Although the Americans and British both speak english, would anyone agree we speak a different language.

Why does it matter?

Just like Canadians speak differently then Americans. English is english. We have all adapted different slang and different accents and different use of the english language. It is still English.

What is your point here? Or is this a home work question?

No, it is not a different language. There are idioms in each culture that can be evidenced by the language. There are traditions that are also evidenced by the language. Look deeper into the social structures and you will find variations of the English language.

Guess I do not see the big deal about it.

Nah definitely not a different language, different dialects maybe but not language. Scottish and English are more different in vocabulary and grammar than English and American English.

I'd say the language is the same. I would say the similarity between 2 languages (from different regions) would be a function of how easy it is for 2 people who speak the different languages to understand each other.

In the case of English and American, it's very easy to understand, therefore the language is in fact nearly the same.

The same language, with many different accents and colloquialisms.
Different words have alternate meanings, sometimes several meanings, but the language is the same.

And who is "we"?
Perhaps you mean like men and women speak a different language? Hehe :) On that, I would say, yes, some of us do. :eek:

Thank you. Does it matter? I guess it does. I was born in Ireland. Moved to England spent most of my years there. Both countries speak english. I now live in America where the first language is english also. It's easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that if we both use the same dictionary and assume we agree on the meanings that we understand each other in our communication. Our inflections, our tones, our words can be misinterpreted even unknowingly. I think this is interesting. If we were to learn a different language we would naturally spend time looking up the meanings of the words in order to communicate effectively in that new language. So for me two different cultures who speak the same first language are not necessarily communicating as effectively as it would seem. Maybe I'm stating the obvious. :)

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Originally Posted by Atimeto

Thank you. Does it matter? I guess it does. I was born in Ireland. Moved to England spent most of my years there. Both countries speak english. I now live in America where the first language is english also. It's easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that if we both use the same dictionary and assume we agree on the meanings that we understand each other in our communication. Our inflections, our tones, our words can be misinterpreted even unknowingly. I think this is interesting. If we were to learn a different language we would naturally spend time looking up the meanings of the words in order to communicate effectively in that new language. So for me two different cultures who speak the same first language are not necessarily communicating as effectively as it would seem. Maybe I'm stating the obvious. :)

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You have a very good point here. That would be the same for any culture. For example: Spanish here in the States or canada would be different then the spanish in Spain. Meanings, tones and etcc...