UNIT 66

CULTURAL
DIMENSION
OF
THE
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE NOWADAYS. BRITISH ENGLISH AND
AMERICAN ENGLISH. PRESENCE OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE IN SPAIN. ANGLICISMS.
OUTLINE
1.

INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.

2.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CULTURAL DIMENSION: IN AND OUT

THE COMMONWEALTH.
2.1. The origins of the British colonial empire.
2.1.1. The first British empire.
2.1.1.1. XVth and XVIth century.
2.1.1.2. XVIIth century.
2.1.1.3. XVIIIth century.
2.1.2. The second British empire: XIXth century.
2.1.3. The dismantling of the British empire: XXth and XXIst century.
2.2. Cultural dimension: the Commonwealth.
2.2.1. Definition.
2.2.2. Main principles and values.
2.2.3. Main countries: cultural dimension.
2.3. Cultural dimension: out of the Commonwealth.
2.3.1. Englis h as a native language.
2.3.2. English as a second language.
2.3.3. English as a foreign language.

3.

CULTURAL DIMENSION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOWADAYS: BRITISH ENGLISH

AND AMERICAN ENGLISH. PRESENCE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SPAIN:
ANGLI CISMS.
3.1. British vs. American English: main differences.
3.1.1. Spelling.
3.1.2. Vocabulary.
3.1.3. Grammar.
3.1.4. Punctuation.
3.1.5. Pronunciation.
3.2. Presence of the English language in Spain: anglicisms.
3.2.1. Anglicism: definition.
3.2.2. Presence of the English language in Spain.

4.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.

5.

CONCLUSION.

6.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
The present unit, Unit 66, aims to provide a useful introduction to the cultural dimension of the
English language nowadays from a general overview. Then we shall focus on two specific
manifestations of the English language, that is, the so-called distinction between British English
and American English. Moreover, we shall examine the impact of the English language out of
English-speaking countries by addressing the question of the presence of the English language
in Spain and the introduction of anglicisms. In doing so, it is within the richness of the English
language that we shall approach its cultural diversity and development of its linguistic varieties
not only in English-speaking countries, but also in terms of intercultural influences all around
the world.
So, the unit is to be divided into four main chapters which correspond to the four main tenets of
this unit. Thus, Chapter 2 provides a brief history of the English language cultural dimension in
and out the Commonwealth so as to offer a general overview of the influence of English around
the world. Yet, why do we relate it to the Commonwealth? It must be borne in mind that, though
it originated in England and built from several other languages (Germanic, Norse, French),
English spread worldwide with the rise of British colonialism, from the British Isles to
Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, New Zealand, the United States and elsewhere. Hence
the link to these group of countries under the common heading of Commonwealth.
Then, we shall start by reviewing (1) the origins of the British colonial empire from the
seventeenth century to the present day. Hence we shall review basic notions on (a) the first
British empire, which traces back to the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century;
(b) the second empire, which ranges the nineneteenth century; and (c) the dismantling of the
British empire in the twentieth and twenty-first century in terms of colonies, and for our
purposes, states members. In doing so, we aim at offering a general overview of those countries
which adopted the English language as a native (mother tongue) or second language, commonly
known as the Commonwealth. So, we shall review (2) the cultural dimension of the English
language within the Commonwealth countries in terms of (a) definition, (b) main principles and
values in terms of cultural diversity, and how these principles and values are present in
linguistic terms in (c) the countries which founded the Commonwealth, namely (i) Canada, (ii)
Australia, (iii) New Zealand, (iv) South Africa, (v) India, and (vi) the Caribbean Islands.

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Finally, we shall approach (3) the cultural dimension of the English language out of the
Commonwealth scope. In doing so, we shall establish three parametres with respect to the way
the English language is used in other countries, for instance, (a) as a native language (as in the
United States), (b) as a second language (as in India), and (c) as a foreign language (as in
Spain). This distinction will prepare the ground for next chapters on the distinction between
British English and American English and the presence of English in Spain.
Then, with this background in mind, Chapter 3 approaches the cultural dimension of the
English language from two different perspectives: first, regarding two specific manifestations of
the English language: first, the so-called distinction between (1) British English and American
English within the scope of English-speaking countries, in terms of differences in (1) spelling,
(2) vocabulary (3) grammar, (4) punctuation, and (5) pronunciation; and secondly, regarding the
(2) presence of the English language in a non English-speaking country, in particular, in Spain
and the presence of anglicisms. This section shall be approached by offering (a) a definition of
the term anglicism, and examining (b) the presence of the English language in Spain.
Chapter 5 will be devoted to the main educational implications in language teaching regarding
the introduction of this issue in the classroom setting. Chapter 6 will offer a conclusion to
broadly overview our present study, and Chapter 7 will include all the bibliographical
references for further information.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.
An influential introduction to the Commonwealth is namely drawn from historical background
of the Victorian period, Imperialism and the Industrial Revolution is based on Thoorens,
Panorama de las literaturas Daimon: Inglaterra y Amrica del Norte. Gran Bretaa y Estados
Unidos de Amrica (1969); the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004); a brief guide to the
association provided by the Commonwealth Secretariat (2003); and the website
www.norton.com. Other important sources in relation to the distinction between British English
and American English, and the presence of English in Spain, that is, anglicisms, include: Pratt,
El Anglicismo en el Espaol Peninsular Contemporneo (1980); Marckwardt, American
English (1980); Algeo & Pyles, The origins and development of the English language (1982);
Bryson, Mother Tongue (1991); and two outstanding webpages www.wikipedia.org (2004) and
www.britannica.com (2004).
The background for educational implications is based on the theory of communicative
competence and communicative approaches to language teaching are provided by the most

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complete record of current publications within the educational framework is provided by the
guidelines in B.O.E. (2004) for both E.S.O. and Bachillerato; and the Council of Europe,
Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European Framework of
reference (1998).

2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CULTURAL DIMENSION: IN

AND OUT THE COMMONWEALTH.

Chapter 2 provides a brief history of the English language cultural dimension nowadays, a
question which is closely related to the British empire and the countries which made up the
Commonwealth afterwards. Note that the political history of Colonial America and, in
particular, the loss of the American colonies with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, will
make us comprehend the distinction between British and American English afterwards.
Therefore, we shall review (1) the origins of the British colonial empire from the seventeenth
century to the present day by providing basic notions on (a) the first British empire, which
traces back to the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century; (b) the second
empire, which ranges the nineneteenth century; and (c) the dismantling of the British empire in
the twentieth and twenty-first century in terms of colonies, and for our purposes, states
members. In doing so, we aim at offering a general overview of those countries which adopted
the English language as a native (mother tongue) or second language, commonly known as (2)
the Commonwealth. So, we shall also review this concept in terms of (a) definition, the
Commonwealths (b) main principles and values, and how these principles and values are
present in (c) the countries which founded the Commonwealth, namely (i) Canada, (ii)
Australia, (iii) New Zealand, (iv) South Africa, (v) India, and (vi) the Caribbean Islands.
Finally, we shall approach the international scope of the English language (3) out of the
Commonwealth. In doing so, we shall establish three parametres with respect to the way the
English language is used in several countries, for instance, (a) as a native language, (b) as a
second language, and (c) as a foreign language, so as to prepare the ground for next chapter.
2.1. The origins of the British colonial empire.
On providing a historical background of the policy of the colonial expansion in general terms, it
must be borne in mind that the term imperialism refers to the principle, spirit, or system of
empire, and is driven by ideology whereas the term colonialism refers to the principle, spirit,
or system of establishing colonies, which is driven by commerce. Hence, the worldwide system

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of dependencies colonies, protectorates, and other territories- that over a span of three
centuries came under the British government will lead us to what historians call the imperial
expansion of Great Britain.
Note that within this policy of imperial expansion and the establishment of new colonies all
over the world, historians make a distinction between two British empires which follows a
temporal classification within different centuries. Thus, according to www.wwnorton.com
(2004), the first British empire is to be set up in the seventeenth century, when the European
demand for sugar and tobacco led to the development of plantations on the islands of the
Caribbean and in southeast North America. These colonies, and those settled by religious
dissenters in northeast North America, attracted increasing numbers of British and European
colonists. Hence, the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the first British
Empire expanding into areas formerly controlled by the Dutch and Spanish Empires (then in
decline) and coming into conflict with French colonial aspirations in Africa, Canada, and India.
With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British effectively took control of Canada and India, but
the American Revolution (1776) brought their first empire to an end.
On the other hand, a further phase of territorial expansion that led to the second British Empire
was initiated by the exploratory voyages of Captain James Cook to Australia and New Zealand
in the 1770s. This reached its widest point during the reign of Queen Victoria (18371901). At
no time in the first half of her reign was empire a central preoccupation of her or her
governments, but this was to change in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War (18701871),
which altered the balance of power in Europe.
During the next decades, the British empire was compared to the Roman empire because of its
extension, but the nineteenth and twentie th centuries (up to the present day) were just about to
see the development in the dismantling of the British Empire with the declaration of
independence of the British colonies in India (1947) and Hong Kong (1997). So, one by one, the
subject peoples of the British Empire have entered a postcolonial era, in which they must
reassess their national identity, their history and literature, and their relationship with the land
and language of their former masters (www.wwnorton.com).

