浅析英式英语与美式英语差异产生的原因

AbstractEnglishisanimportanttoolininternationalcommunication.Withthedevelopmentofsociety,thetwovariantsofEnglish,BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishhavechangedsignificantly.TherearealotofdifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,andthereasonsfortheirdifferencesliemainlyinthreeaspects:histories,politicsandcultures.Thisthesisistryingtoanalyzethehistorical,politicalandculturalreasonsleadingtothedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,andtryingtopresentsometypicalexamplesofdifferencesinvocabulary,spellingandgrammar.Atlast,itpointsoutthesignificanceoflearningthedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.Keywords:AmericanEnglish;BritishEnglish;differences;reasons;significanceofstudy

中文摘要英语在国际交流中发挥着极其重要的作用。随着社会的发展，英语的两个重要的变体：美式英语与英式英语，也产生了很大的变化。美式英语与英式英语之间存在着许多差异，造成这些差异的因素是多方面的，本文尝试从历史、政治以及文化三方面去分析美式英语与英式英语产生差异的原因，并且通过典型的例证，列举了英语在词汇、拼写和语法等方面的区别，阐述了其间存在的主要差异，最后论文指出了学习美式英语与英式英语之间的差异的重要性。关键词：美式英语；英式英语；差异；原因；学习意义1.IntroductionEnglishlanguage,whetheritisspokeninNorthAmerica,theBritishIsles,Australiaoranyotherplacealloverworld,isonelanguagewithitsdifferentvarieties“equal”siblings.AmericanEnglishistheformofEnglishusedintheUnitedStates.BritishEnglishistheformofEnglishusedintheUnitedKingdomandtherestoftheBritishIsles.ItincludesallEnglishdialectsusedwithintheBritishIsles.TheyarethemostimportanttwovariantsofEnglish.Theyhavedifferentcharacteristics.SinceAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglisharesortof“samelanguage”,thenwhytherewillbethedifferencesbetweenthem?WhenEnglishstudentsaregivenEnglishcourse,inmanycases,theyarejustlearning,payinglittleattentiontothedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.Butasamatteroffact,AmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishdifferalotinmanyaspects.Thesedifferencesappearduetohistorical,political,social,cultural,racialreasons.FromthemomentwhennativeEnglishspeakerbroughttheEnglishintothenewcontinent,theEnglishlanguagehadalreadystartedchanging.OnstudyingthereasonforthedifferencebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,manyscholarsfocusontheformingoftheindividuallanguagesysteminAmerica,andwhetherAmericanEnglishissuperiortotheBritishEnglishandmakingalisttosimplydistinguishthedifferencessystematically.Ontheparthowdidthedifferenceoccur,scholarsholdthedifferentviews.SomescholarsinsistAmericanEnglishismoreconservativethantheBritishEnglish,likeA.H.Markwardt.ButpartofthemadherestothepointthatAmericanEnglishvocabularyismoremodernthantheBritishEnglish,suchastheAmericanlinguistKenyon(Bauer,1994:79).AnAmericanwriterandjournalistHenryLMenckenclaims:TheAmericanFormoftheEnglishLanguagewasdepartingfromtheparentstem,anditseemedlikelythatthedifferencesbetweenAmericanandEnglishwouldgoonincreasing.Bycontrast,Krapppoints,“HistoricalandcomparativestudybringsAmericanEnglishincloserrelationtothecentraltraditionoftheEnglishlanguagethaniscommonlysupposedtoexist”(Qtdin侯维瑞,1995:9-10).ThisthesiswilltrytoanalyzethethreemainreasonsthatmakeAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishdifferentbylistingandcomparingmanyexamples.Itisdividedintosixchapters.ChaptertwoisabriefintroductiontothehistoricalbackgroundofAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.ChapterthreepresentsthemainthreereasonsforthedifferencebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.Chapterfoursimplycomparesthedifferenceonhistorical,politicalandculturalaspects.ChapterfiveexplainsthesignificanceandtheadvantagesfromstudyingthedifferencebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.

