British and American combination

[Rihan]

Can an advanced student Combine British English with American English?
Though My level would be intermediate or less, I need some advice and information about this.
The combination of language may be like that first sentence is American and the next is British .
If it is not considered as goof English , what Should we do?

[Gillnetter]

Can a advanced student Combine British English with American English?
Though My level would be intermediate or less, I need some advice and information about this.
The combination of language may be like that first sentence is American and the next is British .
If it is not considered as goof English , what Should we do?

As long as the content makes sense I see no real problem with what you propose. Post a couple of sentences so that we can get a better idea of what you are concerned with.

[Rihan]

For an instance ,an advanced( ESL) student told his first sentence in American English I like cookies and then he or she told another sentence or sentences in British English .
So my concern is : Is this considered as perfect English or not? If not is the answer , then what can we do about that to improve the English language?

[SoothingDave]

I think a student should adopt one style and stay with that, unless a particular phrase or term is needed from the other dialect.

[Ouisch]

For an instance ,an advanced( ESL) student told his first sentence in American English I like cookies and then he or she told another sentence or sentences in British English .
So my concern is : Is this considered as perfect English or not? If not is the answer , then what can we do about that to improve the English language?

One problem might be if the speaker reverts to BrE later in the conversation and mentions "biscuits" instead of "cookies." (Two different foods in AmE.) To be honest, a person mixing BrE and AmE in the same conversation would probably be understood, but it would not sound like natural conversation: "I just got back from my summer vacation. I spent a fortnight traveling through Alaska and the Arctic Circle. It was chilly, even for July, and I'm glad I'd stashed a heavy sweater in the trunk of our rental car. I wasn't expecting so much mud, though, and I finally had to buy a pair of Wellies." Some of the words in that passage might be confusing to Brits/Americans.


If an advanced student wants to sound professional and fluent, he should probably stick to one or the other, either BrE or AmE.

[emsr2d2]

I would be much more impressed (and would consider you an advanced student) if you could differentiate between the two varieties, easily tell the difference between them and even translate from one to the other (yes, I know they're not technically two different languages but ...)

A discarded faucet lay on the sidewalk near the curb. It was only a couple hundred yards to my rental car so I picked up the faucet and then stashed it in the trunk. I took the freeway back to my condo, went inside, took off my pants and then put the faucet in the icebox.

A discarded tap lay on the pavement near the kerb. It was only a couple of hundred yards to my hire car so I picked up the tap and hid it in the boot. I went back on the motorway to my apartment, went inside, took off my trousers and then put the tap in the freezer.

[Tdol]

English exams recommend being consistent, and it may sound strange if someone switches between variants all the time. I would try to stick with one- using the odd word or expression won't make much difference, but changing every sentence or so will make things hard to follow. Using cookies in BrE wouldn't be a problem- you hear people using the word.

[waflob]

As already mentioned, consistency is advised. The problem with switching back and forth between the two, is that you may confuse people. The fact that the two languages have different words for the same thing is not unexpected.

At the time when Webster was making his (deliberately different) dictionary, many things that are commonplace today hadn't been invented yet. So when new things were invented / discovered, it is not unusual that they (seperately and independently) chose different words. As an example, early American cars must have had a very strange design, as it seems that the back of those cars resembled the front of an elephant (trunk)

The problems you will encounter when mixing the two, is when the same word has different meanings - people might not always know what you mean. For some reason, the word 'rubber' springs to mind. There are more ...

[TheParser]

[QUOTE=Rihan;830837]

what Should we do?


NOT A TEACHER


(1) I agree with the other posters that you should be consistent.

(2) I also most humbly and respectfully suggest that you concentrate on American

English.

(a) Of course, I do NOT know, but I suspect that most teachers of English throughout

the world teach American grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.

(b) If you are going into international business, you will probably (only a guess) find

that most business people who speak English as another language have chosen

American English. (For example, even a few (some?) British-English speakers have

suggested changing to American spelling. Let's be frank: there is simply no excuse to

spell "colour." The whole world is headed toward simplification in everything.)

[suprunp]

Let's be frank: there is simply no excuse to

spell "colour." The whole world is headed toward simplification in everything.)

May I ask you your opinion on the 'thru' spelling?

Thanks.