2.1.1. The first British empire.

2.1.1.1. XVth and XVIth century.
There is no doubt that the political, social and economic background of the seventeenth-century
Great Britain established the main basis for the policy of colonial expansion in the following

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centuries (the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Yet, previous events, which trace back to the
fifteenth century and take place within the field of exploration, mark the beginning of this
colonial adventure on the part of the most powerful empires at that time, thus Scandinavia,
Spain, Portugal, France and Great Britain.
2.1.1.2. XVIIth century.
The seventeenth century has its starting point in the death of Elizabeth I (1603) and the
accession of James I to the crown. This period, known as the Stuart Age (1603-1713) and also
called the Jacobean Era, the age of Cromwell and the Restoration, is characterized by crisis,
civil wars, the Commonwealth and the Restoration, and establishes the immediate background
to the Industrial Revolution and the establishment of the first Americ an colonies.
Under the rule of James I (1603-1625), Britain achieved the unification of the crowns of
England and Scotland, and brought the long war with Spain to an end. Although this greatly
helped the English treasury and also Jamess reputation (as rex pacificus), the policy was, in
part, unpopular because peace meant that both the English and the Dutch had to acknowledge
the Spanish claim to a monopoly of trade between their own South American colonies and the
rest of the world.
Whereas for the first half of the century the population continued to grow and, as a result, there
was pressure on food resources, land and jobs, and increased price inflation, the late seventeenth
century saw the easing, if not the disappearance of these problems. Family-planning habits
started to change and new methods of farming increased dramatically. From the 1670s, England
became an exporter as opposed to a net importer of grain. The seventeenth century is also
probably the first in English history in which more people emigrated than immigrated, hence the
period of American colonization.
Yet, undoubtely, the most important step which favoured the imperial expansion was made in
the economic field: the foundation of the Bank of England in 1694. As mentioned above, the
continental wars of James II (1685-1689) and William of Orange, known as William III (16891707), were really expensive, and as a result, England was forced to raise a considerable
national debt. In 1694, the Scotsman William Paterson founded the Bank of England to assist
the crown by managing the public debt, and eventually it became the national reserve for the
British Isles. Yet, in 1697, any further joint-stock banks were forbidden just to secure its
position of prominence in England.

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It was this debt that forced the British government to use the colonies as a source of economic
income. In fact, the Secretary of state for the South was established in London so as to deal with
colonial business. Other government departments, such as the treasury, the customs, the
admiralty, and the war office also had representatives in the colonies, where the chief
representative of the Imperial government was the governor, appointed by the king or by the
proprietors with his approval.
The general desire in this century was for the American continent and islands serve as a source
for products and as a market for their manufacturers. Till the end of this century the pressure of
France expansion on almost all sides of the American colonies, except the sea, was a constant
remainder to them of their ultimate dependence on Englands military support and their main
aim was to develop a naval supremacy over France.
So, in North America the establishment of American colonies meant the starting point of British
colonial activity in the Western hemisphere and also, a new place for immigrants to hide from
political and religious crisis in England. The political history of Colonial America will make us
comprehend the preparation of the whole people for the radical change of government they were
so soon to undergo in British colonies, and the strong spirit of democracy which led Britain to
the loss of the American colonies with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
In the XVIIth century we distinguish two types of earlier colonies: non-British and British;
whereas the first group namely includes Viking, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch and Danish
colonists, the second group is formed by Anglosaxons. Moreover, non-British colonies, namely
French and Dutch, were founded on aristocratic principles and strove vigorously to gain liberal
institutions. Following Daimon (1969), had their political circumstances been different in
Europe, they could have also gained the control of the continent. Yet, Holland was quite
wealthy and had few immigrants, and France had a great number of immigrants but was not
interested in the snow land. Yet, the struggle for control of this land would continue for more
than a hundred years.
The thirteen British colonies of America were formed under a variety of differing conditions.
The settlement of Virginia was the work of a company of London merchants, that of New
England of a body of Puritan refugees from persecution. Most of the other colonies were formed
through the efforts of proprietors, to whom the king had made large grants of territory. None of
them were of royal or parliamentary establishment and therefore, the government of the mothercountry took no part in the original formation of the government of the colonies, except in the
somewhat flexible requirements of the charters granted to the proprietors.

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The colonies were classified into (1) New England colonies, made up by Rhode, Connecticut,
New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Among them, the most famous first colonies were
Plymouth colony (1620) and Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629), which were settled by two
groups of of religious dissenters who escaped religious persecution in England: the Pilgrims and
the Puritans; (2) the rest of British colonies in America followed after Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay, consisting of Middle colonies, such as New York, Pennsylvania, the three
counites of Delaware, and Maryland, which were namely characterized by a wide diversity, both
religious, political, economic, and ethnic; and (3) the southern colonies which include
Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and the two Carolinas (north and south). Yet, the most important to
mention is Virgina colony, which is considered to be the first permanent settlement in North
America under the name of the English colony of Jamestown (1607), was the first English
colony 1 in America to survive and become permanent and become later the capital of Virginia
and the site of the House of Burgesses.
But the main causes of social decentralization were soon to be noticed. As the colony of
Virginia was so heavily influenced by the cultivation of tobacco and the ownership of slaves, in
1619 large numbers of Africans were brought to this colony into the slave trade. Thus,
individual workers on the plantation fields were usually without family and separated from their
nearest neighbours by miles. This meant that little social infrastructure developed for the
commoners of Virgina society, in contrast with the highly developed social infrastructure of
colonial New England.
By this time, the English colonies were thirteen: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Although all these British colonies were strikingly
different, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries several events took place and
brought relevant changes in the colonies: whereas some of the them sprung from their common
roots as part of the British Empire, others led up to the American Revolution, and to the final
separation from England.

The settlement was struck by severe droughts in centuries and as a result, only a third of the colonists furvived the
first winter, and even, source documents indicate that some turned to cannibalism. Yet, the colony survived in large
part to the efforts of John Smith, whose moto was No work, no food. He put the colonists to work, and befriended
Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, who supplied the colony with food.

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2.1.1.3. XVIIIth century.

The eighteenth century was to witness the most important consequences of the industrial
revolution within the British colonial expansion, both in America and overseas. Although there
was general properity in the Middle and Southern colonies, as well as social and political
struggle, American colonies had to face the arrival of loads of immigrants from Europe. Their
economy, based on the production of rice, indigo and naval stores, was booming in contrast to
the hostile attitude of Indians at the frontier. In the upper south, Virginia and Marylands
tobacco prices were falling and crop failures became very usual. Yet, in New England, the
social and political atmosphere was quite calm, but not the economy since the Sugar Act
imposed taxes and new commercial regulations on them. The main causes which led the thirteen
colonies to revolution are stated as follows:

The first event relates to the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which meant the American
extension of the general European conflict known as the Seven Years War. Also, this war
increased a sense of American unity in men who might normally have never left their colonies
to travel across the continent, and fighting alongside men from decidedly different. On the other
hand, the second event, the Royal Proclamation (1763) , which was a prohibition against
settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains , aroused opposition in the colonies over the next
years and through a series of measures, which were to be named as acts. These acts lead to the
declaration of their independence in a remarkable document, the Declaration of Independence.
The committee had intrusted that task to Thomas Jefferson, who was chosen for two main
reasons: first, because he was held to possess a singular felicity in the expression of popular
ideas and, second, because he represented the province of Virginia, the oldest of the AngloAmerican colonies.

The debate on the proposed Declaration came to a termination two days later, on the evening of
the 4th of July. The document was then reported by the committee, agreed to by the House, and
signed by every member present, except General Dickinson. The signature of New York was
not given till several days later, and a New Hampshire member, Matthew Thornton, was
permitted to append his signature on November 4 (four months after the signing). With the help
of their French allies they were eventually able to win the American Revolutionary War against
Great Britain, settled by the Treaty of Paris (1783). So, we can say that the United States of
America was founded in 1776 from British colonies along the Atlantic Coast of North America
and was declared to be independent in 1778.

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In the rest of the world, interests expanded through the eighteenth century to such extent that in
the early years of the 18th century the East India Company proves successful regarding
commercial interchanges in India and, in fact, a statutory monopoly of trade was established
between England and India (1708). The number and importance of factories made the English
Company have the control on the area (it had three presidencies at Bombay, Calcutta and
Madras) although Bombay was the only absolute possession in French or English hands.
Despite the fact that it was not a pure trading company, it found no rivalry from other European
states in India since the Portuguese and Dutch, which had established their position in India, left
with few and unimportant possessions or factories.

Overseas, during the earlier half of the century the British empire established more successful
trading companies not only in the West Indies but also in Africa (the Royal African Company)
and in the South Sea (the South Sea Company). On the American Continent, the Caribbean
islands not only provided Britain with sugar and slave trade but also with strategic possessions,
which was a crucial issue in the fight between England and France for colonial possessions. In
fact, as stated above, the British government established the Navigation Act (1773) so as to
monopolize the trade of its products (namely tobacco and sugar) and therefore, establish a close
economic system and guarantee a sheltered market in Britain, not subject to competition from
other colonies, such as those of France, Portugal and Spain.
In the second half of the century, some remaining British colonies were lost temporarily after
the treatise, for instance, the Caribbean islands were controlled by France and Tobago and
Minorca were no longer British. However, the rest of colonies were not economically strong
enough to think of independence even if they had wanted it, as it was the case of South Africa,
which was a military and trading port, a naval station and a port of call. Canada was of greater
economic importance in the sense that its citizens were free to manage their local affairs, so the
demand for self-government did not imply a wish for separation. The colonies were therefore
asking for something like municipal independence.
In 1768, the first British empire reached the second phase of expansion with the exploratory
voyages of James Cook, who undertook the first of three voyages to the Pacific, surveying New
Zealand, modern Australia, Tahiti and Hawaii. His second voyage (1773) made him the first
Britain to reach Antarctica, and his third voyage (1778-1779) led him to discover and name
island groups in the South Pacific, such as the Sandwich Islands. Unfortunately, Cook was
killed on Hawai on 14 February 1779.

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Eventually, the colonisation of the Antipodes, that is, Australia and New Zealand took place as
an attempt to find a place for penal settlement after the loss of the original American colonies.
The first shipload of British convicts landed in this largely unexplored continent in 1788, on the
site of the future city of Sydney. Most convicts were young men who had only committed petty
crimes. In the nineteenth century (1819) new settlers were allowed to set up in New South
Wales and by 1858 transportation of convicts was abolished.

