Научная статья на тему 'The main differences between speaking British and American English'

The main differences between speaking British and American English Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

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Ключевые слова
LANGUAGE / AMERICAN ENGLISH / BRITISH ENGLISH / PRONUNCIATION / SPELLING / VARIATION / VOCABULARY / DIFFERENCE / EXPRESSION

Аннотация научной статьи по языкознанию и литературоведению, автор научной работы — Nasonova Olga Olegovna, Smirnov Kirill Alexandrovich

In this article we made a review of the main differences between American and British English. We describe in details the using differences of the both variation in six important aspects: speaking, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, phrasing.

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Текст научной работы на тему «The main differences between speaking British and American English»

_МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ НАУЧНЫЙ ЖУРНАЛ «СИМВОЛ НАУКИ» №6/2016 ISSN 2410-700Х_

ФИЛОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ НАУКИ

UDC 8

Nasonova Olga Olegovna

преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков ФГБОУ ВО Южно-Уральский ГАУ, г. Челябинск, РФ

Smirnov Kirill Alexandrovich студент 1 курса энергетического факультета ФГБОУ ВО Южно-Уральский ГАУ, г. Челябинск, РФ

THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPEAKING BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

Abstract

In this article we made a review of the main differences between American and British English. We describe in details the using differences of the both variation in six important aspects: speaking , pronunciation , grammar, vocabulary , punctuation , phrasing .

Keywords

Language, American English, British English, pronunciation, spelling, variation, vocabulary, difference,

expression.

While both versions of the language have the same roots, the last 400-odd years have produced some pretty strong variation in the English language that can seem worlds apart. While we may initially only notice French fries being referred to as chips, and the terms 'cheeky', 'knackered' and 'brilliant' being used just about everywhere, the two dialects actually differ in an abundance of ways [5].

Depending on the region, American and British English have large differences in spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, punctuation, and tenses. Here are just a few:

1) Spelling:

In general, where there are differences between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE) spelling, it can be said that American English has the more economical and phonetic spelling. Unnecessary letters are left out and words are spelled how they sound. An obvious example is the omission in AmE of the letter u in words such as color, neighbor, honoretc. However, this rule does not always apply. For example, you would expect skilful to be the AmE spelling and skillful the BrE spelling, but unfortunately you would be wrong [5]!

Many differences between American and British English stem from Latin-derived spellings and Greek-derived spellings. Those differences are seen in the unstressed endings to words such as:

Таблица 1.

Latin-derived spellings

American English British English

Color Colour

Behavior Behaviour

Honor Honour

Таблица 2.

Greek-derived spellings

American English British English

Organize Organise

Dialogue Dialog

Analyze Analyse

2) Pronunciation:

There are of course great regional differences in pronunciation within both countries, but the following is a list of words which are pronounced differently by most Americans and most British. The difference lies either in using different vowel sounds or by stressing the word in a different place.

_МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ НАУЧНЫЙ ЖУРНАЛ «СИМВОЛ НАУКИ» №6/2016 ISSN 2410-700Х_

There are some words that are spelled the same in both dialects, but that are pronounced with a distinct stress on difference syllables: controversy and schedule are just a few. The word 'aluminium' in Britain and the English colonies has a curious extra letter and syllable added, to make it 'alumini-EE-um.' Then there are words that have both differing spelling and pronunciation: defense (British version: Defence) and axe (British version: ax) [7].

3) Vocabulary:

As a percentage of the total English vocabulary the number of words which are used only in one or the other country is very small, but the problem for learners of English is that these words are among the most common in the language. There are many words that are used almost exclusively by Americans which are understood by most Britons, and vice versa. But there are others which can cause difficulty. For example, most Britons know that Americans call biscuits cookies and flats apartments, but not so many know what an alumnus or a fender is. Similarly, Americans know that what they call their yard is called a garden in Britain and that trucks are lorries, but common British English words likeplimsolls or oflicence may mean nothing to them [6].

Some words in one dialect may have a completely different meaning in the other, or vice versa. A 'boot' to an American would be a pair of shoes, but to a Brit, the boot would refer to the trunk of a car, as in: 'just getting my tire out of the boot'. So to keep your miscommunications to a minimum, here are some helpful translations:

Таблица 3.

Vocabulary differences

American English British English

Cookie Biscuit

Pharmacy Chemist's

French Fries Chips

Highway Carriageway

Trash Dustbin

4) Phrasing:

Phrases such as 'a week today', or 'Tuesday week', (referring to a week in the future) are common in Britain but are often confusing to the American ear. And 'fortnight Sunday' would refer to two weeks following this Friday [6].

