The Differences between American English and British English

The Differences between American English

and British English

Name

Number

Class

Abstract

Through the writing of this paper, we can know that there are some differences

between British English and American English in political and economic duration,

social life, national history, regional cultures and their respective specific cultural

phenomena. And with the development of economy, differences between American

English and British English will gradually reduce; the international Standard English

will appear. And all of these can give us the enlightenment. Firstly, through the

analysis of the two variants of English, we can realize some British and American

culture characteristics, and know these features can help us better understand Britain

and the United States; it is also very helpful for us to be more aware of the

development of English. Secondly, through the analysis of the two variants of English,

we can express English accurately, enrich English knowledge and improve the use of

English. Finally, through the analysis of the two variants of English, it helps us to

stimulate curiosity and creativity, cultivate the spirit of exploration and innovation.

And the most important thing is that it is also beneficial for a second English learner

to understand when there is British English there should not allowed to use American

English. It is good for English learners to study English efficiently and communicate

well. English as a major world-wide used language will constantly keep its position in

the future international communication.

Key words:

American English

British English

Differences

Pronunciation

V

ocabulary

中文摘要

通过本文的写作，

我们可以知道，

英式英语和美式英语之间的分歧有一些存

在在政治，经济，社会生活中，民族历史，地域文化和他们各自特有的文化现象

里。而随着经济的发展，美国英语和英式英语之间的差异将逐渐减少

;

< br>国际标准

英语将会出现，而所有这些都可以给我们的启示。首先，

通过分析这两个种类的

英语，

我们可以实现一些英国和 美国的文化特性，

并知道这些功能可以帮助我们

更好地了解英国 和美国，它也是非常有利于我们更加意识到英语发展。其次，

通

过分析这两个种类的英语，我们可以表达英语准确，丰富英语知识，

提高使用英

语。最后，通过分析这两个种类的英语，它可以帮助我们激发好奇心和创造力，

< br>培养探索和创新的精神。

而最重要的是，

它也是有益的第 二明白当有英式英语应

该有不允许使用美式英语的英语学习者。

对于英语学习者学习英语的效率和良好

的沟通，这是很好的。英语作为主要全球范围内使 用的语言会不断保持其位置，

在未来的国际通信。

关键词：

美式英语

英式英语

差异

读音

拼写

Contents

Introduction………………… ……………………………………………………………………

1

1. The American English

…………… ……………………………………………………………

1

1.1 The Origin of the American English

……………………………………………………….< /p>

1

1.2The Development of the American English

…………………………………………………

2

2. The British English…………………………………………………………………………….

2

2.1 The Origin of the British English …………………………………………………………

...2

2.2 The Development of the British English ……………………………………………………

2

3. Present Situ

ation…………………… …………………………………………………………..

3

4. The Differences between American English and British English………………………………

3

4.1 Differences in Pronunciation…………………………………………………………………

3

4.2 Differences in Spelling………………………………………………………………………

.4

4.3 Differences in V

o

cabulary……………………………………………………………………

.4

4.3.1 Different Words with the same meaning…………………………………………………

4

4.3.2 The Same Word with the different meanings………………………………………....

....5

4.4 Differences in Grammar……………………………………………………………………

...6

4.5 Differences in I

ntonation

…………………………………………………………

..7

5. The Mood------ Humor

…………………………………………………………………………

Conclusion…………………………………………………… ……………………………………

.8

The Differences between American English

and British English

Introduction

Nowadays English is one of the most important languages in the world because of its

worldwide use. Under the influence of geography, history, cultural and social customs in different

areas, until recently, English has been divided into many varieties: Australian English, New

Zealand English, Scottish English, Northern Irish English, Welsh English, South African English,

Canadian English, and so on. British English and American English are the two main varieties of

them. As the Non-Native English speakers, most of the English learners in china think that the

language used by British and American are the same one-

English

, and there are no differences

between British English and American English. In fact, there are many unquestioned discrepancies

between they two.

Over the past 400 years, the form of the language used in the United States

–

and that used in

the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Isles have diverged in many ways, leading to the

dialects now commonly referred to as American English and British English. Differences between

the two include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, idioms, formatting of

dates and numbers, and so on. A small number of words have completely different meanings

between the two dialects or are even unknown or not used in one of the dialects. This divergence

between American English and British English once caused George Bernard Shaw to say that the

United States and United Kingdom are

comment is ascribed to Winston Churchill.

1. The American English

American English is a variant of English. And nearly 400 years, American English developed

into a variant because English was used in the special geographical environment in the North

American, under the influence of cultural diversity and social innovation.

1.1 The origin of the American English

―American English began in the seventeenth century (Thomas Pyles and J. Aleges, 1982:21).‖

At

the

beginning

of

the

17th

century

the

English

language

was

brought

to

North

American

in

Jamestown, Virginia by colonists from Britain. The colonists used the language spoken in England,

that

is,

Elizabethan

English,

the

language

used

in

the

Shakespeare’s

Age

by

Shakespeare

and

Milton and Bunyan. The isolation of American from English is produced after a course of time, a

language

in

North

American,

as

different

from

the

language

of

England,

as

the

modern

Dutch,

Danish and Swedish are from the German, or from one another. Since the seventeenth century, the

time of American colonization, English has been the language of the United States.

1.2 The development of American English

The development of the English language in America can be simply separated into three

periods:

The first period extends from the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 to the end of colonial times.

This time may be put at 1787, or at 1790. In this period the population in America numbered about

four million, 90 percent of whom came from British. The second period covers the expansion of

the original thirteen colonies. This period was marked by the arrival of the new immigrants from

Ireland and Germany. The third period, the period since the Civil War, is marked by an important

change in the source from which the European immigrants came. Through these periods, the

American English had developed its own features.

2. The British English

2.1 The origin of the British English

The early inhabitants of the island we now call England were Celts(also called Britons). In 55

B.C. Britain was invaded by the Roman conqueror Julius Caesar. Until 410 A.D. all the roman

troops returned to the continent, thus ending the Roman occupation of Britain. Later on, three

tribes from the Northern Europe invaded Britain and settled down on the island: Angles, Saxons

and Jutes. These three tribes merged into one people. And the three dialects they spoke naturally

grew into a single language, the English Language.

2.2 The development of the British English

There are mainly three periods of the development of British English that is, old English, Middle

English and Modern English.

The period from 450 to 1150 is known as the Old English or Anglo-Saxon period. It is described

as the period of full inflections, since during most of this period the case endings of the noun, the

adjective, and the conjugation of the verb were not weakend.

The period from 1150 to 1500 is known as the Middle English period. During this period the

inflections, which had begun to break down towards the end of the Old English period, became

greatly reduced, and it is known as the period of leveled inflections.