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Uh? We learn British English in school from an early age.
I would say both, formally most people around the world learn British English, I remember that American spelling was marked as wrong when I went to school.
However, in terms of content Britain is not of much interest to the rest of Europe, music is an international scene anyway, often it is impossible to tell whether a band is from the US or from Britain or from Australia even. British movies and series are rare. IT stuff also comes from the US, not from Britain.
The popularity of English, at least in Europe, is due mostly to the US, of course.
Maybe, but English is the language of the English people, first and foremost. It was taken to North America by English settlers, and they decided to butcher it after 237 years, and since they are such an influential nation with a very large population, many Europeans also speak that butchered and horrible version of English, with their annoying and grating accents that make me want to kill myself. Sad, but true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
I would say both, formally most people around the world learn British English, I remember that American spelling was marked as wrong when I went to school.
However, in terms of content Britain is not of much interest to the rest of Europe, music is an international scene anyway, often it is impossible to tell whether a band is from the US or from Britain or from Australia even. British movies and series are rare. IT stuff also comes from the US, not from Britain.
Come on Neuling, I know you hate Britain and the British sooo much (some kids threw rocks at you in Sheffield, right?), but you can't seriously believe Britain is of little interest to the rest of Europe. Knowingly or not, you guys listen to our music every day - if you are too lazy or stupid to figure out which country they come from, then that's your fault. I think most people are perfectly aware singers like Adel and Amy Winehouse are/were British.
However, the reverse is true - the rest of Europe is of little interest to us. Well, maybe a Swedish artist will gain fame every now and again, such as Robyn or Avicii.
Last edited by dunno what to put here; 01-26-2014 at 10:25 AM..
Yeah, and you watch American movies with subtitles from an even earlier age.
In Germany they never use subtitles, they dub every program from abroad, be it American, Brazilian or French. I didn't know the real voices of popular actors until I moved away from Germany.
Maybe, but English is the language of the English people, first and foremost. It was taken to North America by English settlers, and they decided to butcher it after 237 years, and since they are such an influential nation with a very large population, many Europeans also speak that butchered and horrible version of English, with their annoying and grating accents that make me want to kill myself. Sad, but true.
Come on Neuling, I know you hate Britain and the British sooo much (some kids threw rocks at you in Sheffield, right?), but you can't seriously believe Britain is of little interest to the rest of Europe. Knowingly or not, you guys listen to our music every day - if you are too lazy or stupid to figure out which country they come from, then that's your fault. I think most people are perfectly aware singers like Adel and Amy Winehouse are/were British.
However, the reverse is true - the rest of Europe is of little interest to us. Well, maybe a Swedish artist will gain fame every now and again, such as Robyn or Avicii.
To me American English sounds more fluent, British English harsher, the difference is like between Spanish from Montevideo and from Madrid.
I don't hate Britain, despite the rock-throwing and drunk morons. Indeed, as I said, music is an international scene, most Brit singers use American or at least neutral pronunciation anyway. Often one only notices a singer is British when there is an interview. Many for instance used to think Sade was AA, and they were surprised when they heard her talk in an interview or on stage for the first time.
Sometimes however the music as such already gives Brits away, on average it has a different vibe and sound than American music. I seldom listen to British music, there are only about half a dozen artists/bands from Britain that I ever liked: Sade, Talk Talk, Loose Ends, Bent, Nightmares on Wax, and a few songs by the Eurythmics and 52nd Street. But most modern music sucks, both from the US and Britain
I think it is mutual, Britain is of little interest and importance to Europeans, and vice versa.
I think in Europe people will just become more bilingual.
Indeed, bilingual, some are even fluent in 3 or 4 languages. Since you are from Ireland, what happened in Ireland won't happen in Europe, i.e. English replacing native languages.
I just went thru Europe from Spain to Turkey, for two months.
You can thank Hollywood movies and ESPECIALLY music for the "invasion" of English.
Why is American music so popular? Because the American accent makes singing easier and English is easier to switch around to make the lyrics flow properly.
While traveling in Normandy, a friend of a friend barely spoke English. While he was driving us, he would curse in English. I asked him why in English. He said it's easy and quick to just say S&&t or F**k.
While English verbs and the format of sentences are vastly different than just about every other language, its the easiest to speak once learned.
Plus, English is taught in school in most of Europe now.
Thats actually annoying that they feel that they have to curse in our language.
Be we don't have to. But yes I do wish they would speak English in Europe, I would feel more comfortable going to Europe if they did so.
Again, you can go to most places in Europe and get by using English. Most hotel staff speak English, tourist attractions often have English-speaking guides, etc. And you can ask almost any younger person for help, they will understand and try to help you. What more can you ask for in a foreign country which has a perfect, complete language of its own?!
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