Choice of preposition: "across/between/for/in British English and American English"

Question

What prepositions can be used at the bold part of the following sentence? And what differences in meaning can be made there between the ones?

The second syllable of "et cetera" is pronounced the same across/between/for/in/of/to British English and American English.

Prepositions in English are sometimes very tricky to me. I will appreciate all your answers and comments.

The second syllable of "et cetera" is pronounced the same in British English and American English. — Weather Vane, Commented Apr 24, 2018 at 20:10
As always, it would help if you could indicate which ones you think are correct and why (for example, by analogy to phrasing you have heard or read elsewhere). That way, we don't waste time trying to guess. — choster, Commented Apr 24, 2018 at 20:12
@choster Sorry for lack of specific contexts in the question. I wanted to include every detail, but it was too much and extensive to write and clarify. I thought every preposition I wrote in the question seemed to have some grounds to be right to be used. — Smart Humanism, Commented Apr 25, 2018 at 6:36

Paul Childs · Accepted Answer · 2018-04-24 19:47:15Z

2

Only "for" and "in".

Others are possible with variation. Eg "...across the spectrum of British and American variants of English"

Between is also a range word but tends to be exclusive of the end points - it won't work here.

"To" is more about the receiver. If it was about how sounds are perceived by British/American speakers then "to" would be an appropriate preposition.

answered Apr 24, 2018 at 19:47

Paul Childs

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A conjunction "both" helps: "in both American and British English"
– James K
Commented Apr 24, 2018 at 20:24
Thank you for kindly answering, Paul Childs. Thanks to you, I've got to know a lot. But, how about another variation with "across", that is "...across British and American English"?
– Smart Humanism
Commented Apr 25, 2018 at 19:37
Across lends itself to a continuous rather than discrete set. Just two doesn't make for much of a continuum. Walking across a street isn't about the curb, but what is between. If you are talking about dialects (there are a plethora of British variants and my variant of Australian English inherets from Mancunian an Cockney) then this can work with across.
– Paul Childs
Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 10:46

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