Navigating the Lexical Divide: A Synchronic Analysis of British and American English Varieties in the Indonesian EFL Context

Authors

  • Hayati Nupus Universitas Pamulang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31571/bahasa.v14i2.10341

Keywords:

British English, American English, Vocabulary Analysis, Lexicography

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the lexical differences between British English (BE) and American English (AE), particularly in terms of vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. Using qualitative descriptive methods with content analysis techniques, the researchers reviewed the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 9th Edition. Data from 53 words were categorized according to differences in word usage, spelling, and pronunciation. The findings revealed significant variation: BE tends to retain traditional spelling (e.g., the ending "-our") and non-rhotic pronunciation, while AE prefers simplified forms (e.g., the ending "-or") and rhoticity. Despite the increasing influence of AE through the media, BE remains dominant in educational materials in Indonesia. This study emphasizes the need for consistency in language teaching to reduce student confusion.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Algeo, J. (2006). British or American English?: A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Alizadeh, M. (2016). The impact of motivation on English language learning. International Journal

of Research in English Education, 1(1), 11-15.

Creswell, J.W. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Dhami, R. S. (2023). Digital hegemony and the shift toward American English among EFL learners

in Southeast Asia. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 11(1), 88–97.

Fraenkel J. R., Wallen N. E. & Hyun H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education.

New York: McGraw-Hill.

Horobin, S. (2016). How English became English. Oxford University Press.

Juswandi, J., Saiful, S., & Mahmudah, D. R. (2022). An Analysis of Students’ Error on English

Vowels Pronunciation In Reading Narrative Text. Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies, 1(1), 22–30. Retrieved from https://jurnal.fkip.unismuh.ac.id/index.php/jals/article/view/101

Labov, W. (2006). The Social Stratification of English in New York City (2nd ed.). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Lauder, A. (2008). The status and function of English in Indonesia: A review of key factors. Makara

Hubs-Asia, 12(1), 9–20.

Larroque, P. (2023). English phonetics and phonology. In P. Larroque (Ed.), An introduction to

linguistics through popular music (pp. 11–47). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24703-3_2

Lubis, Ika Rahmadani. (2017). Improving Students Vocabulary Mastery by Using Fly Swatter Game

in the First Grade of MTs Persatuan Amal Bakti 1 Helvetia. A Thesis. Medan: State Islamic University of North Sumatera.

Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Rohmatillah. (2016). Dictionary usage in English language learning. English Education: Jurnal

TadrisBahasa Inggris, 9(1), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.24042/ee-jtbi.v9i1.427.

Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course (4th ed.). Cambridge

University Press.

Setyawan, H. (2020). The dilemma of English varieties in Indonesian ELT curriculum: To

standardize or not to standardize? Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 5(2), 201–215.

Sugiyono. (2016). Quantitative, qualitative, and R&D research methods. Alfabeta.

Webb, S., & Chang, A. C. (2015). Second language vocabulary learning through extensive reading

with audio support: How do frequency and distribution of occurrence affect learning? Language Teaching Research, 19(6), 667-686. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168814559800.

Siranush, G., & Westphal, J. (2021). Environmental exposure vs. classroom instruction: Perceptions

of English varieties among EFL learners. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 10(3), 45-58.

Sukmawati. (2017). A contrastive study between British and American English: Morphological perspective [Bachelor’s thesis, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta]. Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta Digital Library.

Tagliamonte, Sali. (2013). Roots of English.New York: Cambridge University Press.

Tibenská, M. (2012). The Comparison of British and American English. [Diploma Thesis, Masaryk University].

Wahyudi, A. (2021). The allure of American English: A sociolinguistic study on Indonesian media

and its influence on EFL learners. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 4(1), 12-25.

Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2015). An introduction to sociolinguistics (7th ed.). Wiley-

Blackwell.

Webb, S., & Nation, P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford University Press.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman pronunciation dictionary (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.

Zuhri, S. (2012). A Comparative Study Between British and American English Lexical and

Grammatical Variations. [Degree Thesis, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya].

Downloads

Published

2025-12-24

How to Cite

Nupus, H. (2025). Navigating the Lexical Divide: A Synchronic Analysis of British and American English Varieties in the Indonesian EFL Context. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa, 14(2), 396–411. https://doi.org/10.31571/bahasa.v14i2.10341

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2025): Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa

Section

Articles

License

License and Publishing Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:

  1. They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
  2. The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
  3. That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
  4. That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
  5. They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
  6. They agree to the following license and publishing agreement.

Copyright
Authors who publish with Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. 
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.