BrE or AmE in your country??

Sundae   Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:11 am GMT
Hi. I'm from S.Korea. As a huge fan of English English, it's so annoying

that many Koreans think American English is the only 'right' English and

some even think English language was originated from America and British

people use 'British language' which would be totally different from 'English'.

So how about your country?? I've heard that schools in these countries

below tend to teach..


AmE - Japan, Taiwan, S.Korea, Latin America(Mexico, Brazil etc.)...

BrE - Western Europe(France, Germany, Spain, Italy etc.), Eastern Europe(Poland, Russia etc.), Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, N.Korea...

Not sure? - Middle East, China


In my country, 90% of native English teachers are either Americans or

Canadians as many students and English schools refuse to hire British or

Australian teachers. One of my classmates even said that she can't

understand their accents because they use 'bad' English. So even for

British teachers, many of them use 'fake' American accents to avoid

complains from narrow-minded ignorant idiots. Is there any countries

where the circumstances are totally different - British English only! - from

here?
eeuuian   Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:07 am GMT
AmE
Damian London SW15   Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:41 pm GMT
***some even think English language was originated from America***

That incredible belief is encountered by a fair number British expats in the United States who are often gobsmacked to be told by Americans that they speak very good English, and have a cute accent, and further enquiry on this strange remark directed at them elicits this very same notion held by a surprising number of Americans who seemingly have difficulty linking the English Language with England itself!

Even more astonishing is the apparent frequency of the occasions when Brits over there are asked what language is spoken in England. Yes, honest to goodness, as they say in Wales. ;-) Unfortunately some Brits respond to this question by replying in terms which can only be described as typically British - with varying levels of sarcasm, either disguised or in a patently overt manner. After a while some just resignedly ignore the whole issue and merely quote E F Benson's character Georgie by calling it all so "tarsome".

For proof of this check out the much quoted British Expats website under the USA heading. Naturally you will need to use the Search facility - straght from the horse's mouth.

Of course, everyone outside the British Isles who is intent on learning English has every right to choose whatever form of English s/he wishes to follow and adopt, and I imagine that varies from one part of the world to another.
Ivana   Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:05 am GMT
Here in Croatia, both Englishes are accepted, professors will tolerate both US and UK English as long as you are consistent with your use (that means Canadian English is not likely to be ''tolerated'' due to high inconsistency in spelling).
Blanc le blanc   Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:31 pm GMT
Sundae, you have missed out the country with the largest population of non-native English speakers. Use your head, go find it out. They follow British English there.
Wintereis   Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:59 pm GMT
Damien, you really must stop thinking of those British x-pats as a good source of information. I have lived in the US all of my life and have yet to come across one of these "Americans" who do not know where English originates or what language is spoken in England. Honestly these stories you are telling are far too rediculous to be believed. Periaps some one on some occasion didnt recognise an unfamiliar accent as British, but that is a far cry from what you are saying here. One would think you would refrain from making such idiotic claims since you have communicated with Americans so frequently on Antimoon. And, since you yourself havent been to the US, you shouldnt be so eager to accept it second hand. It makes you look foolish to Americans who know that such a wild idea about us is very ill founded.
Damian London SW15   Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:25 pm GMT
I take on board what you say, Wintereis....I consider myself well and truly bollocked. You are correct - I have never been across the Atlantic Ocean -at least not yet - the furthest west I've ever been in Dublin...or is Land's End further west....I can't lay my hands on a map right now. Hopefully one day I will do so, and I will, from now on, make a point of not commenting in this Forum what I have truly read in all the posts written by my fellow countrymen who really have made the journey across the Pond and taken up residence over there, either permanently or temporarily.

It isn't just the USA section I visit on that website occasionally as you can imagine....there are far more ex-pat Brits scattered across the rest of the world than there are in the USA - probably half of them are in Sunny Spain where the rain falls mainly on the plain which should at least remind many of them of their homeland. ;-) Actually, this Spring the UK has been sunnier and very much drier than has Spain, and much of South Western Europe. ;-)

Reading all the posts from our people abroad really does confirm the Great British propensity for whingeing and whining - maybe we'll have a bloody good moan about Heaven .....should any of us ever get there, that is.
Wintereis   Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:59 pm GMT
I find it unimagimable that people in the US wouldnt know that English was spoken in England. I imagine if these x-pats were asked such a question, it would likely be a lame joke. There are far too many famous Brits in American pop culture for people not to know this. It seems quite imposible for people to be that estranged from media and education not to know such basic information.
B   Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:00 am GMT
Well, all the unremarkable things that happen would probably not be mentioned on an ex-pat forum, and there will always be someone who says something totally idiotic because either they are one, or they are being funny, or they are tired and completely out to lunch (this is the most common.). Those are the stories that will be on the ex-pat board. There will always be some funny travel stories that happen to people. Not the strories about how someone from Britain went to the store to buy a dozen eggs and got exactly what they wanted, and went home again. That would hardly make a very good story. Then there are always the people that read about someone else's story and re-post it themselves making it more fantastic in their version. Then there are the people that read the stories and think they are funny, and perpetuate them. I'm an American and I've told a New Zealander that "It must be neat to have an accent and all." I've also asked someone from Manchester if they knew my friend John in London. Those are just some of the things I've said to people. I'm sure there are plenty of other people that do the same for their own personal enjoyment. I've also asked how much something costs in "real money" in foreign countries, when I had a particularily bad day.
Johnny   Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:17 am GMT
Neither. Teachers here are so bad that no one even know there's a difference. They teach ESL English.
imbecil   Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:23 am GMT
Honestly those expats are either more ignorant themselves than these "ignorant Americans", or they don't understand American humor, or they are just liars.
Amazing how these Europeans love to bag America when they know so little about it!
B   Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:48 am GMT
Yeah, I bet most of them couldn't even name the capital of North Dakota.
Wintereis   Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:05 am GMT
B, love it. One should always try to amuse ones self with the natives. The Brits certanly dont mind doing it here. The answer is Bizmark. . . But Im American . . . Phenom Pen is the cap. of Cambodia. There, I have done my Geography for the day.
Entbark   Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:06 am GMT
While most Americans I know would not be able to state the differences between English/Australian/New Zealand accents other than RP, they all know that people in England generally speak English.

Whenever I hear or read how people in the UK think about Americans, it's usually insulting: Americans are loud, vulgar, like to draw attention to themselves, selfish, and obnoxious. The only negative stereotype I know of that Americans draw when thinking of the UK is that everyone there has bad teeth. If someone speaks with the RP accent, Americans will generally assume that person must be wealthy or intelligent.
Damian London E14   Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:08 am GMT
Without referring to any reference books, atlases or internet websites I can tell you off the cuff that North Dakota is an American state in the northernmost part of the American Mid West bordering onto Canada to the north, and is - susprise, surprise - to the immediate north of South Dakota, and the state capital is actually Bismarck, not as quoted by our American froiend Wintereis! Americans seem to love the letter zed....sorry, guys - I mean "zee" - realize, socialize, fraternize......

North Dakota is mostly a great big state of wide open nothingness by British standards with a population less than half that of the UK cities of Glasgow or Birmingham, and it's so cold in winter it could freeze your knob off! ;-)

They speak English there too! ;-)