BRITISH ACCENT - AMERICAN ACCENT - (Hugh LAURIE)

The divergence between American English and British English once caused Bernard Shaw to say that The United States and the United Kingdon are "two countries divided by a common language".  Oscar Wilde wrote "WE have everything in common with Amercia nowadays, except for the language" (THe Canterville Ghost, 1888)

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NOUNS

When it comes to word usage, there are quite a lot number of words which differ between British and Amercian English.  This list is not exhaustive but many of the words here are in common  use
General words:
 

BR EN	AM ENG
FLAT	APARTMENT
Pavement	Sidewalk
Road	Route
Motorway	Sideway
Sideway	Fork
Roundabout	Traffick circle
Phone Box	Phone booth
film	Movie
Headmaster	Principle
Photo	Snap-Shot
Public School	Private School
State School	Public School
Marks	Grades
Term	Semester
Caretaker	Janitor

Tap	Faucet
Tin	CAn
Shop	Store
Food shp	Grocery store
Corner shop	Convenience Store
Sofa	Couch
Holiday	Vacation
Maths	Math
Crisps	Potatoes ships
Sweet	Candy
Cash point	ATM
Petrol	Gas
Number plate	License plate
Lorry	Truck
Caravan	Trailer
Police car	Patrol Car

trousers	pants
trainers	Snickers
jumper	Sweater

The British slang for cigarette is "fag", while in Am E this word has a different and offensive meaning.  It is a derogatory or insulting word for a gay man or homosexual.  In BrE you go to the toilet or lavatory, in AmE, yoy go to the Washroom (CanE), mensroom (USA) or bathroom (USA).  THe British slang words fo toilet are bog or loo,  while the American slang words for toilet are Jonh or Can. There are some words which are unique to AmE.  A good example is the word  
busboy: which means a person in a restaurant who collects the dirty plates and cultery (knifes, spoon, forks) from the table (not to be confused with a waiter, who takes the orders and serves the food.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPELLING AND GRAMMAR

 There are many ways of finding out the differences between Br and AM E.  Most English dictionaries point now these variations within their word definition listings, normally with the alternative spelling being placed whichever word is  being defined: ie Coloured (Us colored), centre (Us Center), licence (US license), minimise (US minimize) or patronise (US patronize) or recognise (recognize), specialise (US specialize)

GRAMMAR:

PAST SIMPLE / PAST PARTICIPABLE: The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple / past participle in both Amercan and British English.  However, the irregular form is generally more common in Br E (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more common to Am E

burn: burnt / burned

dream. dreamt/ dreamed

lean: leant /leaned 
learn: learnt /learned

smell: smelt /smelled 
spell: spelt /spelled
spoil: spoilt /spoilt 
PRESENT PERFECT: There are some slight differences, fr example:

 "I`ve lost my wallet" versus I lost mu wallet. 

 "I've already watched that film" versus "I already watched that film"

POSSESSION: there are two forms of expressing possession in English: have or have got 
Do you have a car? versus Have you got a car?
He doesn't have any freinds versus He hasn't got any friends
While both forms are correct in both BrE and AmE, have got, has got, hasn't got and have got are the preferred forms of British E.  Whil emost speakers of AmE use do you have, don't have, doesn't have or has got
THE VERB GET:  the past participle of the verb to get is gotten in AmE

he's got much better at playing tennis versus

 he's gotten much better at playing tennis 

PREPOSITIONS : There are some differences in the way prepositions are used

at the weekend versus on the weekend

in the team versus on the team

write to me soon versus write me soon

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRONUNCIATION

When it comes to actually speaking English, then the slight differences between British and Amercian English becomes more obvious.  Am E tends to put more emphasis on consonant sounds,  especially the letter "r" This is very apparent in words beginnig  and ending with "r".  Vowel sounds, especially those containing the letter "a" are also empahasized.  The letter "t" is a good one to look closely at.  Occasionaly, the letter "t" is not pronounced the same as it is in Br E, for example,letter, better, mountain, bottle, metal, which sounds as  "dd" (ledder,bedder..)