Teach English in Shangmatai Zhen - Tianjin

UK vs US EnglishAlthough both the UK and the usa speak the english language there many differences between the pronounciation, spelling and the meaning of many words. It is imposible to say which version is better but it is important that teachers understand the differences between the two versions. The english language was introduced to America by the British in the early 17th Centuary and the two languages were almst identical until after the American War of Independence in 1776, when America gain independence from the British Empire. It can be argued that the birth of American english occured in 1828 with the introduction of Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of english Language which standardised (or standardized!!) spelling of certain words that is still followed today in the USA. Noah Webster tried to make the spelling of some words more phonetic thereby making it simpler and easier to spell. The British english version of spelling is still based on Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the english Language which was introduced in 1755. The spelling differences between the two versions are too numerous to mention, but here are some more familiar examples. UK spelling US spelling colour color flavour flavor neighbour neighbor humour humor Here the ''our'' in the UK version is just ''or'' labour labor in the US, making the spelling more phonetic. metre meter centre center Here the ''re'' is replaced by ''er'' again theatre theater making the spelling more phonetic. realise realize Here the ''ise'' is replaced by ''ize''. recognise recognize Today, as a result of British colonialism since the early 18th Centuary, many parts of the world speak english either as a first language or as a second language used in government, education, law and business. The counties that use english include Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, Singapore, South Africa and the Caribbean Islands. All these counties continue to use British english. Canada uses the US vesion of english probably due to it's close proximity to the US. It is important when teaching to students who wish to travel, live or work in these countries that they understand the subtle differences in the two versions of english, if only to avoid embarrassing misunderstandings. These are examples of same words that have different meanings in British english and American english. British meaning American meaning/ version ass slang for buttocks donkey bathroom a room with a bath polite word for toilet or a shower mobile a personal telephone US version - cellphone lavatory polite word for toilet a washbasin or a place for washing first floor the floor above the the ground floor ground floor pants slang for underwear trousers briefs or boxers chips staple english food, thin slices of deep long cuts of deep fried fried potato potato (UK version crisps) It is easy to see how confusion can arise if a British english speaking person was looking for a toilet on the 2nd floor in the ceramic department in a New York shopping centre (or is it center?). To finish there are two quotes, the first from the Readers Digest. ''A porter in a British hotel comes upon an American tourist impatiently jabbing at the button for the lift. 'Sir, the lift will be here in a moment.' 'Lift? Lift?' replies the American. 'Oh, you mean the elevator.' 'No Sir, here we call it a lift' 'Yes, as it was invented in the united states it's called an elevator.' 'Yes Sir, but the language was invented here so it's called a lift.' '' Neither the porter or the American are wrong so I guess the solution lies in another quote or proverb. ''When in Rome do as the Romans do.'' This basicaly means that teachers must be aware of the differences between the British and American versions of english and that students are made aware of the potential social consequences of using the wrong word in the wrong country.