34 messages over 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
montmorency
Diglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4828 days ago
2371 posts - 3676 votes 
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Danish, Welsh
| Message 33 of 34 13 September 2011 at 2:51pm | IP Logged |
Ari wrote:
| Honestly, the "British versus American English" divide mostly concerns native speakers. Most learners, in my experience, could care less. My accent is largely American, but since I read and listen to English in both varieties (and more), I use words and sometimes spellings from both. For example, the word "posh" is quite British, but I have no issues using it. And I spell "color" and "honor", but "dialogue" (to the chagrin of my US English spell checker). And when the spirit moves me I might even throw in a Cockney slang. I see no point in trying to keep my English "pure" in one of the varieties. |
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I wonder if, even for native speakers, we over-estimate the differences. As far as I can tell, "standard" American English does not differ from British English so very much. There are the spelling changes introduced by Webster, and slight differences in the way some tenses/moods are used, some punctuation differences, and a few vocabulary differences. But if I read an American novel or textbook, I almost never notice the spelling differences, and the vocabulary differences are just taken as they come without causing problems.
There are many Americans who have been living in Britain for years, and while they rarely lose their accent, they tend to modify their vocabulary slightly, at least when speaking with Britons, and the mix of American accent and British vocabulary does not sound particularly odd.
Clearly accents differ, and probably the safest thing for a learner to do is to try studying the newsreaders of the major channels in the two countries, and try to identify the major differences, and see if you can learn to switch between one and the other. It may not be as hard as you think. Most English people can imitate an American accent and vice-versa. Maybe badly at first, but if they had to, they could work on it and improve it. It depends on your incentives. Then use the appropriate accent in the appropriate environment.
There is of course a greater difference in the "demotic" language used in the two environments, but that varies greatly by region and for societal reasons, and is probably not something you can really learn, except "on the ground".
Ari, please don't hate me for saying this, but "could care less", when it means "could not care less" is neither standard American nor standard British English, although it is sadly widely used in internet circles. I have seen its use criticised by Americans who value correct (American) English.
Edited by montmorency on 13 September 2011 at 2:53pm
4 persons have voted this message useful
| aquablue
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6382 days ago
150 posts - 172 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, Mandarin
| Message 34 of 34 14 September 2011 at 2:47am | IP Logged |
montmorency wrote:
Ari wrote:
Honestly, the "British versus American English"
divide mostly concerns native speakers. Most learners, in my experience, could care
less. My accent is largely American, but since I read and listen to English in both
varieties (and more), I use words and sometimes spellings from both. For example, the
word "posh" is quite British, but I have no issues using it. And I spell "color" and
"honor", but "dialogue" (to the chagrin of my US English spell checker). And when the
spirit moves me I might even throw in a Cockney slang. I see no point in trying to keep
my English "pure" in one of the varieties. |
|
|
I wonder if, even for native speakers, we over-estimate the differences. As far as I
can tell, "standard" American English does not differ from British English so very
much. There are the spelling changes introduced by Webster, and slight differences in
the way some tenses/moods are used, some punctuation differences, and a few vocabulary
differences. But if I read an American novel or textbook, I almost never notice the
spelling differences, and the vocabulary differences are just taken as they come
without causing problems.
There are many Americans who have been living in Britain for years, and while they
rarely lose their accent, they tend to modify their vocabulary slightly, at least when
speaking with Britons, and the mix of American accent and British vocabulary does not
sound particularly odd.
Clearly accents differ, and probably the safest thing for a learner to do is to try
studying the newsreaders of the major channels in the two countries, and try to
identify the major differences, and see if you can learn to switch between one and the
other. It may not be as hard as you think. Most English people can imitate an American
accent and vice-versa. Maybe badly at first, but if they had to, they could work on it
and improve it. It depends on your incentives. Then use the appropriate accent in the
appropriate environment.
There is of course a greater difference in the "demotic" language used in the two
environments, but that varies greatly by region and for societal reasons, and is
probably not something you can really learn, except "on the ground".
Ari, please don't hate me for saying this, but "could care less", when it means "could
not care less" is neither standard American nor standard British English, although it
is sadly widely used in internet circles. I have seen its use criticised by Americans
who value correct (American) English.
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|
|
Could care less is slang, perhaps a new idiom, in American colloquial speech. I don't
like it either, but its here to stay in the US.
Edited by aquablue on 14 September 2011 at 2:48am
2 persons have voted this message useful
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