill said the British and the Americans were one people divided by a common language.
104666
I've heard it compared to the difference between American and British English.  That means that there would be differences in accent, vocabulary, and probably grammar.
129695
The US does not have an offical language.  Some people would like to make English the one (I tend to agree).  But with our diverse culture I hardly think it would be fair or right
11669
I've never heard anyone say "different to," but the style guides listed below say it's a British variant.\n\n"Different from" is considered slightly more proper than "different than."
152172
It's a form of slang.  The official language of the US is English, the American version of it.
805930
Are you talking about GOING TO the UK, or coming from the UK to go to the States?  Be a little more specific, honey, we're all a little confused.
691650
No, they are not the same. The first one is grammatically incorrect & should not be used. The second is grammatically correct & is used in the context of the comparison e.g "Isn't there the same problem in the English government as in the American government, in regards to international trade?"
595366
Neither.  There are a number of different American dialects and a number of different British dialects.  Moreover, in some ways, (standard) American English is more "conservative" (has changed less from older forms of the language) than (standard--RP) British English.  Also, it wasn't the *British* who spread the language throughout the world; it was the *English*.  The Welsh and Scots (and Irish if you mean "British Isles" rather than "Great Britain") only started speaking English (rather than their original Celtic languages) under rule by England.
385596
American English is based on the Queen's English.  Both are considered English, and, in theory, a speaker of one could understand a speaker of the other.  The biggest difference exists in regional colloquialisms.  Slang varies from place to place more quickly in Britain than America, possibly due to the differences in country size and average population density.  Also, British English is generally considered more formal in appearance.\n\nPersonally, I like the sound and look of British English.\n\nAs to which is more difficult, it depends upon which one is most familiar with.  Brits and Europeans would likely be more comfortable with the British form.  Residents of South America, Mexico, and the United States would likely prefer American.  Canada would likely be a mixed batch, due to its proximity to the United States and its close ties with Britain
978683
It is called a Cheat Sheet in American English.  I think the British might be a Crib Sheet.  Hope this helps!
1018085
i would say USA and UK
228364
Grey is the English version; gray is the American.  They mean the same thing.
481693
I think it was Noah Webster who when writing his dictionary decided to simplify several spellings in the English Language.  \nSome took, some didn't.  Some even changed the way Brits and Canadians and Aussies spell the word (musick is now music for instance).  \n\nI have never heard of a concentrated effort by the American Government to differentiate their language from British English and it doesn't sound like something that a limited federal government (pre-civil war) would really want to do.     More likely, English, given its ability to evolve quickly branched off because people liked the spelling in the US and a different spelling in the UK.
102184
Well all business letters either brit or Americans look the same it is type of english that is in them that is distinct. Remember we americans killed english..lol