[General] distinction without a difference

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

I said I…. didn’t speak English at all – I only spoke American. He laughed and said it was a distinction without a difference. I said no, the difference was not prodigious but still it was considerable.

a distinction without a difference = subtle distinction = imaginary difference

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

This is a common expression that indicates subtle differences.
The response, that the difference was not enormous (prodigious) but was still great (considerable,) was in itself a distinction without a difference.
It is, after all, one language, the primary language of more than 50 countries.

riquecohen said:

It is, after all, one language, the primary language of more than 50 countries.

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That's true, and yet people from different English-speaking countries can't always understand each other easily!

An oft-used quote: "England and America are two nations divided (or separated?) by a common language." (George Bernard Shaw)