2.BackgroundofBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishHowhavethesetwovarietiesofEnglishthendevelopedtowhattheyarenowadays?TherearethreeperiodsinthedevelopmentoftheEnglishlanguage:OldEnglish(orAnglo-Saxon),MiddleEnglish,andModernEnglish.OldEnglishwasspokenfromaboutAD449toAD1100.ThefirstinvasionbytheJutes,Angles,andSaxonsfromtheareaofnorthernGermanyandsouthernDenmarkoccurredinAD449.ThetermAnglo-SaxonsoriginatedfromthecombinationofthenamesAngelsandSaxons.TheirlanguagesmixedwitheachotherandcametobetheearlyversionofEnglish,whichisnowknownasOldEnglish.ThatwastheoriginofEnglish(BaughandCable,1993:345).Withthedevelopmentofmigration,EnglishchangedandBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishcameintobeing.2.1TheoriginanddevelopmentofBritishEnglishTheEnglishspokenintheBritishIsleshas,ofcourse,alonghistory.AftertheOldEnglishperiod,anewerabeganastheNormanFrencharrivedinEngland.ThoseFrench-speakingpeoplebecametherulingclass,andsoFrenchwasthelanguageofrulingclass.ManyFrenchwordsthencameintoEnglish.However,thelanguageofruralpeopleinBritainwhotookupalargeproportionofthepopulationremainedEnglish.ThatwashowEnglishcametobethelanguageofBritishIsles(Yule,2005:186-187).BritishEnglishhasareasonabledegreeofuniformityinitsformalwrittenform,which,astaughtinschools,islargelythesameasintherestoftheEnglish-speakingworld(exceptNorthAmerica).Ontheotherhand,theformsofspokenEnglish-dialects,accentsandvocabulary-usedacrosstheBritishIslesvaryconsiderablymorethaninmostotherEnglish-speakingareasoftheworld,evenmoresothanintheUnitedStates,duetoamuchlongerhistoryofdialectdevelopmentintheEnglishspeakingareasofGreatBritainandIreland.Dialectsandaccentsvary,notonlybetweenEngland,NorthernIreland,ScotlandandWales(whichconstitutetheUnitedKingdom),butalsowithintheseindividualareas.TherearealsodifferencesintheEnglishspokenbydifferentsocio-economicgroupsinanyparticularregion.ReceivedPronunciation(alsoreferredtoasBBCEnglishorQueen’sEnglish)hastraditionallybeenregardedas‘properEnglish’–‘theeducatedspokenEnglishofsouth-eastEngland’.TheBBCandotherbroadcastersnowintentionallyuseamixofpresenterswithavarietyofBritishaccentsanddialects,andtheconceptof'properEnglish'isnowfarlessprevalent.2.2TheoriginanddevelopmentofAmericanEnglishIn1620,onehundredandtwentypuritansonthesteamshipnamedMayFlowerarrivedatthePlymouthinMassachusetts,andthentheyweresettledthereandsetupthecolony.AtthattimeBritainwasintheElizabethIera.AndthelanguagewasjustinthebeginningstageofModernEnglish.ThelanguagespokenbythoseEnglishsettlersmostweretheEnglishfromtheendof16centuryorthebeginningof17century.TheybroughtElizabethanEnglishtotheNewWorldofNorthAmerica,anditbecamethestartingpointofAmericanEnglish.Thefirstcolonieswerefoundedin1607,andthefirstcolonizerswerecontemporariesofShakespeare,SpenserandMilton(吴伟仁,1990:57).Probablyonthisaccount,wordswhichhavediedoutinBritain,orchangedtheirmeaningmaysurviveintheUnitedStates.FormorethanthreecenturiestheAmericanvocabularydevelopedmoreorlessindependentlyoftheBritishstockandwasinfluencedbythenewsurroundings.TheUnitedStatesiscalleda“bigmeltingpot”.BecauseofthecomplicateddemographiccompositioninAmerica,thereareimmigrantsfromFrance,Spain,Asia,AboriginesinMidwestandotherplaces.EnglishinAmerica,whichwasaffectedbysomanykindsofcultureandaccents,finallyseparatedfromtraditionalBritishEnglish.ThedictionaryAmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguageycompliedbyNoahWebsterwaspublishedin1828.Thedictionaryclearlyspecifiesthe“AmericanEnglishwords”.ThisisanepochalsymboloftheageofAmericanEnglish(Noah,1828:32).

