1、3. Differences between British and 3. Differences between British and American EnglishAmerican English 一位英国人和美国人在火车站不期而遇 A：Whats your job? E： Im a clerk. A： Clock? Your job is to tick tick all day long? ” 同一个词clerk,英国人读cla:k与美国人clock发音相同。而美国人念klrk 以上这则笑话就反映了英美两国在方面的不同。 Lift / Elevator： A：How can I g
2、et to 20th floor? B：Take a lift. A：Ok ,but who can be so strong to lift me to 20th floor? 在英国, 你可以搭lift. 在美国搭elevator,没有人会把你抬上去的哦! 以上这则笑话就反映了英美两国在方面的不同Think？ What are other differences between British English and American English？Content： Differences inI：pronunciationII：spellingIII：grammarIV：vocabul
3、aryPart I: Differences in Differences in PronunciationPronunciationNotice! 1. British/American pronunciation:most associated with national broadcasting least restricted in its geographical distribution. 2. One the whole, the similarities are(greater/lesser) than the differences. Because: the differe
4、nces may cause brief hesitation or a smile, but rarely interfere with communication.I:Differences I:Differences in in PronunciationPronunciation example (1.) ”r”. Silent : before a consonant; not silent: (1)at the end of a word (2)the next word begins with a vowel but not otherwise AmE. pronounced i
5、n all positions in American English BrE BrE. farm /f:m/ door /d:/, a member of /memb v/ AmE. /farm/, /dor/, /membr v/Example (2)The digraph wh is pronounced /w/ in British English, but /hw/ in American English when ：BrE /wen/， AmE/hwen/BritAmEKey wordsBritishAmerican/:/(broad)/(flat) fast, advance/f
6、:st/,/dva:ns/fst/,/dvns/a/ hot, stop/ht/, /stp/hat/, /stap/:/ dog, moth （蛾）/dg/, /m/d:g/, /m:/ju:/u:/ tube, absolute/tju:b/,/bslju:t/tu:b/,/ bslu:t/ir/i(:)r/ hero, appearance/hirou/, /pirns/hi:rou/, /pi:rns/Differences of Differences of vowel soundsvowel sounds dormitory: BrE./d:mitri/, AmE. /d:mitr
7、i/ territory: BrE. /teritri/, AmE. /terite:ri/BritAmEKey wordsBritishAmerican/ue/ /i(:)r/ curious, rural/kjuries/, /rurl/kjuries/, /ru:rl/r/:r/ hurry, scurry/hri/, /skri/h:ri/, /sk:ri/ai/ agile, fertile/ dail/, /f:tail/ dl/, /f:tl/e/i:/ leisure, premier/le/, /premi/li:/, /pri:mi/I:Differences in I:D
8、ifferences in PronunciationPronunciationIn the mindWordBritishAmerican ate/et/eit/ depot/depu/di:pu/ epoch/ i:pk/epk/ leisure/le/li:/ lieutenent/leftennt/lu:tennt/ progress/prugres/progres/ schedule/ edju:l/skedjul/ tomato/tm: tou/tmeitou/ vase/v:z/veis, veiz/AmericanBritish Englishaddress addressad
9、vertisement advertisementartisan artisancigarette cigarettedetail detail In regard to stress, it should be added that : 1.British English tends to emphasize the syllables with primary stress while obscuring other syllables 2. In American speech a polysyllabic word has a stronger secondary stress tha
10、n in British English.AmericanBritish Englishdoctrinal doctrinallaboratory laboratoryrecess recessreveille reveilleI:Differences in I:Differences in PronunciationPronunciationits “drawl” / relatively slow tempo prolongation of stressed vowelsLess variation in the level of the voice than British Engli
11、sh/ the Americans speak slower and flatter than the Englishmen.Part II: Differences Differences in in spellingspelling The English which the colonists brought to the new continent allowed great variation in spelling, sometimes the variant which became standardized in America was different from that
12、used in England. Noah Webster and eminent persons like Benjamin Franklin proposed numerous reforms on spelling, among which some were generally accepted and became the forms peculiar to American English.1.Two factors that brought about the differences of spellingDifferences in Differences in spellin
13、gspelling To put it in a nutshell, the American and British systems are essentially the same, except that, as the following divergences show, the American variant is simpler than its English counterpart.DivergencesBritish EnglishAmerican English ouror colour, neighbour color, nerighbor ouomould/smou
