English as an International Language - no problem, OK?

"You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to"

The British and Americans like to talk about the differences between British and American English. There are a few small differences in the grammar and there are a few words that are different on either side of the Atlantic, but the big difference is the accent. Some British films have subtitles in America because people can't understand what the actors are saying, and some American TV series (The Sopranos, for example) are difficult for the British to understand.

However, if you listen to Standard English (the language that TV newsreaders use, for example) in Britain or the US, there are no problems of understanding at all. The problems are with the different kinds of American and British English. These different dialects and accents depend on people's social class and the geographical area where they live. It is possible, for example, that a middle-class speaker from the south of England will find it difficult to understand a working-class speaker from the north. In the same way, a wealthy Californian may not understand a working-class New Yorker. All of these people have accents, but the middle-class accents are usually closer to Standard English.

With so many different Englishes, it is difficult for learners of the language. What sort of English should they learn? Is American English better than British English, or the other way round? The answer depends on their reasons for learning English. If they are learning English for their work, the choice will probably be easy. But for many students, it doesn't matter. What matter is that they understand and are understood.

The world is changing and English is no longer the property of the British, Americans or Australians. Most English that you hear and see around the world is spoken and written by non-native speakers - between, for example, a Greek and a German, or between a Russian and an Italian. English is the main language of business, academic conferences and tourism, of popular music, home computers and video games. English has become the Latin of the modern world.

Because of this, the question of American or British English is becoming less and less important. More and more people now talk about English as an International Language - a language that is not American or British. It has hundreds of different accents, but if people can understand what you are saying, no problem. OK? 

(Source: Philip Kerr. Straightforward Pre-Intermediate Student Book. Oxford, Macmillan Education. 2005.)

Below is a video that highlights some differences between American and British English: