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British English vs American English First of all I would like to start by sharing some differential facts between British English and American English . American English sometimes called United States English or U.S English is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. American English is considered to be the world’s most influential form of English. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and is the common language used by the federal and state governments ,to the extent that all the laws and compulsory education presume English as the primary language. English is explicitly given official status by 32 of the 50 state governments. While the local courts in some divisions of the United States grant equivalent status to both English and other language -for example English and Spanish in Puerto Rico - under federal law, English is still the official language for any matters being refered to the United States district court for the territory . The use of English in the United States is a result of British colonization of the Americas.The first wave of English -speaking settlers arrived in North-America during the 17th century, followed by further migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 17th century ,dialects from many different regions of England existed in every American colony, allowing a process of extensive dialect, mixture and leveling in which English varieties across the colonies became more homogeneous compared with varieties in England. American English varieties include many patterns of pronunciation ,vocabulary, grammar and particularly spelling that are unified nationwide but distinct from other English dialect around the world. The sound of American English continues to evolve, with some local accents disappearing ,but several larger regional accents having emerged in the 20th century. British English Is the standard dialect of the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom.Variations exist in formal, written English in the United Kingdom for example-the adjective wee Is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland , North East England , Ireland and occasionally Yorkshire whereas little is predominant elsewhere. There is a meaningful degree of uniformity in written English within the United Kingdom and this could be described by the term British English. According to Tom mcArthur in the Oxford guide to world English,British English shares all the ambiguities and tensions in the word “British” and as a result can be used and interpreted in two ways more broadly or more narrowly within a range of blurring and ambiguity There is an old saying that Britain and America “are two nations divided by a common language”no one knows exactly who said this, but it reflects the way many Brits feel about American English. But are American and British English so different? Vocabulary: There are hundreds of everyday words that are different for example-Brits call the front of the car the Bonnet while Americans call it the Hood.American go on vacation while Brits go on holidays or Hols. Collective nouns: In American English collective nouns are singular for example, Staff refers to a group of employers, band refers to a group of musicians, but in British English collective nouns can be singular or plural, for example "The team is playing tonight” Auxilary verbs: In question form a Brit might say "shall we go home now?"while an American would say" should we go now?” Past tense verb: Americans' tend to use the _ed ending,Brits tend house the _t ending. Spelling: There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American English you can thank American lexicographer Noah Webster for this.he was frustrated by the inconsistencies in English spelling. Webster wanted to spell words the way they sounded,spelling reform was also a way for America to show its independence from England.You can see Webster’s legacy in American spelling of words color(from colour) I think its not so different after all British and American English have far more similarities than differences, if you can understand the one style then you should be able to understand the other style. The truth is that all English speakers understand each other,despiite differences in their English ,we watch each others movies, we read each others books, we work with each other,weread each others news’s we are often exposed to different words and spelling that other English speakers use. My last question ,what type of English do I use? Well I’m South African and here we follow British English rules for spelling and grammar and that is actually true for most countries outside of America. All English speaking countries have their unique vocabulary and slang so there will be different words used for the same thing. Finally the most important for me is that I keep on building on my English skills and build my confidence and speaking clearly. References: britishcouncilfoundation.id/en/english/articles/british-and-american-english english 2018/02/23 › british-or-american-english
