A reader e-mailed to ask why I often use American spelling in my columns and then provide the British spelling in brackets. He wanted me to use British spelling and give the American spelling in brackets. I explained that I first started writing this column for the Chinese-language Headline Daily but now that The Standard is also publishing the column, I use American spelling because that's what The Standard uses. The reader is worried that British English is doomed. The word doomed used this way means an ill-fated ending or a bad ending. The Chinese equivalent is 玩完 （game over）.
British English is, of course, not doomed. Aside from Britain, it is also used in former colonies such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Canada uses a mixture of American and British English. But I have noticed that countries such as China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea prefer American English and the American accent. The mainland's English-language newspapers China Daily and Global Times use American spelling, such as "color" instead of "colour" and "endeavor" instead of "endeavour". The word endeavor means to try hard to do something. Many Hong Kong people endeavor to learn English.
When I was in Taipei many years ago to interview Taiwan's foreign minister, I read the job advertisements in the newspapers out of curiosity. I was astonished （surprised） to read that many people advertising for English teachers stated clearly that they wanted teachers with an American accent. Some of my mainland friends told me they much prefer the American accent to the British accent. While British English is not doomed, I think it is losing its dominance （supremacy, power and influence over others）. American English is becoming more popular because of the influence of American culture across the world. The dominance of Hollywood movies is just one example.
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美式英語是否已經超越英式英語﹖一定程度上（to some extent）是吧。習語to some extent意思就是up to a point、partly或to some degree。由於這些詞彙相仿，你選擇用哪一個也行。
有一位讀者電郵問我，為何我在專欄中常用美式串法，再在括號內加上英式串法。他想我用英式串法，再以括號寫上美式串法。我跟他解釋，我一開始是為中文報章《頭條日報》寫這個專欄的，現在《英文虎報》也有刊登專欄，《英文虎報》用的是美式串法，因此我亦照用如儀。讀者擔心英式英語氣數已盡（doomed），doomed在這裏解作慘淡收場，等同中文的「玩完」。
英式英語當然未「玩完」（doomed）。在英國以外，澳洲、紐西蘭、印度、新加坡和香港這些前殖民地還在用英式英語。加拿大則攙雜使用美式和英式英語。但我發現，中國、台灣、日本和南韓等地比較偏好用美式英語和美式口音。內地的英語報章《中國日報》和《環球時報》都用美式串法，例如用color而不用colour，用endeavor 而非endeavour。Endeavor解作很努力去做某事。許多香港人都很努力（endeavor）學習英語。
多年前，我前赴台北訪問台灣外交部部長，出於好奇閱讀報紙上的招聘廣告。我很驚訝（astonished），許多人登廣告聘請英語老師，都指明要美式口音的老師。我的許多內地朋友也跟我說，他們比較喜歡美式口音多於英式口音。英式英語沒有「玩完」（doomed），但我認為它的支配地位（dominance）已逐漸喪失。美式英語愈來愈受歡迎，因為美國文化的影響遍及全世界。荷里活電影的支配性（dominance）只是芸芸例子之一。mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=255989§ion_name=wtt&kw=126