2.1.2. The second British empire: XIXth century.

Following the information given in www.wwnorton.com, During the next decades, two great
statesmen brought the issue of imperialism to the top of the nations political agenda: the
flamboyant Benjamin Disraeli (18041881), who had a romantic vision of empire that the
sterner William Ewart Gladstone (18091898) distrusted and rejected. Disraelis expansionist
vision prevailed and was transmitted by newspapers and novels to a reading public dramatically
expanded by the Education Act of 1870.
Symbolically, the British Empire reached its highest point on June 22, 1897, the occasion of
Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee, which the British celebrated as a festival of empire. It was a
great moment where the British Empire was compared to the Roman Empire 2 , comparison
which was endlessly invoked in further discussions and literary works (Conrads Heart of
Darkness (1902); Thomas Hardys Poems of Past and Present (1901)).
In 1897 the Empire seemed invincible, but only two years later British confidence was shaken
by the news of defeats at Magersfontein and Spion Kop in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).
Those and other battles were lost, but eventually the war was won, and it took two world wars to
bring the British Empire to its end. Those wars also were won, with the loyal help of troops
from the overseas empire.

The political background is namely represented by the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne
when her uncle, William IV dies in 1837. So Victoria would reign from 1837 to 1901 and would
be the longest reigning British monarch. In general terms, during Victorias reign, the revolution
2

The Roman Empire, at its height, comprised perhaps 120 million people in an area of 2.5 million
square miles. The British Empire, in 1897, comprised some 372 million people in 11 million square
miles. An interesting aspect of the analogy is that the Roman Empire was long held - by the descendants
of the defeated and oppressed peoples of the British Isles - to be generally a good thing. Children in the
United Kingdom are still taught that the Roman legions brought laws and roads, civilization rather than
oppression, and in the second half of the nineteenth century, that was the precedent invoked to sanction
the Pax Britannica (www.wwnorton.com).

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in industrial practices continued to change British life, bringing about urbanisation, a good
communications network and wealth. In addition, Britain became a champion of Free Trade
across her massive Empire, and industrialisation and trade were glorified in the Great
Exhibitions. Yet, by the turn of the century, Britains empire was being challenged successfully
by other nations such as France and Germany on the continent.
Generally speaking, the nineteenth century development and administration of British colonies
was focused on the consolidation of existing colonies and the expansion into new areas,
especially in Africa, India and Canada. Actually, in the early nineteenth century new British
colonies were to be acquired or strengthened because of their strategic value, thus Malaca and
Singapore because of their trading ports of growing importance, and the settlements of Alberta,
Manitobba, and the British Columbia in Canada as potential areas of British migration. The
main causes for other new acquisitions were, among others, the Treaty of Amiens (1802) by
adding Trinidad and Ceylon; the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) with the addition of the Cape of
Good Hope; the War with the United States (1812) brought about the Canadian unity; and the
first Treaty of Paris (1814) gained Tobago, Mauritius, St. Lucia and Malta.
Also, between the years 1857 and 1858 Britain acquired in India the cities of Agra, Bengal and
Assam after some local wars against French influence. Perhaps the Napoleonic Wars brought
about more new acquisitions to the British empire in this century than any other war, since the
Crimean War (1854-1856), the pacification programs in Africa, and some conflicts in New
Zealand (against the Maoris) made little or no difference to the British empire. Yet, the most
serious conflict was just about to come towards the end of the century with the War in Sudan
(1884) and the Boer War (1881, 1899-1902). So, as we can see, still in the nineteenth century,
Great Britain maintained her political and imperial sovereignty.
In order to control these colonies, the British government created a sophisticated system for
colonial administration: the Colonial Office and Board of Trade (1895-1900). Already in the
1850s, they were ruled by legislative bodies, since the colonies continuously asked for
independence. They were separate departments with an increasing staff and a continuing policy
of establishing discipline and pressure on the colonial goverments. Hence most colonial
governements were left to themselves.
However, these legislative bodies governing the new settlements were soon to be replaced by an
executive body which took over the financial control. This elected assembly would be
represented by the figure of the governor and would be responsible for the colonial government.
Therefore, these settlements became crown colonies, and were subject to direct rule, as we can

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see in the African and Pacific expansion where the crown colony system was established. Let us
examine how this new colonial governing body was applied in the colonies of Australia, Asia
and Africa.

In the Antipodes, New Zealand and Oceania were systematically colonized in the 1840s
under the pressure of British missionaries. Yet, territorial disputes were brought up
between the new colonists and the homeland tribes, the Maoris. Hence the Maori Wars
(1840s-1860s) which eventually ended with the withdrawal of British troops and a
peaceful agreement of settlement for the newcomers. In the last quarter of the century,
the British empire took the control over other islands in the Pacific, again because of
missionary pressure and international naval rivalry and, eventually, the Fiji Island was
annexed in 1874. Three years later the governement established a British High
Commission for the Western Pacific Islands (1877) as well as a protectorate in Papua
(1884) and in Tonga (1900). These protectorates were soon to be governed by Australia
and New Zealand.

In Asia, India was conquered and therefore, had an expansion policy. As stated
previously, the suppressed Indian mutiny (1857) gave way to the abolishment of the
East India Company (1858) and, therefore, the local executive body was replaced by
that of the crown. Known as the brightest jewel in the British crown (a Disraelis
phrase), India was a strategic settlement for the British empire and her conquest was
justified in terms of benefits and discipline. Further acquisitions (Burma, Punjab,
Baluchistan) provided new crucial settlements in the area in order to set up a new route
in India. Since the opening of the Suez Canal, new territories were under the influence
of Britain within this route: Aden, Somaliland, territories in southern Arabia and the
Persian Gulf. Moreover, further expansion took place with the development of the
Straits settlements and the federated Malay states; Borneo (1880s), Hong Kong (1841);
and adjacent territories in China, Shangai (1860, 1896), which had trading purposes.

Finally, the greatest development of the British Empire took place in Africa in the last
quarter of the century. The reign of Queen Victoria brought about a great enthusiasm
for a similar Roman empire, whose power might extend from the Cape of Good Hope
to El Cairo. This idea fascinated the British citizens who, in Queen Victorias two
jubilees, offered colonial conferences, the search of new areas of opportunity, and the
discoveries and wars for mining wealth in South Africa. In fact, the spread of the British
empire comprised by the nineteenth century nearly a quarter of the land surface and
more than a quarter of the population of the world.

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From 1882 onwards Britain controlled Egypt and Alexandria (by force), and a joint
administration half British-half Egyptian was established in the Sudan area in 1899.
Also, on the western coast the Royal Niger Company began the expansion over the area
of Nigeria. By then there were two main British Companies: the Imperial British East
Africa Company, which operated in nowadays Kenya and Uganda, and the British
South Africa Company in the areas now called Rhodesia, Zambia, and Malawi. Hence
the missionary migrations to Africa in the eventual transfer of these territories to the
crown.

2.1.3. The dismantling of the British empire: XXth and XXIst century.

Therefore, by 1897 the Empire seemed invincible, but only two years later British confidence
was shaken by the news of defeats at Magersfontein and Spion Kop in the Anglo-Boer War
(1899-1902). Hence, after the Boer War (1902), the countries of the overseas empire wanted a
greater measure of self-government, and those and other battles were lost. Yet, eventually the
war was won, and it took two world wars to bring the British Empire to its end. Those wars also
were won, with the loyal help of troops from the overseas empire (more than 200,000 of whom
were killed in World War I alone).
After a century of almost unchallenged political security, Britain perceived the aggressive
militarisation of the new German state and Hitlers empire as a threat. Britain and, therefore, her
empire, lost a large part of a generation of young men in the First World War. Yet, after the
First World War the British Empire continued to grow and, in addition to the self-governing
territories of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, it annexed large tracts of
Africa, Asia and parts of the Caribbean. Also, following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire,
Britain included Iraq and Palestine.
Soon nationalist movements were to be strongly felt in India, Egypt and in the Arab mandated
territories. In 1922 Egypt was granted a degree of independence by Britain and full
independence in 1936. Similarly, Iraq gained full independence in 1932. On the other hand,
India achieved its independence in 1947 after the movement of Indian nationalism, boosted by
the 1919 Amritsar Massacre. In 1931, the British Parliament, by means of the Statue of
Westminster, recognized the legislative independence and equal status under the Crown of its
former dominions and the Irish Free State within a British Commonwealth of Nations. The

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resultant relationship is sometimes thought to have been a precursor to the post-war British
Commonwealth.
During the Second World War, Britains civilian population found themselves under severe
domestic restrictions, and occasionally bombing. Also, conf lict accelerated many social and
political developments and growing nationalist movements impacted both on the British rule of
Empire and on the individual nations of the British Isles. Hence, most of the remaining imperial
possessions were granted independence, for instance, fifty years after Queen Victorias
Diamond Jubilee, India was cut in two to become the Commonwealth countries of India and
Pakistan.
The most recent development in the dismantling of the British Empire was the restoration to
Chinese rule, under a declaration signed in 1984, of the former British crown colony of Hong
Kong, on the southeastern coast of China, where the Union Jack was finally and symbolically
lowered on July 1, 1997. So, one by one, the subject peoples of the British Empire have entered
a postcolonial era, in which they must reassess their national identity, their history and
literature, and their relationship with the land and language of their former masters.

