It's interesting to see the way the English language has grown and changed. Since English is a living language, there are frequent changes in the meaning that words carry. These changes can be largely influenced by the environment. One of the best examples of this fact are some of the stark differences between British and American English. To some people this might seem a little strange, they might say… “English is English, right?” Because places and cultural influences have an important impact on the shape of the language//varieties. Varieties are formed when differences are found within the same type of thing. This is why we have both British and American English. Believe it or not // the differences we have in the English language started a long time ago. Before the English came to America, they all lived in England. In England there were no great varieties because the English lived in the same place and spoke more or less the same way. They all went merrily on their way until... Enter a group of people who come from England to America, a country very far from their homeland, and very different from what they were used to in England. sentence fragment Because of this migration many new words were introduced into what was known as the English language. sentence fragmentNew locations, the mixing with different cultures and the distance from the changes that were also taking place in England, played an important role in the formation of a new variety that we have come to know as American English. In some ways these differences can be both funny and strange. Today, if an American went to England, the agreement between pronoun and antecedent might be confused if an Englishman referred to the cap of his pronoun/antecedent at... in the middle of the card... about .com. 2009. The New York Times company about.com. September 1, 2009. “British/American/American/British.” about.com. 2009. about.com. The New York Times Company September 1, 2009 “Varieties of English: American and British.” School on. CD-ROM Rock Rapids, Michigan Alpha Omega Publications 2008.// missing punctuation or wordWorks cited about.com. 2009. The New York Times company about.com. September 1, 2009. “British/American/American/British.” about.com. 2009. about.com. The New York Times Company September 1, 2009 “Varieties of English: American and British.” School on. CD-ROM Rock Rapids, Michigan Alpha Omega Publications 2008.