English is spoken as a first language by
several countries including Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Canada, and the United States. While all of these countries
share the same mother tongue, there are some differences in the
way they speak and write.
The first difference is in the accent. Each country has its own
accent. And within each country there are a variety of accents
called regional accents.
Another difference is the spelling of some words, like color and
colour, or theater and theatre.
And a third difference is that some of the words are not the same at
all. For example, Americans say restroom, Canadians say
washroom, and the British say W.C. (water closet.) But all
of these words have the same meaning (the room where the toilet is
located.)
So which English is the best English to learn? Well, there is no
best English. They are all equally good and correct. But two
things may help you decide which one is best for you to study.
First of all, where do you live? If you are from South America, for
example, you will probably have more exposure to North American
English. If you live in Europe, most likely you will be more exposed to
British English.
The second thing to think about is why you are learning English. Is
it for business? travel? to watch movies? Think about the kind of
English you plan to use and focus on understanding people from
that area.
But no matter where you study English or whether it's British,
American, Australian, or whatever, it's good to know a little about
English in other countries.
