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英国英语和美国英语区别大总结

2013-05-10 07:44阅读：

http://blog.sina.cn/dpool/blog/u/1454525442

关于英国英语和美国英语的区别多有讨论，今天我给大家来个简单的总结吧。在总结前有三句话说在前头：
1. 倒退三四百年世界上没有所谓的标准英语，标准的英音和美音是上流社会经济和文化的产物。
2. 英式英语和美式英语沟通不存在问题，所以学那种都可以。
3. 英音和美音各有自己的特点，所以学那种都可以，不存在说美音的人听不懂英音的情况。
今天就给大家看几篇西方人对英美英语的区别的总结。
第一篇 是位教书有10年的英国教师的总结
There are many well-known differences between British and American English, but these differences won't cause you any serious problems if you come and work in Britain.
First, there are a few noticeable GRAMMAR differences between British and American English: I'll talk about the two most important ones.
First of all, when Americans make sentences using 'just', 'already' or 'yet', they normally use the past simple tense, while in Britain, we use the present perfect.
So an American, for example, might say:
'I already had lunch.'

'She didn't arrive yet.'
And a British person would say:
'I've already had lunch.' - That's 'I have already had lunch.'
Or... 'She hasn't arrived yet.'
Also, in Britain we often use 'have got' or 'has got' when we talk about possession, while Americans generally just use 'have' or 'has'.
So, for example, in American English we might say:
'I have a new car.'
In British English it's more normal to say:
'I've got a new car.'
The meaning's the same, there's just a small grammatical difference that you might notice.
There are these and a few other very small differences, but to be honest, these differences almost never make it difficult for us to understand each other.
On the other hand, the differences in VOCABULARY between American English and British English are stronger than the grammatical differences, but again, these very rarely cause serious problems.
A lot of the words which are different are informal or slang words...
For example, I think many Americans would be unfamiliar with the British slang word 'naff', which means 'un-cool' or 'poor-quality'.
On the other hand, a Brit (a British person) might be very confused by a sentence like:
'The café is kitty-corner to the pharmacy.'
This means that the café is diagonally opposite to the pharmacy, but we don't have the word'kitty-corner' in British English.
Another example would be telling the time...
If we want to describe 2:45 in Britain, we might say:
'Quarter to three', or 3:15 would be 'Quarter past three'.
On the other hand, in America, these might be:
'Quarter of three' for 2:45, or 'Quarter after three' for 3:15.
It's another small difference, but it's one that's not going to cause serious problems - it's quite easy to get used to.
There are also some differences in SPELLING which I should mention.
One example of this is the verb 'to practise':
In British English, this is spelt with an 'S', so that's
P-R-A-C-T-I-S-E.
In American English, it's spelt with two 'C's, so in American English it's
P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E.
And there are lots of other examples of slight difference of spelling, but about 99% of the time, British and American people can understand each other without any trouble at all. In Britain we watch lots of American films and TV programs, and we listen to lots of American music, so American English is generally very familiar to us.
This is probably not quite so true for an American coming to Britain. Americans, I think, don't watch quite so much British TV or British movies.
I should also point out that regional English can be an important thing to think about. Not everyone in Britain talks like James Bond. There are some regional accents in Britain which you don't hear so often in the movies, and these might be a bit more difficult to get used to.
However, I'd like to finish by saying that many, many Americans live and work in Britain, and they don't have any serious language problems at all. So, Brittney, my advice to you is: don't worry about the language, you'll be fine!


第二篇 关于两种拼写 牛津在线词典给了详细的说明


British and American spelling

There are several areas in which British and American spelling are different. These are the main ones to be aware of.

