Which English is spoken in continental Europe? British, American , or its own version

Question

Many Europeans speak English. What version is this English? is it British, American or its own continental English? If it's continental English which does it most closely resemble, British or American, in pronunciation and spelling?

Edit: I mean continental Europe. From the comments below, it is clear the native language accents will be there in the English they speak. If we speak of people who regularly speak with other European Nationals what type of English do they speak? For example Ursula Von Der Leyen?

Answer 1

I have no scientific data, but as a British scientist who has worked in France, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy — and has heard Continental European politicians using English, I would say that the accent/pronunciation is usually British†.

Part of the reason for this is, I would suggest, that it is customary for university language students to spend a year (generally teaching) in a country where their language of specialization is spoken. Britain is obviously a closer and cheaper venue than the US, and there are exchange schemes between European countries. When these students become schoolteachers, they teach with the accent they have acquired. They probably also use British terminology and spelling, although school textbooks may negate the latter.

(Similar reasons explain the use of Castilian Spanish — rather than S. American Spanish — in Britain and Continental Europe.)

---

† Obviously most non-native speakers have an accent influenced by their native language, but one can still tell the difference between British and American styles of pronunciation.

Answer 2

There is a Swedish study on this "British or American English? - Attitudes, Awareness and Usage among Pupils in a Secondary School" Ann-Kristin Alftberg June 2009

Another finding is that the variety selected also seems to be dependent on specific vocabulary items, some of which are “school” related and therefore influenced by British English, whereas others are “non-school” related, mainly exposed through media, and mostly influenced by American English (Mobärg 2002:127).

The mixture of British English and American English in pupils‟ speech tends to increase. A study made by Margareta W. Axelsson about students‟ usage and attitudes in 2000, shows that 69% of the students mixed features from these two varieties when they were reading a text aloud.

I have no reason to believe that this pattern is not repeated across Europe: They are formally taught British English but pick up American English.

Answer 3

I have had Italian students whose accents were unequivocally American either because they lived most of their formative years in the USA, or had the fortune to visit the country several times in their young lives. On top of that, American TV series, movies on Netflix, pop songs etc. are US dominated so that greatly influences lexical choice and pronunciation.

But in my experience, Italian state teachers who teach English to middle and high-school students overwhelmingly continue to teach British English. Whether this is also true in Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Denmark, Germany or in other countries in southern Europe such as Greece, Spain, Turkey or Albania I can't say but after Brexit—the UK is no longer part of the Schengen Area and no longer participates in the Erasmus programme— the future trend will probably be American English.