Differences between American English and British: pronunciation options, spoken and literary speech, similarities and differences

It happens that in several English-language sources the same words sound or are written differently, and some expressions are constructed in an unusual way or are completely incomprehensible. The reason lies in the difference between British and American English. How to avoid misunderstandings and not to feel embarrassed in a conversation with foreigners? It is useful to know the main differences between American English and British - and vice versa.

Currently, English is an international universal language. It is an official language in 59 countries of the world (as of 2017), native to more than 300 million people and the most studied language in the world. It is interesting that English is one of the few languages, the number of learners of which is several times higher than the number of those for whom the language is native. Most modern terms, including professional ones, come from English. In the global network, more than half of the sources are in English.

Of course, with such a spread it is impossible to maintain the unity of the language. Even within one country, there are a variety of dialects, let alone the whole world.

The most significant is the separation of English into British and American English. Which are unknown to many Russian-speaking students. The following paragraph discusses the fundamental differences between American and British English.

The term "British English"

In fact, British English is not a separate language option. The term was introduced to distinguish classic English from numerous variations, including American.

In other words, British English is the spoken and written language of England. It is also called royal, exquisite English or Oxford English. There is no agency in the UK that monitors language purity; the standard for correct spelling and pronunciation is defined in the Oxford Dictionary. As already mentioned, in the UK there are many dialects of the English language, among them Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Gaelic and Cornish dialects.

History of British English

Traditional English has developed unevenly and has undergone significant changes over the centuries. It takes its origin from the languages ​​of the Germanic tribes: Utes, Angles, Saxons.

When Germanic tribes inhabited the territory of modern England, Latin and Celtic languages ​​gradually began to be displaced from use. Their place is occupied by the words that came from Old Norwegian. At this time, the Old English language was born and existed before the Norman Conquest.

The period after the Norman conquest (Middle English, XI-XV centuries) is characterized by a significant influence of the French language and the introduction of many French words into English - in modern English about 30% of the words are borrowed from the French language. Such a grandiose influence is due to the fact that French was considered the language of the nobility and was adopted for communication in high society, art, music, military skill, science.

The next stage in the history of English is early modern English (XV-XVII centuries). During this period of time, Shakespeare makes the most significant contribution to the language - he is credited with introducing more than 1,700 new words and phrases into circulation.

The date of birth of modern English is considered to be April 15, 1755 - it was on this day that the English dictionary of Samuel Johnson was published.

It is worth noting that the number of borrowed words in the English language is huge and exceeds the number of originally English words. The influence on the formation of the language, in addition to French and Old Norwegian, was also provided by Spanish, Persian, German, Italian, and even Russian and Japanese.

The concept of "American English"

American English is the most common language variant of the English language, adopted in the United States. Being native to more than 80% of Native Americans, in fact it is the official language of the United States, although it is not enshrined in the Constitution as a state language.

Origin of American English

The history of its origin and development is directly related to the history of the United States itself.

English was brought to America by British (mostly English) colonists in the 17th-18th centuries. At this time, the continent was inhabited by Indians who speak different languages. In addition to the British, conquerors from other European countries — France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and Russia — came to the territory of the modern USA. Successful development of new lands and arrangement of life in uncharted territories required the availability of a language that is generally accessible and understandable to all immigrants. Such a diversity of peoples using English naturally contributed to its modification and simplification.

Thus, having the base of British English at its base, the American version has characteristic features and differs from the original. In addition to changes acquired from outside, modern American English has its own words that have arisen already in the United States - the so-called "Americanisms."

Lexical differences between American English and British

There are several types of Americanisms. These may be words radically different from their British counterparts or even having opposite meanings; words used only in the USA; obsolete in England but common in America; American slang, etc. Let's look at some examples.

Word-formation discrepancies

Such differences include similar words originating from the same root, but formed in a different way, for example, using different suffixes, or by simplification, which is typical of the American version of the English language.

Based on the fact that American English always strives for simplification, one of its features is the omission of an unpronounceable letter, whether it is a vowel or a consonant. Most often this phenomenon occurs in the combination of the letters -ou, but is also inherent in other words:

Interestingly, in the case of -l and -ll, things are not so straightforward. In most words, the double -l in the American version disappears, but in some cases, on the contrary, appears in the absence of it in the British.

The difference in spelling of some words borrowed from the French language is also noteworthy. In the traditional British version, the spelling of the -re suffix at the end of the word in the French manner is preserved, whereas in the American version, starting from the XVIII century, -re turns into -er, for example:

• center and center
• meter and meter (meter)
• liter and liter (liter)
• theater and theater (theater), etc.

Lexical differences

In addition to differences in the spelling of similar words, in British and American English there are words that are completely different in spelling and outwardly completely dissimilar.

The following is a list of some words:

British american homonyms

As you know, homonyms are the same in spelling, but different in meaning of the word. In the British and American versions of the language, there are many words that are written the same way, but are translated into other languages ​​in different ways, and sometimes the opposite. For example, pavement: in Britain it is a sidewalk, while in the USA, on the contrary, it is a pavement, roadway, road.

The word pants is also of interest: in the American manner it is an analogue of the British word trousers - pants. However, do not make a comment regarding the British pants, as this will cause bewilderment or even aggression, because in classic English pants means an element of underwear.

American slang

In addition to the listed lexical differences between American English and British, one should pay attention to another characteristic feature of American English - this is American slang. With constant striving for simplification, American English allows slang words to penetrate the literary language, while for British English this is unacceptable.

An example would be the well-known expression “OK”, which is used to express consent or gratitude, as well as to state that things are going well.

In films and songs of American origin, you can often hear the phrases "I am gonna", "I wanna", "I gotta", which have no counterpart in the British version. These phrases are abbreviations of the classic constructions "I am going to", "I want to", "I have to."

Grammatical differences between British English and American

British and American English are two branches of the same language, so there are no fundamental differences in grammar between them. However, some difference is still present.

Using Present Perfect

One of the features of Americanized grammar is the use of Past Indefinite instead of Present Perfect, even with the adverbs of the time just, already, yet. This is due to the same simplification of designs.

For instance:

Using the verb to have in the literal meaning

Misunderstanding can cause the use of have in the meaning of "have", "possess".

In British affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences, the verb is used in conjunction with "got," for example:

1. I have got a car. - I have a car.
2. Have you got a car? - Do you have a car?
3. I haven't got a car. - I do not have a car.

For the American version, the use of have as a normal action verb is more characteristic:

1. I have a car.
2. Do you have a car?
3. I don't have a car.

Irregular Verbs

You may notice that some irregular verbs are irregular only in the British version: in American English, the past tense for them is formed by adding -ed to the base of the word, as is the case with regular verbs. For instance:

Pronunciation

Significant differences between American and British English are also present in phonetics. By ear, the American accent is very different from traditional British English. Many classical learners find it difficult to understand American pronunciation. This is explained by the different emphasis in some words and intonation, as well as the American way of pronouncing more vowel sounds that stretch in the British version.

Another feature of American pronunciation is the pronunciation of the letter "r" following the vowel, for example, in the words car, girl, part, start.

Noteworthy is the disappearance of the melodic sound [j] in the American version of pronunciation: words such as tune, tuesday, lune, sound like "toone", "toosday", "loone".

Which option to choose for study?

The answer to this question depends on the goals and needs. There is no better or worse option; each language is appropriate in its element. American English is simpler, more modern, livelier and an integral part of American culture. British is a classic aristocratic language, worthy of royal speech and preserved in the rich heritage of English literature.