谁能帮我就英美英语的不同找一篇英语的文章啊，自己写的或上网找的都好，一定要快，而且得英语。明早就得交了啊，请大家帮帮我。
帮到我的，我会再追加一百积分。
參考答案:The differences between British English and American English
Xiao Shirui
Abstract: Nowadays, British English and American English are the two main English languages of the English-speaking world. The British English and American English have a close relation; however, there are still many differences between them. Many students may be confused by these differences. So it is necessary to study the differences and know the characteristics of British English and American English in order to master the English better. This paper illustrates the English learning obstacles. The purpose is to improve our students’ cognition about English language.
Key word: British English
American English differences
Introduction,
The large-scale colonization of America by British settles took place in the seventeenth century. These immigrants brought with them the English language, their mother tongue, but they soon found that in their new homeland. There were many aspects of the physical and cultural environment that had no equivalent in their mother country. They had to create names for the strange people, animals and plants they encountered and find new expressions for their new experiences. But as time went on, and the life and culture of these settlers developed in comparative isolation from what was going on in England, the difference was reflected in the language as well. Gradually, a variety of English —American English — emerged and evolved into a national American standard, parallel to the simultaneous growth and development of the national standard in English itself. As we all known, Britain made English an international language in the nineteenth century with its imperialism power, but Americans have been the driving force behind its imperialism power, but Americans have been the driving force behind its globalization in the twentieth century. Nowadays, with the development of China and the depth in the policy of open and reforming, both of these two language flood into the China. As for our students, we must keep a witty mind to distinct the differences and master the English better.
Body,
1. Pronunciation
1.1 It is over simplified to say that “even in matters of pronunciation, it is easy to find many British and American absolute distinctions”.
1.1.1
The differences are important. Learners all over the world will surely agree with me, for example, that the following differences are quite confusing: British English ant[i], mult[i]; sem[i]; do[sail], fu[tail]; l[e]sure, fer[tail], [lef]tenant, g[o]t, p[o]tter vs American English ant[ai]-, mult[ai], sem[ai]; do[sl], fer[tl]; l[i:]sure, [lu]tenant, g[a:]t, p[a:]tter. Differences between American and British English do not matter when the speaker or writer is familiar with the two codes and can easily find in his/her own variety correspondences to features from the other variety. But confusion, embarrassment or sheer incomprehension will arise in many daily-life situations when the listener or reader who is not familiar with the other variety.
2. Spelling
2.1
Good illustrations come from your PC in this computer age: where your spelling checker, based on American English, identifies clour, centre, dialogue, civilise, towards, defence, enclose, travelled from your text as incorrectly spelt, you need to be familiar with the two varieties to know that your spelling checker expects American spellings which are color, center, dialog, civilize, toward, defense, inclose, traveled. (If your text is in British English you will simply click “ignore” and move on.)
2.2
Knowledge of the two varieties is equally important in the classroom for the students and a teacher where a decision often has to be made about what form is correct. If the teacher and students know that fiber and fibre, transportation and transport, proctor and invigilator, barette and hairslide, faucet and tap, fall and autumn, five years back and five years ago, Monday through Friday and Monday to Friday, a half meter and half a metre are features of American and British English, Respectively, the teaching and the learning process can proceed unhampered, if it is agreed that the two varieties are accepted. But it is dramatic, especially in a testing situation, when features used from one variety by the student are not known by the teacher/tester, familiar only with the other variety. The student will then be unjustly penalized.
3.
Grammar
3.1
He/she will be all the more penalized as some features in one variety may clearly violate the grammar of the other variety. Many American changes of categories observed in some cases are in outright violation of British English grammar. For example, accommodation becomes countable (e.g. Good accommodations are rare); some irregular verbs become regular (e.g. broadcasted, shined); some regular verbs become irregular (snuck out for British English sneaked out); some intransitive verbs become transitive (e.g. The plane departed New York; We protested the salary cuts); some transitive verbs become intransitive (e.g. I visited with my friends for British English I visited my friends): some adjectives may be used as adverbs (e.g. It’s real nice). Other major violations of British English syntax are seen in usages such as: A is different than B, where than is used without the corresponding –er/more or less required for comparatives; in Susan wants out, where a whole verb and its preceding particle (to go) are omitted; in like I said where like, instead of British English as, introduces a clause; in I want for you to go, where there is a major intrusion of a preposition; in He looked out the window, where there is a major deletion of a preposition; in He just left, where, despite the clear fact that a past action has some relevance to the present, the present perfect is not used. And so on.