Words ending in –re

British English words that end in -re often end in -er in American English:

British
 US
centre
 center
fibre
 fiber
litre
 liter
theatre
 theater or theatre

Words ending in -our

British English words ending in -our usually end in -or in American English:

British
 US
colour
 color
flavour
 flavor
humour
 humor
labour
 labor
neighbour
 neighbor


Words ending in -ize or -ise

Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise at the end are always spelled with -ize at the end in American English:

British
 US
apologize or apologise
 apologize
organize or organise
 organize
recognize or recognise
 recognize


Words ending in -yse

Verbs in British English that end in -yse are always spelled -yze in American English:

British
 US
analyse
 analyze
breathalyse
 breathalyze
paralyse
 paralyze


Words ending in a vowel plus l

In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled:

British
 US
travel
 travel
travelled
 traveled
travelling
 traveling
traveller
 traveler

fuel
 fuel
fuelled
 fueled
fuelling
 fueling


Words spelled with double vowels

British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe are just spelled with an e in American English:

British
 US
leukaemia
 leukemia
manoeuvre
 maneuver
oestrogen
 estrogen
paediatric
 pediatric

Note that in American English, certain terms, such as archaeology, keep the ae spelling as standard, although the spelling with just the e (i.e. archeology) is usually acceptable as well.


Nouns ending with –ence

Some nouns that end with -ence in British English are spelled -ense in American English:

British
 US
defence
 defense
licence
 license
offence
 offense
pretence
 pretense


Nouns ending with –ogue

Some nouns that end with -ogue in British English end with either -og or -ogue in American English:

British
 US
analogue
 analog or analogue
catalogue
 catalog or catalogue
dialogue
 dialog or dialogue

The distinctions here are not hard and fast. The spelling analogue is acceptable but not very common in American English; catalog has become the US norm, but catalogue is not uncommon; dialogue is still preferred over dialog.

Aside from spelling differences, many items and practices have different names in British and American English. To explore further, see British and American terms.
第三篇 这位老师给了更详细的一个说明
Introduction Speakers of American English generally use the present perfect 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 tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are:
(i) 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 ate too much.
  • Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much.
  • I can't find my keys. Did you see them anywhere?
  • I can't find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?
(ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet:
American English / British English
  • A: Are they going to the show tonight?
  • B: No. They already saw it.
  • A: Are they going to the show tonight?
  • B: No. They've already seen it.
  • A: Is Samantha here?
  • B: No, she just left.
  • A: Is Samantha here?
  • B: No, she's just left.
  • A: Can I borrow your book?
  • B: No, I didn't read it yet.
  • A: Can I borrow your book?
  • B: No, I haven't read it yet.


1. Verb agreement with collective nouns

In British English collective nouns, (i.e. nouns referring to particular groups of people or things), (e.g. staff , government, class, team) can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals, e.g.:
My team is winning.
The other team are all sitting down.
In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say:
Which team is losing?
whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in:
Which team is/are losing?


2. Use of delexical verbs have and take

In British English, the verb have frequently functions as what is technically referred to as a delexical verb, i.e. it is used in contexts where it has very little meaning in itself but occurs with an object noun which describes an action, e.g.:
I'd like to have a bath.
Have is frequently used in this way with nouns referring to common activities such as washing or resting, e.g.:
She's having a little nap.
I'll just have a quick shower before we go out.
In American English, the verb take, rather than have, is used in these contexts, e.g.:
Joe's taking a shower.
I'd like to take a bath.
Let's take a short vacation.
Why don't you take a rest now?


3. Use of auxiliaries and modals

In British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question, e.g.:
  • A: Are you coming with us?
  • B: I might do.
In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.:
  • A: Are you coming with us?
  • B: I might.
In British English needn't is often used instead of don't need to, e.g.:
They needn't come to school today.
They don't need to come to school today.
In American English needn't is very unusual and the usual form is don't need to, i.e.:
They don't need to come to school today.
In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g.:
I shall/will be there later.
In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used.
In British English shall I / we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.:
Shall we ask him to come with us?
In American English should is often used instead of shall, i.e.:
Should we ask him to come with us?


