Differences Between British And American English

Improved Essays
Register to read the introduction… Finally you manage to get someone to understand that you mean the elevator, and if that is not strange enough, you ask your American friend is she has a cooker and she hands you a rice cooker or electric pot instead of telling you were the stove is. If you asked for a permabulator and nobody knew you meant a baby stroller you would be in for quite an …show more content…
awkward wording (Beare)
So I guess the point in short is that all English is not created equal!
Needs heading “Works Cited” and hanging indents
Beare, Kenneth. "Differences Between British and American English." about.com. 2009. The New York Times Company about.com. 1 Sep 2009 <http://esl.about.com/od/toeflielts/cambridge/a/dif_ambrit.htm>. " British/
American/American/British." about.com. 2009. about.com. The New York Times Company 1 Sep 2009 <http://esl.about.com/library/blbritam.htp>.
"Varieties of English: American and British." Switched On Schoolhouse. CD-ROM Rock Rapids, Michigan Alpha Omega Publications 2008.

// missing punctuation or word

Works Cited about.com. 2009. The New York Times Company about.com. 1 Sep 2009 <http://esl.about.com/od/toeflielts/cambridge/a/dif_ambrit.htm>. " British/
American/American/British." about.com. 2009. about.com. The New York Times Company 1 Sep 2009 <http://esl.about.com/library/blbritam.htp>.
"Varieties of English: American and British." Switched On Schoolhouse. CD-ROM Rock Rapids, Michigan Alpha Omega Publications

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In The Mother Tongue, author Bill Bryson asks a variety of questions about English. These questions range from wondering about how we can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed but not whelmed with to why colonel is pronounced with an r when one does not exist in the word. The overall purpose of Bill Bryson’s book is to determine why English is the way it is today. Bill Bryson dives into the history and evolution of English through the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, the best example starting with the list on page 71. Bill Bryson uses pathos in his tone and ethos to provide information in order to seem credible.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Retrieved April 22, 2012 from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 58154502). Peart, K. N. (1996). English spoken here. Scholastic Update, 129(6), 7.…

    • 2658 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the years, there have been several events and people who have impacted the development of the English language. One major event that impacted the English language was the migration of early English settlers to America. Instead of one single person making a huge impact it was a colony. The scholar Leonard Adolf gives a detailed report of the Pilgrims and their interactions as they came to America in his article “Squanto's Role In Pilgrim Diplomacy”. The outcome of Pilgrims coming to America was that the people and things they encountered affected the English language.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Do You Speak American?” Robert MacNeil reminds us of one of the many reasons the United States is so linguistically diverse. He gives various examples of how American English has evolved throughout time. The analysis of the American language is meant for people who read the magazine, U.S.A. Today, but it also applies to a secondary audience, which are American English speakers.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Indifferences of Prejudices The article by Zanottini was published by the pacific standard. Basically, this article is about the manner in which people look negatively at other forms of English that are somewhat not prestigious. According to Zanottini the prejudice that is usually demonstrated by people who usually speak correct English is just a reflection of their bias against the groups of people who speak the non-prestigious English. Apart from that, she puts across the idea that the numerous grammatical errors in how such people speak are actually a recipe that is well developed in its own to suite the wide variety of English speakers.…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods, “Human Intelligence is not a gift. It is an occasional plague” (15). Many people on earth become distressed, troubled or conflicted in life due to their intelligence allowing their conscious mind to experience harmful events. The human mind is not a gift; rather, it is a curse given to humans to endure and suffer from. This curse is seen in the novel Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis, as human intelligence allows a pack of fifteen dogs to create their own language, lose their canine roots, develop a sense of love and create a lust for power which ultimately creates conflict in their lives.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Simon, the author of “Why Good English Is Good for You”, addresses his arguments mainly towards people who do not employ the use of proper English and those who shape their minds; Simon engages certain rhetorical choices in order to prove that good English is tremendously beneficial to all individuals. Having initially written this article for Esquire magazine, Simon was able to reach a broad audience to communicate his ideas. Throughout the majority of the article, the conversation is directed towards those who do not agree with Simon’s viewpoint. The author’s goal in writing this particular article is to show that using proper English is helpful in multiple ways: good English is achieved through commitment and self-discipline, and it…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mrs. Truss makes many compelling assertions about the necessity of punctuation. She uses a contested Bible verse to illustrate how the misplacing or omission of a comma can completely change the meaning of the work-and by extension, the chief end of man. She also presents the two sides of an argument about the semicolon. Now my initial reaction to bickering about this topic was “wow, these writers are way too passionate about the Franken-child of a comma and a colon.” However, Mrs. Truss then explains the importance and proper uses of a semi-colon, both of which I was not previously familiar with.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another subsection that captivated my attention and that left me puzzled was “Standard American English.” If there are so many varieties of American English, I would think that ‘Standard American English’ would also vary depending on the location. The websites states that, “American Heritage suggests there’s no single, universally accepted standard for how to speak or write American English. The fourth section, “What Speech Do We Like Best” is not only based on language as a reflection of the speaker, but it is also about the biases people have about the way language should be. In “Correct American,” linguist Edward Finegan writes a compelling argument in favor of descriptivism because he believes that there is no right or wrong when it comes to language.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Early Childhood Edifiers

