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INTRODUCTION
I grew up in a small town in the northwest corner of America. I was taught specific rules regarding
vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. Even when visiting other regions in my own country, I
would hear different accents, which was at times confusing. One example happened
when I
requested a pop in a restaurant, but the waitress didn’t know what I meant. I clarified by asking
for a Coke or Sprite. The waitress replied, “you mean you’d like a Coke to drink?” I said I would
prefer anything but a Coke since I'm not fond of drinking caffeine. A friend with me laughed and
said, "Don't you know everything is called Coke here?” Even though there are many varieties of
English in America, I was not prepared for the change in English I experienced as I moved halfway
around the world.
VOCABULARY
After university graduation, I packed up four suitcases and moved to a small town in South Africa.
One of my first thoughts on arrival was that not only did I have to learn a new language but that
even English was not quite the same. There were so many terms and expressions that were
foreign to me. All the variances in vocabulary overwhelmed me at the local grocery store, which I
learned was called a supermarket. I started shopping for things on my list, such as cilantro,
shortening, saran wrap, and cookies. After hours and in some cases months, I learned they either
had different names or were not available in the area. Cilantro was available, but called coriander.
Shortening was unavailable and the closest product available was white margarine. Saran wrap
was the easiest product to find since I recognised it by sight and learned to call it cling wrap.
Cookies being known as biscuits was a simple change in terminology, but the taste and texture
were completely different.
My first Christmas in Africa resulted in being invited to a national family's home for a braai. I was
so excited to experience this braai everyone talked about; it sounded so fun. During phone
conversations, I shared with loved ones at home what I would be doing for Christmas day, and
they were also looking forward to hearing about my experience at a Christmas braai. The day
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came and went, and to my disappointment, it was a barbeque. Nothing extra special or unique
happened; it was just another different term.
The longer I continue to live in South Africa, the more familiar I become with the local English
terms. However, this has lead to another challenge when speaking with my family, who still live
in America. I forget to revert to the American terms. When my baby girl was born she was so tiny
we needed preemie clothes for several months. My family was busy preparing to send a box of
Christmas gifts and wanted to know what I would need. I asked my sister to please purchase the
tiniest 'swimming costume' she could find. My sister had no idea what I was asking her to buy,
until eventually, after much discussion, we realised I was asking for a tiny swimming suit.
SPELLING
The number of vocabulary differences I experienced in my new home fails to compare to
differences in spelling. I have always struggled with spelling and worked tirelessly as a child to
study and get my spelling correct. Suddenly the rules changed, and as a teacher, I had to change
with them. British English has traditionally used the exact spelling as it was in the country they
borrowed the word from; however, American English typically spells the word closest to its
pronunciation (Cabal, 2017). Some simple changes that were required were as follows: color to
colour; center to centre, apologize to apologise. More intricate changes were doubling the 'l' when
it followed a vowel, such as traveling to travelling. Likewise, words ending with -ouge in British
English can end with either -ouge or only -og in American English. An example of this is catalogue
– catalog or catalogue.
Furthermore, I had to stop using the letter 'z' in words like analyse and realise. These words were
by far the easier changes to accept. I continue to learn changes that don't follow any set rule but
are some of the exceptions, such as gray or grey and program or programmes.
PRONUNCIATION
The most challenging aspect of the variance in English between America and South Africa was
the differences in how words are pronounced. The world is full of accents, resulting in some of
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the difficulties that arise with the pronunciation of words. However, the way some things are said
is at times painful and others humorous. When watching the news, I still cringe when the anchor
says the word schedule (she-jool) instead of schedule (skeh-jool). Students still laugh as I
pronounce endure (uhn-dur) when teaching versus the British pronunciation uhn-jour. An
excellent example of humour relating to pronunciation is through comedy. Trevor Noah, in his
comedy routine, It Makes No Sense (2019), brings humour to some common mispronunciations
of common words such as aunt, there, hair, battery and zebra.
Living in a village as the only first-language English speaker was an eye-opening experience.
When my husband and I moved to the village, we drew a lot of attention with our arrival and my
'white' skin. Villagers stopped on their journey home from work to see what was happening. One
granny stopped by to ask some questions; our failure to understand one another resulted in her
just walking into my new home, opening cabinet cupboards and boxes looking for this item that
she kept repeating again and again. A couple of hours later, her grandson came to bring a packet
of soap as a gift since we didn't have any in the house. Suddenly the word she kept repeating
made sense.
She was mixing her language of Setswana and Afrikaans, hoping I would
understand she was looking to see if we had bath soap.
The struggle with pronunciation and accents has continued to be a problem in my home. With my
American accent, their father’s South African accent and the Zimbabwean accents of many of
their teachers, my children have had trouble hearing and pronouncing words correctly. This has
led to difficulties for them in spelling and phonics in school.
CONCLUSION
English is a complex language that has many rules and exceptions to the rules. Therefore
learning and teaching English requires skill and diligence to understand the culture and context
of the local environment in which you reside. As a teacher, I have to ensure that my students
understand the vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation of English as it is applied in the area
where we live. I love to expand my vocabulary and that of my learners by engaging in games
such as Taboo and Pictionary, where they have to guess words that they may or may not know.
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In my local area, English is commonly mixed with the primary indigenous language of Setswana
and with Afrikaans. The elderly are least likely to speak proper English and mix Setswana with
Afrikaans to create an English word. The youth know more English and show confidence and a
willingness to engage in an English conversation. All of these variables lead to the differing
regional versions of English.
[Word Count: 1216]
REFERENCE LIST
Cabal, C. 2107. A blog about American versus British English spelling [Blog, 8 September].
Available: https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2017/09/08/american-british-english-spelling/. [16
April 2021].
Noah, T. 2019. It makes no sense. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yCk6Qpuv4. [13 April 2021].