Which type of English should I learn, British English or American English?

Nowadays, the importance of English is undeniable, and to conquer this international language requires learners to study hard and have determination. Partly because English is a language with a long history of formation and development with its own linguistic characteristics in the way it is used between countries in the world. Notable among them are British English and American English. During the learning process, a question that learners often ask is: Which type of English should you learn, British English or American English? And this article will help you find the answer to this question.

1. Distinguish between British English and American English

British English is the English used within the United Kingdom while American English is the language used within the United States. There are only minor differences between the two varieties of English but they can be broken down into the following aspects:

Pronunciation

In pronunciation, American English tends to turn on all the /r/ sounds that appear in the word, when pronouncing the letter "r", the tip of the speaker's tongue will not touch anything in the mouth. British English, on the other hand, often leaves them out if they are at the end of the word. For example: The pronunciation of "car" in American English is /kɑːr/ and in British English is - /kɑː/. In addition, when the consonant /t/ is between two vowels, if in British English the /t/ sound is pronounced clearly and precisely, Americans tend to slide it into the /d/ sound, for example the /t/ sound in the word "little". Another difference lies in the "o" sound in the words "hot, God, stop", the British pronounce it roundly as /ɒ/ while Americans pronounce it as /ɑː/.

Spelling

In writing, in American English, some words end in -or but in British English end in -our such as favour – favor. Some words end in -er in American English but end in -re in British English such as center, centre). Many verbs that end in -ize in American English can be written in -ise in British English such as realize -realise.

Vocabulary

The most notable difference between American English and British English is vocabulary. There are words that Americans use that the British don’t. There are words that Americans call one thing and the British call another. Here are some examples of vocabulary differences:

Grammar

In British English, you must use the present perfect for recent actions that have an effect on the present. For example: "I've broken your favorite bottle of perfume. Will you forgive me"?

American English accepts the present perfect as correct, but also gives a second option, the simple past tense, so the above sentence could be written as "I broke your favorite bottle of perfume. Will you forgive me?".

American English can accept the present perfect tense but not British past participles. For example, Americans will use "gotten" as the past participle of the verb "get", "leaned" is used instead of "leant", "spoiled" is used instead of "spoilt".

Date and month format

Another interesting difference that cannot be ignored is the format of writing dates. Americans write dates in the order of month - day - year. So April 5, 2022 would be written as 4/5/2022. In the UK, they write day - month - year, so the above date would be 5/4/2022.

2. Should you learn British English or American English?

Deciding which type of English to learn depends on many factors, the most important of which is the subjective factor from the learner himself. Specifically as follows:

Purpose of learning English

The important thing when learning English is that you must clearly define your purpose. If you want to study abroad in the UK, you need to practice British English to make communication easier. Similarly, you need to learn American English if you want to study or work in the US or Canada.

Interest

British English accent will create a sense of formality. Therefore, if you are a person who loves the classic style, British English accent will be suitable for you. If you are passionate about freedom and like the liberal and popular style, you should pronounce with American English accent. Choosing the pronunciation according to your preference will help you have more motivation to study.

Familiarity

Learning a new language is easier if you are familiar with it. This means that if you regularly watch American movies and listen to American music, you will be more sensitive to and recognize American accents. You will tend to communicate better if you are regularly exposed to a certain accent.

Ability

If you have a better ability or talent for learning an accent, then you should choose that accent. For example, if you have difficulty pronouncing the American /r/ roll, you should try learning British English. In addition, try pronouncing different words in British and American English to consider which accent is easier to understand, listen to and read for you.

In short, whether you choose British English or American English to learn, you need to at least distinguish the difference between the two languages, because when communicating, we can choose English to speak but cannot choose English to listen. Moreover, every day we are exposed to many sources of English from all over the world (World Englishes). Therefore, to conquer this language, let's start by learning standard English, consistently practicing speaking skills such as pronunciation, vocabulary use and being very determined.

MSc. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh - Lecturer of English Language Department - Dai Nam University