3.TheReasonsfortheDifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishBeforeanalyzingthedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,itisnecessarytostudythereasonsfortheirdifference.AmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishcamefromonelanguage.However,geographic,historic,politicandculturaldifferences,alloftheseelementscanbethereasonstomakeAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishmoreandmoredifferent.3.1HistoricalreasonsAmericaisanimmigrantcountrywhichhasashorthistorybutithasdevelopedatafastspeed.In1770s,theAmericanWarofIndependencebrokeout.Aftereightyears,AmericafinallygotfreefromtherulingofBritain,andendedthestageofcolony.TheUnitedStatesofAmericanwasestablishedin1787.MostofthecitizensweretheimmigrantsfromEurope,almostallofthemwereBritishwhospokeEnglish.In1845,theIrishpotatofaminedrove1.5millionIrishmentoseeksurvivalintheNorthAmerica.TheEuropeanindustrialrevolutionin1848againforcedmanyGermanstosettleinthePennsylvaniaandMidwestinAmerica.AftertheendoftheCivilWar,manyoftheNorwegiansandItaliansjoinedtheranksofimmigration.Fromthenon,AmericahadbecometheparadiseofEuropeanimmigrants.MillionsofCzechs,Slovakians,PolacksandYugoslavsinordertoescapefromthepoliticalprosecutionthencametotheAmericancontinentinthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.DuringthedevelopmentofAmericanEnglish,AmericanEnglish’sconservationandinnovationisthemainreasontoleadthedifferencesbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish.PracticallythespeechoftheAmericanEnglishisarchaicwithrespecttothatoftheBritishEnglish.AmericanEnglishwasformedintheseventeenthcentury,basedontheconstructionofBritishcoloniesinNorthAmerica.From1607to1732,BritishcolonistsestablishedthirteencoloniesindifferentperiodinNorthAmerica.ThecommonlyusedlanguagewasEnglishinthosecolonies.AmericanEnglishisthelanguagethatBritainusedintheseventeenthcentury,whichdevelopedfromthelanguagethatShakespeare,MiltonandBunyunused.Therefore,AmericanEnglishintheearlystagehadreservedalotofcharacteristicoftheBritishEnglishinElizabethIerainpronunciation,grammarandvocabulary.AtthesameperiodinBritain,Englishchangedalotbecauseofthefastdevelopmentofeconomyandsociety.ButAmericandidnothavetheconditiontomotivethechangeofEnglish.That’swhyAmericanEnglishreservesplentyoftheElizabethEnglish’scharacteristicthatBritainEnglishhaslostnow.ThatistheconservationofAmericanEnglish.TheinnovationpartcamefromAmericanpeople’screativity.TheAmericanpeoplereservetheoldEnglishandtheyalsocreatealotofnewwordstospecializetheirlifestyles.AlbertH.MarckwardtoncementionedthatAmericanEnglishownedthesideofconservation,atthesametime,alsohadYankeeingenuityandfrontierspirit(1980:23).3.2PoliticalreasonsTheIndependenceWardeclaredtheindependenceofAmerica.Withtheindependenceinpolitics,Americanpeopledemandedtohaverelativeindependenceonthelanguage.MitfordM.Mathewsmentioned,“WhenwediscussedtosignabusinessprotocolwithDutchin1783,U.S.congressfoundthatseveralpoints’Englishversioninthetreatywerenotclearenough.JamesMadisonsuggestedcongressshouldconsigntheministertotheDutch,JohnAdams,re-writethisprotocolonthebasisoftheagreementunderDutch”(Moody,1977:38).In1780,Americanpeopleuse“American”todesignatetheirlanguageforthefirsttime.ThefamouslexicographerNoahWebsterwrotein1789,“asanindependentcountry,weshouldhaveourownsystemnomatterinpoliticsorlanguage.Thisisanhonor.Britainshouldnotbeourmodelanymore.Evenweareherposterity,speakingherlanguage…”(QtdinMoody,1977:65).In1806,NoahWebstercreatedtheword“AmericanEnglish”todesignatetheirlanguageofficially.ThevoicefromcitizenthatdemandedforgoingonAmericanownwayinlanguagereflectstheAmericanEnglishwasgoingtobeindependent.YearsbeforeandaftertheCivilWar,AmericanEnglish’sindependencegrewupandfinallyformed.Thus,AmericanEnglishhadfundamentallygotridoftheBritishEnglish’sboneofconventioninpronunciation,intonation,vocabularyandgrammar.Duetothedifferenthistorybackgroundandthepoliticalsystems,AmericanEnglishandBritishEnglisheachhadcreatedtheirpropervocabularyandsemanticsrespectively.Americanpoliticalsystemhadagreatinfluenceonitslanguage.TheRepublicansystemofgovernmentsetupintheStatesafteritsindependencewasverymuchunlikeBritishconstitutionalmonarchy.ItsChecksandbalance,JudicialIndependenceandSupervision,Multipartismandliberalvetohavetheirrespectivedistinctivesides.AsrelatednamesandtermsinBritishEnglishcannotexpresstheircounterpartsintheU.S.,newwordscameintobeing.SuchwordsonsocialpoliticalsystemarecountlessinAmericanEnglish,andarestillemergingcontinuously.Theelectoralsystem,asanimportantcomponentoftheAmericanpoliticalsystem,isverydistinctive.Intheelectoralyear,votesfromeachstatefirstchoseoutfivehundredandthirty-eight“electors”,andthenthe“electoralcollege”,composedofelectors,chosethepresident.ThusinAmericanEnglish,“elector”nolongermeansgeneralvoters,neitheris“electoralcollege”connectedwithschoolorinstitute.Otherwordslike“assembly”,“lobbyism”,“senator”etc.arealsoverymuchAmericanized.ThewordsusedtodenoteAmericansocialsystemandpoliticalconceptarefarmorethanthese.BecauseoftheimportantpositionoftheU.S.intheworld,thesewordsmightattractworldwideattentionandhavemorechancesofspreadingallovertheworld.Thepoliticalevents,politicians,politicalmovements,politicalbodyandpoliciescanallleadtoachangeinlanguage.Sometimes,thechangewillbedrastic.IntheUnitedStatesofAmerica,sincethe"9.11"terroristsattack,numbersofnewwordsemerged.Amongthemthereisaword“GroundZero”whichmeanstheWorldTradeCenter’sruins.Andthe9.11alsowasgivenaspecialmeaningtoexplainthatterroristsattack.AnotherwordOsamaniacwasshownamongthemedia,whichreferstothewomencrazyaboutBinLaden.InBritain,afterTonyBlairwontheelectionofPrimeMinisteroftheUnitedKingdom,wehavewitness3.3CulturalreasonsLanguagereflectsthepulseofthetimes.Cultureandlanguageisconnectedtoeachother.Languageisthecarrierofculture,isthereflectionofculture.Languagecanmirrorthepolitical,economical,culturalandspiritualcharacteristicsofcertainage.Therelationshipbetweenlanguageandculturecanberegardedastherelationshipbetweencontentandform.Thecontentdecidestheform,theformtellsthecontent.English,asthecarrierofBritainandAmerica’sculturalinformation,hasbeenculturallyanddeeplymarkedbytheparticularBritainandAmerica’ssociety.Throughthisopenwindow,wecanseeclearlythespecialculturalcontentofBritainandAmerica.Americaisthecountryofimmigrants.