Differences Between British English and American English
CONTENTS
Introduction 3
1. British English and American English pronunciation 7
2. British English and American English vocabulary 10
3. British English and American English grammar 13
Conclusions 16
References 17
Introduction
The object of this work is to study, analyse, and most importantly compare differences between two major branches of English language: American English (also called General American) and British English (also called UK English or English English).
The term British English is used to distinguish the standard form of English used in Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the varieties used in other parts of the world (Peters 2004:79). But according to McArthur (2002:45), this term in itself is tautologious and somehow misleading for it could be interpreted in many ways and shows only broad sense of the language that is spoken in Britain because there are many variations, dialects, and usages of this language.
Similarly to the British English, American English is a term that describes a language that is spoken in the United States of America (Peters 2004:34). It is also a broad term and shows the collection of words, pronunciation patterns which are used in the United States but that does not imply that every American speaks American English as it is defined in books.
As these two languages are wealthy with different words and to point out differences between all of the words would be daunting and not particularly useful thing only some group of words will be studied. Also, because of the close relation between American English and British English, some analysis at how these two languages altered will be given. There is an abundant list of authors and books on the subject of differences between American English and British English and this course paper will try to give a comprehensible and concise insight on this case.
Motivational basis of the research: Throughout the decades, specifically
Introduction 3
1. British English and American English pronunciation 7
2. British English and American English vocabulary 10
3. British English and American English grammar 13
Conclusions 16
References 17
Introduction
The object of this work is to study, analyse, and most importantly compare differences between two major branches of English language: American English (also called General American) and British English (also called UK English or English English).
The term British English is used to distinguish the standard form of English used in Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the varieties used in other parts of the world (Peters 2004:79). But according to McArthur (2002:45), this term in itself is tautologious and somehow misleading for it could be interpreted in many ways and shows only broad sense of the language that is spoken in Britain because there are many variations, dialects, and usages of this language.
Similarly to the British English, American English is a term that describes a language that is spoken in the United States of America (Peters 2004:34). It is also a broad term and shows the collection of words, pronunciation patterns which are used in the United States but that does not imply that every American speaks American English as it is defined in books.
As these two languages are wealthy with different words and to point out differences between all of the words would be daunting and not particularly useful thing only some group of words will be studied. Also, because of the close relation between American English and British English, some analysis at how these two languages altered will be given. There is an abundant list of authors and books on the subject of differences between American English and British English and this course paper will try to give a comprehensible and concise insight on this case.
Motivational basis of the research: Throughout the decades, specifically
References: • Bryson, B. 2001. The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way. United States of America: Perennial; • Darragh, G • Davies, Ch. 2005. Divided by a common language: a guide to British and American English, Volume 13. United Stated of America: Mayflower; • Gimson, A • Jespersen, O. 1956. Growth and structure of the English Language. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co.; • Macmillan English Dictionary • McArthur, T. 2002. Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford: Oxford University Press; • Peters, Pam • Shakhbagova, D. A. 1982. Varieties of English Pronunciation. Moscow: High School; • Rohdenburg, G & Schlüter, J