American and British people both speak English, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like the same language. First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don’t say all the letters in each word, especially consonants like “t” and “d”. For example, Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”. However, the British usually pronounce their consonants more carefully. Also, some letters have different sounds. For example, Americans say the “a” in“half” like the “a” in “cat”, but the British say the “a” in “half” like the “a” in “aah”. Sound is not the only difference between British English and American English. The two languages have different words for some things. For example, the words for clothing are different. Americans use the word “sweater”, but the British say “jumper”. Many other words and expressions are different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone a friend, you “ring her up”. In America, you “give her a call”. The British use the word “lovely” to describe something they like. Americans use the word “cool” or “great”. There are also some differences in grammar. For example, Americans almost always use “do” with the verb “have”. They might say “Do you have an extra pen?” The British often ask the question in a different way. They might say “Have you got an extra pen?” These differences can be confusing if you are learning English. But there is a reason for the differences. Languages change over time. When the same language is used in different places, it changes differently in each place. This is what happened to English. It also happened to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French, but their French is different from the French spoken in France.