Топик: British vs. American English
Топик: British vs. American English
Introduction
Torsten Daerr
English is spoken in many countries either as the mother tongue or
as a second language. That’s why instead of «English» there are many
«Englishes» — variations of the language. In this article I’ll focus on the two
mostly commonly used versions of English — British and American English.
Before we take a look at some of the differences between the two
main types of English I’d like to stress that these differences are somehwat
minor and with the ongoing internationalization of our modern world they could
even said to be diminishing.
The few differences that exist between British and American English
tend rather to enrich communication than slow it down.
Although not all my British readers might agree, I think that the
American version of spoken English is becoming more and more dominant for
several reasons. Let me give you an example to show you why American English
has a stronger impact on British English than vice versa.
When you go to the UK and switch on the TV you will see a lot of
American shows, movies and films which, of course, are shown in the original,
American version. Thus, especially young people watching TV will learn a lot of
American vocabulary and phrases which they easily internalize and use as their
own. It follows, modern British English is much more likely to be influenced by
American English than the other way round because when you live in the US and
watch TV you rarely will see a British show or film.
Another area where US English dominates is international business.
Most globally operating companies are based in the US and hence the influence
of American English terminology is very strong.
However, as with any issue, the more you think about it, the more
variations you will encounter and it would be impossible to cover them all in
one article.
That’s why we’ll move on now to the differences between British and
American English. Instead of giving you a comprehensive rundown of all imaginable
items I’ll limit myself to a small selection of my personal observations.
Spelling
When it comes to different spellings there isn’t really that much to
say because in the near future the world will more or less agree on one uniform
version.
British English has a tendency to keep the spelling of many words of
French origin whereas Americans try to spell more closely to the way they
pronounce words and they remove letters not needed, which makes sense to me. Here
are some examples:
British English |
|
American English |
centre |
center |
theatre |
Theater |
realise |
Realize |
catalogue |
Catalog |
programme |
Program |
travelled |
Traveled |
neighbour |
neighbor |
grey |
gray |
plough |
plow |
to practise (verb) |
to practice (verb) |
practice (noun) |
practice (verb) |
cheque |
check (noun) |
Again, these are in my opinion examples for the most important
spelling differences between British and American English. Of course, there are
more of them and the purpose of this article is not to elaborate on orthography
but to raise your awareness of the subject so you can make your own
observations and draw conclusions.
Список литературы
Для
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