2.2. Cultural dimension: the Commonwealth.

As seen above, territorial acquisition began in the early 17th century with a group of
settlements in North America and West Indian, East Indian, and African trading posts founded
by private individuals and trading companies. In the 18th century the British took Gibraltar,
established colonies along the Atlantic seacoast, and began to add territory in India. With its
victory in the French and Indian War (1763), it secured Canada and the eastern Mississippi
Valley and gained supremacy in India (Britannica, 2004). By 1776 the American colonies were
controlled by governors appointed by the British government and by 1783, North American
colonists got their independence by establishing the Constitution of the United States.
After that, the British began to build power in Malaya and acquired the Cape of Good Hope,
Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Malta. The English settled Australia in 1788, and subsequently New
Zealand. Aden was secured in 1839, and Hong Kong in 1842. Britain went on to control the
Suez Canal (1875-1956) and after the 19th -century partitition of Africa, it acquired Nigeria,
Egypt, the territories that would become British East Africa, and part of what would become the
Union of South Africa. It must be borne in mind that prior to 1783, Britain claimed full
authority over colonial legislatures, but after the U.S. gained independence, Britain gradually
evolved a system of self-government for some colonies. Hence since Dominion status was given

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to Canada (1867), the British Empire started to change into a Commonwealth of independent
nations as later on it was also given to Australia (1901), New Zealand (1907), the Union of
South Africa (1910), and the Irish Free State (1921).
After World War I, Britain secured mandates to German East Africa, part of the Cameroons,
part of Togo, German South-West Africa, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and part of the German
Pacific islands. Yet, the dominions signed the peace treaties themselves (Paris Peace Conference
(1919), where commissions were appointed to study specific financial and territorial questions,
and the Treaty of Versailles, an international agreement signed in 1919) and joined the League
of Nations, an organization for international cooperation established by the Allied Powers so as
to be independent states. The league established a system of colonial mandates, but it was
weakened by the failure of the United States, which had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles
(1919). So, the League ceased its activities during World War II and it was replaced in 1946 by
the United Nations.
In 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognized the mentioned dominions as independent
countries within the British empire, referring to the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Following the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004), at the time of its founding, the Commonwealth
consisted of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State (withdrew in 1949),
Newfoundland (which became a Canadian province in 1949), New Zealand, and the Union of
South Africa (withdrew in 1961), but after World War II, with British no longer officially
used, the Commonwealth was joined by more countries.
Yet, at this point, how do we relate the notion of Commonwealth to our current issue? As stated
above, it is the first basis where to frame the cultural dimension of the English language within
all the English-speaking countries. In next section (2.3.) we shall approach the scope of the
English language at an international level in those countries which do not have the English
language as a mother tongue or second language, but as a foreign language.

2.2.1. Definition.

Following the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004), the term commonwealth refers to a body
politic founded on law for the common weal, or good. The term was often used by 17thcentury writers to signify an organized political community, its meaning thus being similar to
the modern meaning of state or nation. For instance, nowadays we talk about the
commonwealth to make distinction in name only regarding the four U.S. states (Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) which call themselves commonwealths; Puerto

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Rico, which has been a commonwealth rather than a state since 1952; and its residents, though
U.S. citizens, have only a nonvoting representative in Congress and pay no federal taxes.
Yet, traditio nally, it primarily referred to the Commonwealth of Nations regarding the free
association of sovereign states consisting of Britain and many of its former dependencies who
have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and cooperation. It was established in 1931 by the
Statute of Westminster as the British Commowealth of Nations. Later its name was changed and
it was redefined to include independent nations. Most of the dependent states that gained
independence after 1947 chose Commonwealth membership. Moreover, the British monarch
serves as its symbolic head, and meetings of the more than 50 Commowealth heads of
government take place every two years.
definition, the Commonwealths (b) main principles and values, and how these principles and
values are present in (c) the countries which founded the Commonwealth, namely (i) Canada,
(ii) Australia, (iii) New Zealand, (iv) South Africa, (v) India, and (vi) the Caribbean Islands.
Finally, (3) we shall approach the scope of the English language at an internationa l level in
those countries which do not have the English language as a mother tongue or second language,
but as a foreign language.
2.2.2. Main principles and values.
The Commonwealth strengths lie in the following principles and values. First of all, among the
three most important principles we include (Secretariat, 2003): first, the combination of the
diversity of its members with their shared inheritance in language, culture and the rule of law;
secondly, seeking consensus through consultation and the sharing of experience; and finally,
sharing a commitment to certian fundamental principles set out in a Declaration of
Commonwealth Principles agreed at the Singapore meeting in 1971 and in follow-up
Declarations and Communiqus.
On the other hand, Commonwealth values are the principles that bind Commonwealth
member countries together and they derive from various Commonwealth Declarations and
Principles agreed upon at various Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGMs).
These values are enshrined in the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration (Zimbabwe), which
enshrines common interests and a set of basic principles. At Millbrook (New Zealand) in 1995,
Heads of Government adopted an action programme to fulfil their commitment to the Harare
Principles. At Coolum (Australia) in 2002, Heads of Government committed to The Coolum
Declaration on the Commonwealth in the 21st Century: Continuity and Renewal.(Secretariat,
2003).

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Then, Commonwealth values include: respect for diversity, human dignity and opposition to all
forms of discrimination; adherence to democracy, rule of law, good governance, freedom of
expression and the protection of human rights; elimination of poverty and the promotion of
people -centred development; and finally, international peace and security, the rule of
international law and opposition to terrorism (Secretariat, 2003).
The adherence to democracy, rule of law, good governance, freedom of expression and the
protection of human rights is reflected through the capacity building programme to strengthen
civil society organisations; and by means of documenting good practice. For instance, the
Foundation has produced a document NGO Guidelines for Good Policy and Practice to guide
civil society organisations and is available in ten languages. It is worth mentioning that all
these states have at some time been under British rule so in some of them, English is the first
language; others, with several different languages of their own, find English the most
convenient means of communication.

2.2.3. Main countries: cultural dimension.

The Commonwealth is made up by the association of 54 different states which consult, cooperate and work together with the aim of promoting international understanding and world
peace. Diversity is central to the Commonwealth. Membership includes people of many
different races and origins, encompasses every state of economic development, and comprises a
rich variety of cultures, traditions and institutions (Secretariat, 2003), including their language.
Yet, let us examine the status of the English language under the influence of the Commonwealth
in some countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and the
Caribbean Islands, among others (note that we do not include here other British dominions such
as Gibraltar).

Canada, which was given the dominion status in 1867, is regarded as a transplanted
society (Maxwell, 1982) as well as Australia and New Zealand since the majority of its
population is of European origin and had to change the already established cultural
habits in the new land. So, it retained a non-indigenous language. In linguistic terms,
Canada has developed a type of Canadian English which is difficult for us to understand
since it is different from other North American varieties. It is regarded as a
homogeneous language, which has not been affected by its nearest linguistic neighbour,
American English. The differences lie mainly in vocabulary and pronunciation, since
Canadian spelling preserves some British forms (theatre, centre, colour, behaviour) and
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there are no distinctive grammar features. We also highlight the fact that there are also
several words of Canadian origin (chesterfield).

Australia was long inhabited by Aboriginals until the first English settlement, at Port
Jackson (1788). It consisted mainly of convicts and seamen, who were to make up a
large proportion of the incoming settlers. In linguistic terms, Australian English starts in
the second half of the eighteenth century when pidgin English appeared due to the
interrelationship of settlers and Aboriginals. The Aboriginal vocabulary of Australian
English has become one of the trademarks of the national language (boomerang,
jumbuck sheep-). Yet, the number of Aboriginal words in Australian English is quite
small and confined to the naming of plants, trees, animals, and place-names. Nowadays,
though English is the official language, Australian English is known for its preserving
nature, since it still keeps eighteenth and nineteenth-century lexis from the European
Continent (Wessex, Scotland, Ireland). Moreover, it has no regional variation of accent.

New Zealand was originally inhabited by Polinesian population which traced back to
the early Christian centuries. In the eighteenth century it was explored by J. Cook
between 1769-1770 and soon it was a target for European settlement in spite of some
indigenous Maori resistance. Then the 19th century saw the arrival of catholic
missionaries and English protestants and the reorganization of New Zealand started.
Subsequently, the two races achieved considerable harmony. Yet, unlike Australia it
was a free colony, as in practice it has been self-determining since 1901.
In linguistic terms, the New Zealand language has been influenced by its Australian
neighbours (bush lawyer, bush telegraph) as well as by the Scottish language, namely in
family names (Dunedin, Murray). From Australia, many Zealanders were influenced by
the native Maori culture, hence many maori words were borrowed on making reference
to animals, plants and local trees (kiwi). In addition, Zealanders created their own
vocabulary for some places, roads and local places (lines).

Before British colonization, certain highlands of East Africa attracted settlers from
Europe since these colonies were confined to coastal enclaves. British penetration of the
area began at Zanzibar in the late 19th century and before WWI most of the European
conquest of Africa had been accomplished. In linguistic terms, the development of the
English language in Africa is related to the term pidgin, hence pidgin English is
commonly spoken in Africa. Traditionally, pidgin languages are defined as those
auxiliary languages that have no native speakers and are used for communicating

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between people who have no common language. Actually, we find two different
English versions in Africa: East and West African English.
On the one hand, East African Commonwealth countries had no contact with Britain
until the early twentieth century when they were colonized, so the use of English was
limited to military and administrative vocabulary (white administrators and army
officials), still used in the East African states of Kenya. Yet, in Uganda and Tanzania,
Swahili is the used as lingua franca and goes through ethnic and political boundaries
whereas English is the main language of education (secondary, tertiary). So, we may say
that the language of Black Africa is pidgin English, not standard British or American
English (Uganda, Zambia, Simbabwe).
On the other hand, West African Commonwealth countries use pidgin English as a
result of the slave experience of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For instance, in
Sierra Leona, pidgin English has evolved into Krio, a mixture of English and an
African language (Yoruba), with includes Portuguese elements, which is used
everywhere. Brought by traders and missionaries to Nigeria and Cameroon, it
influenced the local pidgin. Recent governments are trying to establish Krio as the
national language of Sierra Leone, even though English is still the official language.

Historically speaking, India is the home of one of the worlds oldest and most
influential civilisations of South Asia. By the early seventeenth century, the East India
Company was founded and attracted many European visitors up to the eighteenth
century. In linguistic terms, it was in the nineteenth century that, at the highest peak of
the British empire, there was a flood of English administrators, educators, army officers
and missionaries who spread the English language throughout the sub-continent. Hence
by the turn of the century English had become the prestige language of India.
After a century, the Jewel of the Crown had added many Indian words into the English
language, so as to be able to express different concepts. In additio n, Indian English
possesses a number of distinctive stylistic fatures, some of which are inspired by local
languages and some by the influence of English educational traditions (change of heart
vs. God is merciful). Nowadays, even after Indians independence (1947), there are
more speakers of English in India than in Britain (over 70 million). English became the
official language of everyday life at any sphere. It is worth noting that, though the
speakers of English belonged to the educated ruling elite, English is taught at every
stage of education in all the states of the country.

