Different Englishes!

Just opened a document about dialects and pronunciation in different areas of the UK but that is way too heavy a topic for a sunny Wednesday morning. Instead lets have a think about different Englishes around the world and how they differ. What am I talking about? Well on a good day I speak British English but I also have friends who speak American, Canadian, Indian and Australian English. There are also other Englishes but I do not have that many friends!

Let me pick on the one that I know best, well second best, American English. Of course there are a wide variety of pronunciation patterns as the country is so vast. So let's forget pronunciation, if in doubt leave it out! Let's move on to spelling. Where British English uses the suffix 'ise', the Americans like a zeeee. Words such as 'recognise' or 'recognize'. Another obvious one is the elimination of the 'u' in words such as: 'color'', 'labor' and ''honor' but actually that makes sense because the 'u' was not really doing anything. Not quite sure why they rearrange the end of words like, 'center' or 'theater' but it does seem simpler. I think the man to ask would be Webster who put their dictionary together but he is long gone.

So I can deal with the spelling. It is easy to see what they mean but some of the vocab really has me stumped. Thank goodness for TV or I would be so confused. How can 'noughts and crosses' be 'tic- tac- toe'. Come on people can you not see the shapes? I know that 'fall' is 'autumn' and that 'pants' are 'trousers' but don't be messing with food. I want 'courgette' not 'zucchini', 'candy floss' not 'cotton candy' but I suppose I can handle a 'cookie' as opposed to a 'biscuit' which actually turns out to another meaning as some squashed scone often eaten at breakfast in the U S of A.

I was going to talk about grammar but I am now hungry so will not rant about the lack of present or past perfect. Have a nice day now!