英语毕业论文：English Language American or British.doc

englishlanguage:americanorbritishbeingthepaternallanguageoftheothernativeenglishes(canadianenglish,australianenglish,newzealandenglishandsouthafricanenglish),britishenglishandamericanenglishtodayarethetwomainenglishlanguagesoftheenglish-speakingworld.althoughtoomanyhasalreadybeensaidoverhowthescope,thetypes,andthepossibleeffectsoftheinconsistencybetweenthetwokindswillbeinthefuture,thequarrelontheissuehasnotcometoanendatall.thecoverofthejournalforumxxvii,no3,july1989,recallingthetopicandprovidesaresearchofevidenceofthedifferencebetweenthetwokindsofenglishoverthecenturies.noahwebster(indissertationsontheenglishlanguage)claimedthatafurtherincompatibilityoftheamericanlanguagefromtheenglishnecessaryandinevitable.healsopredictedthat“northamericanenglishwouldeventuallybeasdifferentfrombritishasdutch,danishandswedisharefromgermanorfromoneanother”.marktwain(inthestolenwhiteelephant)thoughtamericanandbritishenglishtobedifferentlanguagesanddeclaredthattheformer,spoken“initsutmostpurity”,cannotbeunderstoodbyanenglishpeopleatall.thisattitudewaspreviouslyexpressedbycaptainthomashamilton(inmenandmannersinamerica).hesaidthat“inanothercentury,thedialectoftheamericanswillbecomeutterlyunintelligibletoanenglishman.”authorsofthetwentiethcenturyholdentirelydifferentattitudetowardthoseofthepreviouscenturies,theytendtohaveamuchmoredistinctivefeelingofsamenessbetweenamericanandbritishenglish.thus,mitfordm.mathews(frombeginningsofamericanenglish)seesthetwokindstobe“sooverwhelminglyalike.”forstephenleacock(fromhowtowrite),“thereisnotthefaintestchanceofthereeverbeinganamericanlanguageasapartfromenglish.”randolphquirk(inthenewyorktimesmagazine),believesthat,”eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanyabsolutebritishandamericandistinctions”;quirkclaimedthatevennoahwebster,afterfruitlessyearsintryingtocreatea“linguisticgulf”,“cametorealizethatinallessentialsbritainsandamericansspokethesamelanguage”.alberth.marckwardtandrandolphquirklatelyexpressedtheirconclusionthattheyconsiderbritishenglishandamericanasthesameintheirbookacommonlanguage:britishandamericanenglish.itsintroductionwhichisanexcerptfromthebookreadsthat“thetwovarietiesofenglishhaveneverbeensodifferentaspeoplehaveimagined,andthedominanttendency,forseveraldecadesnow,hasbeenthatofconvergenceandevengreatersimilarities.”thepresentbooksarguesthatthisgrowingviewofsamenessbetweenamericanandbritishenglishgiveouttheriskofneglectingtheexistenceofsomesignificantdifferenceswhoseimpactincertaindomainsoflifeshouldnotbeoverlooked.butbeforelookingintotheproblemswhicharisefromthedifferencesbetweenthetwoenglishes,iwillgiveabackgroundshowingthedevelopmentprocessofthestatusofamericanenglishintheworld,itsinfluenceandexpansionandanalyzeitscausesofgrowing.1.thedevelopmentandpopularityofamericanenglishlongafteritsintroductionintothenewworld,americanenglishwasstillconsiderednon-standardenglish.mr.kahanepointedoutthataccordingtosomepeopleofthe1780samericanenglishwasthe“underdog”orapeasantslanguagethata“gentleman”willnotspeak.consideredinabilingualpointofview,britishenglishwasthedominantlanguagelinkedtoprestigeand(linguistic)purism.thebeliefintheauthorityorsayinthesuperiorofbritishenglish,hasmaintainedtothetwentiethcentury,especiallyintheformerbritishempireorinthefieldsofbritishinfluence.thus,itisreportedthatinchina,teachersandschooltextbooksrefertoandrecommendreceivedpronunciationasthemodel,aswellasstandardbritishsyntax,spellingandlexis.britishenglishisalsoencouragedandacceptedasthecriteriaofsomemajorofficialexaminations,forexample,collegeenglishtestandtestforenglishmajorswhichareconductedbygovernment.similarsituationscouldbefoundinothercountries,forexample,inafrica,thewestafricanexaminationcouncilandjointadmissionandmatriculationboardacceptthebritishenglishasthestandardenglish.reportcanalsobefoundthatincairo,asrecentlyas1984,someuniversitystudentsreceivedlowergradesiftheyusedamericanspellingsinsteadofbritish.modianowrotethatineurope,“wefindteachers,britishpeopleaswellasnativesofthecountryinwhichtheywork,whofollowthebritishenglishstandard,andscorntheamericanenglish”.howevertheaboveattitudesarenothingbutthelastinfluenceofalong-goneperiodofbritishsupremacy.accordingtocampbellandothers,thebeginningofadistinctleadofamericanenglishcanbetracedtothedecadesafterworldwarii.thiscoincideswiththesimultaneousriseoftheusasamilitaryandtechnologicalpowerandthedeclineofthebritishempire,whichdrovemanytoamericanenglish.andfromthenon,americanenglishhascontinuouslysentitsinfluencetoeverycorneroftheplanet.britainmadeenglishaninternationallanguageinthenineteenthcenturywithitsimperialismpower,butamericanshavebeenthedrivingforcebehinditsglobalizationinthetwentiethcentury.agreatdealofexamplesoftheinfluenceofamericanenglishcanbefoundinalargequantityofcurrentbooks,magazines,movies.accordingtofoster,thepopularityofamericanismamongtheyounggenerationinbritainis“thehall-markofthetough-guyandthehe-man”.afterreviewingthepresenceofamericanenglishfeaturesinthebritishvarietyofenglishitself,awonusigivesagreatdealofexamplesofamericanizedenglishinphonologyandlexisthathehasidentifiedco-exitinginhisownnigerianenglish.modianoreportsthat,despitetheinfluenceofexpertenglishteachersfrombritain,europeans“aresubjectedtoamassiveamountofamericanenglish”,whichmanystudentsaremuchmoreinterestedin.campbellsexamplesoftheinfluenceofamericanenglishincludethefactthatyoungpeopleineuropeaccordingtocampbellsestimate,70%oftheroughly350millionnativeenglishspeakersspeaktheamericanversionofenglish.infact,thepopulationsofthetwoleadingmothertongueenglishcountriesareevenmoresuggestive:theunitedstateshasapopulationofabout260millionwhilethereisonlyabout55millioninbritain.thisseeminglygivestheamericanenglishmuchmoreadvantage.thecausesoftheunprecedentedexpansionofamericanenglishinclude,asstatedabove,thepost-worldwariimilitaryandtechnologicaladvancement.theyarefordemographic,politicalreasons,orhavetodowiththecomputerandtheinternet,themassmedia,trade,thepeacecorps,andimmigrationpolicies:thelastfewdecadeshavewitnessedanever-increasingpoliticaldominationofamericaontheplanet.thisstatuswasfurtherreinforcedinthelate1980sbythefallofcommunism,whichresultedintheuspenetratingandconsolidatingitspositioninformerlysocialistterritories.theleadoftheusinthecomputerandinternetindustryhaslongbeenestablished.thatbillgatesandothercomputergeniusesareamericans,theycreateeverythingbyamericanism.asaconsequenceoftheusdominationofcomputerindustry,thefavoredlanguageofthisindustryisamericanenglish,whichforcepeoplewhouseamericancomputerhardwareandsoftwaretoaccepttheamericanenglish,eitherconsciouslyorunconsciously.americanradioandtelevisionnetworksarespreadallovertheworld.campbellreportsthat,asrecentlyas1993,theunitedstatescontrolled75%oftheworldstelevisionprogramming,“beamingsesamestreettolagos,nigeria,forexample”.thevoiceofamericaandcnnhavenocompetitorsallovertheworldover.tradewiththeushassteadilyriseninvolumeoverthepastfewyears,eveninterritoriesformerlycontrolledbybritainandconsideredbymanypeopletobecountofboundstoamerica.forexample,theusisoneofnigeriasmainpartnersinthecrudeoilbusiness.thepeacecorps,foundedbypresidentj.f.kennedyin1962,hasbeenamajorcauseofemigrationofamericanstovariouspartsofthethirdworld.thepeacecorpsvolunteershavebeenworkinginthemedicalsector,inagriculture,andverysignificantlyinenglishlanguageteaching,leavingconsiderableinfluenceofamericanenglishaftertheirreturningback.thestrictimmigrationlawsofbritain,coupledwiththeallegedinhospitalityofthebritish,haveoflatedivertedtoamericastudentsandpeoplefromvariouspartsoftheworldseekingasubstituteplacetheunitedstates.thechainreactionofthisfactorhasresultedinmuchmoremigrationtotheus.forpeopleholdthesensethattheytendtofindhelpfromfriendsandrelativeslivinginthestates.therecentpolicy,enactedbytheus,ofthevisaprogramto“recruit”50,000newimmigrantstothestateseachyearhasaddedtotheattempttomigranttotheus.thelong-termreactionofthelargemigrationtothestatesontheamericanizationofenglishinnativetoldaboveisthestoryofthebabyversionofaenglishlanguagethathasgrownandisthreateningtoshakethedominationofthemotherlanguage.thisphenomenoncouldhardlybeenseenelsewhere.neitherthecasewithcanadian,belgianorswissfrenchinrelationtothefrenchoffrance,norwithlatinamericanspanishorportugueseinrelationtothespanishorportugueseofspainorportugal,respectively.thespeaker,andespeciallythelearner,ofenglishisnowfacedwiththetaskofmanagingtheco-existenceofthetwocompetinglanguages.theyare,however,notproblem-free. theproblemsitisoversimplifiedtosay,likem.mathewsintheintroductionabove,thatamericanenglishandbritishenglishare“sooverwhelminglyalike”or,likequirkequallycitedabove,that“eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanybritishandamericanabsolutedistinctions”.itreallydependshereonwhatquantityquirkconsiderstobemany.already,thelistofpronunciationdifferencesthatheandmarckwardtthemselvesgiveaffectshundredsofwords,whichcanbeconsideredtobemajor,byanystandard.qualitatively,too,thedifferencesareimportant.learnersallovertheworldwillsurelyagreewithme,forexample,thatthefollowingdifferencesarequiteconfusing:britishenglishanti,multi;semi;dosail,futail;lesure,fertail,leftenant,got,pottervsamericanenglishantai-,multai,semai;dosl,fertl;li:sure,lutenant,ga:t,pa:tter.andtherearemanyothersuchcontrasts,inlexisandgrammer,wecanalsofindmanydistinctcontrastswithanobviousincidenceoncommunication,aswillbeshownlater.differencesbetweenamericanandbritishenglishdonotmatterwhenthespeakerorwriterisfamiliarwiththetwocodesandcaneasilyfindinhis/herownvarietycorrespondencestofeaturesfromtheothervariety.butconfusion,embarrassmentorsheerincomprehensionwillariseinmanydaily-lifesituationswhenthelistenerorreaderwhoisnotfamiliarwiththeothervariety.goodillustrationscomefromyourpcinthiscomputerage:whereyourspellingchecker,basedonamericanenglish,identifiesclour,centre,dialogue,civilise,towards,defence,enclose,travelledfromyourtextasincorrectlyspelt,youneedtobefamiliarwiththetwovarietiestoknowthatyourspellingcheckerexpectsamericanspellingswhicharecolor,center,dialog,civilize,toward,defense,inclose,traveled.(ifyourtextisinbritishenglishyouwillsimplyclick“ignore”andmoveon.)knowledgeofthetwovarietiesisequallyimportantintheclassroomforthestudentsandteachershe/shewillbeallthemorepenalizedassomefeaturesinonevarietymayclearlyviolatethegrammaroftheothervariety.manyamericanchangesofcategoriesobservedinsomecasesareinoutrightviolationofbritishenglishgrammar.forexample,accommodationbecomescountable(e.g.goodaccommodationsarerare);someirregularverbsbecomeregular(e.g.broadcasted,shined);someregularverbsbecomeirregular(snuckoutforbritishenglishsneakedout);someintransitiveverbsbecometransitive(e.g.theplanedepartednewyork;weprotestedthesalarycuts);sometransitiveverbsbecomeintransitive(e.g.ivisitedwithmyfriendsforbritishenglishivisitedmyfriends):someadjectivesmaybeusedasadverbs(e.g.itsrealnice).othermajorviolationsofbritishenglishsyntaxareseeninusagessuchas:aisdifferentthanb,wherethanisusedwithoutthecorrespondinger/moreorlessrequiredforcomparatives;insusanwantsout,whereawholeverbanditsprecedingparticle(togo)areomitted;inlikeisaidwherelike,insteadofbritishenglishas,introducesaclause;iniwantforyoutogo,wherethereisamajorintrusionofapreposition;inhelookedoutthewindow,wherethereisamajordeletionofapreposition;inhejustleft,where,despitetheclearfactthatapastactionhassomerelevancetothepresent,thepresentperfectisnotused.andsoon.aninformalsurveyrecentlycarriedoutamongteachersofenglishwhohadbeenworkingforlong,showedthat,althoughtheydeclaredthattheyreadilyacceptedamericanenglish,theywouldconsidertheaboveamericanenglishusages,andmanymoreasincorrect.alltheyknowofamericanenglishisorforour(e.g.color),-izeforise,centerforcentreandsimilarminorandcommondifferences.theproblemofmultiplestandardsisaggravatedincountrieslikethoseoftheformerbritishempirewhereindigenizedvarietiesofenglishhavealreadyestablishedthemselvesathoritivelyaslocalstandards.there,theintrusionofamericanenglishaddstothealreadyexistingconflictandcompetitionbetweenbritishenglishandthelocalforms.awonusi(1994)aptlydescribesthisphenomenoninnigeria.whatsmore,othercountries,likechina,faceasimilarsituation.inchinaenglishforexample,themostinterestingmanifestationofthistriplescaleiswhenalocalenglishformestablishesitself,anddiffersfromboththeestablishedbritishenglishandamericanenglishforms.forexample,yourelaxinasittingroominbritain,alivingroominamericaandaparlourinchina;youfillinforminbritain,filloutaformintheusandfillaforminchina.phonologyoffersmanymoreofsuchsystematiccontrasts.inadditiontoproblemsofcorrectnessdiscussedabove,thedivergencesbetweenamericanandbritishenglishraisedproblemsofintelligibilitythatcannotbealtogetheroverlooked.studiesspecificallymeasuringtheintelligibilitybetweenamericanenglishandbritishenglisharenotavailabletomeatthemoment.butothersinvolvingtheintelligibilityofthetwovarieties,fromthepointofviewofthenon-nativespeaker,doexist,andshowthatamericanenglishandbritishenglishdonothavethesamedegreeofintelligibility.forexample,insmiths(1992)studyconductedinamerica,abritishenglishspeaker(interactingwithapapuaguinean)is70%understandabletonon-nativespeakerswhileanamerican(interactingwithanindonesianis90%undertandable).thedifferencesbetweenamericanenglishandbritishenglishwouldhavenomajorimpactonintelligibilityiftheyonlyconcerned,forexample,featuresinphonologylikeamericanenglishrhoticity,darkeningof“l”acrosstheboard,thenasaltwang,somewordstressdifferences;inspellinglikeize,-oranderdiscussedabove;orinlexisitemslikevacation,movie,cab,schedule(forbritishenglishtimetable),etc.butthevariouslevelsofanalysisoffermoreserious,andveryoften,lessknowndivergences.inphonologyforexample,alearnerwhoisusedtobritishenglish/dentist,kla:k,le3e/(dentist,clerk,leisure)maynotfind(americanenglish)/deni:st,kle:rk,li:3er/intelligibeunlessthecontextisverysupportive.andwhenonebearsinmindthatprocessesyieldingtheredifferencesaffectamultitudeofotherwords,oneeasilyunderstandstheriskofintelligibilityfailure.lexisalsooffersveryinterestingcases.auserofbritishenglishwholistenstoorreadsamericanenglishwillfaceproblemsofintelligibilitywithwordsthatdonotexistinhis/herownversionlikefaucet(britishenglishtap),janitor(caretaker),pitcher(jug),mortician(undertaker),realtor(estateagent),closet(cupboard),penitentiarynoun(prison).he/shewillalsofindwordswhichexistinhis/hervariety,buthaveadifferentmeaning.thedifferenceinmeaningmaybenegligibleandnotcausecommunicationproblems,asinamericanenglishvacationvsbritishenglishholidays,call(byphone)vsring,schedulevstime;bothmembersofthesepairs,inparticular,andmanyothers,arenowusedinbritain,whichfurtherreducestheriskofcommunicationfailure.butmajorsemanticdifferencessometimesexist,suchasbetween(americanenglish)firstfloor,secondfloorandbritishenglishgroundfloor,firstfloor,pantsandtrousers,gasandpetrol,(fromamericanenglish,12thoffebruary1998).theseextremecasesofdivergencemaycausecommunicationproblemsorgreatembarrassmentinsomecases.justimagineanamericanenglishspeakerdirectingabritishenglishspeakertothefirstorsecondfloor,askinghim/herforgas,askinghim/hertoshowhis/herpants,andyouwillagreethatamericanenglishandbritishenglisharenot“sooverwhelminglyalike”,asclaimedabove.casesofcommunicationfailure(orpotentialfailu