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The Commonwealth Caribbean Islands have a distinctive history. The Encyclopaedia

Britannica (2004) states that permanently influenced by the experiences of colonialism
and slavery, the Caribbean has produced a collection of societies that are markedly
different in population composition from those in any other region of the world. Lying
on the sparsely settled periphery of an irregularly populated continent, the region was
discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Thereafter, it became the springboard
for the European invasion and domination of the Americas, a transformation that
historian D. W. Meinig has aptly described as the "radical reshaping of America."
In linguistic terms, we may highlight the fact that the tiny Indian population, once native
to the region, speak creolized forms of the invading European languages, and from this
merging we obtained a Caribbean English and a Caribbean culture. Of all the varieties
of Caribbean English, the most appealing is the Jamaican creole, defined as a language
that has evolved from pidgins used by speakers of unintelligible people. So, we may
differenciate two different types of language: on the one hand, standard English, used in
newspapers and news reporting, engages in conversation, journalists; and on the other
hand, Jamaican English, which is virtually unintelligible to the outsider since this is the
language of the streets (originally oral, recently written).

2.3. Cultural dimension: out of the Commonwealth.

When approaching the cultural dimension of the English language out of the Commonwealth,
we deal with a widespread phenomena: English as a common means to communicate all over
the world. Actually, namely spoken in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and
103 other countries, English is the second most popular first language (native speakers), with
around 402 million people in 2002 (wikipedia, 2004). Also, it is the most widely used
second and learning language in the world, and as such, many linguists believe, it is no
longer the exclusive cultural emblem of native English speakers, but rather a language that is
absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in use. Others theorise that there are limits
to how far English can go in suiting everyone for communication purposes.
The fact is that English has become the most important and the most spoken language in the
world due to two main reasons: first, in the past, because of the highest number of colonies at
the beginning of the century and, second, nowadays, because of its status as a lingua franca, due
to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the United Kingdom and
later the United States. In fact, it has become the official language of international organisms
such as the European Parliament, the EU Committee, the UNESCO, and NATO, among others.

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This overall influence of the United States throughout the modern world has made English
become by far the dominant language of contemporary science and technology, multinational
industry and commerce, and of computerized information networks. Where possible, virtually
all students worldwide are required to learn some English, and knowledge of English is virtually
a prerequisite for working in many fields and occupations. Higher academic institutions, for
example, require a working command of English. Yet, nowadays, recent figures show that over
320 million people speak English as a mother tongue and further 400 million people use it as a
foreign language. In short, over 700 million people use English nowadays as a first, second or
foreign language and have become international users of English.

Hence English has a lot of varieties which depend on regional, educational, ethnic, attitudinal,
medium and subject matter aspects. In particular, varieties according to the region are called
dialects, which are namely distinguished in phonological terms since we generally recognize a
different dialect from a speakers pronunciation before we notice differences in grammar or
vocabulary. For instance, the main dialects3 of the English language are American English,
Australian English, British English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, Filipino English,
Hiberno-English, Indian English, Jamaican English, Liberian English, Malaysian English, New
Zealand English, Scottish English, Singapore English, and South African English (wikipedia,
2004).
So, figures regarding the use of the English language around the world have been continuously
increasing during the twentieth and twenty-first century. Actually, we may find people who
speak English as a native, second and foreign language. Yet, let us clarify the difference
between these similar but confusing concepts. For instance, a mother tongue is considered to be
the first language (L1) one learns as a child whereas a second language (L2) is acquired under
the need of learning the language of another country. On the other hand, when languages are
acquired in school, it is considered as a foreign language. The acronyms ESL and EFL stand for
the learning of English as a Second and as a Foreign Language.
So, these concepts will help us to establish the three main parametres under which we shall
examine the way the English language is used in countries out of the Commonwealth, for
instance, (a) as a native language in the United States, (b) as a second language in India, and (c)

Note that these varieties may, in most cases, contain several subvarieties, such as Cockney within
British English, Newfoundland English within Canadian English and African American Vernacular
English within American English (wikipedia, 2004).

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as a foreign language in Spain (so as to prepare the ground for next chapters on the distinction
between British English and American English; and the presence of English in Spain).
2.3.1. Englis h as a native language.
Regarding the countries that use English as their native language or mother tongue, it is worth
noting that most of those 402 million people (mentioned above) who speak English as their
native language are citizens of the United States (est. 287,602,000 by 2002). Moreover,
regarding its geographic distribution English is regarded as the first language in Australia, the
Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (wikipedia, 2004).
English is also one of the primary languages of Belize (with Spanish), Canada (with French),
Cameroon (with French and African languages), Dominica, St. Lucia and Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines (with French Creole), the Federated States of Micronesia, Ireland (with Irish),
Liberia (with African languages), Singapore and South Africa (with Afrikaans and other Afric an
languages).
2.3.2. English as a second language.
Regarding English as a second language it is worth noting that the estimated number of English
speakers are possibly between 350 and 1,000 million. The reason is that English is not used as a
native language, but as a practical or educated first language within a largely bilingual society or
due to the necessity to use it for some practical purposes due to administrative, professional,
educational or commercial reasons. So, English as a second language is an official language in
Fiji, Ghana, Gambia, Hong Kong, India, Kiribati, Lesotho, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, the
Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Samoa,
Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Moreover, it is the most
commonly used unofficial language of Israel and an increasing number of other countries such
as Switzerland, Norway and Germany (wikipedia, 2004).

2.3.3. English as a foreign language.

Recent figures show that the number of people who speak English as a foreign language
nowadays exceeds 400 million or even more. English has become one of the main aims in
teaching foreign languages so grammars, dictionaries, and manuals on it proliferate nowadays.

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There is also a general raising of consciousness, with new language courses in schools,
regarding the learning of a foreign language, namely English, so as to help people keep pace
with current developments (scientific, technological, educational); and this is to be achieved
predominantly by means of the media (popular programmes on radio and television, songs,
documentaries, press). Current figures show that English is the language most often studied as
a foreign language in Europe (32.6%) and Japan, followed by French, German and Spanish
(wikipedia, 2004).

3. CULTURAL DIMENSION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOWADAYS: BRITISH

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH. PRESENCE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
IN SPAIN: ANGLICISMS.
Then, with this background in mind, Chapter 3 approaches the cultural dimension of the
English language from two different perspectives: first, regarding two specific manifestations of
the English language: first, the so-called distinction between (1) British English and American
English within the scope of English-speaking countries, in terms of differences in (1) spelling,
(2) vocabulary (3) grammar, (4) punctuation, and (5) pronunciation; and secondly, regarding the
(2) presence of the English language in a non English-speaking country, in particular, in Spain
and the presence of anglicisms. This section shall be approached by offering (a) a definition of
the term anglicism, and examining (b) the presence of the English language in Spain.

3.1. British vs. American English: main differences.

Namely, this section will outline the main differences between British English (more precisely
known as Commonwealth English) and American English (the form of the English language
spoken in the United States) following the website wikipedia (2004). Broadly speaking, it is
worth mentioning that although American and British English are generally mutually
intelligible, there are enough differences to occasionally cause awkward misunderstandings or
complete failures to communicate. George Bernard Shaw said that the United States and United
Kingdom are two countries divided by a common language. A similar comment is ascribed to
Winston Churchill.
Moreover, already in 1877 Henry Sweet predicted that within a century, American English,
Australian English and British English would be mutually unintelligible, but it may be the case

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that increased world-wide communication through radio, television, the Internet, or

globalization has reduced the tendency to regionalisation. This can result either with some
variations becoming extinct (as, for instance, truck has been gradually displacing lorry in much
of the world) or that wide variations are accepted as perfectly good English everywhere as
Received Pronunciation is known.
On the one hand, American English (AmE, abbreviated) refers to the language spoken by U.S.
government officials, network newscasters, etc., rather than to regional dialects. It does not
include Canadian English, which does not fall within this definition of American English in
any case. Canadian pronunciation is similar to that in the United States, but spelling more often
than not takes the Commonwealth form. American English is also used by countries and
organisations, such as Liberia and the Organization of American States, whose use of English is
most influenced by the United States. On the other hand, British English (BrE, abbreviated) is
assumed to be the form of English spoken in southeast England, used by the British
Government and the BBC and understood in other parts of the United Kingdom. The section on
pronunciation assumes the received pronunciation of British English, from which there are
many regional variations.
Yet, let us concentrate on the main differences between both variations. Though there is no
definite agreement in the number of differences, we shall examine the small number that has
entered the standard written language of each nation, namely regarding (1) spelling, (2)
vocabulary (3) grammar, (4) punctuation, and (5) pronunciation.
3.1.1. Spelling.
Within orthographical differences, the most outstanding is spelling. Following wikipedia
(2004), some words shared by all English speakers are spelled one way by Americans but are
spelt differently in other English speaking countries. Many of the differences were introduced,
somewhat artificially, into the United States by Noah Websters dictionary, and have never
spread to other English-speaking countries. In some cases, the American versions have become
common Commonwealth usage, for example program (in the computing sense). Other important
changes include (1) words endings, (2) Greek-derived words, (3) doubled consonants and (4)
other special cases.

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1. Words ending in:

-our (BrE) vs. or (AmE).

American words ending in or may end in our in British Englis h. For example, in
American English, one would use color, flavor, honor, whereas in British English one
would use colour, flavour and honour. In addition, Americans replace ou with o in
derivatives and inflected forms such as favourite, savoury versus favorite, savory. One
exception to this distinction is glamour, which is usually spelled that way in American
English as well as in British usage. In both systems, the adjectival forms that end in -ous
are spelled without the penultimate u (e.g. glamorous, vigorous, humorous and
laborious). Words in which the stress falls on the our, such as hour, our, flour, velour,
sour, and soury, are the same in both usages.

-re (BrE) vs. er (AmE).

