This document discusses dialects of English, focusing on American and British English. It notes that dialects differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar from each other and standard languages. It describes Received Pronunciation as the educated dialect of Southeast England, while General American is more typical of the United States and Canada. The document also outlines some differences between American and British English at the phonological, phonetical, vocabulary, and grammatical levels.

1. Module (4)
AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL
ENGLISH

2.  Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ
in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar
from each other and from the standard
language.
 British linguists distinguish dialect
from accent, which refers only to
pronunciation.

3.  In the United Kingdom much emphasis is
placed on Received Pronunciation, an
educated dialect of South East England.
 General American, which is spread over most
of the United States and much of Canada, is
more typically the model for the American
continents.

4.  American English is a set of dialects of
the English language used mostly in
the United States.
 In certain respects, American English is closer
to the English of Shakespeare than modern
British English is. (e.g., fall as a synonym for
autumn, trash for rubbish)
 American English and British English differ at
the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary,
and, to a lesser extent, grammar and
orthography.

5.  Because English is so widely spoken, it has
often been referred to as a "world language",
the lingua franca of the modern era, and while
it is not an official language in most countries,
it is currently the language most often taught
as a foreign language.

6.  A lingua franca is a language systematically
used to make communication possible
between people not sharing a mother tongue,
in particular when it is a third language, distinct
from both mother tongues.

7.  Following the economic, political, military,
scientific, cultural, and colonial influence
of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from
the 18th century, via the British Empire, and of
the United States since the mid-20th century,
English has been widely dispersed around the
world, become the leading language of
international discourse, and has acquired use
as lingua franca in many regions.

8.  It is strange that a language that started on a
small island 1500 years ago as the result of
the invasion of a few Germanic tribes is the
international language it is today.

9.  Approximately 375 million people speak
English as their first language.
 One out of five of the world's population
speaks English to some level of competence.
Demand from the other four fifths is increasing
 It is widely learned as a second language and
used as an official language of the European
Union and many Commonwealth countries, as
well as in many world organizations.