British x american english

British x American English
"England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
(George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer - 1856-1950)
Introduction
English is spoken differently on both sides of the Atlantic. Over the years, the differences between British and American English have given rise to much heated debate and discussion. Modern British English is heavily influenced by American English, so some contrasts are disappearing. Pronunciation is sometimes very different, but most American and British speakers can understand each other easily. Before we take a look at some of the differences between the two main types of English, we stress that these differences are somewhat minor and with the ongoing internationalization of our modern world they could even said to be diminishing. During much of the nineteenth century, some English people held the view that the Americans were "defiling" or "corrupting" the mother tongue. If we understand "defiling" and "corrupting" to mean "changing", then those English purists were indeed right. However, they failed to understand thatchange is the inevitable destination of all living languages. Still, their reaction seems understandable. Perhaps the proud citizens of the mother country thought of themselves as the "guardians" of the English Language. But even the "guardians" themselves weren't immune to attacks from their "Yankee"* brothers. The American statesman John Hays, for example, openly criticized British English as affected and pompous, while he praised American speech as incisive and straightfoward.
Even nowadays you'll still hear people comparing British and American English and discussing which is "the best kind of English". Such discussions, however ultimately reveal nothing more than one's personal preferences. To argue that any variety of English is superior to another is like saying that roast beef is tastier than fried chicken.
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