英国英语和美国英语在拼写和发音的异同

Differences between British English and
American English

Abstract:
British English and American English are the two most important
variants of the English language. They influence each other and are
mutually complementary. Due to the historical, political, cultural and
environmental factors, the two language variations have some
differences in various aspects. These varieties may be regional or
national. To understand the differences between American English and
British English and to grasp their rules are very important .This paper
will describe the differences in the following aspects: pronunciation,
spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and usage.



I . Introduction
Nowadays, English is popular around the world, which has
experienced great changes during a long time of American colonization,
English has been the language of the United States. From then on,
English language were grouped into two major kinds, British English
and American English, which have their own characteristics. As time the
time goes, America begins take part in international affairs.
Especially, America plays a important role in international stage from

Second World War to now. Recent 20 years, American English develops
quickly in politics, economy, culture, education and so on. So American
English develops rapidly, and is discussed and studied in world.

In modern society, some people think learning American English is
fashionable, but the concept of differences must not be taken too far,
because British English and American will be two major varieties of one
language, not two different languages, with the development of modern
science, technology, mass media, the differences between these two
nations are becoming smaller. In practice, the tendency is towards better
understanding between the people of the two countries. In order to help
the English learners better understand the differences between British
English and American English, this paper tries to analyse the main
differences between British English and American English in
pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and usage.



ciation differences :
There are a number of easy-to-hear differences in the way that
English is pronounced by British and American speakers. Here we will
look at the following areas :
British and American speakers have different stress patterns in their
speech when they say certain words with two or more syllables. For
example:

British English
an ?cillary
la ?boratory
dic ?tate
mi ?grate


In words with several syllables like secretary, American speakers
emphasize the ending more than British speakers, so that the word
seems to have an extra syllable:


words
secretary
territory

Americans retain the “r” at the end of the words. For example:

words
star
car



British English
[sta:]
[ka:]
American English
[star]
[kar]
British English
[sekrtri]
[tertri]
American English
[sekrteri]
[tert?ri]
American English
ancillary
laboratory
dictate
migrate

III. Spelling differences:
Most vocabulary’s spelling in the two languages are the same, but
there are a few words’ spelling obvious differences. Some of the
differences are the result of the development of American English,
especially in the 19th century when Doctor Webster put the American
characters into British English and American English on the spelling of
old English. Anyway, there is regularity in the different spelling of
British English and American English.

a. American spelling always avoids the repetition of the letter of
consonant. Generally, “ l ” is not doubled in American English. For
example:
BE: traveller, levelling
AE: traveler, leveling

b. Some words end in “-ter” in American English, and “-tre” in British
English. For example:
BE: theatre, centre
AE: theater, center

c. Some words end in “-or” in American English, and “-oure” in British
English. For example:
BE: labour, honour, colour, humour
AE: labor, honor, color, humor

d. American spelling always omits the un-pronounced letters. For
example:
BE: catalogue, axe, dialogue, good-bye
AE: catalog, ax, dialog, good-by



IV. Differences in vocabulary and meaning
Due to the differences in the population structure, physical
environment, social and economic conditions, American English has
diverged somewhat from British English. Most vocabulary in British
English and American English have the same meaning. Few words
reflect the differences in vocabulary and meaning. There are three
important types of differences in the meaning of words in the two
varities.


A. The same object may have the different names.
Using different words to describe one meaning is the most obvious
difference between British English and American English. Some of the
biggest differences are in the words used for basic everyday things. For
example:

British English
mobile phone
lift
tin
tap
apartment
sweets
petrol


American English
cell phone
elevator
can
faucet
flat
candy
gas
B. One word in different meanings
Some vocabulary developed individually in the two languages.
This phenomenon make the words lost their basic meaning and
gradually obtained some new meanings. This finally changed the
meaning of the vocabulary in the two languages.


words

subway



chips
long thin pieces of potato,
fried and eaten hot.
American speakers call these
fries or French fries.
thin flat pieces of
potato, fried and eaten cold.
Also called potato chips,
these fries or French fries.
British English
the pavement under
the ground
American English
the train under the ground

football

a game played all over the a game played in the US,
world, with a round ball that with an egg-shaped ball that
the players kick (but do not the players can throw or kick.
throw). American speakers British speakers call this
call this game soccer. game American football.


C. Words of cross meaning
It is a special phenomenon between the two former differences. A
word may have different meanings in British English and American
English But it may have the same meaning in its modification with
another word’s modification. Biscuit in British English means cookie in
American English while biscuit in American English means scone. It is
very interesting that dessert in American English means pudding in
British English, while pudding in American English means custard in
British English.



Ⅴ.Grammar differences:
British English and American English grammar is mostly in
agreement; there are however some interesting variations.

A. Americans use a simple past tense in some cases where
British people use a present perfect.
AE: He just went home.
BE: He has just gone home.

B. There are differences in certain verb forms :
BE: fit-fitted
AE: fit-fit

C. Americans use the verb “ have ” a little differently from
British people in some cases.
BE: Have you got a cold?
AE: Do you have a cold?

D. Americans are much more likely to be technically correct in
the agreement of collective noun and verb form than Britons.
BE: The team are playing well.
AE: The team is playing well.

F. In informal speech, Americans sometimes use adverb forms
without “-ly”.
AE: He looked at me real strange.
BE: He looked at me really strangely.

G. on the phone
BE: Hello , is that Jane?
AE: Hello, is this Jane?

Ⅵ.Usage differences
There are countless other small and interesting differences between
British English and American English, which come under the heading of
usage. For example:

For Americans the number billion has 9 zeros (a thousand million); for
most Britons it has 12 zeros (a million million). Zero itself is a much
more common word in AE than in BE, where nought is more
widespread. Americans say the number 624 as six hundred twenty four,
whereas in British it would be said six hundred and twenty four.



Conclusion
American and British English will be two major variants of one
language because of the similarities of the basic word stock, the basic
grammar and the basic phonetic system, and because of rapid
development of modern science, technology, mass media, and constant
cultural and economic exchanges between these two nations.