Keywords
spelling
vocabulary
grammar
differences
How to Cite
Abstract
Classified as a Germanic language and evidently a common language, a lingua franca of the world, after years of development, English has formed a number of varieties differing in many areas, including vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and in some cases, accent. As a result of its widespread, it is crucial to know which variety is used, yet preferred by learners, and observe differences between them. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the two most commonly used, often mixed, varieties of English, namely American English and British English, in one high school in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moreover, we aimed , to see whether students are aware of the significant differences in spelling, vocabulary, and grammatical structure. In doing so, 50 randomly selected high school students were given a test consisting of written differences related to lexical items, spelling, as well as differences visible in grammar. The findings revealed that the majority of participants prefer British English, though they are not totally aware of the differences in the mentioned areas between these two varieties; as a result, they are frequently mixing them. Lacking knowledge about these two primary varieties of English would, undeniably in some cases, lead to misunderstanding; thus, teachers should pay more attention and give more effort to raise the learners’ awareness of different varieties and their distinctive aspects.
References
Ahmetović, E., Bećirović, S., & Dubravac, V., (2020). Motivation, Anxiety, and Students’ Performance. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 9(2), 271 – 289. DOI: 10.13187/ejced.2020.2.271.
Ahmetović, E., & Dubravac, V., (2021). Elementary School EFL Learning Experience: A Needs Analysis. Theory and Practice in Language Studies 11,12, pp. 1515-1525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1112.02.
Alftberg, A. K. (2009). British or American English? Attitudes, awareness, and usage among pupils in a secondary school. Unpublished Bachelor’s Thesis. University of Gävle.
Bailey R., (1991). Images of English. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Bećirović, S. (2017). The relationship between gender, motivation, and achievement in learning English as a foreign language. European Journal of Contemporary Education. 6(2), 210-219. DOI: 10.13187/ejced.2017.2.210.
Bećirović, S., & Akbarov A. (2015). Impact of social changes on teacher’s role and responsibilities in the educational system. JoLIE – Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education, 8, 21-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2015.8.2
Brdarević-Čeljo, A., Ahmetović, E., & Bajić, E. (2021). Variations in attitudes towards codeswitching and codeswitching frequency among multilingual speakers. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1983580
Crystal, D. (2000). Emerging Englishes. English Teaching Professional 14, 3-6.
Crystal, D. (2002). The English language: A guided tour of the language. London: Penguin Books.
Crystal D., (1997/2003). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, D. (2019). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edition). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.4000/lexis.4512
Di Carlo, G. S. (2013). Lexical Differences between American and British English: a Survey Study. Language Design 15, 61-75.
Dervić, M., & Bećirović, S. (2020). Prerogative of the Lexical Approach in Communicative Language Teaching. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(3), 1-13. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3748039
Dubravac, V., Brdarević-Čeljo, A., & Bećirović, S. (2018) The English of Bosnia and Herzegovina. WORLD ENGLISHES, 37(4), 635-652. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12347
Dubravac, V., Latić, E. (2019). The plasticity of students’ language learning beliefs: The interplay of gender, grade and educational level. Journal of Language and Education, 5(4), 36-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2019.9732.
Gelderen, E. (2006). A History of the English Language. John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam / Philadelphia.
Graddol, D. (2000). The future of English? A guide to forecasting the popularity of the English language in the 21st century. The British Council. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/learning-elt-future.pdf
Gnutzmann, C. (2000). “Lingua franca”. In Byram, M. (ed.). 2004. Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching and learning. London: Routledge, pp. 356-359.
Graddol D., (2006). English Next. British Council electronic edition.
Hansson, E. (2010). Awareness of grammatical differences between British and American English among young Swedes. Unpublished Bachelor’s Thesis. Halmstad University.
Holmes, J. (1992). An introduction to sociolinguistics. New York: Longman.
House, J. (1999). Misunderstanding in intercultural communication: Interactions in English as a lingua franca and the myth of mutual intelligibility. In Claus Gnutzmann (Ed).73-89.
Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, J. (2007). English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B.B. (1985). The pragmatics of non-native Englishes. In L.E. Smith (ed.) English for cross-cultural communication, pp. 15–39. Wiltshire: Macmillan.
Kachru, B. B. (1992). Models for non-native Englishes. In B. B. Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: Englishes across cultures, 2nd ed., pp. 48–75.
Khatib, M., (2018). English or Englishes? Outer and Expanding Circle Teachers’ Awareness of and Attitudes towards their Own Variants of English in ESL/EFL Teaching Contexts, Allameh Tabataba’i University.
Kovačević, F., Brdarević-Čeljo, A., Bećirović, S., (2018), Opportunities and Challenges Facing Bosnian High-School EFL Learners. European Researcher. Series A, 9(4), p. 298-306, DOI: 10.13187/er.2018.4.298
Ledin, C. (2013). American or British English Pronunciation? A Study on Swedish Upper Secondary School Students’ Choices of and Attitudes Towards Different Varieties of English. Bachelor Degree Level. Gothenburg: GUPEA.
Mašić, A., Polz, E. & Bećirović, S., (2020) The Relationship between Learning Styles, GPA, School Level and Gender. European Researcher. Series A, 11(1), 51-60. doi: 10.13187/er.2020.1.51
Modiano, M. (1996). A Mid-Atlantic Handbook: American and British English. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Qin, X. B. (1983). A brief history of the English language. Changsha: Hunan Education Press.
Rao, Parupalli (2019). The Role of English as a Global language. JOUR 4, 65-79.
Ribo, R., & Dubravac, V. (2021). The influence of the English Language on BCS with the focus on the business register. MAP Education and Humanities, 1(1), 20-27. Doi: https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2021.1.1.20
Ryan, E.B., & Bulik C.M. (1982). Evaluations of middle class and lower-class speakers of standard American and German-accented English. Language and Social Psychology, 1, 51-61.
Stern, H. (1983). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. Oxford University Press.
Wardhaugh R. (1986). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Blackwell.
Strevens, P. (1972). British and American English. Michigan: Collier-Macmillan. UCLES. (2013). Cambridge English Language Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/
The Quatations page (1994.2018). Quotations by Author George Bernard Shaw (pp. 1-20). http://www.quotationspage.com/author.php?author=George+Bernard+Shaw
Webster, N. (1789). Dissertations on the English language. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Company.
Widdowson, H. G. (1997). The forum: EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests. World Englishes. 16(1): 135-146.
Wilde, O. (1887). The Canterville Ghost. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.gutenberg. org/files/14522/14522-h/14522-h.htm
Yaman, I., (2015). Exploring ELT Students’ Awareness of the differences between the British and American Varieties of English, Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi.
Yaman, A. & Bećirović, S. (2016). Learning English and Media Literacy. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR), 2(6), 660-663.
Zainab Thamer Ahmed (2014). Students’ Attitudes towards Six Varieties of Accented Speech in English, Malaysian University.