TEFL Dansville New York

english is a global language, so it has many varieties. American english is one of the forms used in the united states. It includes all english dialects used within the united states of America. British english is the form of english used in the United Kingdom. It includes all english dialects used within the United Kingdom. American english has grown steadily in international significance since World War II, parallel to the growth of U.S. political, economic, technological and cultural influence worldwide. There are some differences between American and British english. Use of the Present Perfect In British english the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In American english the following is also possible: I lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In British english the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American english. Possession There are two forms to express possession in english. Have or Have got: Do you have a dog? Have you got a dog? He hasn't got any friends. He doesn't have any friends. She has a beautiful new car. She's got a beautiful new car. While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American english), have got (have you got, he hasn't got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British english while most speakers of American english employ the have (do you have, he doesn't have etc.) The Verb ‘Get' The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American english. Example: American english: He's gotten much better at playing tennis. British english: He's got much better at playing tennis. Vocabulary Probably the major differences between British and American english lies in the vocabulary: British english American english autumn chips petrol film autumn, fall fries gas movie Prepositions There are some differences in preposition: American english - on the weekend British english - at the weekend American english - on a team British english - in a team Past Simple/Past Participles The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple/past participle in both American and British english, however, the irregular form is generally more common in British english (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more common to American english. Burn Burnt/burned Dream dreamt/dreamed Learn learnt/learned Spelling Words ending in -or (American) -our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor, flavour etc. Words ending in -ize (American) -ise (British) recognize, recognise, patronize, patronise etc. These two varieties of english are most widely found in print and taught around the world are British and American - it is therefore important for teachers to be aware of the major differences between the two. And while lexical differences are the easiest ones to notice, a knowledge of grammatical and phonological differences can be useful not only for teachers to be aware of, but also to be able to deal with should they come up in class. References: 1. Algeo, John (2006). British or American english?. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2. http://esl.about.com/od/britishamerican/British_vs_American_english.htm 3. http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/british-and-american-spelling 4. http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/usgbdiff.html 5. http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference/american-english-vs-british-english/differences-in-american-and-british-english-grammar-article/152820.article