British vs. American Culture – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

The allure of the British accent is just the tip of the cultural differences between British and American culture. The differences between cultures are not as vast as the differences between the United States and North Korea, but there are some subtle comparisons to be made. For example, there’s not much of a language barrier between America and Britain because both cultures predominately speak English. However, there are some differences in word choices and word meanings between the two cultures. Consider the following examples:

• In the U.S. we stand in line to wait for something. In Britain, it’s called a queue.
• In the U.S. you might give a crying child a pacifier, but the British call it a dummy.
• A baked potato in the U.S. would be called a ‘jacket potato’ in Britain.

Probably the most obvious and well known is the difference between soccer and football. Britain, and pretty much everywhere else in the world, if we’re being honest, refers to soccer as football, not to be confused with American football.