4.
Lexis
4.1
Lexis also offers very interesting cases. A user of British English who listens to or reads American English will face problems of intelligibility with words that do not exist in his/her own version like faucet (British English tap), janitor (caretaker), pitcher (jug), mortician (undertaker), realtor (estate agent), closet (cupboard), penitentiary [noun] (prison). He/she will also find words which exist in his/her variety, but have a different meaning. The difference in meaning may be negligible and not cause communication problems, as in American English vacation vs. British English holidays, call (by phone) vs ring, schedule vs time; both members of these pairs, in particular, and many others, are now used in Britain, which further reduces the risk of communication failure. But major semantic differences sometimes exist, such as between (American English) first floor, second floor and British English ground floor, first floor, pants and trousers, gas and petrol, (from American English, 12th of February 1998). These extreme cases of divergence may cause communication problems or great embarrassment in some cases. Just imagine an American English speaker directing a British English speaker to the first or second floor, asking him/her for gas, asking him/her to show his/her pants, and you will agree that American English and British English are not “so overwhelmingly alike”.
4.2
Cases of communication failure (or potential failure) due to such lexical-semantic problems are reported by Modiano. They include American English round trip ticket vs. British English return ticket, American English eraser vs. British English rubber, and British English public school Modiano requested a ticket to London but he was asked whether he wanted a return ticket. (vs. its American English meaning). Interpreting return ticket as meaning a ticket from London to the place from which he was traveling, Modiano replied, “How do you expect me to get there?” As for British English rubber, the author found that in American English it is an American slang for the word condom and its use in some contexts may cause embarrassment. Modiano go on noticed that the British English use of Rubber rather than eraser is unknown in the US. Concerning public school Modiano points out the contrast in British English where it means privately owned institutions and in American English where it means “schools owned and operated with public funds”.
Survey
For understanding the differences American English and British English deeply, I make a research among the students in the foreign college of Guizhuo University. The purpose is to improve our students’ cognition about English language .The survey questionnaires as follows,
Correct the right answer:
1. Choose these pronunciations are the American English or British English? (A--- American English, B---- British English)
ant[i] (
) sem[ai] ( ) fu[tail] ( ) p[a:]tter ( )
p[o]tter (
) l[i:]sure ( ) g[a:]t ( ) ant[ai] ( )
g[o]t (
) fer[tl] ( ) l[e]sure( ) sem[i] ( )
2.
Choose these spelling are the American English or British English? (A--- American English, B---- British English)
defence (
) civilize ( ) dialog ( )
defense (
) civilize ( ) dialogue( )
3. What’s the meaning and explain the word in English?
realtor (
) penitentiary( ) closet ( )
faucet (
) pitcher ( ) mortician( )
4. Is these the right sentences? ( T---true , F---false)
Good accommodations are rare.
( )
We protested the salary cuts.
( )
It’s real nice.
( )
Thank you for your attending, cooperating.
Quizzed: the students in the foreign college of Guizhuo University.
Research purpose: according to the data prove the students’ cognition about differences American English and British English.
Result: Survey questionnaires (30)
Availability (30)
Right Wrong Right(%) Wrong(%)
1、 10 20 33.3% 66.7%
2、 8 22 26.7% 73.2%
3、 8 22 26.7% 73.2%
4、 12 18 40% 60%
According to the table, many students still confuse the differences American English and British English. A lot of students cannot distinguish American English and British English correctly. We must pay attention to the knowledge about American English and British English.
Conclusion,
The best thing to deal with the situation of co-existence, or competition, of American English and British English would be some kind of harmonization. This solution, which suggests changing the natural course of a language or language variety, had hardly been succeeded. The other question is even if this solution were possible, the harmonization in the direction of American English are demographic, technological, political, commercial, and media-related. For lacking in a guaranteed solution to the problem, I suggested that courses in contrastive analysis of American English and British English should be widely included in English Lessons to wipe out the confusion of those who learn English as a second language.
Reference Books
Marckwardt, Albert H. (1980), American English, New York: Oxford University Press .
Mencken Henry L.(1936),
The American Language , An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States , New York : A. A. Knopf.
Moss ,Norman (1981) ,
What’s the Difference , —A British/American Dictionary, London: Hutchison.
Strevens, peter (1972) ,
British and American English ,London: Collier-Mcmillan Publishers.
张韵斐 ，《现代英语词汇学概论》北京：北京师范出版社。
