[Vocabulary] "one" and "that"

[roseriver1012]

English spoken in Australia is similar to ______spoken in Britain.
A. one B. that

The answer is "that", but I wonder why "one"can't be used in the sentence. What is the difference between "one" and "that" when referring to the thing metioned. Thanks for your help!

 

[5jj]

You could say 'A dialect spoken in parts of Australia is similar to one spoken in the English county of Norfolk.' In that sentence we are clearly referring to one (of several) dialects, not the (only) one.

 

[Tdol]

How many Englishes are spoken in Australia?

 

[roseriver1012]

Then if I say "English spoken in Australia is similar to one spoken in Britain.", what kind of message does it send to the listener? Is it that "there are many Englishes spoken in Britain" or "in Australia"?

 

[5jj]

Then if I say "English spoken in Australia is similar to one spoken in Britain.", what kind of message does it send to the listener?

That you are not a native speaker.

Is it that "there are many Englishes spoken in Britain"?

No. To convey that message, you'd have to say, "The English spoken in Australia is similar to one spoken in England. Even then, it would sound strange to those native speakers who are not aware of the idea of 'Englishes'.

 

[SoothingDave]

The idea is that a native can think easily of "the English that is spoken" in Australia or England. But we don't think of them as being one English there and another English here.