“Fromthemanyone”isaproverbofAmerica.ThesentenceshowsthisAmericancharacteristic.Inthepastseveralcenturies,immigrantsbroughtvarietiesofculturetotheUnitedStates.AndthemultiracialculturaldevelopmentisadistinctivefeatureofAmericanculture.Americaisalsofamousforitsfreespirit,thecountryoffreedom.Thisisalsoshowninthelanguage.ComparedwiththeBritishEnglish,somewords’pronunciationoftheAmericanEnglishiscompletelypreserved,suchashistoryanddormitory,butthespelling,suchascheque(BritishEnglish)check(AmericanEnglish)andcolour(BritishEnglish)color(AmericanEnglish),aremoreconciseandflexible.Thechanginglifeofpeopleandtheappearanceofthenewgenerationhavebecometheactivatorofthenewwords.Inthe1960sofAmerica,therewerehippieswhowereunsatisfiedwiththesocialreality,anddidsomethingunconventionalandfullofrebelliousspirit.Theyuppiesin1980swereakindofyoungpeoplewhohadawellpaidprofessionaljobandenjoyedaffluentandmaterialisticlife.Theyspentmoneywithanunsparinghand,enjoyedthefashionablelife.Andthebabyboomer,babybuster,lostgeneration,generationXandgenerationY,allofthesewordswerethereflectionofAmericansociallife.“Here’saha’peeny,don’tspenditallatoneshop”isashortjokesaidwhensomeonebuysomegiftforchildgenerously.Themeaningishalfapenny.Thesentencewaspopularfromlatenineteencenturytolatetwentiethcentury.Until1970itwastotallyabandoned.Thecatchword’sinnovationalsotoldusaboutthechangeintheBritishpeople’slifeatthatperiod.Withthedevelopmentofthepeople’slivingstandard,tobuysomegiftsforchildwasmucheasierthanbefore.Sothecatchwordsteppeddownthestageofhistory.EventheconservationofAmericanEnglishismoredistinctivethanBritishEnglish,butthenobilityofBritishEnglishismoreimpressivethanAmericanEnglish(杨忠,2002:97).TheBritisharistocraticsystemisthepoliticalheritagewhichistheoldestandthelongestoneintheworld.Moreimportantly,BritainstillhasgotitsownQueen.TheexistenceoftheimperialfamilyalsomakeseffectontheBritain’sofficiallanguage.MaybeBritishEnglishismoredifficulttounderstand,butitsnobilityisimpressiveenough.

4.TheMainDifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishDifferencesinspellingmaynotpreventthenativespeakersofBritishEnglishfromunderstandingthemeaningsofAmericanEnglishwords.Ofcourse,differentpronunciationsalsomaynotpreventthenativespeakersofAmericanEnglishfromunderstandingthemeaningsofaBritishEnglishsentence.ButforthoseEnglishlearnersandthenon-nativeEnglishspeakers,learningtodistinguishthedifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishisveryimportant.4.1VocabularyConfusionmayarisebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishinthedescriptionofdailyuseobjects,becauseofthedifferentwordstheyuse.TherearesometypicaldifferencesinthevocabularybetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.4.1.1WordsandphraseswithorigininBritishEnglishSomespeakersofAmericanEnglishareawareofsomeBritishEnglishterms,buttheymightnotgenerallyusethem,sotheymaybeconfusedastowhethersomeoneintendstheAmericanorBritishmeaningsuchasfor“biscuit”,“takethebiscuit”mean“extremelyannoyingoramusing”inBritishEnglish,butinAmericanEnglishitmeans“totakeapieceofcookies”.Theymayhavetoguessapproximatelywhatothers,suchas“drivinglicence,”mean,becauseofthelittlespellingdifferencebetweenlicence(BritishEnglish)andlicense(AmericanEnglish).However,theuseofBritishEnglishwordssuchasnaffmeansunstylish,thoughitiscommonlyusedtomean“notverygood”inAmericanEnglish.4.1.2WordsandphraseswithorigininAmericanEnglishSpeakersofBritishEnglisharelikelytounderstandmostAmericanEnglishterms,examplessuchas‘sidewalk’,‘gas(gasoline/petrol)’,‘counterclockwise’,or‘elevator(lift)’,withoutanyproblem.However,certaintermswhichareheardlessfrequently,like‘copacetic(satisfactory)’,whosemeaningcannotbejudgedbyitsformationandwhichisnothinglikeanyofthewordsinBritishEnglish,areunlikelytobeunderstoodbymostBritishEnglishspeakers.4.1.3WordsandphraseswithdifferentmeaningsAschronicledbyWinstonChurchill,theoppositemeaningsinAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishoftheverb“totable”createdamisunderstandingduringameetingoftheAlliedforces.InBritishEnglish“totableanitemonanagenda”means“toopenitupfordiscussion”,whereasinAmericanEnglish,itmeans“toremoveitfromdiscussion”.Theword“football”inBritishEnglishreferstoAssociationfootball,alsoknownassoccer.InAmericanEnglish,“football”meansAmericanfootball.Similarly,theword“hockey”inBritishEnglishreferstofieldhockey,whileinAmericanEnglish"hockey"meansicehockey.4.1.4Otherambiguity(complexcases)Somedifferencesinusageandmeaningcancauseconfusionorembarrassment.Forexample,theword“fanny”isaslangwordfor“vulva”inBritishEnglish,butitmeans“buttocks”inAmericanEnglish–theAmericanEnglishphrase“fannypack”is“bumbag”inBritishEnglish.InAmericanEnglishthewordfag(shortforfaggot)isahighlyoffensivetermforagaymale,butinBritishEnglishitisanormalandwell-usedtermforacigarette,orforhardworkorachore.InAmericanEnglishtheword“pissed”means“beingannoyed”,whereasinBritishEnglishitisacoarsewordfor“beingdrunk”.Sometimestheconfusionismoresubtle.InAmericanEnglishthewordquiteusedasaqualifierisgenerallythereinforcement:Forexample,“I’mquitehungry”means“I’mveryhungry”.InBritishEnglish“quite”ismuchmorecommoninconversationandsharesthismeaning,asin“quiteright”or“quitemad”.Butitalsomeans“somewhat”.SoinBritishEnglish“I’mquitehungry”canmean“I’msomewhathungry”.Thisdivergenceofusecanleadtosubtlemisunderstanding.4.2SpellingMajorsimplificationofEnglishspellingcanbeattributedtooneofthemostdistinguishedlinguistsofthe19thcenturyAmerica,NoahWebster.HeauthoredthefirstdictionaryofAmericanEnglish,whichwasfirstpublishedin1828.Thechangeshehadmade(althoughmanyofthesuggestedchangeshadneverbeenrespectedandwereneverused)reflectedthepracticalandanti-elitistspiritoftheAmericanpublic.InmanyAmericandictionariesthedifferenceisincludedintheheadwordwiththevariationinparentheses:colo(u)r,labo(u)r,behavio(u)r.InBritishdictionaries,thedictionaryhighlightsthedifferenceinbracketsimmediatelyaftertheheadword:watch,pluralwatches;glass,pluralglasses.ThelistbelowprovidesthemaindifferencesbetweenBritishandAmericanspelling:BritishEnglish AmericanEnglish-our(honour)-or(honor)-re(centre)-er(center)-ogue(dialogue)-og(dialog)-ence(defence)-ense(defense)-ise(recognise)-ize(recognize) AmericanEnglishspellingsometimesdoesnotdoubletheconsonantattheendofaword,whileBritishEnglishspellingdoes,especiallywhentheconsonantisan‘l’.Forexampletravel,traveller,travellingareusedbyBritishEnglishandtravel,traveler,travelingarethewayofAmericanEnglish.Inspelling,thedifferencebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishisfarmorethanwhatarelistedabove.Weshouldtryourbesttorememberthegeneralspellingformofeachandusethesamekindofspellinginonepassage.Weshouldusethesamespellingform,thatistosay,whenwearewritinganarticleinanAmericanway,weshouldnotmixitwiththeBritishway.4.3GrammarOnelanguage,twogrammars.Itsoundsunbelievablebecausethatwillcausealotoftroubleswhetherinlearningorusing.ButthatisanotherimportantdifferencebetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,whichmaybethetoughestoneforEnglishstudents.4.3.1NounsInBritishEnglish,\o"Englishcollectivenouns"collectivenounscantakeeithersingular(formalagreement)orplural(notionalagreement)forms,accordingtowhethertheemphasisis,respectively,onthebodyasawholeorontheindividualmember.\o""InAmericanEnglish,collectivenounsareusuallysingularinconstruction.Itmayusepluralpronounsinagreementwithcollectivenouns:“theteamtakestheirseats”,ratherthan“theteamtakesitsseats”.Theruleofthumbisthatagroupactingasaunitisconsideredsingularandagroupof“individualsactingseparately”isconsideredplural.However,suchasentencewouldmostlikelyberecastastheteammemberstaketheirseats.Despiteexceptionssuchasthe“NewYorkTimes”areusuallytreatedaspluralseveniftheformofthenameissingular(GunterandJulia,2009:139-142).Thedifferenceoccursinallnounsofmultitude,bothgeneraltermssuchasteamandcompanyandpropernouns.Forexample,whereaplacenameisusedtorefertoasportsteam.BritishEnglish:\o"TheClash"TheClashareawell-knownband.\o"Indianapolis"Indianapolisarethechampions.AmericanEnglish:TheClashisawell-knownband.Indianapolisisthechampion.PropernounsthatarepluralinformtakeapluralverbinbothAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.Forexample,\o"TheBeatles"TheBeatlesareawell-knownband;The\o"IndianapolisColts"Coltsarethechampions.4.3.2UseofthepresentperfectInBritishEnglishthepresentperfectisusedtoexpressanactionthathasoccurredintherecentpastthathasaneffectonthepresentmoment.Forexample:BritishEnglish:I’velostmykey.Canyouhelpmelookforit?AmericanEnglish:Ilostmykey.Canyouhelpmelookforit?ThesentencewritteninAmericanEnglishabovewouldbeconsideredincorrectinBritishEnglishgrammar.However,bothformsaregenerallyacceptedinstandardAmericanEnglish.OtherdifferencesinvolvingtheuseofthepresentperfectinBritishEnglishandsimplepastinAmericanEnglishincludealready,justandyet.BritishEnglish:I’vejusthadlunchI’vealreadyseenthatfilmAmericanEnglish:IjusthadlunchORI’vejusthadlunchI’vealreadyseenthatfilmORIalreadysawthatfilm.

5.TheSignificanceofStudyingtheDifferencesEnglishisoneofthemostepidemiclanguagesintheworldnow.ThenumberofEnglishspeakerisprecededonlybytheMandarinspeaker.Inthebeginningofthe1970s,therewereabout2.8hundredmillionsofpeopleusingEnglishasthefirstlanguage,plusthe1.2hundredmillionswhouseditasasecondlanguage.Thestatisticisfarmorethanthatnow.Tomakeathoroughinquirytothehistoryoflanguage,wecaninfer,inthelongcourseofthedevelopmentofhumanbeings,Englishcountrieskeepexpendingitsterritoryandspreadingitsmothertongueallovertheworldbytheireconomical,politicalandmilitarypower.AndthenFrenchgaveupitspositionofauthoritytoEnglish.EverynonnativeEnglish-speakingcountryhaskeptinjectingnewelementsintoEnglish,makingitbecomemoreandmorediverseandwonderfuldaybyday.However,Today’sdominantvariantsofEnglishareAme