肖智祥.docx

1、肖智祥 曲 靖 师 范 学 院 2011 届毕 业 论 文题 目：英国英语与美国英语的区别专 业：小学英语教育学 号：20066032511姓 名：肖智祥指导教师：范美华日 期：2011年4月8日 2011 Qujing Normal College Graduation ThesisTitle：Differences Between American and British English Major：English Eduction primary SchoolName：Xiao ZhixiangAdviser：Fan MeihuaDate：April 8th ,2011 OutlineI

2、 .IntroductionII .Difference of pronunciationIII .Differences of vocabularyIV .Differences of spelling V .Differences of usagesVI .Differences of grammarVII .Conclusion Abstract: Language is a part of culture, and is plays an important role in culture .Language reflects the characteristic of a natio

3、n .It not only includes the history and culture background of a nation but also fosters the nations attitudes towards life , and ways of living and thoughts of the nation ,Language and culture are influential and complementary to each other .Therefore , there are a multitude of differences between A

4、merican and British English caused by the different history and culture . Even if the same words , the expressions may be different , just like American and British English , this paper is to concisely discuss the differences between American and British English pronunciation , vocabulary , spelling

5、 , usage and grammar .Key words: American English; British English ; Difference ; pronunciation ; vocabulary I .Introduction English speaking nations, it was introduced to other parts of the world with Britishs colonization several centuries ago. Similarly, British English was firstly introduced to

6、America in the early 17th century, then English was developed by American independently which result in the differences between British English and American English. Due to the development of the two countries, especially the development of America, English has been spread to numerous parts of the w

7、orld, some countries have regarded it as mother language, and some have regarded it as second language and official language. The research of this paper will not only help readers to distinguish the differences between British English and American English but also help readers to know about the cult

8、ures of these two countries. And this is significant for readers to learn English.Differences between British English and American English .Differences of pronunciation Sometime we usually soften or dont read the vowel especially the a or i in the unstressed syllable out in British English , while w

9、e should read all vowels out in American English. So Americans speak more slowly and clearly than the British people. British people often have the eat vowel phenomenon, e.g. American English British EnglishSecretary sekrtari sekratriHistory histari histriMedicine medisin medsinInterest intarest int

10、rist When the letter e exits in the unstressed syllable , its pronounced e in American English ,while i in British English .eg: American English British EnglishEffect efekt ifektExtend extend ikstendExpress ekspres ikspres We pronounce I or L in American English whileail in British English when the

11、words end with-ile . eg: American English British EnglishMissile misil misailFerile fa:tl fa:tailReptile reptl reptailWe pronounce hw- in American English while w- in British English when the words begin with wh- .eg: American English British EnglishWhen when wenWheat hwi:t wi:tEven though the same

12、word , there are some pronunciation differences in American English and British English. eg : American English British EnglishAte eit etClerk kla:k kla:kFigure figjua flgaMayor meiar meaNewspapernju:zpeipa nju:speipeTomato tameitou tama:touVase veis va:zIII. Differences of vocabulary.Most of the lex

13、icon meanings with are used between American English and British English are same, But use different wards to describe the same object. For example:In British English rubbish refers to remains of a meal or the things which are prepared to throw away , While in American English ,two wards are equal t

14、o “rubbish” garage refer to remains of a meal ,and trash refers to the things which are prepared to throw away .At the same time they all use refuse, the formal word, to describe the things which are prepared to throw away .The distinctions between American English and British English in lexicon inv

15、olve every field of life, and them a list is presented. American English British English Pants trousers Gas petrol Store shop Candy sweets Fall autumn Sidewalk pavement Fancy like Corn maize Blank form Can tin Vacation holiday Bill nate Flashlight buldSame wards, different meaning.Sometimes the same

16、 wards will have different meaning in two countries .For example, vest in British English means undershirt or Tshirt, while in British English, and trousers in American English.Cupboard means closet in British English, While in American English means kitchen.Sometimes these distinctions will make sa

17、me interesting mistake .Here is a joke about the word cracker, which means firecracker in British English and biscuit in American English. One day an American host asked the British guest: “would you fancy eating some crackers?” The guest looked at the host surprised and did not know what he should

18、do.However ,except the total differences of a word , most of the time a world has partial meanings , which means that the meanings of a word part belongs to British English and part belongs to American English , while others are same . For example, faculty which is used both in British and American,

19、 while means a group of university departments in British English, and academic staff or staff in American English. Another list is presented to prove this point.Word American English British EnglishMean angry, bad humored not generous, tight fistedRubber condom tool used to erase pencil markingsDum

20、b stupid stillDate appointment dayDresser a wardrobe assistant cupboardIn American English the words only contain oneL , while two in British English .e.g.:Travelertraveler installmentinstallmentIV .Differences of spelling British English American English Center center Labour labor Tyre tire Program

21、e program Traveling traveling Cloure colour Pyjamas pajamas Pretence pretenseIf we dont understand these and get up clip together perhaps thought others wrote the mistake also we are unanimous to want to pat attention to the spelling ourselves, suddenly avoid according to the American spelling accor

22、ding to the English spelling.V. Difference of usagesAmerican and British English are very similar. There is , however ,a few differences of usage . The fallowing guide is meant to point out principal differences between American and British English.In and For In American English, in can be used, lik

23、e for, to talk about periods up to the present .（British English only for.）I havent seen her in year .（US）ShallQuestions with shall I / we are used (especially in British English )to ask for instructions or decision , to offer services and to make suggestions .this is not common in American English

24、.Shall I open the window?Shall we go out for a meal.Have (got) +infinitiveHave (got) +infinitive Can be used ,like must ,to express certainty .This is mainly an American English structure , but it is now becoming more common in English .I dont believe you .You have (got) to be joking . = (you must b

25、e joking)VI. Differences of Grammar American English and British English do not differ from each other very much, in spite of this; There is still the mast noticeable differences: inconsistent usage or the verb “have”.In American English , interrogative sentences (Do you have ？）and negative sentence

26、s （I do not have ）are indiscriminatingly constructed wish such auxiliary verbs as “do ，does ， did ” etc ,whereas in British English ,no auxiliary verbs such a “do ，does ， did ”are employed to function so when “have” implies meanings of “ownership” and “illness” ，in this case interrogative sentences

27、and negative sentences are constructed in conformity with the rules of anomalous finites ，namely ，have you a （any）？And i have no （not any ）are chosen，For instance：American English British English Do you have any brother ？ Have you any brothers ？Does he have a high fever ？ Has he a high fever ？He doe

28、snt have much fever ？ He hasnt much fever ？Use of present perfect tense and simple past tense. Speakers of American English generally use the present 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 ten

29、se perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are: 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 eats too much. Jenny feels ill, shes eaten

30、too much.I cant find my keys. Did you see them anywhere? I cant find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?VII .ConclusionToday ,English is spoken in many countries .However ,English spoken in the USA is a little different from that in the UK in spelling ,meaning ,pronunciation, grammar ,usage and so

31、 on sometime even English spoken in the UK is very different in every region within the united king dom .We only mentioned a few differences between the two “different” language .however difference in these aspects dont prevent speakers of American English understanding the meanings of the words .Of course, they dont prevent speakers of American English from understanding the meanings of the words .Differences in those aspects are not a big probl