Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

British English V American English

  Tags: Dialect | English
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
17 messages over 3 pages: 13  Next >>


jeff_lindqvist
Diglot
Moderator
SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6911 days ago

4250 posts - 5711 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, English
Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 9 of 17
11 April 2012 at 7:55pm | IP Logged 
British English might be the norm, but hardly any kid will adopt it since the major part of the popular media is American. As simple as that. Of all my classmates over the years, I think only a handful have spoken non-rhotic English.
5 persons have voted this message useful



napoleon
Tetraglot
Senior Member
India
Joined 5018 days ago

543 posts - 874 votes 
Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu
Studies: French, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 10 of 17
11 April 2012 at 8:15pm | IP Logged 
In India, there is a marked change in preference from British English to American English, especially among the new generation.
The academia remains streadfast as one of the last bastions of British English in India.
In fact, my teacher even advised me to choose RP as a model over General American if I really wanted to improve my pronunciation. :)
2 persons have voted this message useful



COF
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5833 days ago

262 posts - 354 votes 
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 11 of 17
12 April 2012 at 11:47am | IP Logged 
That's probably founded in the increasing anti-British sentiment in India rather than any practical reason.

In fact, considering the largest Indian diaspora is in the UK, and many Indians have relatives in the UK, and study in the UK, it probably makes a lot more sense to stick with British English.

But recently the Indian government has become frankly hostile in its attitude towards the UK, so the move towards American English does not suprise me.

Edited by COF on 12 April 2012 at 11:50am

1 person has voted this message useful



Bruno87
Diglot
Groupie
Argentina
Joined 4384 days ago

49 posts - 72 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: German, Portuguese

 
 Message 12 of 17
18 December 2012 at 12:53am | IP Logged 
COF wrote:

The situation with British and American English is kinda the same as what has happened to
European Spanish and European Portuguese. People don't want to learn the Iberian dialects
anymore, they want to speak Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.


I doubt if such Latin American Spanish exists. Actually I know Mexican Spanish dialect
which is diferent from Colombian Spanish which is quite diferent from Argentinian Spanish
and so...
2 persons have voted this message useful



Javi
Senior Member
Spain
Joined 5983 days ago

419 posts - 548 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 13 of 17
18 December 2012 at 1:30pm | IP Logged 
COF wrote:
Which one is most popular these days with second language learners? From what I've read, I get the general impression that British English has fallen out of favour somewhat and people see American English as easier to pronounce, slightly easier to learn and a generally more desirable dialect to be able to speak.

The situation with British and American English is kinda the same as what has happened to European Spanish and European Portuguese. People don't want to learn the Iberian dialects anymore, they want to speak Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Interestingly, this has not happened to French though. Parisian French is still regarded as the only dialect a learner should be interested in, and all other dialects are regarded as inferior bastardisations.


In Spain I would say that British English is the norm and I can't see that changing any time soon. Not that there would be much point either, I think. All the media stuff is dubbed here anyway, so the sound of American English is pretty much unknown for the whole population. On top of that Brits form the third contingent of foreigners here in Spain and British English is the most common version of English in Europe.
1 person has voted this message useful



Medulin
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Croatia
Joined 4670 days ago

1199 posts - 2192 votes 
Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali

 
 Message 14 of 17
18 December 2012 at 2:57pm | IP Logged 
I spoke Argentinian Spanish while in Spain, since I didn't understand their attempt at English. The Spanish speak Spanish English, not British English. ;)

Edited by Medulin on 18 December 2012 at 2:57pm

4 persons have voted this message useful



Javi
Senior Member
Spain
Joined 5983 days ago

419 posts - 548 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 15 of 17
18 December 2012 at 3:28pm | IP Logged 
Medulin wrote:
I spoke Argentinian Spanish while in Spain, since I didn't understand their attempt at English. The Spanish speak Spanish English, not British English. ;)


Don't worry, your "Argentinian" Spanish is probably rubbish too.
5 persons have voted this message useful



Medulin
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Croatia
Joined 4670 days ago

1199 posts - 2192 votes 
Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali

 
 Message 16 of 17
18 December 2012 at 7:18pm | IP Logged 
Javi wrote:
Don't worry, your "Argentinian" Spanish is probably rubbish too. ;)


¡Mirá quien habla. ¡El guapo de barrio!
¡Me pillo de la risa!

Edited by Medulin on 18 December 2012 at 7:22pm



2 persons have voted this message useful



This discussion contains 17 messages over 3 pages: << Prev 13  Next >>


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.4844 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.