Note the British words centre, fibre, metre, theatre (showing an influence from
French) vs. American center, fiber, meter, theater. The adjectival forms of these
words are the same in both conventions, however; Americans do not write centeral,
fiberous, meteric or theaterical (adjectival forms derived as past participles, however,
are written -ered, as in centered). The British uses meter for a measuring device and
metre for the unit of measure. The British forms are recognizable by Americans and
occasionally found in American texts, though their usage may be considered an
affectation. The British spelling that has perhaps gained the most currency in American
English is theatre. However, theater is still more common in everyday use, and
theatre is generally reserved for more formal settings or for the names of specific
venues (e.g. the Kodak Theatre).

-gue (BrE) vs. g (AmE).

Note the differences between British analogue, catalogue, dialogue vs. American
analog, catalog, dialog. The -gue forms are also relatively common in the United
States. Some -gue forms are common in both British and American usages, such as
demagogue and vogue (as opposed to vog).

-ise (BrE) vs. ize (AmE).

British words, such as colonise, harmonise, realise are set in contrast with the
American ones colonize, harmonize, realize (and derivatives and inflexions therefrom:
colonisation - colonization). This is a somewhat artificial distinction, since the most
authoritative British sources, the Oxford English Dictionary and Fowlers Modern
English Usage, prefer -ize, and most British writers use either freely; however, British

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editors tend to enforce that the norm is to use -ise as the standard orthographical
practice. Also: British analyse vs. American analyze. It should also be noted that not
all spellings are interchangeable; some words take the -z- form exclusively, for instance
capsize, prize (to value), seize, size, whereas others take only -s-: advertise, advise,
apprise, arise, circumcise, comprise, demise, despise, devise, disguise, exercise,
franchise, improvise, incise, promise, poise, praise, raise, rise, supervise, surmise,
surprise and televise.

-xion (BrE) vs. ction (AmE).

Note that the spellings connexion, inflexion, deflexion, reflexion are now somewhat
rare, perhaps understandably as their stems are connect, inflect, deflect, and reflect and
there are many such words in English that result in a -tion ending. The more common
American connection, inflection, deflection, reflection have almost become the
standard internationally. However, the Oxford English Dictionary lists the older
spellings as the etymological form, since these four words actually derive from the Latin
root xio. Given this, it might be preferable to retain the original spellings. In both
forms, complexion is used in preference to complection, as it comes from the stem
complex in British and in American English, just like crucifix and crucifixion.
British Methodism retains the eighteenth century spelling connexion to describe its
national organisation, for historical reasons.

2. Greek-derived words.
This group includes words derived from Greek which are formed with the clusters a e
(separated) or ae (together: the ash), and o e (separated) or oe (together). Among
the most common names we find: BrE anaemia, anaesthesia, diarrhoea, foetus,
gynaecology, mediaeval, encyclopaedia vs. AmE anemia, anesthesia, diarrhea, fetus,
gynecology, medieval, encyclopedia.
Special cases include the term manoeuvre, which seems to be special since its oe
was not derived from Greek, but was apparently changed to maneuver in American
English on the mistaken belief that it was. British aeroplane and American airplane
is also a special case in that its not a straight ae ? e substitution like the rest, but its
in fact a different word rather than a different spelling. Some words retain the ae in
American usage, such as aesthetic and archaeology, although esthetic and
archeology are also seen. The spelling encyclopedia is commonly used in British
English, although the earlier form encyclopaedia is also used

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coined independently (car vs. automobile, railway vs. railroad). Other sources of difference
are slang or vulgar terms, where frequent new coinage occurs, and idiomatic phrases, including
phrasal verbs. The differences most likely to create confusion are those where the same word or
phrase is used for two different concepts. So, we shall examine how these differences make
reference to grammatical differences and, in particular, morphology, where we may find
relevant changes. For instance, we find five main subdivisions: words with the same form and
different meaning; same form and additional meaning in one variety; same form and difference
in style; different form and same meaning.

Words with the same form and different meaning. For instance, the word pants is
referred to as underpants (BrE) vs. trousers (AmE), and similarly, pavement as
footpath vs. road surface, among others.

Same form and additional meaning in one variety. For instance, the word leader is
referred to as one who commands guides and directs both in BrE and AmE, but it may
also has an additional meaning in British English as an editorial; and similarly, dumb
as mute in both varieties and stupid as the additional meaning in AmE, among
others.

Same form and difference in style . For instance, the word leader is referred to as one
who commands guides and directs both in BrE and AmE, but it may also has an
additional meaning in British English as an editorial; and similarly, dumb as mute
in both varieties and stupid as the additional meaning in AmE; and autumn, which is
common to all styles in BrE, but it is namely used in poetic or formal writing in AmE,
where we use fall instead.

Different form and same meaning, which is the major type wit hin the two varieties.
They are words which may be used almost interchangeably within a wide range of
fields, among which we may mention: food and cooking, clothing and accessories,
household, commerce, transportation, and miscellaneous. For instance, note the words
such as while (BrE) vs. whilst (AmE) (though Whilst is more often used in instruction
manuals, legal documents, etc); pancake vs. crepe, to grill vs. to broil, cooker vs. stove,
jug vs. pithcer, jumper vs. sweater, vest vs. undershirt, purse vs. changepurse, sitting
room vs. living room, garden vs. yard, dustbin vs. garbage can, chemists vs. drug store,
off-licence vs. liquor store, pram vs. baby buggy, caravan vs. mobile home; and
miscellaneous, such as flat vs. apartment. solicitor vs. attorney, pub vs. bar, cupboard
vs. closet, lift vs. elevator, rubbish vs. garbage, petrol vs. gas, taxi vs. cab, handbag vs.
purse, cotton vs. thread, and flyover vs. overpass, among others.

Miscellaneous changes, such as in (1) nouns of direction with -wards: note British
English forwards, upwards, afterwards vs. American forward, upward, afterward.
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However, there is no real distinction here, as both forms are used in both dialects,
except that afterward is rare in British English. (2) Prepositions, which may differ in
form in the two varieties, for instance, BrE behind, out of, round vs. AmE in back of,
out, around. Also, prepositions (usually of time) which are used identically in some
contexts in both BrE and AmE differ in usage in other contexts, for instance, BrE for
weeks; for ages vs. AmE in weeks; in ages in a sentence like I havent travelled.
Other miscellaneous differences include: twenty to four (BrE) vs. twenty of four (AmE)
and similarly, five past eight vs. five after eight, behind the building vs. in back of the
building, Monday to Friday vs. Monday through Friday, and so on. (3) And finally,
adjectives where the most outstanding change is noticed in the comparative form of the
adjective different, which is usually followed by from in BrE whereas in AmE is
usually followed by than. Regarding adverbs, it is worth noting that adverb placement
is somewhat freer in American English than in British English.

3.1.3. Grammar.
There are many small points of difference in the grammar of the two varieties, though the
influence of American English on British English is such that many of the usages which were
once restricted to the former now appear in the latter. Also, some of the British English usages
are found in American English, withh varying preference, depending on dialect and style. Thus,

Regarding plural formation processes, we may note that singular attributives in one
country may be plural in the other, and vice versa. For example, Britain has a drugs
problem while the United States has a drug problem.

Word order regarding names of American rivers, for instance, the word river usually
comes after the name (for example, Colorado River), whereas for British rivers it comes
before (as in River Thames).

Verbal tenses in the past ending by t. Note the difference between dreamt, leapt,
learnt, spelt (BrE) vs. dreamed, leaped, learned, spelled (AmE). The forms with -ed
are more common in British usage (i.e. the two-syllable form learned [l3:nId], usually
spelled simply as learned, is still used to mean educated, or to refer to academic
institutions), though they are also used in American English.

Other verb past tense forms: note British English words such as fitted, forecasted,
knitted, lighted, wedded vs. American ones: fit, forecast, knit, lit, wed. But the former
forms are also found in American. However, other forms such as lit and forecast are
also the usual forms in British English. Also, the past participle gotten is never used in
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3. Doubled consonants.
Following wikipedia (2004), British English generally doubles final -l when adding
suffixes that begin with a vowel, where American English doubles it only on stressed
syllables. (Thus American English treats -l the same as other final consonants, whereas
British English treats it irregularly). Hence, British counsellor, equalling, modelling,
quarrelled, signalling, travelled vs. American counselor, equaling, modeling,
quarreled, signaling, traveled. But compelled, excelling, propelled, rebelling in both
(notice the stress difference). When such suffixes are appended to words ending in -eal,
the -l is doubled neither in American nor in British usage: revealing, dealing,
concealed. British writers also use a single l before suffixes beginning with a
consonant where Americans use a double: British enrolment, fulfilment, instalment,
skilful vs. American enrollment, fulfillment, installment, skillful.

4. Other special cases.

Among other cases, we include two main orthographic situations. First, British English
often keeps silent e when adding suffixes where American English doesnt. British
ageing, routeing vs. American aging, routing. Both systems retain the silent e when
necessary to preserve a soft c or g: traceable, judgement (although judgment is also
standard in American English).
The second case refers to nouns ending in -ce with -se verb forms: American English
retains the noun/verb distinction in advice / advise and device / devise (pronouncing
them differently), but has lost the same distinction with licence / license and practice /
practise that British English retains. Americ an English uses practice exclusively for
both meanings, and license for both meanings (although licence is an accepted
variant spelling). Also, British defence, offence, pretence vs. American defense,
offense, pretense.

3.1.2. Vocabulary.
Vocabulary is perhaps the most noticiable field where to find differences between British and
American English. It is worth noting that the differences are in connection with concepts
originating from the nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century, where new words were

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modern British English, which uses got (as do some Americans), except in an entire
archaic expression such as ill-gotten gains. Yet, British usage retains the form
forgotten. Fitted is used in both conventions as an adjective (fitted sheets are the
same size as the mattress) and as the past tense of fit to suffer epilepsy; however, fit
and fitting are not in ordinary British use for to suffer epilepsy (though that usage is
common within medical circles), with the same effect being achieved by to have a fit or
to throw a fit.
American English favours the past participle proven, whereas it remains proved in
England (except in adjectival use sometimes). American English further allows other
irregular verbs, such as strive (strove - striven), which remain regular in British English,
and often mixes the preterite and past participle forms (spring - sprang (US sprung) sprung), sometimes forcing verbs such as shrink (shrank - shrunk) to have a further
form, thus shrunk shrunken (wikipedia, 2004).