14、lder mold/ smolder re.er centre, theatre center, theater gueg catalogue, dialogue catalog, dialog mme.m programme, gramme program, gramllltravelling, jewellertraveling, jeweler omission axe, judgement ax, judgment省去不发音字母u删除不发音词尾me，ue DivergencesBritish spellingAmerican spelling silent.e good-bye goo
15、d-by ce.se defence, licence defense, license ei enquire, enclose inquire, incloseyi tyre, dyke tire, dike c.k sceptic, disc skeptic, disk sz cosy, tsar cozy, tzar xion.ction（读音不变） connextion, inflextion connection, inflection aee aexthetic, encyclopaedia esthetic, encyclopedia ise.ize naturalise, ut
16、ilise naturalize, utilizeBritishAmericanCheque, cigarette, draught, gaol, grey, kerb, plough, pyjamas, storey, waggonCheck, cigaret, draft, jail, gray, curb, plowl, pajamas, story, wagon拼写各异，无法归类的词Part III: Differences in Differences in grammargrammar On the whole American and British English use th
17、e same grammar system . Differences are few in number and trifling in nature . The following are some main divergences :Part III: Differences Differences in in grammargrammarPart III: Differences Differences in in grammargrammar1.The use of subjunctive2.The treatment of a repeated subject after “one
18、”3.Past participle forms for get4.Difference in prepositions5.A difference in the article6. Do you have/Have you got.1. The use of subjunctive American English: preserves the traditional subjunctive form, British English: adds should to the subordinate clause except in legal or formal contexts. Exam
19、ples :BrE . I suggest that the meeting should be postponed. AmE. I suggest that the meeting be postponed. BrE It is important that the motion should be placed on the agenda. AmE It is important that the motion be placed on the agenda. .2.The treatment of a repeated subject after the indefinite prono
20、un one BE : one is repeated , as in One cannot succeed unless one tries hard. AE : he is used , as in One cannot succeed unless he tries hard.3. Past participle forms for getget AmE : two past participle forms for get got/gotten got/gotten BrE : only “got” 4. Differences in preposition Mary aims to
21、become a writer. Lets check that out. Please fill out the form. My plan is different than yours. He starts his vacation Friday. The conference begins March 1. BrEBrE Mary aims at becoming a writer. Lets check up on that. Lets fill in the form. My plan is different from yours. He start his holiday on
22、 Friday. The conference begins on March 1. AmEAmE4. Differences in preposition AmEAmE Is George home? I live on Lawton Street. Let s stay home this evening. The swimming pool is open days from June through September. BrEBrE Is George at home? I live in Lawton Street. Lets stay at home this evening T
23、he swimming pool is open each day(daily) from June to September. 5. A difference in the article With words like school, hospital , church, when the idea expressed concerns the use made of the building, “the” is not used in BrE but used in AmE BrE : He has gone to school. AmE : He has gone to the sch
24、ool6. Do you own or possess at this moment AmEAmE Do you have. Did you have. (一般现在、过去时)More frequently used in Britain BrEBrE Have you got. Had you got（现在完成，过去完成） Less frequently used in Britain.Since 1970s among younger groupsPart IV: Differences Differences in in VocabularyVocabulary1. The majorit
25、y of common core words and great numbers of scientific and technological words which are international in nature are identical to both varieties of England.2. The differences between American and British use of words are often found in colloquial English, whereas the difference in the written langua
26、ge is often slight.3. For non-native students, even for native students, it is difficult to be consistent in using words in American or British English. In practice, the coexistence of American and British terms places another group of synonyms at our service. Before comparing British and American v
