TEFL Konya

Which is better, British english or American english? Most Teaching english as a Foreign Language or tefl teachers were probably asked this question by their students. Then, the teachers would find themselves in an awkward situation, but would most likely pick the one they grew up to. In my case, I would choose American english because I am from America and I have a difficult time understanding British english. However, some individuals would disagree with my opinion on this. So, which is better, British english or American english? The only way to make a decision would be to know the differences between the two. Once that is established, then he or she can simply make a decision on which one is better. On the contrary, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But as tefl teachers how would you respond to that type of question? The best way would be to make comparisons and differences between the two and let the student to decide for themselves. There are many differences between British english and American english even though the latter was derived from the former. Anyone can tell the difference between British english and American english by the way it sounds and how certain words are pronounced. In writing, a person can see the differences in spelling and grammar. Moreover, British english and American english differ in idioms and figures of speech. British english and American english are different in pronunciation and spelling. One of the easiest ways to tell and see the differences between British english and American english is their pronunciations of certain words. It is quite strange how Americans would have certain words pronounced differently from where english was derived from. A Linguist could perhaps explain why but this issue will not be touched on. The British and American english pronunciation differences could be explained by their accent and individual words according to the lexicon. However, we will deal with the second differences in pronunciation, individual words. Looking at chart number one, a person can view the words where Americans would pronounce differently from the British english. Pay close attention to the phonetics of the words given. Chart #1 (Longman 2000, Cambridge) Spelling British American barrage ?bær.??? (1) b??r?? (2) ?bær.?d? bouquet ?bu?ke? (1) bo??ke? (2) bu?ke? garage (1) ??ær?d? (2) ??ær??? ???r?(d)? lasso l??su? ?læso?0 resource (1) r??z??s (2) r??s??s ?ri?s??rs untoward ??n.t??w??d (Cambridge) (1) ?n?t?rd (2) ??n.t??w?rd z (the letter) z?d zi? Knowing the phonology of British english and American english you can see the differences clearly and come to the point that there are differences in pronunciation. A person can also hear the differences especially when they hear a conversation between an American and an englishman On the contrary, to determine whether the other one is the best, it really depends on how comfortable you are with their pronunciations and if you can understand what is being spoken to you. Another recognizable difference between British english and American english is in their writing. In writing, Americans would spell certain words differently from the British. According to Donald Scragg, he explains how Americans deviated from the British way of spelling: “In the early 18th century, english spelling was not standardised. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries. Today's British english spellings follow, for the most part, those of Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the english Language (1755), whereas many American english spellings follow Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the english Language (1828) (Scragg 1974).” Therefore, Americans wanted to reform english spelling, so they sided with Noah Webster in carrying it without since there was not a standardized system of english spelling. Here are some areas where spelling differences take place. Latin-derived spellings like words that end in –our and -re for the British and –or and -er for the Americans. For instance: British American Colour Color Flavour Flavor Lustre luster Centre Center The greek-derived spellings like words that end in –ise for the British and –ize for the Americans. For instance: British American Recognise Recognize Organise Organize By looking at the spelling differences and understanding why these differences took place, there is a distinct line between British english and American english writing based on spelling. There are many differences between British english and American english but the most familiar differences are in their pronunciations and spelling. As we saw and learned about these two differences, it is still quite hard to know which one is the best to learn and study. American english came from British english. British english still holds true to its roots whereas American english decided to go with the whole “New World” idea and make the changes in spelling and pronunciation. Thus, you can say that British english is the royal english and American english is the rebel english. However, to answer a tefl student about which of the two is better? It would be best to just simply give them the comparisons between the two and have the tefl student decide for themselves. Citations Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. 2nd ed. Longman. Scragg, Donald (1974). A history of english spelling. Manchester, england: Manchester University Press. pp. 82–83