The English-speaking world

English is the world’s most spoken language, but most English speakers are not native speakers. In fact, of the about 1.5 billion English speakers, less than 400 million are native speakers. English is a global lingua franca  and the standard language in a variety of fields such as computer coding, education, and international business.

Native speakers

English is an official language in 58 countries around the world. 19 countries have a majority of native English speakers, the largest of these being the US (231 mil), the UK (60 mil), Canada (19 mil), Australia (at least 17 mil), New Zealand (4 mil) and South Africa (3 mil). All of these countries have their own pronunciations, as well as differences in vocabulary and – to some extent – spelling.

Non-native speakers

Earlier British colonies, such as India and Hong Kong, have a large population of people who speak English as a second language, but the most skilled users of English as a second language come from countries that have never been British colonies; they are all in Northern Europe: the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

The wide variety of English across the globe leads to a great variety in the English language.

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Accents

Accents are the sound patterns of languages. They are characterized by the inflection, tone and choice of words you use when speaking. Sound patterns differ from language to language, but can also vary within the same one. There are several well-known accents of English, meaning that there are many ways to speak the language.

Native and foreign accents

A native accent is subject to your region, ethnicity or social group. While a person from New York speaks English differently from a person from London, they are both correct. It is neither right nor wrong to say tomato with the ‘a’ pronounced as the ‘a’ in baby, or as the ‘a’ in ‘father.’

A foreign accent mirrors the way you speak your native language. When speaking a foreign language we tend to use the rules, structure and sounds of our native language.

We all speak in different accents

Whether we speak in a native accent or not, we speak languages based on how and where we live and learn the language. It is just as correct to speak with an Indian accent as an American accent. It is also fine to speak with a Norwegian accent, or a Jamaican accent.

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Local variations

In the different English-speaking countries, there are different accents and dialects depending on where the speakers are from. Take a look at some British accents.

In the US there is also a variety of accents. The Midwestern accent is often viewed as the birth of the Standard American English accent.

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Same same, but different

It is easier for people who speak the less common accents, native speakers as well as non-native speakers, to understand American English and British English because these two accents are very popular through culture, such as films and series. But how are American English and British English different?

Pronunciation

One of the main differences in all English accents is the way the r is or is not pronounced. In British English the r is not pronounced when it comes after a vowel in the same syllable (as in car, hard or market). In American English, it is pronounced. There are also differences in the pronunciation of the consonant t, as well as differences in vowel sounds.

Spelling

American English tends to make spelling more simple compared to British English. Words ending -our in British English often end in -or in American English:

  • British English: colour, harbour and neighbour
  • American English: color, harbor and neighbor. 

Words ending in -re in British English often end in -er in American English:

  • British English: centre, litre
  • American English: center, liter.

Also, verbs ending in -ise in British English often get the ending -ize in American English:

  • British English: realise, organise
  • American English: realize, organize.
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There are some vocabulary differences between American and British English, for example:

Take a look at more examples here:

Soak in English!

There are a few things you can do to improve your language skills.

Read

Reading is a great way to get a better  vocabulary and to improve your grammar and sentence structure. You can read fiction or nonfiction. You can even trick yourself into reading while watching your favorite series or films, or even when on YouTube; just turn on the subtitles and switch to English!

Listen

Another way to get a better vocabulary and also work on your own pronunciation is listening to English for example, through audiobooks, podcasts, the radio or by watching films/series.

Speak

Try to speak English as much as you can. Be active in English class, use English if you travel, or speak with people online. If you want to practice alone, you could try to listen to someone speaking, for example in a YouTube video, and then try to repeat what they say while recording yourself. This will allow you to listen to and correct yourself.

Write

Practice your writing, as this is another way of communicating with others. By writing, you will see how you use the words, and you will have the possibility to learn new words by looking up synonyms. You will also become more aware of the importance of variation in the language. 

Try

Sometimes it can be difficult to understand other English speakers. Do not be afraid to ask them to explain if a word or sentence is difficult. People will almost always be helpful in explaining their meaning if something is unclear. If you cannot find the words, try to explain in another way. Remember, you are not alone – a lot of people all over the world speak English as a foreign language in their own accents, with grammatical errors as well as pronunciation errors.

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Talk the talk!

The main point of learning a language is to communicate with others. Whether you speak it perfectly in a specific accent is irrelevant. Just make sure you try to get the grammar and sentence structure fairly right, and that your pronunciation is understandable.

The worst thing that can happen if you make a grammatical mistake, pronounce a word incorrectly or you don’t know a word, is that you learn something new!

Kilder:

Bilde – og  videorettigheter:

    1. Getty Images
    2. Adobe Stock
    3. The Daily Show – YouTube
    4. Adobe Stock
    5. Anglopheria – YouTube
    6. Insider Science – YouTube
    7. Adobe Stock
    8. BBC –YouTube
    9. Adobe Stock
    10. Adobe Stock
    11. Adobe Stock