I’m the parent, and I’m going to teach my kid English. To tell the truth, I prefer British English to American English. But in the real world the American one seems to be more popular. Could you tell me which one I should choose?
Choose American English: that’s likely to be more useful to your son, especially in south-east Asia. However, please note the following:
There’s hardly any difference at all between British and American English. The main difference is phonological (the way the language is spoken). Differences in vocabulary and spelling are very limited and there are hardly any differences at all in structure. Of course, for adults, the range of reference can vary between BrE and AmE. British English has a European range of reference. AmE and AusE similarly reflect the references of the geographical locations. This is one reason why AmE and AusE are so important in SE Asia.
Whatever you teach your son, he will end up speaking Chinese English. This is inevitable. However, if he has been taught American English, he will be trained to understand this right from the start. A lot of learners find spoken standard American English harder to understand than spoken standard British English.
English is a world language. People are learning it worldwide because they have the expectation that they will be able to use the language they have learned in any part of the world. The dominance of English has historical reasons relating back to the British Empire, but its widespread use today is largely due to American influence worldwide. Here are some reasons why people learn English:
－political: English may be a neutral means of communication between different language groups in a large country: e.g. India.
－economic: English is the language of trade, business and tourism.
－practical: English is the language used by air traffic controllers, in academic conferences, etc.
－scientific and technical: most scientific information is published and retrieved in English; the language of the Internet is English.
－entertainment: the language of films, videos, computer games, etc. is largely English.. 作者: chrisabs 时间: 2009-4-23 23:32
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