英语专业论文文档格式.docx

英语专业论文文档格式.docx

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color"

vs."

colour"

;

pronunciationsin"

sec-re-ta-ry"

sec-re-try"

expressionsin"

firstfloor"

equalsto"

thegroundfloor"

.Withtheabovewords,theformerrepresentsAmericanEnglish,andthelatterrepresentsBritishEnglish.Theyarenoterrorsbutjustthedifferencesbetweenthetwolanguages.

TobeconsistentintheuseofEnglish,andmoreimportantly,tobeunderstoodeasily,thereisaneedforthenonnativespeakertoknowthatwhichwordshavedistinctmeaningsandpronunciationsdependingonwhethertheyareusedbyaBritonoranAmerican.Thisisnecessarynotonlyforthesakeofcommunication,butalsoforavoidingembarrassment.

ManydifferencesexistbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishwehavealreadyknew.However,therearestillmanydifferencesthatwearenotfamiliarwith.Inthispart,theauthorwillanalyzethedifferencesinseveralcategorieslikespelling,pronunciation,grammar,usageandsoon.

2.1Spelling

TherearemanydifferencesbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishintermsofspelling.Afteranalysisbysomelinguists,itissaidthattheAmericanEnglishhasadifferenttendencyinpronounce,accordingtoeconomicalandphoneticstandards.Americanspellingtendstoreflectpronunciation,andBritishspellingtendstoreflectgrammaticalorhistoricalimplicationsaswell.Lettersthatnotneededarebeingkickedout,andwordsarespelledashowtheysound.Thefollowingexamplescanexplainthis.

With"

our"

inwordsofBritishEnglishlikecolour,humour,flavour,etc.arechangedto"

or"

intheequivalentwordsofAmericanEnglish,likecolor,humor,flavor,etc.Withthepronounceletter"

u"

beingkickedout.Wordsendingwith"

-re"

inBritishEnglisharechangedto"

-er"

inAmericanEnglish.Accordingtoitspronunciation,like"

centre"

and"

metre"

inBritishEnglish,but"

center"

meter"

inAmericanEnglish.

Moreexamplesareasfollows:

（withtheformerisAmericanEnglishandthelatterisBritishEnglish）[2]

centercentre;

check（money）cheque;

colorcolour;

curbkerb;

graygrey;

honorhonour;

inquireenquire;

jailgaol;

jewelryjewellery;

laborlabour;

organizationorganization.

2.2Pronunciationdifferences

Thereareofcoursegreatregionaldifferencesinpronunciationwithinbothcountries.Forinstance,basket，theword“a”inafter、classandbasketpronounce[æ

]inAmericanEnglish，but[ɑ:

]inBritishEnglish.（ThefollowingexamplesmentionedallcomefromOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish–ChineseDictionary）

（1）Thereis[hw]thatcorrespondwith[w]inAmericanEnglish.suchaswhich，white，when，why.InBritishEnglish:

[wit∫]，[wait]，[wen]，[wai]，butinAmericanEnglish:

[hwit∫]，[hwait]，[hwen]，[hwai].

（2）Thereis[r]behindthevowelinAmericanEnglish，suchas:

far，poor.InBritishEnglish:

[fa:

]，[pu]，butinAmericanEnglish:

[far]，[pur]，[hir].

（3）InBritishEnglish[l]pronouncessurdbeforethevowel,（clearl），andpronouncesmix（混音）behindthevowel（darkl）；

However,inAmericanEnglish,nowordpronounces[l].Forinstance，like,filling,till，well.

（4）Whenthephoneticsymbol[t]appearsbetweenthetwovowelsandbehindtheaccentuationorbetweenthevoicedconsonantandthevowel,itwillpronounce[d].Suchascity:

[`sidi].

2.3Vocabularydifferences

TheaverageuseofthetotalEnglishvocabulary,thenumberofwordswhichareusedonlyinoneortheothercountryisverysmall,buttheproblemforlearnersofEnglishisthatthesewordsareamongthemostcommoninthelanguage.TherearemanywordsthatareusedalmostexclusivelybyAmericans,whichareunderstoodbymostBritons,andviceversa.Butthereareothersthatcancausedifficulty.Forexample,mostBritonsknowthatAmericanscallbiscuitscookiesandflatsapartments,butnotsomanyknowwhatanalumnusorafenderis.Similarly,AmericansknowthatwhattheycalltheiryardiscalledagardeninBritainandthattrucksareLorries,butcommonBritishEnglishwordslikepistolsoroff-licensemaymeannothingtothem.