In British English the word sat is often used to cover sat, sitting and seated, for
instance, Ive been sat here for ten minutes or Your boyfriend will be sat on the right
side of the table. Not all British people do this, but it is not often heard outside Britain.
Similarly stood can be used instead of standing.

In other verbal tenses, such as the present perfect tense, which is much more common in
British dialects than in American, where the simple past tense is usually used instead.
For example, BrE I've gone in vs. AmE I went. Similarly, the past perfect tense is often
replaced by the past simple tense in the USA; this, even more than the dropping of the
present perfect, is generally regarded as sloppy usage by those Americans who consider
themselves careful users of the la nguage.

On informal occasions, the British use have got, whereas Americans say have", as the
only form to be used in formal writing.

Also, American English allows do as a substitute for have (the full verb, in the sense of
possess), just as for other verbs such as walk or think; in the past, British English did
not allow this, but it is becoming increasingly common. Compare BrE Have you any
coins? Yes, I have vs. AmE Have you any food? or much more common, Do you
have any food? Yes, I do. Note that such substitution is not possible for the auxiliary
verb have in Have you eaten? Yes, I have. for both American and British English.

Similarly, in informal usage, American English often uses the form did +infinitive
where British English would use have/has+past participle. For instance, Did you tidy
your room yet? would be usual American English where most British speakers would
say Have you tidied your room yet?. The have form is regarded as correct in both
countries, however, and is required in all formal contexts.

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The subjunctive mood is more common in Americ an English in expressions like They
suggested he study for the exam whereas British English would have They suggested
he should study for the exam or even They suggested he studied for the exam. Yet,
these British usages are heard in the United States.

3.1.4. Punctuation.
Punctuation differences are often given in letter-writing, above all, because of the visual effect
of the addition or lack of punctuation markers in the two varieties. For instance,

American students in some areas have been taught to write a colon after the greeting
(Dear Sir: ) while Britons usually write a comma (Dear Sir,). However, this practice
is not consistent throughout the United States, and it would be regarded as a highly
formal usage by most Americans.

Regarding abbreviations, note the difference between BrE: US, UN, Mr, Mrs,
St, Dr whereas Americans tend to write a full point after each letter: U.S., U.N.,
Mr., Mrs., St., Dr., following the rule that a period is used only when the last
letter of the abbreviation is not the last letter of the complete word. However, many
British writers would tend to write without a full stop other abbreviations, such as
Prof, etc, or eg, among others.

Regarding the use of hyphens, it is sometimes believed that British English does not
hyphenate multiple-word adjectives, as in: a first class ticket as this is considered to be
rare and incorrect. So, the most common form takes place in American English, for
instance: a first-class ticket.

Regarding quoting, Brit ish English use single quotation marks () for quotations (though
not on every occasion) whereas Americans start with double quotation marks ().
Moreover, inside the quotation mark, British English places the punctuation inside if it
belongs to the quote whereas American English usually put commas and periods inside
quotation marks.

3.1.5. Pronunciation.

It is a well-known fact that British and American people pronounce differently, though having
the same language. Actually, the most widely current pronunciation of a given word in

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American English may occur in standard British English as a less frequently used variant
(Algeo & Pyles, 1982:225), for instance, either and neither. Yet, both varieties differ in the
pronunciation of vowels and consonants providing numerous instances of allophones,
homophones and specific types of sounds (the r alveolar flap, the t glottal stop).
Actually, common features of British English pronunciation are the pronunciation of vowels
before /r/, which involves the epenthesis of a schwa in between any of the vowels involved and
the following /r/ (i.e. beer, chair, more); the /r/ dropping, which involves the delection of /r/ at
the end of a word in isolation (i.e. far, near) in contrast to the insertion of /r/ at the end of a word
when next word starts by a vowel (i.e. far away, near us). Moreover, the glide cluster reduction
occurs in the environment of homophonous pairs (i.e. whine-wine, pair-pear); suffix vowels,
which concerns dysillabic suffixes in words of four or more syllables (-ary as in secretary, -ory
as in category, -mony as in testimony, -berry as in strawberry); and finally, smoothing referrring
to a monphtongal realization when diphthongs occur in a prevocalic environment (i.e. coward,
player).
On the other hand, regarding common features of American English pronunciation we highlight
the phenomena of, first, Lot Unrounding (a vowel ranging from back to centralized front), and
secondly, tapping, which is the pronunciation of the intervocalic consonant /t/ as a rapid tap
rather than a more deliberate plosive. Yet, let us examine the main differences between the two
varieties regarding vowels and consonants following the website wikipedia (2004).

Regarding vowels, American English generally has a simplified vowel system as

compared to the British dialects. In particular, many Americans have lost the distinction
between the vowels of awl and all, as well as caughtand cot, the so-called cotcaught merger tending to pronounce all of these with something between a long form of
the sound in cot and the a of father (those two sounds being distinct in British
English.

The long a of father, the famous British broad a, is used in many British RP words,
especially common ones, in two phonetic situations. Firstly, before three of the four
voiceless fricatives, as in path, laugh, pass, past, though not before sh. Secondly,
before some instances of n and another consonant, as in aunt, plant, dance. In most
northern dialects, not to mention Scotis h and Irish, though, the short a is the norm. An
a at the beginning of a word (such as ant) is usually short throughout the country,
just as in the American. Note that Australian usually follows RP in the first case, though
castle and graph, among others, often have the short vowel, and aunt and can't
invariably have the broad one.

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British Received Pronunciation (RP) has generally lost the long /o:/ as in boat, replacing
it with a diphthong that is close to /au/. Some British speakers still have /o:/, but it
appears only as a result of a lost /r/, in words like force. More northerly and westerly
British speech preserves /o:/. The British diphthong /au/ is enunciated as /ou/ or
sometimes as /o/ in American English.

American speech usually does not soften consonants /n/, /t/ and /d/ with /j/, unlike
British pronunciation in certain cases. This is particularly noticeable in the British
words new, tune and dual, which are respectively pronounced like /nju:/, /tju:n/ and
/dju:al/ whereas in American English we find /nu:/, /tu:n/ and /du:al/.

Most American dialects have not lost the non-prevocalic r. That is, standard
American English preserves the sound of r in all occurrences, whereas British English
only preserves it when it is followed by a vowel (see rhotic r). However, this holds true
neither for all American dialects nor for all British dialects; the dialects of New England
and the American South both exhibit a similar sound change found in southern England.
In England, however, when a former syllable final /r/ appeared before a consonant not
at a word boundary, a schwa was substituted for it, giving British English a new class of
falling diphthongs. The non-rhotic North American dialects do not show this. This
phenomenon also partially accounts for the interlocution of r between a word ending
in a vowel and one beginning with a vowel (such as the idear of it) exhibited both in
some dialects of Britain and in the Boston (USA) dialect of American English. Most
other American dialects interpose a glottal stop where r appears in the Boston
example, and appears to perform the same function of separating adjacent (nondipthongized) vowels.

Words ending in -ile and -ine (fertile , docile , missile, turbine) are pronounced with the
last syllable sounding the same as isle for the -ile words in British English, and with a
short, reduced i (rhyming with turtle) in American (although exceptions can be found,
such as reptile, which is pronounced by most Americans so that the last syllable rhymes
with style).

The name of the letter Z is pronounced zed in British English in contrast with the
American English zee, though the words are normally only spelled out when noting the
difference. Other Greek letters are also pronounced differently, for instance, BrE beta
/beata/ whereas the American pronunciation sounds like /baita/, similarly, BrE epsilon
/epp-SIGH-lon/ vs. AmE /Epsa:lon/. Note that American English is more in keeping
with the ancient Greek, whereas the British reflects sound changes in English since the
borrowing as well as being more in keeping with modern Greek.

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3.2. Presence of the English language in Spain: anglicisms.

European countries (France, Spain, Italy, Germany) tend to pick up words from other countries
for several reasons (historical, social, commercial). Then these foreign words undergo a gradual
process of linguistic borrowing resulting from living English speakers all around the world. In
particular, Spain has mostly adopted this type of words from the United States or Great Britain
in recent decades due to the post-World War consequences and the international dominance of
English. Actually, as society changed new concepts appeared, and new words were created so as
to represent new realities: these particular words taken and adapted from the English language
are called anglicisms.

3.2.1. Anglicism: definition.

Following wikipedia (2004), an anglicism is a word borrowed from English into another
language, but considered by a fair part of influential speakers of that language to be substandard
or undesirable. For an anglicism to be considered as such, we have to meet two premises: first,
that a foreign language takes the English word as a model and adapts it into its own; second,
that this new word is fully adapted to the foreign language so that it becomes linguistically
productive; and finally, that it must be handled by a high percentage of the foreign population.
It must be borne in mind that other words were not considered to be anglicisms and still remain
as foreign words, and also, sometimes an anglicism will have a different meaning than the
original English word (due to abbreviation or other reasons), but in most cases, an expression
incorrectly translated from the English becomes more successful than the original one. Note,
some words were borrowed from English into Spanish centuries ago, such as clown, chocolate,
or caf. These are not anglicisms, but rather are considered perfectly good Spanish words fully
accepted by the Real Academia Espaola. Perhaps the only difference between an anglicism
and a full-fledged Spanish word is the test of time.

3.2.2. Presence of the English language in Spain.

Historically speaking, as stated before, English was inherited from British colonization. The
first wave of English-speaking immigrants was settled in North America in the seventeenth
Century. In this century, there were also speakers in North America of Dutch, French, German,
Native American, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish languages. Nowadays, the most common way
for foreign words to enter another language, for our purposes, from English to Spanish, is

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through the influence of the media (press, radio, television, magazines, the Internet) and the
world of sports, fashion, or travelling through advertising.
So, following Pratt (1980), there is no a clear-cut division between well-known anglicisms and
other similar words which, despite being used in Spain, are still considered foreign words. Yet,
we shall present a list of words that are considered to be anglicisms within all type of
variations:

Words which have been fully adapted from English and keep the same form. This group
namely includes words from the fields of sports, music, fashion, business, food, or
technology, among others. For instance, corner, penalty, CD, radio cassette,
single, catwalk, fashion, top-model, sex-appeal, hot-dog, pudding, sherry,
photo shot, video, the Internet, e-mail, and so on.

