Teach English in Yuelai Zhen - Suqian Shi

Within the English-speaking world, one will find that many forms of using words, the manner in which words are spelled, as well as the way words are expressed. The United States and the United Kingdom although both countries speak the same language, there will be distinct ways towards the use of the same language that can be different from each other. Some of the unique ways that vary between both nation’s forms of English. In this article the following topics will be covered: use of vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling. All of which are relevant when it comes to seeking the main differences between English spoken in the US and in the UK. Vocabulary usage can be a bit distinct in both countries in such ways that make words seem very different but actually have the same meaning and in many cases are still understandable. Phrases used in everyday life such the names of clothing, food, or even housing can sound very different. In the United States when it comes to clothes people may say “sneaker”, while in the UK they are known as “trainers”. Another example would be related to food as in the US people may say “fries”, on the other hand in the UK people tend to say “chips”. Other things such as housing and buildings have different words between US and UK English, in the US they say “apartment” while in UK people tend to call the “Flats” or when it comes the lower floor Americans will usually call it the “first floor” while British people will call it the “ground floor”. The differences between words will have to be taken into consideration when it comes non-native speakers since they may use certain words depending on where or who provided them English lessons and it could be good to encourage them to learn other ways to say certain words. Pronunciation varies in both countries which can be quite similar but at times can cause some confusion for non-native English speakers and can be hard to distinguish which pronunciation is actually correct. American and British people tend to have their own ways of pronouncing the same words, while the meaning is still the same in every way it may sound a bit different. An example of a word that sounds a bit different is the word ‘mobile’, while Americans will usually pronounce it as “MOH-buhl”, British people will pronounce it as “MOH-bye-ul”. Other differences that can be pointed out are the ways in which vowels are pronounced such as in the word Vitamin, British will usually pronounce it as “VIT-uh-min” while Americans will pronounce it as “VAI-tuh-min”. Depending on the words and in some cases spelling, there will be distinctions in the way words will sound whether it’s the vowels or the tones, words will be pronounced differently by Americans and the British. Another factor to take into account that will be observed are the ways some words are spelled in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In British English spelling is often spelled based on the way the words were captivated from another language whether its German of French origin. While in American English words are spelled based on the way the word sounds when spoken. The difference is due to the fact that the English language in the United States has advanced and has been influenced by waves of immigration. Examples of differences between American and British spelling differences are when British words end in ‘our’ and ‘or’ such in the words ‘colour’ and ‘color’. Another dissimilarity are when verbs in British English end in ‘ise’ while in American English they end in ‘ize’ such in the spelling of ‘apologize’ and ‘apologise’. Other spelling differences are found in verbs that contain ‘L’ as it is doubled in British form of spelling while in American ‘L’ is not doubled such as like ‘travelling’ for British and ‘traveling’ for Americans. Since the word spelling happens to have some differences, an English teacher will have to keep in mind that non-native speakers will go through some confusion because, eventually they will notice differences among the spelling of the same words and they will have to try to understand that the spelling will be different depending on the country’s spelling form. The various usage of vocabulary, pronunciation differences, and the spelling have differences between American and British forms of the English language. British and American English have distinctions that make language slightly different in each place and depending on their influences will have different vocabulary uses such as the words ‘sneaker’ or ‘trainers’. Countries that have been more influenced by British English will usually have the same spelling style which will be different from that of the United States. Pronunciation in the both countries are different and can be seen by the word ‘mobile’ which is pronounced as “MOH-buhl” by Americans and “MOH-bye-ul” by the British. The United States and the United Kingdom have their own uniqueness and distinctions towards the use of the same language which makes there be a form of individuality within the English speaking world. References: Oxford . (2019). The differences in British and American spelling. 2/24/2020, from Oxford International English Schools Website: https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/differences-in-british-and-american-spelling/ Angmohdan. (2014). British English vs. American English: Pronunciation. 2/17/2020, from Angmohdan Website: https://www.angmohdan.com/22-words-with-british-and-american-pronunciations-that-may-confuse-you/ VOA . (2017). Six Differences Between British and American English. 2/03/2020, From VOA Leaning English Website: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/six-difference-between-britsh-and-american-english/3063743.html Bored Panda. (2015). British English Vs American English: 24 Differences Illustrated. 2/03/2020, From Bored Panda Website: https://www.boredpanda.com/british-american-english-differences-language/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic