GRAMMAR AND LEXIS

VARIATION Regional, social, or contextual differences in the ways that a particularlanguageis used.

It is studied by sociolinguistics: social factors

No two individuals speak identically:

Different variations: speakers age, gender, ethnicity and social and educational background.

All aspects of language (phonemes,morphemes, syntactic structures, andmeanings) are subject to variation. age

English has changed over the last 1000 years

Reasons: social or political pressures, such as invasion, colonization and immigration.

Consequences: New terms / new grammatical structures

Lexical Variation

BrE and AmE speakers familiarize with each other's regional words and terms

The use of a British word would be acceptable in AmE (and vice versa)

A British speaker: chapormateto refer to a friend = an American using the Spanish wordamigo

Words and phrases that have their origins in BrE and an American would understandBiscuitDriving licenceNaff (slang but commonly used to mean "not very good") are unheard of in American English.

Words and phrases that have their origins in AmEand a British person would understand: sidewalk (pavement) gas (gasoline/petrol) counterclockwise" (anticlockwise) elevator (lift): (exposure to American culture and literature.)Certain terms that are heard less frequently, especially those likely to be absent or rare in American popular culture, e.g. "copacetic (satisfactory)

Words and phrases with different meanings. billandbiscuit: in AmE a bill is usually paper money (as in "dollar bill") though it can mean the same as in BrE, an invoice (as in "the repair bill was 250"). in AmE a biscuit is what in BrE is called a scone. in BrE a biscuit is what AmE calls a cookie. Football: in BrE refers toAssociation football in AmE, "football" meansAmerican football. Hockey: in BrE refers tofield hockeyand in AmE, "hockey" meansice hockey.

Grammatical Variation

Grammar is the structure of a language or dialect. Grammatical variation: differences in the structure of words, phrases or sentences It describes the way individual words change their form: playbecomesplayed It also refers to the way words are combined to form phrases or sentences. She were wearing a mask: ungrammatical, but acceptable (Northern England and the Midlands) I were,you were, he,sheandit were,we wereandthey were.: verb isunmarked for personI was,you was,he,sheandit was,we wasand they was. (Some dialects in the South East of England)

There is no wrong and rightNo correct or incorrect grammar: standard andnon-standardgrammar

Standard English: prestigious form (people in positions of authority)

Grammatical differences between American and British English.1. Verbagreementwith collective nouns:My team is winning.2. Use ofdelexicalverbs have and takeShe's having a little nap.Joe's taking a shower.

3. Use ofauxiliariesand modals A: Are you coming with us? B: I might do.

In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.:A: Are you coming with us?B: I might.

In British English needn't is often used instead of don't need to, e.g.:They needn't come to school today.

4. Use ofprepositionsIn British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.: at Christmas/five 'o' clockat the weekend

In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.:Will they still be there on the weekend?She'll be coming home on weekends.

5.Pasttense forms

Implicationsfor teachingTeachers be aware of the differences between BrE / AmE lexical differences are the easiest ones to notice a knowledge of grammatical and phonological differences can be useful

Which is better? different doesnt mean wrong: American English is inferior to British English, or American English is better than British English : no solid basis other than the speakers opinion. The truth is that no language or regional variety of language is better or worse than another. They are just different.

Materials and varietiesAmerican English speaker /British coursebook or vice versa

Exams and essay writing: both varieties of English are accepted.

Other varieties of English in the classroom

Scotland, Ireland, South Asia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West Africa, the Caribbean, South Africa : their own regional variations of English.