LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES:
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

Preview of Main Ideas

This activity is designed to show students the importance of language as a cultural unifier but also as a separator of one culture from another. In this case, students will investigate examples of British English both in written and oral forms and compare it to our American English and discuss reasons for differences and problems the differences might cause.

Connection with the Curriculum

This activity could equally be conducted in a social studies or language arts class studying about cultural differences.

Teaching Level: Grades 5-8.

Objectives Classification Outline (Also see objectives classification matrix below.)

Objective #1: The student will be able to perceive differences in language between two cultures and understand the causes and consequences of the differences.

Essential Element: Human Systems.

Standard #13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface.

Knowledge Statement #3: How cooperation and conflict among people contribute to economic and social divisions of Earth’s surface.

Skill Set #2: Acquiring geographic information.

Skill #1: Use a variety of research skills to locate and collect geographic data.

Skill Set #4: Analyze geographic information.

Skill #3: Interpret and synthesize information obtained from a variety of sources.

Theme: Place.

1. Video tape of British program such as "Vets in Practice," taped from the Animal Planet cable network.
2. School dictionaries (of American English) and any books found to be written in British English from home libraries, school library and public library. A possible resource is teen books written by author Robert Westall, but the teacher must make sure that the book was published in British English.

Eg. Westall, Robert, Voices in the Wind, Macmillan Children’s Books, 1997.

It is also possible to use a British newspaper or magazine.

3. A dictionary of British English such as Collins Pocket English Dictionary, Harper Collins Publishers, 1996. (optional)
4. A world wide web site that compares British to American English entitled "BritSpeak" located at http://pages.prodigy.com/NY/NYC/britspk/main.html
5. A British citizen visiting the U.S. or now living in the U.S. that still speaks with a "British" accent. (optional)
6. Map of world languages such as "Language Families" The Nystrom Desk Atlas, Nystrom, 1994, p. 28. (optional)
7. Text: Ahmad, Iftikhar, Herbert Brodsky, Marylee Susan Crofts, Elizabeth Gaynor Ellis, World Cultures: A Global Mosaic, Prentice Hall, 1996. (optional)

1. Prior to doing this lesson gather materials listed above. Students should have read pp. 15-16 on language and p. 169 on dialect in their text.
2. Begin with a discussion of the importance of language in a culture by asking the following questions:

1. What is language?
2. Why is language important to a culture?
3. How does a language develop and change?
4. Why do different cultures have different languages? (If possible here, look at a map of languages of the world in a text or atlas)

1. Now get students to thinking about the English language by asking:

1. What language are we speaking?
2. Where does this language come from?
3. What countries in the world speak English?
4. Do we speak English the same way as the people from England?
5. Do all American’s speak English the same way?

Note: here we need to talk a little about accent: distinctive style of pronunciation of a local, national or social group, and dialect: form of a language spoken in a particular area. Generally, an accent difference uses the same words for things, but pronounces them differently. In the United States we have accent differences in different regions such as the South, Boston or New York. In British English, however, not only do they pronounce the same words differently, they also use different words for some things making it more a difference in dialect. Australian English sounds like the British English accent to most Americans, but there are aborigine words added to the language which constitute a dialect difference.

1. Have the students brainstorm a list of words that are different in British and American English. Later more words can be added from the research that is done.
2. Play an excerpt from a videotape of a British TV program such as "Vets in Practice." Go over what was said in the excerpt as some students will not have understood it. Play it again now that everyone knows what was said. Most of it is likely to be accent differences. Discuss how they speak the words differently. Point out any words that are different which constitute dialect differences, if any. Then ask, why do they speak English differently than we do? Here you want to talk about the influence of geographic location (isolation vs. continuous communication) on language as well as emphasizing that all languages continually change. Canadians speak English much like Americans, but they are geographically closer and watch American television. Britian is thousands of miles away and despite the fact that we can watch some British programs on TV and they watch some of our programs, there is less continuous contact between members of the different cultures. The main differences between our languages have been evolving over several hundred years, most before television and radio were invented. According to Dr. B. Jean Longmire, Professor of Linquistics at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, American English is based on the English language of England at the time of King George III and since that time British English has evolved more rapidly. Many of the differences in words between our two countries are for things invented after the American revolution such as elevator (lift), truck (lorry), and washroom (WC or loo). ALTERNATIVE: Invite a British speaker to visit the class and talk about Britain and about the differences in language.
3. Have the students read a short story or excerpt from a story or a magazine article written in British English and in which there are several words to illustrate dialect differences including words (loo, bloke) and spelling differences (colour, theatre). Use the BritSpeak web site or British English dictionary to determine the American English equivalents for the British words. Ask the students if they found it difficult to understand the British English.
4. (Optional) Have students look at the "Problem Words" on the BritSpeak web site. These are words that have opposite or very different meanings in British English from American English. Ask students what problems would occur between an American and Brit because of the differences in meanings of these words.

1. Review: Ask:

1. Why is language important to a culture?
2. Why do people speak different dialects of the same language? (How is geography a factor?)

1. Then ask:

1. How does speaking the same language affect the people who speak it in terms of their relations with one another? Note: This is a key question, need to talk about how common language may lead to greater friendship though this may also stem from a common history (the U.S. was once a colony of Britain, thus we also have some other things beside language in common such as religion, legal practices, et cetera). We do share a common literature (Sherlock Holmes mysteries, etc.) and today share common TV shows and films.
2. How might dialect differences lead to misunderstanding?
3. Which would be more difficult for communication, speaking different dialects of the same language or speaking different languages (French vs. English)? Why?

Extending the Lesson

Give students a list of British words and their American equivalents. Have them write a paragraph with several sentences in British English, then write the American equivalent.

Assessing Student Learning

Ask students to apply what they have learned about English to the Spanish language. Where in the world is Spanish spoken? Is the Spanish spoken in Spain the same as the Spanish spoken in Mexico? Why not? How would these differences affect communication between the two countries? In what ways does language unify some cultures and divide others?

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