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ColumnThe world of English is not just American and British English
The world of English is not just American and British English
English is spoken all over the world, but it is said that it can be broadly divided into American English and British English. However, which is the mainstream in the countries where English is actually spoken? And what are the differences in the level of understanding and image of English in each country? We conducted a survey to find out these points.
Geography and history of English-speaking countries
We have organized the regions and histories of the English-speaking countries that were the subject of this survey.
The following are search results for “gasoline”, “diapers” and “take-out” (excluding the US due to search conditions).
English self-awareness
From here, we would like to introduce the results of the questionnaire survey we conducted. We conducted an online survey using the following specifications.
I had imagined that the results would be similar to the number of search hits, but in many countries, the number of people who chose “neither” was higher than I had expected. In particular, in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, “neither” was the largest group, and it was clear that people in these countries have a strong awareness that their country's English is unique. When the number of people who chose “neither” is excluded, Singapore and India again show a distribution of American and British English, and it can be inferred that there is a situation where they are mixed in various ways.
English comprehension
Then, on the contrary, how about the comprehension level of each English language? We asked, “For you, is ●● English easy to understand?” We asked the respondents about their level of comprehension by putting the name of the country in the “●●” and “●●” boxes. The results for American English and British English are shown below.
While Asian countries are slightly lower, American English, which has a global presence, has a high level of comprehension. The high level of understanding of American English, even in countries where British English is strong, can be attributed to the many opportunities for exposure to American English through movies and TV programs.
Since there were many countries where the English in the country was neither British nor American, we would like to look next at the comprehension of English other than British and American English. The following are the results after adding the five countries' English comprehension levels to the above results.
Overall, green cells with low levels of understanding were the most prominent results. Australian English (OZ English) and New Zealand English (Kiwi English) showed some understanding outside of their own countries, with Australia and New Zealand in Oceania showing high levels of mutual understanding as neighboring countries. On the other hand, Singaporean English (Singlish), Indian English (Hinglish), and Filipino English (Taglish) in the Asian region have low levels of mutual understanding, which may be seen as a sign that each country has developed its own unique English.
English Image
Finally, we would like to look at the image of each English language. Here we will look at the top 3 images of British English, American English, and the English of our own country.
American English was ranked “standard,” “clear,” and “casual” by most countries. British English, on the other hand, was ranked most frequently for “elegant,” followed by “refined” and “standard,” indicating a strong image of “casual,” “friendly,” and “pleasant” English in their own country. In a rough summary, we can see the positioning of “standard American English,” “refined British English,” and “friendly and fun homegrown English.
In marketing, English-speaking countries are often less localized in communication with consumers than countries that have their own language, but pinpointing the use of friendly, homegrown English may help improve the image. We encourage you to look into the English expressions unique to each country.
Translated with AI Translator
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Author profile
Fumiharu Suzuki
Global researcher at INTAGE. After working as a working holiday in New Zealand and as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in Venezuela, he joined INTAGE and has been involved in global research using various methods for over 15 years. He has conducted research in over 30 countries and has gained a wealth of experience in a wide range of industries, including automobiles, food, electronics, and daily goods. He is currently working shorter hours due to childcare, and the only thing that bothers him is that he can't go on overseas business trips.
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Risa Takahama
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