British Vs American English – Where Each Variation Is Taught

Map created by reddit user Speech500

The map above shows which version of English is most commonly taught in schools – British or American. Of course this does not mean that people actually speak the version they learn in school, it’s just what they are taught.

For example, Canada is listed as learning British English, which is partially true. Spelling in Canada tends to follow British conversions e.g. colour, centre, etc.

However, Canadian pronunciation and vocabulary is much closer to American than it is British. Moreover, Canadian English also has a vocabulary all its own with words like: Tuque, Two-four, Pencil crayon, loonie/toonie, etc.

Explaining his map in greater detail Speech500 says that:

I based this map on a variety of sources from across the web, many of which I have listed below. The country is coloured based on the variation of English which is taught as standard in that country. Certain countries may have more people who speak British English, for example, but if American English is taught in schools, then that country would be red, and vice versa.

It is therefore worth noting that just because a country is coloured a certain way, it does not at all mean that every English speaker in that country speaks the corresponding variation of English. There were awkward countries which had seemingly no preference, such as China and Brazil, so I went with the variation which I saw mentioned most by people in those countries.

There are countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, which teach English natively and therefore have their own variation, but the type taught in schools is based on British English in all of those countries.

In addition, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all in the commonwealth, where British English is usually the standard, and Ireland is in the EU, where British English is the standard.

And in case you’re curious here are just some of the varieties of English that are spoken around the world:

• American English
• British English
• Canadian English
• Australian English
• Hiberno‐English (Irish English)
• New Zealand English
• Scottish English
• Welsh English
• Ulster English
• Manx English
• Channel Island English
• Bermudian English
• Belizean English
• Falkland Islands English
• Guyanese English
• Bay Islands English
• Caribbean English
• Antiguan English
• Anguillan English
• Bahamian English
• Bajan English
• Jamaican English
• Vincentian English
• Trinidadian English
• Brunei English
• Burmese English
• Hong Kong English
• Pakistani English
• Indian English
• Nepali English
• Manglish (Malaysian English)
• Philippine English
• Singlish (Singapore English)
• Sri Lankan English
• Cameroonian English
• Kenyan English
• Liberian English
• Malawian English
• Namlish
• South African English
• South Atlantic English (spoken on Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena)
• Ugandan English

And the list above does not even mention regional dialects found in many countries (e.g. Scouse, Cockney, Southern, etc.)

English has also been the inspiration for some constructed languages such as:

• Basic English
• Globish
• Special English
• E-Prime
• Newspeak (from George Orwell’s 1984)

Finally, if you’d like to try moving to one of the countries above, we can help with out list of international moving companies, guides about international container shipping & moving costs and even help you compare movers by offering international moving quotes.

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