Words which have been adapted in form but differ in pronunciation, for instance,
playback, rugby, self-service, bungalow, show, cowboy, snow, hall,
habitat, and telex, among others.

Words which have been fully adapted from English and do not keep the same form, for
instance, mitin (from meeting), estatus (from status), estndard (from
standard), and giski (from whiskey), among others.

Words which have lost their English appearance, and consequently, are to be felt to be
Spanish words with a Spanish source: agenda (vs. agenda), apartamentos (vs.
apartment), evento (vs. event), educacin (vs. teaching process), astro (vs. star),
canal (vs. channel).

Neologisms, which are words derived from words which already existed, but have been
added a prefix or a suffix, for instance, antioxidante, coproduccin, coloquial,
devaluacin, educativo, and so on.

Compound words, that is, compound English source words adapted to Spanish. For
instance, cancin-protesta, ciudad-jardn, hockey-hierba, hombre-rana, perroguardin, rascacielos, luna de miel, and so on.

Finally, just to mention those words which are misused due to the influence of
journalistic language. These are words that exist in Spanish with a different meaning
and are slowly acquiring the meaning they have in English. For instance, sophisticated
(Spanish chic, modern vs. English complex), routinary (Spanish ordinary check

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up vs. English daily), domestic (Spanish referred to household vs. English

national affairs), and so on.

4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.

Society and language, and therefore, sociocultural aspects and linguistic knowledge are two of
the most outstanding aspects of educational activity. In the classroom setting all kinds of social
aspects related to language may be approached in terms of spoken or written activities so as to
bring them closer to the students reality. Moreover, we may handle in class those productions
which make relevant the analysis of the cultural dimension of the English language for students
both in the past (History) or at present (social events), for instance, through the use of
anglicisms in sports, fashion, or the use of American English (the so-called speech of Aznar
when he visited President Bush at the White House).

So, the distinction between British English and American English, or the presence of the
English language in Spain is quite familiar for Spanish students, who are surrounded by lots of
anglicisms in the fields of fashion, music, sports, and so on. Yet, how is this issue linked to our
Spanish students? Basically, through the educational activity, both in and out the classroom, the
former being developed in terms of tutorial or classroom activities and the latter by focusing on
sociocultural aspects that exist within the students environment (home, friends, the media).
Hence it makes sense to examine the historical background of the presence of English in Spain,
and therefore, the relationship between Britain and Spain so as to understand this strong
influence.

Currently, educational authorities are bringing about relevant changes for the school reality and,
therefore, students feel how the English language is present in their daily life, when reading
instructions, playing music, buying clothes or watching a football match. The integration of
Spain into the European Union, and its military and business relationship with the United States,
makes relevant for students to become aware of this influence so as to be able to compare and
appreciate the main similarities and differences within each linguistic system.
So, the cultural dimension of the English language may be easily approached to students by the
increasing number of European programs (Comenius, Erasmus, school trips) and technologies
(the Internet, mobile phones, mail) which provide students the opportunity of exchanging
information with other European teenagers and know other cultures using English. Actually,
among the stage objectives for both E.S.O. and Bachillerato students (stated respectively in RD

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112 and RD 113/2002, 13 September) there is a clear reference to the fact of getting acquainted
with other cultures so as to promote respect and, for our purposes, an attitude of critical
awareness of other language systems.
Thus, E.S.O. objectives (2, 11) make reference to first, understand and express oral and written
messages appropriately and with communicative efficiency in the study of a foreign language or
languages, and value the importance of doing so in an open and multicultural society (objective
2); and secondly, to know the traditions and cultural patrimony of other countries, value them
critically, and respect the cultural and linguistic diversity as a peoples and countries right
(objective 11).

Furthermore, within the Foreign Language General Objectives (8, 9, 10), we find a closer
approach to the cultural dimension of English when saying that students are expected to accede
to the knowledge of the culture transmitted by the foreign language, developing respect towards
it and its speakers, to achieve a better understanding between countries (objective 8);
recognise the value of foreign languages as a means of communication between people
belonging to different cultures and as an enriching element for social and interpersonal
relations (objective 9); and use the foreign language as a means of communication with a
ludic and creative attitude and enjoy its use (objective 10).

On the other hand, Bachillerato students are expected to understand and know how to express
oneself fluently and correctly in the foreign language or languages being studied (objective 2);
and also, to use the information and communication technologies to acquire types of
knowledge and transmit information, solve problems and facilitate interpersonal relations,
valuing its use critically (objective 7). Furthermore, within the Foreign Language General
Objectives (6, 7), we find a closer approach to the cultural dimension of English when saying
that students are expected to know the sociocultural aspects of the target language as a means
to improve communication in the foreign language and for the critical knowledge of ones own
culture (objective 6) and also, to value the importance of the study of foreign languages as an
element of understanding and encouragement of respect and consideration towards other
cultures.
Actually, the success partly lies in the way this issue becomes real to the users. Actually, we
have to recreate as much as possible the whole cultural environment in the classroom by means
of documentaries, history books, or films. This is to be achieved within the framework of the
European Council (1998) and, in particular, the Spanish Educational System which establishes a

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common reference framework for the teaching of foreign languages where students are intended
to carry out several communication tasks with specific communicative goals. Broadly speaking,
the main aims that our currently educational system focuses on are mostly sociocultural, to
facilitate the study of cultural themes, as our students must be aware of their current social
reality within the European framework.

5. CONCLUSION.
As we have seen, English usage in other countries has traditionally followed one model or the
other. Throughout most of the Commonwealth, the spoken English has its roots in the British
version, though local expressions abound. In fact, in addition to its use in English-speaking
countries, English is used as a technical language around the world, in medicine, computer
science, air traffic control, and many other such areas of concentrated expertise and
internatio nal user populations. Hence, there are also many surviving dialects and local variations
in English.
For instance, Canadian English, American English and, in particular, British English, which is
also the dialect taught in most countries where English is not a native language. However, there
are a few exceptions where American English is taught, such as in the Philippines and in Japan.
On the other hand, another English-speaking country, Ireland, has another variety often
described as Hiberno-English and differs in some respects from British English, in so far as
phrases and terms often owe their origin to the original Irish language (Gaelic), which allowed
for more variations in word structure.
The language may vary slightly from country to country or even between those countrys states,
provinces and territories, but it is in all cases distinct from American English. It is mostly
interchangeable with British English, and where Britons is used, inhabitants of the
Commonwealth might be a more accurate , if more unwieldy, replacement. Commonwealth
English is also used by countries and organisations, such as Ireland and the European Union,
whose use of English is most influenced by the United Kingdom. In short, English is one of the
official languages of the European Union (UK and Ireland) and, as we have seen, all over the
world.
The aim of this unit has been, then, to provide a useful introduction to the cultural dimension of
the English language nowadays from a general overview by focusing on two relevant
manifestations of the English language, that is, British English and American English.

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Moreover, we have examined the impact of the English language out of English-speaking
countries by addressing the question of the presence of the English language in Spain and the
introduction of anglicisms.
In doing so, Chapter 2 has provided a brief history of the English language cultural dimension
in and out the Commonwealth so as to offer a general overview of the influence of English
around the world by reviewing (1) the origins of the British colonial empire from the
seventeenth century to the present day; (2) the cultural dimension of the English language
within the Commonwealth countries; and also, (3) the cultural dimension of the English
language out of the Commonwealth scope.

Then, with this background in mind, Chapter 3 has approached the cultural dimension of the
English language from two different perspectives: first, regarding two specific manifestations of
the English language: first, the so-called distinction between (1) British English and American
English within the scope of English-speaking countries, in terms of differences in (1) spelling,
(2) vocabulary (3) grammar, (4) punctuation, and (5) pronunciation; and secondly, regarding the
(2) presence of the English language in a non English-speaking country, in particular, in Spain
and the presence of anglicisms.
So far, we have attempted to provide the reader in this presentation with a historical background
on the English cultural dimension, and its further influence on Spain. This information is
relevant for language learners, even 2nd year Bachillerato students, who do not automatically
detect differences between different varieties of English. So, learners need to have these
associations brought to their attention in socio-cultural aspects within cross-curricular settings.
As we have seen, understanding how language develops and is reflected in our world today is
important to students, who are expected to be aware of the richness of the English language, not
only in English-speaking countries, but also in Spain.

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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Algeo, J. and T. Pyles. 1982. The origins and development of the English language. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.
B.O.E. 2002. Consejera de Educacin y Cultura. Decreto N. 112/2002, de 13 de septiembre. Currculo
de la Educacin Secundaria Obligatoria en la Comunidad Autnoma de la Regin de Murcia.
B.O.E. 2002. Consejera de Educacin y Cultura. Decreto N. 113/2002, de 13 de septiembre. Currculo
de Bachillerato en la Comunidad Autnoma de la Regin de Murcia.
Bryson, B. 1991. Mother tongue. Penguin Books, London.
Council of Europe (1998) Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European
Framework of reference.
Marckwardt, A.H. 1980. American English. Oxford University Press.
Pratt, C. 1980. El Anglicismo en el Espaol Peninsular Contemporneo. Madrid, Gredos.
Thoorens, Lon. 1969. Panorama de las literaturas Daimon: Inglaterra y Amrica del Norte. Gran
Bretaa y Estados Unidos de Amrica. Ediciones Daimon.
Other sources include:
"British Empire." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopdia Britannica Premium Service. 28
May 2004 <http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=383356>.
www.wikipedia.org (2004)
www.wwnorton.com
The Commonwealth at a glance: a brief guide to the association, Commonwealth Secretariat, June 2003.

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