http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.

htm

Spelling differences between American and

British English

-or vs. -our

American

-ze vs. -se

British

color

colour

favorite

favourite

honor

honour

American

British

analyze

analyse

criticize

criticise

memorize

memorise

-ll vs. -l
American

-er vs. -re

British

enrollment

enrolment

fulfll

fulfl

skillful

skilful

American

British

center

centre

meter

metre

theater

theatre

-og vs. -ogue

American

British

analog

analogue

catalog

catalogue

dialog

dialogue

-e vs. -oe or -ae

American

British

encylopedia

encylycopaedi
a

maneuver

manoeuvre

medieval

mediaeval

-ck or -k vs. -que

American

British

bank

banque

check

cheque

checker

chequer

-dg vs. -dge (or -g vs.

-gu)
-ense vs. -enze
American

British

defense

defence

license

licence

American

British

aging

ageing

argument

arguement

judgment

judgement

Other
American

British

jewelry

jewellery

draft

draught

pajamas

pyjamas

plow

plough

program

programme

tire

tyre

In British English, words that end in -l preceded by a vowel usually

double the -l when a suffix is added, while in American English the
letter is not doubled. The letter will double in the stress is on the
second syllable.

Base Word

American

British

counsel

counseling

counselling

equal

equaling

equalling

model

modeling

modelling

quarrel

quarreling

quarrelling

signal

signaling

signalling

travel

traveling

travelling

excel

excelling

excelling

propel

propelling

propelling

Spelling of verbs

This is related to formation of the past participle for verbs. For a

complete list of irregular verb spellings, see Susan Jones' Complete
List of English Irregular Verbs at this web site. Below is a sampling of
the three main categories of differeneces with verbs.

-ed vs. -t
The frst category involves verbs that use -ed or -t for the simple past
and past participle. Generally, the rule is that if there is a verb form
with -ed, American English will use it, and if there is a form with -t,
British English uses it. However, these forms do not exist for every
verb and there is variation. For example, both American and British
English would use the word 'worked' for the past form of 'to work', and
in American English it is common to hear the word 'knelt' as the past
tense of 'to kneel'.

Base form

American

British

to dream

dreamed

dreamt

to leap

leaped

leapt

to learn

learned

learnt

base form vs. -ed

The second category of difference includes verbs that use either the
base form of the verb or the -ed ending for the simple past.

Base form

American

British

to ft

ft

ftted

to forecast

forecast

forecasted

to wed

wed

wedded

irregular vs. -ed

The third category of difference includes verbs that have either an
irregular spelling or the -ed ending for the simple past.

Base form

American

British

to knit

knit

knitted

to light

lit

lighted

to strive

strove

strived

So what does tall his mean for learners of English? In the beginning,
unfortunately, it means a lot of memorization (or memorisation) and
of course, a few mistakes. For spoken English, the differences are
barely audible, so forge ahead and don't be too concerned with
whether a word is spelled 'dwelled' or 'dwelt'. With written English,
however, if you are unsure about the spelling, better to ask your
teacher or look the word up in the dictionary and see what the
experts say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differenc
es

http://www.englishclub.com/writing/spelling_american-english.htm#
English and American English Spelling

Here are the principal differences in spelling between English and American English.
English

American
English

Final -l is always doubled after one vowel in stressed

and unstressed syllables in English but usually only in
stressed syllables in American English, for example:

rebel >
rebelled
travel >
travelled

rebel >
rebelled
travel >
traveled

Some words end in -tre in English and -ter in

American English, for example:

centre
theatre

center
theater

Some words end in -ogue in English and -og in

American English, for example:

analogue
catalogue

analog
catalog

Some words end in -our in English and -or in

American English, for example:

colour
labour

color
labor

Some verbs end in -ize or -ise in English but only in

-ize in American English, for example:

realise,
realize
harmonise,

realize
harmonize

harmonize

Common Differences

English

American English

all right

all right, alright (disputed)

analyse

analyze

centre

center

cheque

check

colour

color

counsellor

counselor

criticise, criticize

criticize

defence

defense

doughnut

donut

favour

favor

fibre

fiber

flavour

flavor

fulfil

fulfill

grey

gray

honour

honor

humour

humor

jewellery

jewellery, jewelry

judgement, judgment

judgment

kerb

curb

labour

labor

license, licence (verb)

licence (noun)

license (verb)
license (noun)

litre

liter

metre

meter

mould

mold

neighbour

neighbor

offence

offense

practise (verb)
practice (noun)

practice (verb)
practice (noun)

pretence

pretense

programme

program

pyjamas

pajamas

realise, realize

realize

savour

savor

speciality

specialty

theatre

theater

travelled
travelling

travelled, traveled
travelling, traveling

tyre

tire

valour

valor

Dictionary with Canadian, British and American spelling differences:

http://www.lukemastin.com/testing/spelling/cgi-bin/database.cgi?
action=home