Well, I put this on the Sci Fi side so some of you may have seen it there, but I thought I'd bring it here too.

I always find it confusing but so funny the way American and English have the same words but they spell them differently. For instance the words Dialog and Dialogue really threw me at first; I was convinced people were mis-spelling it but it's actually just spelt differently over there!

Anyhow, out of interest post the words you know to be the same but spelt differently!

Here's a few to start us off: let me know if they're wrong as of course, I'm not over familiar with American words.

moustache and mustache

pyjamas and pajamas

speciality and specialty

titbit and tidbit

aeroplane and airplane

colour and color

harbour and harbor

Grey, and Gray, are my favorites.

How about Plow and Plough?

Aluminum and Aluminium. (They're pronounced differently, too.)

Favorite and Favourite.

Even though I am an American, I use the British "grey" instead of American "gray" as Joe Clemons pointed out.
There is also British "armour" while we use "armor"
And also I think the Brits use "armour" in reference to what we would call a "tank" as far as warfare is concerned
and then there is "colour" in British English but "color" in American.

Of course, if you check this site's language, it is supposed to be British English... so maybe we should all use it that way, even though my browser's spell check is going berserk over all the extra "u"s in my words.

But I simply do not speak British English. I'm an American all the way through. I don't know all the spelling differences. Why is British English the only option?

Let's see...
Maneuver and Manoeuvre.

Also, Elanor, we Americans almost never say "spelt". I would have said "spelled".

And I think the British "grey" looks prettier. Greyer.

Hehe! Spelled? No that just doesn't feel right writing that.

Haha, now I am getting mixed up over what is American and what is English!

It is interesting, isn't it? I tend to spell grey with "ey." most of the time, but like my hands I use either one whenever. ^^

So you're ambidextrous, Calen?
Elanor, I just found another example, in one of your posts.
You say "scarey". I say, "scary".

Hmm...I say "tuh-MAY-toe". Do you say "to-MAH-toe"?

@Aemi: Yup, you can find more on the subject under the poll "Left or Right" viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2286

I say "tuh-may-toe" & "to-may-doe". Edit: saying it aloud, I say it either way. *crazy person*

I just realized that I actually say "tuh-MAY-doe".
I say "Patty" as "Paddy". And "batty" as "baddy". And "splatter" as "spladder". I'm from Texas; what else can I say?

I've found some more:
Judgment and Judgement
Jewelry and Jewellry
Plow and Plough
Draft and Draught
and my favorite:
Tire and Tyre.

Thank you Aemi, lots of words there hehe. There are a lot of differences aren't there!

I say "to-MAH-toe" and I pronounce my T's as T's.

I thought so. When I try to pronounce my "T"s, I sound English.
So, if you ever want to try to imitate a Texan-American accent, just say your "T"s as "d"s, when they are in the middle of a word.

lol same here. I use the spelling "grey" in my writing, and my spell checker always says I'm wrong.

For some reason my computer seems to be set to American spelling, so when I spell things right it says they're wrong as well!

Elly and I had a laugh this afternoon, I said I lost a stone, and she said you mean ton. I was like I haven't lost a ton! It was funny. Apparently it's said differently in America.

Yes, we don't only spell words differently, we have different names for things.

Not to mention you guys drive on the "wrong" side of the road over there.

Thanks for reviving this thread, Elanor.

*Coughs loudly* You mean "right", I should really edit that because you really did mean "right".

No, we drive on the right side. Literally.

*Will try to search out some more spellings.*

*Googles some words*

Humor and Humour.

Flavor and Flavour.

I remember on the Sci Fi side when I was modded there, I was sometimes editing words from posts, and then later on realising that they were acually the American spelling of the word.

Those are good ones, Aemi!

I just thought of another one:
Realizing and Realising.

*Laughs* I had a stop moment then and I though, did I misspell it? But I didn't.

While I was writing the post, I started wondering, "Wait, am I wrong? Do Americans actually spell it with an "s" and I just forgot?" But Spellcheck told me I was right.

*Laughs* It's so confusing, isn't it.

Yes.

I remember in grade nine, our teacher had to explain to our class that in Canada we use the English spelling of things, not the American spelling, because on Government tests we would lose marks for it.
Though it seems to me that Americans just took the English language and made it easier to spell.

Neighbor and Neighbour, Honor and Honour, Rumor and Rumour, everything else that ends like that (well, almost everything).
But what about Centre, Fibre, Sabre, Theatre, Meagre?
Analyse, Paralyse, Oraganise and Realise.
Analogue, Monologue, Synagogue.
Archaeology, Amoeba.
Counsellor, Travelling, Quarrelled.
Programme. Mum. Orientated.

Does that help your list any?
Also -I was correct. In 1906, an American organisation was formed, and it was called the Simplified Spelling Board. They figured that Englsh would be more widely used if it was easier to spell.

"Valour" and "Valor" is another English one...I think...Or is it British?