The article presents and discusses the interaction and mutual influence of language, culture and thought. Language is an essential means of communication between people, a direct result of human thought, and one of the principal criteria for identifying a nation. The article considers some of the numerous definitions of language and provides an overview of language-related theories by such outstanding researchers as Wilhelm von Humboldt, Edward Sapir, Ferdinand de Saussure and others. Language promotes the consolidation, identification and differentiation not only of nations, but also of ethnic communities and social groups. When studying language and its links with culture and thought, one has to take into account the effect of social factors on language and its structure, that is, the feasibility of studying language in its social context. As a product of national culture, language should be viewed as a unique phenomenon of human history. The relation between language and culture, language and thought as seen by the thinkers of different epochs, countries and schools, can be discussed endlessly. Linguists, anthropologists, political and social scientists, philosophers and psychologists, as well as cultural studies scholars continue to research a number of aspects of language-related phenomena. Undoubtedly, language and thinking are inextricably connected,interrelated, in direct interaction with culture and reality.

The relationship between the British and American varieties of English has been a topic of heated debate for years. Despite the fact that Americanisms are infiltrating British speech and British usage is becoming increasingly familiar to Americans, the gap between American English and the language spoken on the British Isles remains significant. The development of English today is characterized by two opposing trends: standardization due to its global use and variation — the process of deviating from long-standing traditional norms.

Uniformity is most clearly manifested in spelling. Differences are found primarily in pronunciation and vocabulary. From the perspective of grammatical systems, of course, there are certain differences between American and British varieties, but they are not so numerous.

The differences outlined have been presented in terms of historical and cultural background of the two English-speaking nations. Any notion of supposed superiority of one variety of English over the other seems entirely inappropriate, as one cultural background, or one chain of historical events and hence language development is in no way superior to the other way of life, the other course of history, or social and cultural background.

However, despite the differences between varieties of English, today it is used worldwide as the primary language of international communication.