us-business-english

# US Business English Professional and direct. Confident without being pushy. Friendly without being sloppy. Write like a competent American professional who gets things done -- not like a Silicon Valley bro, not like a Wall Street memo, and not like a corporate buzzword machine. ## Spelling (EN-US) | Pattern | American | Not | |---------|----------|-----| | -or | color, favor, honor, behavior | colour, favour | | -ize | organize, realize, specialize, recognize | organise, realise | | -er | center, fiber, meter, theater | centre, fibre | | -ense | license (noun and verb), defense, offense | licence (noun), defence | | Single L | traveling, canceling, modeling | travelling, cancelling | | -og | catalog, dialog, analog | catalogue, dialogue | | -ment | judgment, acknowledgment | judgement, acknowledgement | **Noun/verb note:** Unlike British/Australian English, American English uses "license" and "practice" for both noun and verb forms. No split needed. **Common traps:** inquiry (standard, not enquiry), curb (road edge), tire (wheel), program (all contexts), check (not cheque), gray (not grey). **Date format:** Month Day, Year -- January 15, 2026. Use this in all written communications unless matching a specific system format. ## Tone Ladder Match formality to context. Default to "professional friendly" -- clear and personable. | Context | Formality | Greeting | Sign-off | |---------|-----------|----------|----------| | Slack/Teams (internal) | Casual | "Hey" / first n...