It is interesting to see how the English language has grown and changed. As English is a living language, the meaning of words changes frequently. These changes can be largely influenced by the environment. One of the best examples of this fact is some of the distinct differences between British and American English. For some people this may seem a bit strange, they may say... "English is English, isn't it?" Because places and cultural influences have a major impact on the form of languages//varieties. Varieties are formed when differences appear within the same kind 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. There were no major varieties in England because the English lived in the same place and spoke much the same thing. They all went on their merry way until... Enter a group of people who had come to America from England, a country far removed from their homeland and very different from what they were accustomed to in England. sentence fragment As a result of this migration, many new words were introduced into what was known as the English language. sentence fragmentNew places, mixed with different cultures and removed from the changes that were also occurring in England, played a major role in the formation of a new variety that we came to know as American English. In a way, these differences can be both funny and strange. Today, if an American went to England, their pronoun/antecent agreement might be confused if an Englishman referred to the cap of their pronoun/antecent a...... middle of paper ...... 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 on.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.