4. Use of prepositions

In British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.:
at Christmas/five 'o' clock
at the weekend
In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.:
Will they still be there on the weekend?
She'll be coming home on weekends.
In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other institutions, e.g.:
She studied chemistry at university.
In American English, in is often used, e.g.:
She studied French in high school.
In British English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.:
This place is different from/to anything I've seen before.
In American English from and than are used with different, e.g.:
This place is different from/than anything I've seen before.
In British English to is always used after the verb write, e.g.:
I promised to write to her every day.
In American English, to can be omitted after write, i.e.:
I promised to write her every day.


5. Past tense forms

Below is a table showing verbs which have different simple past and past participle forms in American and British English. Note that the irregular past forms burnt, dreamt and spoilt are possible in American English, but less common than the forms ending in -ed.
Infinitive Simple past
(Br)		 Simple past
(Am)		 Past participle
(Br)		 Past participle
(Am)
burn burned/
burnt		 burned/
burnt		 burned/
burnt		 burned/
burnt
bust bust busted bust busted
dive dived dove/
dived		 dived dived
dream dreamed/
dreamt		 dreamed/
dreamt		 dreamed/
dreamt		 dreamed/
dreamt
get got got got gotten
lean leaned/
leant		 leaned leaned/
leant		 leaned
learn learned/
learnt		 learned learned/
learnt		 learned
plead pleaded pleaded/
pled		 pleaded pleaded/
pled
prove proved proved proved proved/
proven
saw sawed sawed sawn sawn/
sawed
smell smelled/
smelt		 smelled smelled/
smelt		 smelled
spill spilled/
spilt		 spilled spilled/
spilt		 spilled
spoil spoiled/
spoilt		 spoiled/
spoilt		 spoiled/
spoilt		 spoiled/
spoilt
stink stank stank/
stunk		 stunk stunk
wake woke woke/
waked		 woken woken

Note that have got is possible in American English, but is used with the meaning 'have', gotten is the usual past participle of get, e.g.
American English
 British English
You've got two brothers
(= you have two brothers)		 You've got two brothers
You've gotten taller this year
 You've got taller this year


6. Implications for teaching

The two major varieties of English

The two varieties of English most widely found in print and taught around the world are British and American - it is therefore important for teachers to be aware of the major differences between the two. And while lexical differences are the easiest ones to notice, a knowledge of grammatical and phonological differences can be useful not only for teachers to be aware of, but also to be able to deal with should they come up in class.

Which is better?

An important point to make is that different doesn’t mean wrong. Comments such as “American English is inferior to British English”, or “American English is better than British English” have no solid basis other than the speaker’s opinion. The truth is that no language or regional variety of language is inherently better or worse than another. They are just different. Students will often have very firm beliefs on which English they think is better/easier to understand/clearer etc. While it may be true for that particular individual, there is no evidence to suggest that one variety is easier to learn or understand than the other.

Materials and varieties

If you are an American English speaker teaching with a British coursebook or vice versa, what do you say when the book is different from your English? The answer here is to point out the difference. The differences are not so numerous as to overload the students and often can be easily dealt with. For example, if you are an American English speaker using a lesson that has just included “at the weekend” it takes very little time to point out that in American English people say “on the weekend”. Accept either from your students then. If you decide to go along with the book and say “at the weekend” yourself, you’ll probably sound unnatural, and “on the weekend” might slip out anyway!

Exams and essay writing

In most international exams, both varieties of English are accepted. However, while writing for an international exam (or writing in English generally) students should try to remain consistent. That means if they favour (or favor) American spelling and grammar, they should stick to that convention for the whole piece of writing.

What role do other varieties of English have in the classroom?

Although British and American varieties are the most documented, there are of course many other varieties of English. Scotland, Ireland, South Asia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West Africa, the Caribbean, South Africa all have their own regional variations of English. The decision whether or not to highlight aspects of these Englishes would depend on two factors:
if the students are going to live, or are already living, in one of these places - in which case the need to understand specific aspects of that English is clear; or
if the teacher is from one of those places and therefore speaks a regional variation of English. In this case it could be useful to occasionally point out differences between your English and that of your Anchor Point:bottomcoursebook (see point 3 above about using your own variety).

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