27、ocabulary, the following points are important to mention:Words without counterpartsSame words, different meaningsSame ideas, different wordsClassificationClassification further classified into three types 1)The earliest American expressions 2)Large numbers of political, economical expressions 3)Term
28、s for British organizations and culture having no counterparts in the US (1.2 美式英语有，英式英语无；3英式英语有，美式英语无)1)The earliest American expressions which has no counterparts in EnglandCharacteristics: Denote the plants, animals, features of landscape and life new to colonists Either borrowed from the America
29、n Indians and non-English immigrants or coined with formatives brought over from home(none of the new word is borrowed) Examples: bayon (F., landscape), canyon (Spa., landscape) hickory(Ind., plant), pitch pine (Eng., plant) P2292)Large numbers of political, economical expressions with no exact equi
30、valents in England Settlement share a common life struggle independence Develop their own political, economical and other institutions and way of life Formed their own course of history Examples: Examples: electoral collegeelectoral college总统选举团总统选举团, , G. O. P G. O. P共和党共和党, , precinct precinct 选区选
31、区, , Grunt Grunt 咕哝咕哝, ,呼声呼声, , lynch lynch 私刑私刑, , New Deal New Deal 新政新政, , wetback wetback 非法入境的劳工非法入境的劳工, , credit system (in college) credit system (in college) 信用制度，信贷制度信用制度，信贷制度 ， purple heart (med. )purple heart (med. )紫心锭（兴奋剂）紫心锭（兴奋剂）P2303) Terms for British organizations and culture having
32、 no counterparts in the US have come into beingExamples: back benches 普通议员席位, White Hall, Dame(a tille), George Cross 乔治十字勋章, hustings (electional meetings) 议员竞选演说坛,shadow cabinet影子内阁,（政府首脑挑选的）顾问团 P2301)Americans gave an existing word a new meaning to name new objects and institutionsE.g. clout (pow
33、er, influence, or prestige) family (one of the operational units of the Mafia) window (short for launch window)2)Some meanings that were once current in England have become obsolete but survived in America. Examples are in II B(P218) 3) A number of English words simply changed their meanings in the
34、US Examples are in the book P230下 bill bank note (American) a demand for payment of debt ( British ) Owing to the interaction s between the two varieties of English, the difference tends to diminish; That is, an American( or British) word tends to be used by speakers on both sides of the Ocean.Ameri
35、can and British words for common ideas or subjects P231AmericanBritishabsorbent cottoncotton woolalumnus graduatecandysweetsclippingcuttingmailpostscheduletimetablewaiting linequeueconclusion Differences can be found between American and British English in pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and vocab
36、ulary. But, the concept of difference must not be taken too far, as the basic stock, grammar, and phonetic system of both variants are essentially the same, and the similarities are more than the differences between them.Trousers / Pants：当刚从美国回来的英国小伙子赞美英国mm“Nice Pants”,这时,杯具发生了.MM还以为他长了透视眼呢Trousers,
37、Pants这两个单词的用法应特别留意.Pants在英国指内裤,但在美国却是长裤.在英国,长裤为 trousers.所以,当一位外国人说 Pants的时候,你要弄清楚他究竟是英国人还是美国人,不要把内裤变成了长裤哦.Lift / Elevator：一个美国人在英国,问：“How can I get to 20th floor?”英国人说：“Take a lift.”美国人就疯了：“Ok,but who can be so strong to lift me to 20th floor?”在英国,如果你不想爬楼梯,你可以搭lift.如果你在美国的话,你就只好搭elevator了,没有人会把你抬上去
38、的哦!Petrol / Gas：英国小伙子到了美国搭车,说：“Can I ride to New York?” 美国人很热情,说：“Sure,my car has full tank of gas.”英国小伙子一听害怕了：“Well,no,thank you.I still want to live.”在这里,英式英语中汽油是“Petrol”而Gas是“煤气、瓦斯”的意思,怪不得英国小伙子害怕呢,他可不想坐上马上就要爆炸的“亡命之车”啊!Film / Movie：film是英式英语,除了电影外,还有picture/photo的意思.同时film也表示“胶卷” 就是音译的菲林 movie,是美式
39、英语,只表示电影,不能表示照片、图片等.去看电影可以用 go to the movie(美） 或者 go to the cinema(英）,但绝不能用go to the film,不然也会闹笑话的.我们谈到pronunciation的时候都会说到什么？发音准不准确元音辅音，轻重音，连读，节奏。 开口说话时就已经将phoneme转化成phones All versions of phones of one phoneme are called allophones 同一个字母发不同的音有两种情况 1：是allophones,写出来时是一样的音标 2：不是allophones，写出来时音标是不同的。因为是声音单位。区别不同的声音。