In the UK, dates are usually written differently in the short (numerical) form. Valentines Day 2015, for example, is 14/2/15, with the day preceding the month.

5) Punctuation:

The most common form of differing punctuation is seen through titles. In American English titles such as Dr., Mrs., Ms., Mr., are spelled with the use of a period, while its not uncommon for the British version will omit the period altogether.

All in all, you'll find that written forms of British and American English vary surprisingly little, while the most noticeable differences will be in the spoken form of British English. Winston Churchill once said: "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." True then, true now, but perhaps we can make the gap a little bit smaller. Or, as the Brits might say, make it teeny.

6) Grammar:

British English and American English grammar are mostly in agreement; there are however some interesting variations. For example there are differences in certain verb forms. In AmE the past tense of fit is fit; in BrE it is fitted. Americans say I've gotten to know her well; Britons I've gotto know her well. In BrE the present perfect tense is used for situations in which AmE would typically use the past simple. For example using the words just or already, Britons would be more likely to say: I've just seen him or I've already done it whereas in AmE it would be common to hear I just saw him or I already did it [7].

As another example, Americans are much more likely to be technically correct in the agreement of collective noun and verb form than Britons. So in standard AmE it would be: The team is playing well this seasonwhereas in BrE it is common and acceptable to say The team are playing well. Similar differences can be seen in the use of words like government, committee etc.: The government is .. (AmE), The government are .. (BrE).

МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ НАУЧНЫЙ ЖУРНАЛ «СИМВОЛ НАУКИ» №6/2016 ISSN 2410-700Х

Usage

There are countless other small and interesting differences between AmE and BrE, which come under the heading of usage. Take the useful expression used in AmE through, meaning up to and including.

E.g., The exhibition is showing March through June. The equivalent expression in BrE is from March to June, but this is ambiguous. Does the exhibition close at the end of May or the end of June? To avoid any misunderstanding, it is necessary to say something like The exhibition is showing from March to the end of June.

As another example: for Americans the number billion has 9 zeros (a thousand million); for most Britons it has 12 zeros (a million million). Zero itself is a much more common word in AmE than in BrE, wherenought is more widespread [7].

Americans are likely to say the number 453 as four hundred fifty three, whereas in Britain it would almost always be said four hundred and fifty three. And so on! Bibliography:

1. Антрушина Г.Б., Афанасьева О.В. Лексикология английского языка. - М., 1999;

2. Голденков М.А. Осторожно! Современный активный English. - М., 2000;

3. Чернов Г.В. Американский вариант. Англо-русский / Русско-английский словарь. М.,2001;

4. Коптелов Е. Speak English! // Иностранец, 2000 - №25.

5. Насонова О.О. Лингвострановедческий материал: тормоз или стимул к изучению иностранных языков // Научные труды SWorld. 2011. Т. 23. №1. С. 26а-28.

6. Нестерова С.А. Компаративные (адъективные) идиомы современного английского языка в системе дискурса // Вестник Оренбургского государственного педагогического университета. Электронный научный журнал. 2011. № 1. С. 14-19.

7. http ://esl.fis.edu/grammar/easy/aebe .htm

© Насонова О.О., Смирнов К.А., 2016

УДК 8

Баштабак Акиф Шинаси

канд.лингв.наук, КТУ «Манас» ст.преподаватель

г. Бишкек, КР Е-mail: sinasibastabak@hotmail.com

КЛАССИФИКАЦИЯ ФРАЗЕОЛОГИЗМОВ С ЗООНИМНЫМ КОМПОНЕНТОМ В ТУРЕЦКОМ И

РУССКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ ПО ЭКВИВАЛЕНТНОСТИ

Аннотация

Если взглянем на пословицы и фразеологизмы, то мы видим, что в них использовались названия одомашненных и полезных в быту животных. Чем больше люди знают об этом животном, тем больше пословиц и фразеологизмов о нем складывается. Народы во всех уголках нашего мира отражают в языке все, что переживают, думают и видят вокруг. Все, что присутствует в их жизни, сохраняется благодаря языку. Вследствие этого, каждый народ оставляет память о себе в языке.

В данной работе описаны сходства и различия фразеологизмов с зоонимным компонентов в русском и турецком языках, а также их классификация на три группы.

Ключевые слова

Полные эквиваленты, частичные эквиваленты, безэквивалентные, фразеологические единицы, зоонимы

Введение

Несмотря на то, что турецкий и русский язык относится к разным языковым семьям с разной морфологией и культурной структурой существуют некоторые схожие моменты, возникающие в результате

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