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Howes (2010) verbalized that in the field of early childhood edification that there is an prospect that children’s development fortified by quality early edification be framed for “poor children as well as affluent; children of color as well as White children; and children who verbalize English as a first, second, or third language” (p. 1). Howes (2010) argues that there are “two sets of prospects, of both exemplary and culturally adaptive standards of care” where a macrocosmic view of development is pellucidly problematic. Not only is it “difficult for edifiers and programs to conceptualize and to implement” (p. 1) these macrocosmic programs, but edifiers withal need support in cerebrating about, and interpreting the range of culturally…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Algeo And Pyles

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Over the years, as no one paid much attention to unify the words, the differences deepened, not only in professional areas, but also in everyday-used words and phrases. These new lexical items reflect a specific lifestyle, activities and, of course, the new political system, and include for example bartender, congress, cowboy, maverick, popcorn, prairie, bury the hatchet, hit the jackpot, etc. (Crystal 248). Most of these words integrated into the Standard English, which means that they are known and used in all countries where English is spoken, regardless of their national varieties. However, there are words specific to American English that set this variety apart from the others, particularly from British English.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Sonia Sanchez wrote in her collections of poems It’s A New Day, “We gon be some beautiful/ black/ women gon move like the queens we gon be full”(Sanchez,17). Like this example, Sanchez often writes in African American English. African American English (AAE) is commonly referred to as Ebonics, as well as black speech, black vernacular, and several other phrases. According to William Labov, “This African American Vernacular English shares most of its grammar and vocabulary with other dialects of English.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Edward Finegan argues that there is no right or wrong when it comes to language. Finegan says that, “English is now changing in exactly the same ways that have contributed to making it the rich, flexible, and adaptable language so popular throughout the world today.” Finegan describes descriptive and prescriptive views of language to argue that English is not falling apart, but simply changing as time progresses. John Simon, on the other hand, argues that “good English” needs to be preserved because any other form of English is a product of ignorance. Finegan starts off his argument by analyzing descriptive and prescriptive grammar.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United Kingdom is full of culture and popular traditions that many might be familiar with. When people think of British culture they automatically think of their charming accents and tea, but there is so much more than that. I chose the UK culture because I was always intrigued by it, then I studied abroad in London and was even more captivated. England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain refer to parts of the United Kingdom. The name Britain goes back to Roman times when they called England and Wales “Britannia".…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Academic English: Necessary for success Even though other variety of English are more expressive, Only Academic English should be allowed in universities because it makes writings to the point and does not stray from the original purpose of the writing as Academic English consists of a specific vocabulary and grammar. Academic English provides a set of ground rules which enables the individual to make their ideas accurate and precise. The range of students in a university includes local and international students, many having English as their second language. As a result some students may have difficulties in expressing their opinions. This is where Academic English comes in and rectifies the problem by providing a standard platform to all students enabling them to convey their ideas eliminating any forms of misinterpretation which other varieties of English could cause.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays