Moving toward(s) Americanization : a study of the use of and attitudes toward American spelling, vocabulary and pronunciation among Norwegian students and teachers

The increasing use of American English around the world is well documented. Previous research on the use of English varieties in Norway has been restricted to the use of American pronunciation. The present thesis investigates the use of English varieties in Norway with regard to pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary, with special focus on American versus British English. The method was threefold; a teacher survey, a student survey and a corpus analysis were conducted to examine Norwegian teachers’ and students’ use of and attitudes toward American English. The results suggest that Norwegian students use American English features more frequently than British English features even though British English is the leading variety among English teachers. The results also indicate that Norwegian students’ pronunciation and vocabulary are somewhat more Americanized than their spelling. However, the corpus analysis provides evidence of an increase in the use of American spelling in Norwegian students’ writing over the last 15-20 years.