Today and tomorrow we will publish two different translations from English to Italian of the same source text, or the article “ American vs. British English: Which One Dominates the World? ” Published on May 31, 2016 on the Trusted Translations Blog.
The versions were sent to us by Martina Gerace and Anna Pia Fantoni, two translators who worked separately, without ever coming into contact with each other. Before using the articles themselves, we strongly recommend reading this introductory article .
American vs British: which English prevails?
The United States and England seem to have always tried (at least since the United States became a country) to establish supremacy both on their respective continents and, apparently, on the world. The British have dominated for some time, conquering new lands in both the Americas and Africa, (and Oceania, the West Indies, Southeast Asia, the Middle East … “The sun never sets on the British Empire”) where British influence it is still evident. If we go back to today, things seem to have remained as they were a couple of centuries ago; both countries dominate in business, technology and economic issues. But what about the language? Did one “version” of the English language dominate the other?
Logically, if we analyze Europe, people who learn English as a second language will learn British English , which is not a big surprise given the geographical proximity of the United Kingdom and the political ties that the latter has with the rest of ‘Europe. If we look outside Europe, we can also find British influence on other continents, actually on all six, precisely in countries and states that are part of the Commonwealth (made up of over 50 countries) such as India, Pakistan and Hong Kong, just to name a few. Other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, where English is the native and official language, are examples of the dominance of British English around the world .
And what about American English? We all know that “American influence” is due to its superpower status in terms of economic and technological achievements, not to mention the massive global influence of the media (for example the entertainment industry and Hollywood); after all, American movies and TV shows have reached the entire planet. Latin American countries are most influenced by American English when it comes to learning English as a second language, once again as a consequence of the geographical position on the continent. However, this influence is not limited to language alone. American culture has also influenced the lifestyle of Latin America, giving rise to a collective desire to achieve “the American dream” – the ability to accomplish anything you intend to achieve. In the event that culture and language are interconnected, would this mean that American English is the more influential of the two? Including countries where British influence seems to have already settled?
Since languages are constantly changing, living entities, perpetually evolving and expanding, we could witness a significant change in the balance of influence that, until now, British English seems to have dominated.
