Why do Americans have English lessons, why not American? And do they learn English spellings and language or American?
2006-09-20 11:15:03 · 9 answers · asked by mistickle17 5 in Education & Reference ➔ Studying Abroad
Well there is UK English and USA English. As George Bernard Shaw said :England and America are two countries separated by a common language.
2006-09-20 11:28:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
They learn American spellings and grammatical conventions, and they speak US English. It's a fine line to distinguish between the two some times, and it gets frustrating when they insist you're speaking incorrect English. It's usually only at that point that I'll point out to them my English is correct but my American is wrong, generally there seems to be a happy co-existence where both variants are known simply as English.
2006-09-21 23:35:33 · answer #2 · answered by lauriekins 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This really isn't answering your question but it might amuse you.
A few years ago I was visiting a small seaside resort on the US East Coast, about two hours south of New York. I and a friend hired bicycles, and when we stopped for a rest, a couple of youths (15/16 years of age) came over to have a look at our machines.
When one of them heard my accent he asked from where I came. "England" I replied. Then, in tones of utter seriousness, he asked, "What language do they speak in England?"
My friend just collapsed with laughter as I carefully explained the link!
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Oh, well, I might as well have a go at answering your question. Actually there was a move (was it started by Mark Twain and/or Dewey? ) to simplify the spelling of English for American use, hence 'color' for 'colour', 'traveling' for 'travelling', etc..
Not all spellings were were amended, so modern American English is a mixture of what might be considered 'traditional British English' and 'early Americanised English'. Also, some old English words, e.g., 'fall' for 'autumn', and certain word endings like 'gotten' for 'got' were retained.
Some words assume different meanings across the Atlantic - e.g., 'momentarily' in the US is often used to mean 'in a minute' (e.g., "I'll be with you momentarily"), whereas in the UK 'momentarily' usually means for a 'brief period of time'.
These differences give American English its unique flavour.
Fortunately, most word processing packages allow you to select American, British or even Australian English.
Despite the slight variations, Brits and Yanks can still communicate easily - most of the time! And don't forget that we Brits have incorporated lots of uniquely American words into British English.
It all helps to make English THE world language. Aren't we lucky?
2006-09-21 00:39:57 · answer #3 · answered by avian 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
American is the exact same thing as English. There is no difference. And I've never heard anyone refer to a language as "American" before. It's always called "English."
2006-09-20 11:22:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
why if you both speak English why have different spellings it's just confusing.
2006-09-21 05:49:43 · answer #5 · answered by qwerty 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The English language is one thing that America can't claim.They can corrupt it but it's not theirs.
2006-09-20 11:27:29 · answer #6 · answered by adorehandel 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
they do learn english but still not very good at it.
2006-09-21 21:33:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They apparently learn English - but they get it wrong!!
2006-09-20 11:22:12 · answer #8 · answered by libbyft 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well i think thats b cuz of spain found us then england took over so we speak english i dunno how i knew that?
2006-09-20 11:23:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