Teach English in Tafan XiAng - Anqing Shi

British english VS American EnglishThis question seems to come up very often in the minds of the people, especially if the person is faced with the option to learn the language and is faced with the option to choose between a British or an American teacher, a British or an American school. For example in Peru you will be faced with this option if you want to study english. Among the many language schools that you will find in Lima, the capital of Perú, you will find the ICPNA that translated means ?Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano? and you will find the ?Asociación Cultural Peruano Británica? in other countries you will even find schools that advertise: ?Learn American english? or ?Learn British english?. What to choose, where to go? Does it really matter which ?english? do I learn? Is it going to affect my language skills If we want the best education or the ?better spoken language? we definitely want to make research and find out the differences between these to ?Different types of english? before making a decision. Therefore, in this article we will consider some differences between British english and American english. Definition of British english.- Is the form of english used in the United Kingdom. It includes all english dialects used within the United Kingdom. (the term dialect is used in two distinct ways. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language´s speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns) Definition of American english.- Is the form of english used in the united states. It includes all english dialects used within the united states. Differences between written and spoken forms of english: Written forms of British and American english as found in newspapers and textbooks vary little in their essential features, with only occasional noticeable differences in comparable media (comparing American newspapers with British newspapers, for example). This kind of formal english, particularly written english, is often called ?standard english?. The spoken forms of British english vary considerably, reflecting a long history of dialect development amid isolated populations. Dialects, word use and accents vary not only among the countries of the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but also within these individual countries. Received Pronunciation (RP) refers to a way of pronouncing Standard english that is actually used by about two percent of the UK population.It remains the accent upon which dictionary pronunciation guides are based, and for teaching english as a foreign language. It is referred to colloquially as "the Queen's english", "Oxford english" and "BBC english", although by no means all who live in Oxford speak with such accent and the BBC does not require or use it exclusively. An unofficial standard for spoken American english has also developed, as a result of mass media and geographic and social mobility, and broadly describes the english typically heard from network newscasters, commonly referred to as non-regional diction, although local newscasters tend toward more parochial forms of speech. Despite this unofficial standard, regional variations of American english have not only persisted but have actually intensified, according to linguist William Labov Regional dialects in the united states typically reflect the elements of the language of the main immigrant groups in any particular region of the country, especially in terms of pronunciation and vernacular vocabulary. Scholars have mapped at least four major regional variations of spoken American english: Northern, Southern, Midland, and Western. After the American Civil War, the settlement of the western territories by migrants from the east led to dialect mixing and levelling, so that regional dialects are most strongly differentiated in the eastern parts of the country that were settled earlier. Localized dialects also exist with quite distinct variations, such as in Southern Appalachia and New York. British and American english are the reference norms for english as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world. For instance the english-speaking members of the Commonwealth often closely follow British english forms while many new American english forms quickly become familiar outside of the united states. Although most dialects of english used in the former British Empire outside of north america are, to various extents, based on British english, most of the countries concerned have developed their own unique dialects, particularly with respect to pronunciation, idioms and vocabulary. Chief among other english dialects are Canadian english, based on the english of United Empire Loyalists who left the 13 Colonies, and australian english, which rank third and fourth in number of native speakers. For the sake of space we will only consider one example in grammar of the differences between BrE and AmE. n BrE, collective nouns can take either singular (formal agreement) or plural (notional agreement) verb forms, according to whether the emphasis is on the body as a whole or on the individual members respectively; compare a committee was appointed with the committee were unable to agree. The term the Government always takes a plural verb in British civil service convention, perhaps to emphasize the principle of cabinet collective responsibility. Compare also the following lines of Elvis Costello's song "Oliver's Army": Oliver's Army are on their way / Oliver's Army is here to stay. Some of these nouns, for example staff, actually combine with plural verbs most of the time. In AmE, collective nouns are almost always singular in construction: the committee was unable to agree. However, when a speaker wishes to emphasize that the individuals are acting separately, a plural pronoun may be employed with a singular or plural verb: the team takes their seats or the team take their seats, rather than the team takes its seats. However, such a sentence would most likely be recast as the team members take their seats. Despite exceptions such as usage in The New York Times, the names of sports teams are usually treated as plurals even if the form of the name is singular. The difference occurs for all nouns of multitude, both general terms such as team and company and proper nouns (for example where a place name is used to refer to a sports team). For instance, BrE: The Clash are a well-known band; AmE: The Clash is a well-known band. BrE: Spain are the champions; AmE: Spain is the champion. Proper nouns that are plural in form take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE; for example, The Beatles are a well-known band; The Saints are the champions, with one major exception: largely for historical reasons, in American english, the united states is almost universal. This is due to an increase in national unity and pride after the American Civil War; before this, the construction "the united states are" was more common. australian and Canadian usage is consistent with the AmE pattern. General terms: In both the US and the UK, a student takes an exam, but in BrE a student can also be said to sit an exam. The expression he sits for an exam also arises in BrE but only rarely in AmE; American lawyers-to-be sit for their bar exams and American master's and doctoral students may sit for their comprehensive exams, but in nearly all other instances, Americans take their exams. I could spend hours writing and discussing this interesting and deep subject, however after a long discussion and presentation of grammar forms and arguments if you ask a British or a Northamerican who speaks the better english, the British would proudly say: We do, we speak the Queen´s english. Should that be the case or not, it is actually up to you to decide which one you will learn. All really depends on your needs, likes and dislikes. Either one will be understood by all english speakers. NOTE: Research was taken from wikipedia and from my personal experiences durong my trips in Perú and other countries as well as conversations with people from differen english speaking countries. I have also spoken with future english students who also told me about their concerns regarding this subject.