A Brief Analysis on Differences between American English and British English 浅析英式英语与美式英语

浅析英式英语与美式英语的差异、课题（论文）提纲0•引言1•英式英语与美式英语的历史与演变1.1英式英语的历史1.2美式英语的历史1.3美式英语对英式英语的影响2•剖析英式英语与美式英语的不同2.1发音差异2.2词汇差异2.3拼写差异2.4语法差异3•英式英语与美式英语在实际应用中的差异3.1信件习惯上的不同3.2在人家交流中产生的歧异3.3行话差异4•英语的现状与未来5结论12二、内容摘要全球一体化的今天，英语作为世界通用语言，在人们的日常生活中，不论是民间交往或官方交流中扮演着极其重要的角色。由于美国已经处于国际上较高的地位，美式英语逐渐流行起来，美式英语与英式英语成为了英语语系中比较重要的两种。并且也已被一向高傲的英国人承认，而且英国人开始学习使用比较简单化的美式英语。虽然美式英语同英式英语一样都是英语，但是其不同之处甚多。英语在众多的英语国家中都有各自的方言，俗语层出不穷，当然误解意思的事情也经常发生。同时在现代的生活中，时间是每个现代人宝贵的财富，传统的英式英语相对复杂，而美式英语便捷实用，符合历史的潮流。英国，美国，加拿大等英语大国的学者也已经意识到这种趋势，并且从语法，词汇，使用等方面总结出两种语言的差异。关键词：英式英语；美式英语三、参考文献AlbertCBaughandThomasCable,AHistoryoftheEnglishLangURoutlege,1993.崔更国，英国英语和美国英语语言用法上的不同，石家庄铁路工程职业技术学院，2004.6，第3期。DavidS.Jackson,流行美语，上海：上海世界图书出版公司，2004.⑷侯宁海，美语、英语分类对照手册，合肥：中国科学技术大学出版社，1997。⑸李赋宁，英语史，北京：商务印书馆，2004。⑹林天送，21世纪英美文法，北京：中国国际广播出版社；（台湾）建宏出版社，1999。⑺刘榕，试论英国英语和美国英语的词汇差异，宁德师专学报，2003，第2期。ABriefAnalysisonDifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishAbstractIntoday'sglobalintegration,English,asthecommonlanguageintheworld,playsaquiteimportantrolebothinciviliancommunicationandofficialcommunicationinourdailylife.OwingtotheUSistheoverlordinthisworld,soAmericanEnglishisgettingmorepopular.AmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishhavebecomethetworelativeimportantlanguagesinEnglishphylum.AndAmericanEnglishhasalreadybeenacceptedbyBritishpeoplewhoaretoploftyallthetime.Atthesametime,theBritishalsobegintolearnandusethissimplifiedlanguage.Although,AmericanEnglishisalmostthesameasBritishEnglish,theystillhavesomedifferences.TherearemanydifferentlocalismsoftheirownamongmanyEnglishcountriesandsuchlocalismsarealwaysemergingendlessly.Sometimes,ofcourse,misunderstandingbetweenthemisunavoidable.Meanwhile,thetimeisatreasureforpeopleinthemodernlife.AndthetraditionalBritishEnglishiscomparativelycomplicatedwhileAmericanEnglishisconvenientandpractical,becauseAmericanEnglishseemsmoreinaccordancewiththetideofhistory.ThescholarsofmanybigEnglish-speakingcountriessuchasBritain,AmericaandCanadahavebeenontothetrend.Theyhavealsosummedupthedifferencesbetweenthetwolanguagesfromthegrammar,vocabularyandusingetc.KeyWords:BritishEnglish;AmericanEnglish0.IntroductionForthe21stcenturytoday,theworldisbecomingsmallerandsmallerastothedevelopmentofhigh-tech.Theworldtransformedcountriesonebyoneintoaglobalvillagefromthenavigationcenturytothehighspeedconveyanceatpresent.Inthishugevillage,therearemanypeoplewithdifferentcomplexion;differentagnateanddifferenttonguelived.Afterlengthyyears,Englishbecametheprimarylanguageinthisbigfamily.AndthedifferentiationappearedintheevolvementofEnglishitself,itdividedintoBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish.ThefollowingarticlewillanalyzethedifferencesofthetwoEnglishphyla.ThehistoryandevolvementsofBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishIt'sgoodtocomprehendnowadaysforstudyforetime,butthedeeplyknowledgeofnowadaysisalsothepreconditionofcomputeforetimeexactly.ThisarticlewilltrytocastbackthecontextofBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish.Andinnowadays,theAmericanEnglishistakingtheleadingplaceofBritishEnglish.ThehistoryofBritishEnglishEnglishisaWestGermaniclanguagethatoriginatedfromtheAnglo-FrisiandialectsbroughttoBritainbyGermanicinvadersfromvariouspartsofwhatisnownorthwestGermanyandtheNetherlands.Initially,OldEnglishwasadiversegroupofdialects,reflectingthevariedoriginsoftheAnglo-SaxonKingdomsofEngland.Oneofthesedialects,LateWestSaxon,eventuallycametobedominated.TheoriginalOldEnglishlanguagewastheninfluencedbytwofurtherwavesofinvasion:thefirstbyspeakersoftheScandinavianbranchoftheGermaniclanguagefamily,whoconqueredandcolonizedpartsofBritaininthe8thand9thcenturies;thesecondbytheNormansinthe11thcentury,whospokeOldNormanandultimatelydevelopedanEnglishvarietyofthiscalledAnglo-Norman.ThesetwoinvasionscausedEnglishtobecome“mixed”tosomedegree.CohabitationwiththeScandinaviansresultedinasignificantgrammaticalsimplificationandlexicalenrichmentoftheAnglo-FrisiancoreofEnglish;thelaterNormanoccupationledtothegraftingontothatGermaniccoreofamoreelaboratelayerofwordsfromtheRomancelanguages.ThisNormaninfluenceenteredEnglishlargelythroughthecourtsandgovernment.Thus,Englishdevelopedintoa“borrowing”languageofgreatflexibility,resultinginanenormousandvariedvocabulary.ThehistoryofAmericanEnglishAmericanEnglishisasetofdialectsoftheEnglishlanguageusedmostlyintheUnitedStates.ApproximatelytwothirdsofnativespeakersofEnglishliveintheUnitedStates.EnglishisthemostcommonlanguageintheUnitedStates.ThoughtheU.S.federalgovernmenthasnoofficiallanguage,Englishisconsideredthedefacto,“inpracticebutnotnecessarilyordainedbylaw”,languageoftheUnitedStatesbecauseofitswidespreaduse.Englishhasbeengivenofficialstatusby30ofthe50stategovernments.TheuseofEnglishintheUnitedStateswasinheritedfromBritishcolonization.ThefirstwaveofEnglish-speakingsettlersarrivedinNorthAmericainthe17thcentury.Duringthattime,therewerealsospeakersinNorthAmericaofSpanish,French,Dutch,German,Norwegian,Swedish,Scots,Welsh,Irish,ScottishGaelic,Finnish,Russian(Alaska)andnumerousNativeAmericanlanguages.TheimpactofAmericanEnglishonBritishEnglishWhileBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishbelongtothesamephylum,butduringthethreehundredyearsafterthefirstgroupofEuropeimmigrant,thetwolanguagesweregoingtheirownway.AmericanEnglishhasdevelopedanewmethodoftalk,partlyisduetothedifferencesofconditionoflivingandtheotherpartabsorbedthelanguageofotherimmigrant.ThechiefdifferencesbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglisharetheintonationoftalkandrhythm.Andtherearealsomanydifferencesinvocabulary.Forexample,politicianhasaderogatorysenseinAmericanEnglishbutnotinBritishEnglish.InAmericanEnglishsolicitormeanssalesmanorbeggarbutitmeanslawyerinBritishEnglish.Nearthefewtenyears,becausethedevelopmentoftrade,militaryaffairsandtechnologyhasmadeAmericabecomemoreandmorestrongandimportantintheworld.AstotheAmericanfilmisverypopular,theslanginAmericapenetratetotheSpokenEnglish.Nowadays,peoplewhoaccepttheAmericanEnglishmostquicklyaretheyoungerinBritish,andthetendencyisimproving.Obviously,theoriginofAmericanEnglishdevelopmentistheAmericanfilm,TVprogram,mediaandmusicandsoon.ForexampletheRAPmusic,manyyoungpeoplelikethatanditisverypopular.AmericanEnglishhasalsoinfluencedthehideboundBritishEnglishintrope.AmericanEnglishismoreacceptablebyneoteric.ThespecificdifferencesbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishThevarietyofEnglishthatwasspokenintheUSAiscalledAmericanEnglish.AmericanEnglishgrewoutofBritishEnglishofthe17thcentury.WiththefurthergrowthoftheUnitedStates,AmericanEnglishhasevolvedfroma“colonialbranch”toavariantornationalstandardofEnglish.ThecharacteristicsofAmericanEnglisharemarkedbyapparentcontradictions:creativenessinenrichingthelanguageversusconservativenessinpreservinganumberofarchaicfeatures;theuseofshortandpoignantexpressions,includingslang,versusfondnessofbigwords;homogeneitymanifestedbyheavyborrowingsfromothertonguesversusrelativeuniformitywhichis,inasense,closetohomogeneity;andtheuseofverbosestyleinofficialpapersversusplainlanguageinpopularwriting.ThesepropertiescombinetomakeAmericanEnglishadistinctivevarietyoftheEnglishlanguage.DifferencesinpronunciationOnawhole,thesimilaritiesbetweenthetwokindsofpronunciationaregreaterthantheotherdifferences.ThenatureofthedifferencesinpronunciationbetweenGeneralAmericanandStandardBritishEnglishhasbeendiscussedbymanyauthorities,therearemanychiefdifferencesinvowel、diphthongssuchasfast:|fa:st|(BritishEnglish)|fest|(AmericanEnglish);wantlwnntl(BritishEnglish)Iwantl(AmericanEnglish)andsoon.Astoconsonants,inBritishEnglishtheletter“r”isnotpronouncedbeforeaconsonant;attheendofaword,rispronouncedifthenextwordbeginswithavowelsuchas:farm|fa:ml,door|dn：|.Thedigraph“wh”ispronounced|w|inBritishEnglish,but|hw|inAmericanEnglish.Forexample,whenwhichinBritishEnglish,|wen|;AmericanEnglish,|hwen|.Further,differentphonemesmaybeusedinthesameword.Thisisfoundonlywithindividualwords.Forexamples:ate|et|(BritishEnglish)-|eit|(AmericanEnglish).IdenticalsystemsofstressandrhythmareusedbyBritishandAmericanEnglish.Thereare,however,afewwordsthathavetheirstressonadifferentsyllable.Forsomeexamples:ad'dress(BritishEnglish-'address(AmericanEnglish),advertisement(BritishEnglish)-adver'tisement(AmericanEnglish).Finally,intonationdifferences,AsforthemajordifferencesinintonationbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish,someobserversreportthat,totheirears,EnglishmencoverawiderrangeoftoneinspeakingandcarryithigherthanAmericans,whileAmericanspitchtheirvoiceswithinaverynarrowrangeandtheyareinthehabitofspeakingdrawlinglyandclearly,thatis,Americansspeakflatter,slower,andclearerthanEnglishmen.StatisticstellusthattherateofutteranceforaverageEnglishmenis220syllablesperminute,whilethatforordinaryAmericansis150-175syllables.That'swhy,tomostpeople,spokenAmericanEnglishseemseasiertounderstandthanspokenBritishEnglish.DifferencesinVocabularyThedifferencesbetweenBritishandAmericanEnglishinvocabularycanbegroupedintothefollowingthreetypes:.Wordswithoutcounterparts:WhentheEnglishcolonistssettledinAmerica,theymadeandborrowedalotofwordsandexpressionstonametheplants,animals,featuresoflandscapeandlifenewtothem.Thesewordstogetherwiththosecomingintoexistencelater,esp.sinceindependence,constituteapartofthevocabularyofAmericanEnglishwhichhasnocounterpartinBritishEnglish.Sometypicalexamplesare:foothill,gap,bayou,canyon,hickory,logroll,electoral,college,lynch,NewDeal,wetback,drive-in,rock-and-roll,etc..Asamewordhasdifferentmeanings:Forthesakeofconvenienceofexpressions,theearlysettlersinAmericaoftengaveanexistingwordanewmeaning.Further,somemeaningsofwordshavebecomeobsoleteinBritain,butsurvivedinAmerica.Moreover,agroupofwordssimplychangedtheirmeaningsintheUSA.AllthesecombinedtoaccountforthefactthatquiteanumberofsamewordshavedifferentmeaningsonbothsidesoftheAtlantic.Thefollowingexamplesmaybeusedtoillustratethepoint:Theword“lumber”,whichoriginallymeant“disusedgoods”inBritain,wasgiventhenewsenseof“timber”;theword“mad”wasusedinthesenseof“angry”inShakespearetime,laterthissensebecameobsoleteandacquiredthemeaningof“insane”inBritain,butAmericanscontinuetousethewordintheoldsense;thenumeral“billion”means“amillionmillions”inBritishEnglish,butAmericanshavechangedittomean“athousandmillion”intheUnitedStates.TheAmericanshavealsochangedthemeaningof“bill,enjoin,guy,pressman,veteran,table,”sothesewordshavedifferentmeaningsinthetwocountries..Thesameideasorobjectsexpressedbydifferentwords.ThemostnoticeabledifferenceinvocabularyisthattheBritishandAmericansusedifferentwordstoexpressthesameideaorobject.Thisdifferencecoversaverywiderangeofvocabulary.Hereareonlysomeexamples:TheBritishEnglishwords,“trousers,biscuit,flat,cupboard”arerespectivelyequaltotheAmericanEnglishwords:“pants,cracker,apartment,closet”.DifferencesinspellingGenerallyspeaking,thedifferencesinspellingbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishwerebroughtaboutbytwofactors:1).TheEnglishwhichthecolonistsbroughttothenewcontinentallowedgreatvariationinspelling,sometimesthevariantwhichbecamestandardizedinAmericawasdifferentfromthatusedinEngland;2).NoahWebsterandeminentpersonslikeBenjaminFranklinproposednumerousreformsonspellingamongwhichsomeweregenerallyacceptedandbecametheformspeculiartoAmericanEnglish.TheAmericanandBritishsystemsareessentiallythesame,exceptthat,asthefollowingdifferencesshow,theAmericanvariantissimplerthanitsEnglishcounterpart:our-or,colour-color;ou-o,mould-mold;re-ercentre-center;gue-g,dialogue-dialogandsoon.Therearealsosomespecialcasessuchascheque-check,cigarette-cigaretteandstorey-story.Allinall,theBritishandAmericanspellingsystemsareessentiallythesameexceptthattheAmericanspellinghassomesimplifiedway.NowadayshundredsofAmericanspellingshavewonacceptanceinBritishEnglish.DifferencesingrammarOnthewhole,AmericanandBritishEnglishusethesamegrammarsystem.Therearefewdifferencesinnumberandtriflinginnature.Thefollowingaresomemaindivergences:.Ontheverbphrase，AmericanEnglishprefersto“havegot”forpossession(Doyouhavethetime?VsHaveyougotthetime?);answersalsotendtovary(Idon'tVsIhaven't);AmericanEnglishpreferssuchformsandtherearesomespecialpasttenseforms;AmericanEnglishalsosometimesusesasimplepasttensewhileBritishEnglishuseapresentperfect(IjustateVsI'vejusteaten).Inthenounphrasetherearesomedifferencesinwordorder(e.g.HudsonRiverVsRiverThames,ahalfhourVshalfanhour)andtheuseofarticle“the”(inthefutureVsinfuture,inthehospitalVsinhospital);AmericanEnglishpreferscollectivenounsinthesingular(thegovernmentis),whereasBritishEnglishallowspluralalso(thegovernmentare)..Clausalpatternssometimesdiffer,asinAmericanEnglish(cometakealookVscomeandtake);AmericanEnglishalsomakesmoreuseofthesubjective,asin(IaskedthathegoVsIaskedhimtogo)andprefersweretowasinsuchsentencesasIwishshewerehere..Severaldifferencesareexistedinprepositionsandadverbsforexample,AmericanEnglish(It'stwentyoffourVsit'stwentytofour).TherearealsosomedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishinpracticalapplication.DifferencesinletterTherearesomedifferencesinlettercommunicationbetweenthetwolanguages.ItisacommaaftertheformofaddressandunderwroteyoursfaithfullyinBritishEnglish,butitisasemicolonandendedbytrulyyoursinAmericanEnglish.DivergenceinintercommunionThedifferenceofintercommunionisusuallyfoundintheinternationaltravel.Thetravelerandbusinessmenalwaysmakemanymistakesandjokesbecauseofthedifferencesofvocabularyandusage.Inaddition,thereisalsolittledifferencewhenpeoplemakephones.DifferencesinlingoEveryvocationhasadifferentuniversaltermforcommunicationsuchasthetypeofequipment,andpeoplemustabidebythebylaw,method,terms.Itwillmakelotsofmistakesifpeopledon'tknowaboutthedifferences.ThestatusandfutureoftheEnglishlanguageEnglishlanguageisoneofthemostwidespreadlanguagesintheworld.ThecountofEnglishspeakerisjustlessthantheChinesemandarinspeaker.In1970s,therewere280,000,000personusedEnglishasthenativelanguage.Inaddition,therewere120,000,000personusedEnglishasthesecondlanguage.Nowadaysthecountisgettingtoexceedtheactualcount.ThecountofpeopleuseEnglishasaforeignlanguageisincreasingdaybyday,sowestillhavenostatistic.PeopleregardEnglishasasecondlanguagemeansEnglishisanofficiallanguageforthegovernmentdealwithdailycivilservice.Atthesametimeitisalsoalanguageforstudyingandteachingeveryday.PeopleregardEnglishasaforeignlanguageinordertocommunicatewellinpoliticsinterlocution,commerce,economiccooperationandculturecommunicationpeopleregardEnglishasaforeignlanguage.AndregardEnglishasforeignlanguagetodealwithscientificresearch,trade,tour,enjoyliteratureandinventionandsoon.Atthesametime,owingtothestateofAmericaisgettingstrongerandstrongerthanGreatBritainintheworld,andtogetherwiththeAmericanEnglishuseconvenientlyandthegrammariseasytounderstand.Forthepopulartrendatthepresent,AmericanEnglishhasthepossibilitytoreplacetheBritishEnglish.Forexample,Germany,France,Switzerland,JapanandothercountriesuseEnglishasaforeignlanguage.TeachinginschoolsmainlyuseAmericanEnglish,butinChina,inordertoachievesocialistmodernizationandtoacceleratetheintegrationoftheadvancedwesterncountries,Chinaalsoregard