Are the differences between British English and American English heavily studied? Why or why not?
Yes they are. For several reasons: For one, it’s a good example of language evolution in action. For another, it’s a very accessible example of two dialects — there are obvious differences, but the two forms of English are mutually intelligible so it’s easy to make connections. For a third, if you travel back and forth, you’ll occasionally sound pretty silly if you don’t know the differences. Finally, there are commercial applications in speech recognition systems (e.g. automated systems to buy train tickets.), and it is easy to make a case that your research is important if you are studying a commercially important difference. Are you British? Working in England as a linguist, have you noticed a sort of American fascination with the British accent? If yes, could you give me an example of when this has happened? Some of the British citizens I’ve interviewed said Americans listen more to what they have to say because of their accent, or mimic their wording/slang/intonation after. Has an