2.3.1Samemeaning,differentwords

ThemajorityofthesignificanceinglossarybetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishisidentical,buttherestillexistssomedifference.Forexample,thesamethingcanbeexpressedbydifferentwordsinbothlanguages.Thefollowingexamplesaretypical.

AmericanEnglish:

BritishEnglish:

bathroom，toilet,W.C./orloo;

closet,cupboard;

corn,maize;

drugstore,chemist'

s;

gas/gasoline,petrol;

line,queue;

oven,cooker;

round-tripticket,returnticket;

suspenders,braces;

truck,lorry;

underpass,subway;

undershirt,vest;

vacation,holiday;

etc.[4]

2.3.2.Samewords,differentmeaning

TheidenticalwordexpressesthedifferentmeaningbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish.

Forexample:

Word

AmericanEnglish

BritishEnglish

rubber

condom

Toolusedtoerasepencilmarkings

date

appointment

day

dresser

Awardrobeassistant

cupboard

2.4Grammar

BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishgrammararethesameinmostsense;

therearehoweversomeinterestingvariations.Forexample,therearedifferencesincertainverbforms.InAmericanEnglish,thepasttenseoffitisfit;

inBritishEnglish,itisfitted.AmericanssayI'

vegottentoknowherwell;

whileBritish:

I'

vegottoknowherwell.

OtherdifferencesinvolvedtheuseofthepresentperfectinBritishEnglishandsimplepastinAmericanEnglishincludealready,justandyet.

vejusthadlunch

vealreadyseenthatfilm

Haveyoufinishedyourhomeworkyet?

AmericanEnglish:

IjusthadlunchORI'

vealreadyseenthatfilmORIalreadysawthatfilm.

Haveyourfinishedyourhomeworkyet?

ORDidyoufinishyourhomeworkyet?

Asanotherexample,AmericansaremuchmorelikelytobetechnicallycorrectintheagreementofcollectivenounandverbformthanBritons.SoinstandardAmericanEnglishitwouldbe:

TheteamisplayingwellthisseasonwhereasinBritishEnglish,itiscommonandacceptabletosaytheteamareplayingwell.Similardifferencescanbeseenintheuseofwordslikegovernment,committeeetc.:

Thegovernmentis...（AmericanEnglish）.Thegovernmentare…（BritishEnglish）.

2.5Usage

TherearecountlessothersmallandinterestingdifferencesbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish,whichcomeundertheheadingofusage.TaketheusefulexpressionusedinAmericanEnglishthrough,meansuptoandincluding.e.g.TheexhibitionisshowingMarchthroughJune.TheequivalentexpressioninBritishEnglishisfromMarchtoJune,butthisisambiguous.DoestheexhibitioncloseattheendofMayortheendofJune?

Toavoidanymisunderstanding,itisnecessarytosaysomethinglike:

TheexhibitionisshowingfromMarchtotheendofJune.

Asanotherexample:

forAmericans,thenumberbillionhas9zeros（athousandmillion）;

formostBritonsithas12zeros（amillionmillion）.ZeroitselfisamorecommonwordinAmericanEnglishthaninBritishEnglish,wherenaughtismorewidespread.Americanssaythenumber453asfourhundredfiftythree,whereasinBritainitwouldbesaidfourhundredandfiftythree.Timeexpressingalsoisdifferent,andmaycauseconfusionlike4/12/1981（monthfirst）intheUSAand12/4/1981（dayfirst）intheUK.

2.6Thecausesofthedifferences

AtfirsttherewerenodistinctionsbetweenBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishknowntousinthedevelopmentofcontemporaryEnglish.Butlaterinthe20thcentury,Americaemergedtobeagreatpowerandbegantoparticipatethepracticeoftheworldaffairs.DuringtheWorldWarII,Americademonstratedagreatstrengthintheleadershipoftheworldinworldvariousforums.Andaftertheworldwar,Americaemergedtobeoneoftheonlytwosuperpowersintheworld.Thusandthus,thedistinctivewaysAmericansspoken,wrotewasbeinganalyzed,studiedorlearnedbythepeopleofothercountries,includingevenBritish.

WhatarethecausesthatledtoAmericanEnglishdistinctivefromBritishEnglish?

Orwemaysayexactlywerethereanychanges