英国英语和美国英语区别大总结.doc

关于英国英语和美国英语的区别多有讨论，今天我给大家来个简单的总结吧。在总结前有三句话说在前头：1. 倒退三四百年世界上没有所谓的标准英语，标准的英音和美音是上流社会经济和文化的产物。2. 英式英语和美式英语沟通不存在问题，所以学那种都可以。3. 英音和美音各有自己的特点，所以学那种都可以，不存在说美音的人听不懂英音的情况。今天就给大家看几篇西方人对英美英语的区别的总结。第一篇 是位教书有10年的英国教师的总结There are many well-known differences between British and American English, but these differences wont cause you any serious problems if you come and work in Britain.First, there are a few noticeableGRAMMARdifferences between British and American English: Ill talk about the two most important ones.First of all, when Americans make sentences usingjust,alreadyoryet, they normally use the past simple tense, while in Britain, we use the present perfect.So an American, for example, might say:Ialready hadlunch.She didnt arrive yet.And a British person would say:Ive already hadlunch.- ThatsI have already hadlunch.Or.Shehasntarrivedyet.Also, in Britain we often usehave gotorhas gotwhen we talk about possession, while Americans generally just usehaveorhas.So, for example, in American English we might say:I have a new car.In British English its more normal to say:Ive got a new car.The meanings the same, theres just a small grammatical difference that you might notice.There are these and a few other very small differences, but to be honest, these differences almost never make it difficult for us to understand each other.On the other hand, the differences inVOCABULARYbetween American English and British English are stronger than the grammatical differences, but again, these very rarely cause serious problems.A lot of the words which are different are informal or slang words.For example, I think many Americans would be unfamiliar with the British slang wordnaff, which means un-cool or poor-quality.On the other hand, a Brit (a British person) might be very confused by a sentence like:The caf is kitty-corner to the pharmacy.This means that the caf is diagonally opposite to the pharmacy, but we dont have the wordkitty-cornerin British English.Another example would be telling the time.If we want to describe2:45in Britain, we might say:Quartertothree, or3:15would be Quarterpastthree.On the other hand, in America, these might be:Quarterofthree for2:45, or Quarterafterthree for3:15.Its another small difference, but its one thats not going to cause serious problems - its quite easy to get used to.There are also some differences inSPELLINGwhich I should mention.One example of this is the verbto practise:In British English, this is spelt with anS, so thatsP-R-A-C-T-I-S-E.In American English, its spelt with twoCs, so in American English itsP-R-A-C-T-I-C-E.And there are lots of other examples of slight difference of spelling, but about 99% of the time, British and American people can understand each other without any trouble at all. In Britain we watch lots of American films and TV programs, and we listen to lots of American music, so American English is generally very familiar to us.This is probably not quite so true for an American coming to Britain. Americans, I think, dont watch quite so much British TV or British movies.I should also point out that regional English can be an important thing to think about. Not everyone in Britain talks like James Bond. There are some regional accents in Britain which you dont hear so often in the movies, and these might be a bit more difficult to get used to.However, Id like to finish by saying that many, many Americans live and work in Britain, and they dont have any serious language problems at all. So, Brittney, my advice to you is: dont worry about the language, youll be fine!第二篇 关于两种拼写 牛津在线词典给了详细的说明British and American spellingThere are several areas in which British and American spelling are different. These are the main ones to be aware of.Words ending in reBritish English words that end in-reoften end in-erin American English:BritishUScentrecenterfibrefiberlitrelitertheatretheaterortheatreWords ending in -ourBritish English words ending in-ourusually end in-orin American English:BritishUScolourcolorflavourflavorhumourhumorlabourlaborneighbourneighborWords ending in -ize or -iseVerbs in British English that can be spelled with either-izeor-iseat the end are always spelled with-izeat the end in American English:BritishUSapologizeorapologiseapologizeorganizeororganiseorganizerecognizeorrecogniserecognizeWords ending in -yseVerbs in British English that end in-yseare always spelled-yzein American English:BritishUSanalyseanalyzebreathalysebreathalyzeparalyseparalyzeWords ending in a vowel plus lIn British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plusldouble thelwhen adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, thelis not doubled:BritishUStraveltraveltravelledtraveledtravellingtravelingtravellertravelerfuelfuelfuelledfueledfuellingfuelingWords spelled with double vowelsBritish English words that are spelled with the double vowelsaeoroeare just spelled with anein American English:BritishUSleukaemialeukemiamanoeuvremaneuveroestrogenestrogenpaediatricpediatricNote that in American English, certain terms, such asarchaeology, keep theaespelling as standard, although the spelling with just thee(i.e.archeology) is usually acceptable as well.Nouns ending with enceSome nouns that end with-encein British English are spelled-ensein American English:BritishUSdefencedefenselicencelicenseoffenceoffensepretencepretenseNouns ending with ogueSome nouns that end with-oguein British English end with either-ogor-oguein American English:BritishUSanalogueanalogoranaloguecataloguecatalogorcataloguedialoguedialogordialogueThe distinctions here are not hard and fast. The spellinganalogueis acceptable but not very common in American English;cataloghas become the US norm, butcatalogueis not uncommon;dialogueis still preferred overdialog.Aside from spelling differences, many items and practices have different names in British and American English. To explore further, seeBritish and American terms.第三篇 这位老师给了更详细的一个说明IntroductionSpeakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) far less than speakers of British English. In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are:(i) In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the present:American English / British English Jenny feels ill. She ate too much. Jenny feels ill. Shes eaten too much. I cant find my keys. Did you see them anywhere? I cant find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?(ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet:American English / BritishEnglish A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. They already saw it. A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. Theyve already seen it. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, she just left. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, shes just left. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I didnt read it yet. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I havent read it yet.1. Verbagreementwith collective nounsIn British English collective nouns, (i.e. nouns referring to particular groups of people or things), (e.g. staff , government, class, team) can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals, e.g.:My team is winning.The other team are all sitting down.In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say:Which team is losing?whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in:Which team is/are losing?2. Use ofdelexicalverbs have and takeIn British English, the verb have frequently functions as what is technically referred to as a delexical verb, i.e. it is used in contexts where it has very little meaning in itself but occurs with an object noun which describes an action, e.g.:Id like to have a bath.Have is frequently used in this way with nouns referring to common activities such as washing or resting, e.g.:Shes having a little nap.Ill just have a quick shower before we go out.In American English, the verb take, rather than have, is used in these contexts, e.g.:Joes taking a shower.Id like to take a bath.Lets take a short vacation.Why dont you take a rest now?3. Use ofauxiliariesand modalsIn British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question, e.g.: A: Are you coming with us? B: I might do.In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.: A: Are you coming with us? B: I might.In British English neednt is often used instead of dont need to, e.g.:They neednt come to school today.They dont need to come to school today.In American English neednt is very unusual and the usual form is dont need to, i.e.:They dont need to come to school today.In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g.:I shall/will be there later.In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used.In British English shall I / we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.:Shall we ask him to come with us?In American English should is often used instead of shall, i.e.:Should we ask him to come with us?4. Use ofprepositionsIn British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.:at Christmas/five o clockat the weekendIn American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.:Will they still be there on the weekend?Shell be coming home on weekends.In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other institutions, e.g.:She studied chemistry at university.In American English, in is often used, e.g.:She studied French in high school.In British English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.:This place is different from/to anything Ive seen before.In American English from and than are used with different, e.g.:This place is different from/than anything Ive seen before.In British English to is always used after the verb write, e.g.:I promised to write to her every day.In American English, to can be omitted after write, i.e.:I promised to write her every day.5.Pasttense formsBelow is a table showing verbs which have different simple past and past participle forms in American and British English. Note that the irregular past forms burnt, dreamt and spoilt are possible in American English, but less common than the forms ending in -ed.InfinitiveSimple past(Br)Simple past(Am)Past participle(Br)Past participle(Am)burnburned/burntburned/burntburned/burntburned/burntbustbustbustedbustbusteddivediveddove/diveddiveddiveddreamdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtgetgotgotgotgottenleanleaned/leantleanedleaned/leantleanedlearnlearned/learntlearnedlearned/learntlearnedpleadpleadedpleaded/pledpleadedpleaded/pledproveprovedprovedprovedproved/provensawsawedsawedsawnsawn/sawedsmellsmelled/smeltsmelledsmelled/smeltsmelledspillspilled/spiltspilledspilled/spiltspilledspoilspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltstinkstankstank/stunkstunkstunkwakewokewoke/wakedwokenwokenNotethat havegotis possible in American English, but is used with the meaninghave,gottenis the usual past participle ofget, e.g.American EnglishBritish EnglishYouve got two brothers(= you have two brothers)Youve got two brothersYouve gotten taller this yearYouve got taller this year6.Implicationsfor teachingThe two major varieties of EnglishThe two varieties of English most widely found in print and taught around the world are British and American - it is therefore important for teachers to be aware of the major differences between the two. And while lexical differences are the easiest ones to notice, a knowledge of grammatical and phonological differences can be useful not only for teachers to be aware of, but also to be able to deal with should they come up in class.Which is better?An important point to make is that different doesnt mean wrong. Comments such as “American English is inferior to British English”, or “American English is better than British English” have no solid basis other than the speakers opinion. The truth is that no language or regional variety of language is inherently better or worse than another. They are just different. Students will often have very firm beliefs on which English they think is better/easier to understand/clearer etc. While it may be true for that particular individual, there is no evidence to suggest that one variety is easier to learn or understand than the other.Materials and varietiesIf you are an American English speaker teaching with a British coursebook or vice versa, what do you say when the book is different from your English? The answer here is to point out the difference. The differences are not so numerous as to overload the students and often can be easily dealt with. For example, if you are an American English speaker using a lesson that has just included “at the weekend” it takes very little time to point out that in American English