Can "English" and "American" be thought of as two different languages?

Question

I know Sir Winston Churchill (or was it Oscar Wilde? Or both?) described Britain and the USA as being "divided by a common language"....but could they ever be thought of as two different languages? A friend of mine told me at Thanksgiving that most of his work colleagues spoke 2 languages, and his 2 languages were English and American....and I just wondered what people thought about this!

I suppose I should have my own ideas about this, as my father is British and my mother is American! lol

Answer 1

Good question! There are enormous differences between the two, however there are also enormous differences between the dialects and many words and phrases that you find in each country. (London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cornwall etc) Would that make it right to divide all the different counties/states and call the languages different? I reckon that it's one language that has mutated! x

Answer 2

Yes, I think they can. You have British English and American English. Here are the differences.

American English-
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 (really north-eastern), Southern, Midland, and Western (Labov, Ash, & Boberg, 2006).[1] 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 City.

British English-
British English also has a reasonable degree of uniformity in its formal written form. The spoken forms though vary considerably, reflecting a long history of dialect development amid isolated populations. Dialects and accents vary not only between the countries in the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but also within these individual countries.


Some American words not widely used in Great Britain:
-affirmative action
(UK: positive discrimination)
-checkers
a popular board game (UK: draughts)
-barrette
hair slide

Plenty more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_words_not_widely_used_in_Great_Britain

Answer 3

Yes, I agree. Even in Canada we say that Americans don't speak the same language. We all have different meanings for things. Another example is the french spoken in Paris is very different from that spoken in Quebec, Canada.
I think we all make a variation of English. I still believe that the British speak true English!
♥D

Answer 4

Congrats, your billingual!!! :) I dont know what to think, language is so fluid. I was looking at a disk that had 102 languages. I was also thinking 50 or 100 years ago I bet they were spoken with different inflections and tones than before, kind of like Aramic... I think the Egyptians had it the best when they would draw pictures to say, John Q public killed 10 animals and that they really liked cats and had a spiritual side. I think a picture is worth a thousand words. :) Good Luck with this issue.-Rachel.

Answer 5

Considering the differences in Spanish as it is spoken in Spain and Spanish as it is spoken in Mexico it could be said that there can be be significant differences of the same language. To divide it in to English and American may start a chain reaction-New York American differs from South Carolina American does it not?
Or the differences between any of the vast regions could be claimed as a distinct language. 8:)

Answer 6

As anyone who decided to learn English (usually British English is taught) could tell you. They weren't necessarily able to understand us here in the States.
Our pronunciations, or mangling of words, plus our every day, extensive use of slang and run-on words and phrases....can make it difficult to understand us.
And we won't even get into our different regional accents.
Some people here can't understand others from a different area of the country.
During WW11, there were two officers trying to communicate with each other on board a Navy ship, with neither being able to understand the other. One was from New England (northeast), and one was from the South. They found someone from the Midwest to translate for them. True story.

Answer 7

That's how I learned--early enough to scar me--that it is.

Is not the "president" (quotations in lieu of euphemisms
and/or other choice phrases) just about THE example?

Also: In 1989, I recall having been Forced to watch
an episode of "Married...w/children" and a line
in which the lead guy's term was, "No, I speak
American." At the time I nudged my then S.O.
and said to her, "See? The dumbdown is all
downhill from here; smooth sailing for them."

And every day since, it's the educated people
who must be on the defensive, else we're haters.
Or thought of as, "impatient".

And I'm asked why I drink.

Answer 8

I would say both Countries spoke the same language, but words are spelled differently for example colour (English), color (American) also you have different names for certain things, Americans say 'trunk' for the back of the car, English say 'boot', Americans say 'pants' English say 'Trousers'
I suppose we will never answer this question with a correct answer, as it is a kind of 'catch 22' question.

Answer 9

actually, the american language is derived from the english. in the literary sense, english is the classic and formal standard. the american language represents the expressions of it's culture but it still relies on the english structure. considering that , i wouldn't think that they are two different languages. however, they each differ in style pertaining to the characteristics of culture and dialect.

Answer 10

It is shameful that this common language has been so assailed by modern slang, lazy speech patterns and inculcate ignorance in my beloved USA that the spoken versions of English are virtually two languages.