British English

[lovemwaf]

I have had the opportunity to be engulfed by the British and i tend to think that their English is more refined and pure compared to American English. I also think that they stay true to the non phonetic nature of their language. An example is how they spell center as centre.

[Francisco23]

I have had the opportunity to be engulfed by the British and i tend to think that their English is more refined and pure compared to American English. I also think that they stay true to the non phonetic nature of their language. An example is how they spell center as centre.

Absolutely, they're more refined. I prefer to use the British spellings when I write, and it's not because I grew up being taught to do so (because I do read a lot of American English Novels). The British English is just more appealing to me.

[Baburra]

In our country, we are taught American English from a very young age, so it's difficult to imagine myself ever using British English spellings. I personally just like the accent, but the spellings, not so much, but like I said, it's only because of what I've gotten used to.

[JoanMcWench]

I agree with the opinion on the choice of spelling but also in the pronunciation: e.g. Centrifugal

[igorrsobral]

British English is really not for me, I hate their accent! I just feel more comfortable talking with an American pronunciation, and that's really how I was taught. Some British words are actually the same as in my main language (Portuguese) like "sofa" but overall I prefer the American English.

[xxsaumitraxx]

In our country we are taught British English from the beginning, but we have a different accent here than British accent. I don't like British accent very much, kind of hard for me to understand it. I prefer American accent more because it's quite easy to understand than British accent, plus I watch a lot of Hollywood movies so I'm pretty good at understanding American accent

[SpiralArchitect]

I have had the opportunity to be engulfed by the British and i tend to think that their English is more refined and pure compared to American English. I also think that they stay true to the non phonetic nature of their language. An example is how they spell center as centre.

Don't think there is anything pure about British English considering it hardly resembles the English of yore. The spellings though are easier to get than American English so there's that.

[Denis Hard]

We have to take into account that American English is a derivative of British English so the 'old' language has to be better than the new one. However the differences are not that great. For twenty years all I could speak and write was British English. Then I had to take a screenwriting course and had to learn American English. From experience I'd say British English is harder to spell than American English.

[Daedalus]

In our country we are taught British English from the beginning, but we have a different accent here than British accent. I don't like British accent very much, kind of hard for me to understand it. I prefer American accent more because it's quite easy to understand than British accent, plus I watch a lot of Hollywood movies so I'm pretty good at understanding American accent

There are a lot of different accents in Britain, and a lot of different American accents, you can't just call them all British or American. For non-native speakers, it can be difficult to hear differences, but they are there.

Some accents of course are obviously different, I, and even native speakers have problems understanding some of them.

That said, I prefer British English over American. Even though I grew up watching mainly American films and tv, I started liking British more. Maybe because I enjoy British humour, and that seemed more down to earth and closer than American. Of course now I'm living in England, so I'm exposed to it all the time, but I still occasionally use an American pronunciation or word instead of British (for example, fries instead of chips )

[Permidian]

I don't know about British English being more refined, but what I do know is I can barely understand British people when they are talking.

Maybe it's just me though but while I have no problem understanding Americans in general, British people on the other hand are difficult to understand. I just understand every other word if even that.

It's the way they pronounce words.

[leahcim132]

I think British English is more refined for sure. They talk more elegantly than Americans. However, I also believe that English is just.. well English. Nothing different in England than in America.

[rebel]

Although I study British English I'm not it's first fan. I believe that American English is the result of the people's will. What I mean by that is that people often moderate the American language and change words, etcetera, whilst the British English stays as it is for ages. It's more 'academical' in my opinion, if I may say so.

[Mole]

In my country they teach British English. I personally think that American English is more appealing these days, but that's just my opinion. The difference isn't that huge though.

[sidney]

Well the British accent is nice to listen to, but if the person is heavily accented in speaking it, then it is quite hard to understand! I do think that they speak more elegantly than the Americans, but I would also prefer American English because it is more easy to understand.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Sometimes the choice of a spelling is not based upon your personal preferences but on specific needs.

In example, I love British English and it's easy to me use British spelling as I had a mixed British/American English formation.

However I am usually required to write articles specifically aimed to an American audience, thus as much as I would like, I can't use British spelling.