What English is the Original English–British or American?
Some time ago, I asked Americans why they speak English differently. None of the people who were present knew the answer. “We probably messed it up over the years.”, said one of them finally. Over all these years, one line of a famous American poem has stayed in my ears. “…, and the Americans are worst of all because they speak it wrong.” I started doing some research, and this is what I found out. When I grew up, I decided to become an English teacher. I studied at the Department of Applied Linguistics. Besides methodology, classroom management and phonology, we also got a thorough insight into American literature. We talked about American poetry. There was one poet who I particularly liked and still like—Odgen Nash. I always found the following poem very funny. England Expects by Ogden Nash Let us pause to consider the English. Who when they pause…
