This hereEBC TEFL-cursus Madridis accent tolerant. We don't care which English flavor you use, as long as you use it correctly and consistently.
British English versus American English always makes for a lively discussion. We're getting some great debates about our TEFL course between the UK and US students. We treat them as linguistic equals, but people remain people.
In this article I discuss: context, vocabulary, English as a living language and implications for education and classroom issues. There is also an appendix with relevant comments from readers.
I'm British, but I lived in the US (NewYork/New Jersey) for about 10 years. I have to say as a non sequitur that I was so excited to become a citizen.
As an English speaker, it took me a while to learn new English. It took time to figure out why street vendors were always asking me to "check things out." I wasn't going to borrow anything from them 🙂
The English spoken in the United States differs from the English spoken in Great Britain not only in pronunciation, but also in vocabulary and, in some cases, word meaning. Fortunately, the basis of both English variants, the alphabet, is the same, apart from the letter Zed or Zee.
George Bernard Shaw was probably right when he ranted:
"The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language."
So which one is best? From a party political point of view, the answer is obvious. British people will say that Americans don't speak English well and vice versa. There's nothing worse than national pride when it comes to language.
If we forget the fact that there are people in both countries who sometimes cannot understand what their compatriots from other regions are saying, is there any evidence to suggest that one taste is better than the other?
Coherence
Let's start with consistency. Is one flavor more consistent than the other?
My first focus would be spelling. In some ways, American English spelling is more similar to the way we pronounce words. The classics are color versus color, center versus middle, words ending in "iz" versus "er" constructions, etc.
British English is much older than American English and these differences are mainly due to the French who invaded England in 1066. The English were not yet impressed at the time, but the French brought something extra in terms of culture and cooking and a lot in the way of enriching the English language. The estimated numbernew words added to English by the Frenchis around 10,000. With these new words came the French spelling, "re", "ou", "is", etc. constructions.
English people came to North America through the first British settlements, which eventually, through George Washington, became the United States. In the 18th century, English was still an open language, and even the British had no formal spelling standards. In the 1750s, Samuel Johnson established what was adopted as a standard British-English dictionary, and about 60 years later, Noah Webster established what was adopted as the standard American-English dictionary. Because America was eager to distance itself from Britain and Webster wanted to rationalize certain spellings, the Americans adopted what some British call "incorrect spelling."
Both sides could claim the same thing.
Both languages ​​have spelling standards, so in this respect they are both consistent.
The statement is not so obvious when it comes to consistency.
Here are a few examples:
Americans will pronounce the "ato" sound in tomato and potato the same way. The British don't
The British will pronounce the sound 'ine' in machine and iodine the same way. Americans don't.
These are two simple examples, but they both highlight pronunciation differences that don't match spelling. However, all Americans/British will pronounce words within their taste of English in a similar way. There will be regional differences, but even with the regional accent the sound produced will be understandable.
Vocabulary
Now we get to the fun part.
In essence, British English and American English are very similar, even with differences in spelling. In today's world, American spelling probably wins thanks to Microsoft's spell checker.
There are differences in vocabulary and some can cause embarrassing situations if you only know one flavor. Think of underpants, suspenders and fanny packs. In the US men wear braces, in Britain women wear braces. There's a whole world of fun in some of these differences. Brits can beat up their friends in the morning, but that might be considered inappropriate in the US. I'll leave it to you to examine the panties and fanny pack.
There are also more mundane differences, such as: elevator (UK) vs. lift (US) / truck (UK) vs. truck (US) / lawyer (UK) vs. lawyer (US) / petrol (UK) vs. petrol or gasoline (US) / sneakers (UK) vs. sneakers (US) / pencil (UK) vs. thumbtack (US) and quite a few others.
Despite the fact that there are different meanings for the same word and some real differences in vocabulary, both languages ​​are again consistent within their own rules.
English is a living language
Both the British and Americans continue to add new words as things change. As new words are added, they fit the constructions and can be classified within the general English language system: noun, verb, etc.
The two most important dictionaries on each side of the Atlantic are Merriam-Webster (US) and Oxford (UK). Both dictionaries accept the differences between British and American English and refer to both in their word definitions.
Teaching implications and classroom issues
Some may consider this article frivolous, others may not. In any case, the differences between American and British English in the classroom can pose problems that the teacher must address. Some will take the form of a personal attack.
"You can't spell well.", "You can't pronounce well." or "You don't know how to say things in English." are some of the criticisms that will be leveled at the teacher.
These problems can arise after a change of teacher, especially from one speaker to another, from British to American and vice versa.
“Color/colour”, “iod/iod”, “elevator/elevator” are three simple examples that highlight where the problems come from. The differences in spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary may raise doubts about the new teacher's knowledge of English at ELLS. Your students are not as closely connected to English as we are. It's something new for them. The nuances and subtleties of English are light years away from their understanding. They are as far removed from understanding these differences as we would be from learning a new language that we know nothing about.
They will certainly know that Americans and British have different accents, but they will not understand the above differences unless they are taught.
The teacher should explain that the two varieties of English are different and, if necessary, emphasize where these differences are. The teacher must also be consistent within the rules of the English language he or she teaches: spelling, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.
To avoid disagreements over meaning and spelling, always use one or the otherMerriam WebsterofOxfordpocket dictionary at hand. Both dictionaries show the different spellings and meanings of words. Dictionaries solve many classroom problems because they are independent arbiters of disputes over spelling and meaning. If you also understand the phonetic code, they also solve pronunciation problems.
Conclusion
So which one is better?My position is neither one nor the other. They both serve a purpose and they are both consistent within their rules. They can cause problems in the classroom, but these can be addressed as described in the previous section.
Is one set of rules superior to the other?I do not think. Both have their own consistencies and inconsistencies.
Is one easier to use than the other?Now it gets interesting. American is much easier to spell thanks to Mr.'s spelling rationalization. Webster. British and American pronunciation styles both have their inconsistencies. For example, both have strange pronunciations for place names like Leicester (Lester) Square in London or Conetoe (Caneeta) in North Carolina.
Is one easier to listen to than the other?Yes and no. There are people who prefer one over the other, and people who don't care. The pronunciation while speaking can be good or bad, it depends on the speaker, not what flavor of English he speaks.
The only conclusion I can draw is that the competition between British and American English is much the same as the competition between Coca Cola and Pepsi. There will be people who want to drink because they like co*ke, and there will be people who prefer one over the other.
Neither is better. They look alike, but are different 🙂
“Vive la Difference” as all of us English speakers would say, but make sure your students are aware of the differences too.
Appendix
Relevant comments after publication:
'It's hard to say whether someone is better or the best. As a non-English speaker and teacher (I have acquired American English), I think it may be easier for students to learn to speak and use American English rather than British English. But for higher levels and those willing to take IELTS and similar tests, I would say that both American and British English are necessary as the test material may appear in different styles
