LECTURES 5-6
parts 1, 2
AMERICAN ENGLISH NOWADAYS
Main points:
I. 1 American English or U.S. English
2 Grammar
3 Spelling
4 Pronunciation
5 Vocabulary
II. 6 General American English
7 Regional differences
8 An official language?
9. Dialect or Standard?
10. Accent and Social Status
“Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language”
George Bernard Shaw
Part 1
1 English is the name of a language, but also the adjective from the noun 'England.
When using terminology to differentiate between language dialects, "American English"
(AmE) or "US English" are sufficiently accurate to enable either name to be used
comfortably.
"British English" assumes that the Scots, Welsh and Irish all speak the same dialect
as the English. This is not at all true. Americans (and many others around the world)
invariably but mistakenly use the term "British English" to describe that which is
correctly called "Anglo-English". The Convention in British academic writing on
linguistics is actually to use one of three terms, Anglo-English, English English (or
EngEng) or English in England. Academic Convention is also to split Anglo-English
into three dialects.
The USA has no official language, but English is used de facto nationwide. Spanish
is the second language and it is estimated that around 20 % of Americans speak Spanish
as their first language.
American English or U.S. English is the diverse form of the English language used
mostly in the United States of America. According to the 1990 census, 97 per-cent of
U.S. residents speak US English "well". As of 2004, more than two-thirds of native
Speakers of English use the American dialect, although most for whom English is a
second language around the world prefer Anglo-English.
English was inherited from British colonization. The first wave of English-speaking
immigrants was settled in North America in the 17th Century. They brought with them
Anglo-English words that remained in their vocabulary but were replaced in AngloEnglish itself. "Diaper" for example, is archaic Anglo-English, replaced by "nappy" but
the word survives in AmE. Similarly "gotten" as the past participle of "get" is also
archaic in Anglo-English. From this date, there were also Speakers in North America of
the German, French, Dutch, Native American, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish languages.
For almost a Century, the majority of immigrants were German Speakers and this had a
major effect on American grammar, spelling and vocabulary.
By the 18th century American English was well-established and developing
independently from British English. After colonists arrived in the US new words began
to be added from Native-American languages, and from French and Spanish. In 1783,
soon after Johnson's dictionary was published (A Dictionary of the English Language
(1755), Noah Webster's The Elementary Spelling Book was published in the US. At
first it used Johnson's spellings, but later editions contained many of what have come to
be known as American spellings, e.g. harbor and favorite. In 1806 Webster’s A
Compendious Dictionary of the English Language contained more spelling changes
and became the basis of an American standard. Americans believed that having their
own language was part of their national identity, and Webster’s dictionary reinforced
the independent status of American English.
Many of these changes were initiated unilaterally by Webster. Webster also argued
for many "simplifications" to conventional spelling. Many words are shortened and
differ from other versions of English. Frequently, German spellings such as 'center' are
used instead of 'centre'. Conversely, American English sometimes favors words that are
morphologically more complex, whereas Anglo-English uses clipped forms, such as
AmE 'transportation' or Anglo-English 'transport' or where the British form is a backformation, such as AmE 'burglarize' and Anglo-English 'burgle' (from burglar).
In the 19th century, more words were added from the languages of the many immigrants
to the US. Black English also greatly extended the language.
Today, there are some differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling between
American and British English. Sometimes, the differences in spelling are because
Americans wanted to make things simpler, so that a word would be spelled the way it is
pronounced.
Despite the grate distances separating American English-speaking community from
the British Isles, and the great social and cultural differences between them, the forms of
English, which they use, remain mutually intelligible to a remarkable degree. The main
differences are as follows.
2 Grammar
a)Americans use Past Simple in some cases where British people use Present Perfect,
e.g. He just went home. He has just gone home.
b)Americans use the verb 'have' a little differently in some cases, e.g. Do you have a
problem? Have you got a problem?
c)The following verbs are different in American and British English. Burn, dream,
lean, learn, smell, spill and spoil are all regular in American English, while in British
English irregular forms are more common. Fit, quit and wet are regular in British
English but irregular in American. The American past participle of get is usually gotten.
d)The subjunctive is much more common in American than in British English, e.g.
'It's essential that he be informed.'(Am.E.) '... that he should be informed.' (Br.E.).
e)There are many small differences in the use of prepositions: e.g. do smth over
(Am.E.)- do smth again (Br.E.); meet with smb (Am.E.) - meet smb (Br.E.); stay home
(Am.E.) - stay at home (Br.E.); protest smth (Am.E.) - protest against smth (Br.E.).
3 Spelling
As far back as the 1780s, Noah Webster, founder of one of the most famous
American English dictionaries, decided to eliminate from a word any letters that were
not pronounced.
a) In American English, final - l is not usually doubled in an unstressed syllable:
traveler, leveling.
a) Some words end in -ter in American English and in -tre in British: theater, center.
b)Some words end in -or in American English and in -our in British: labor, honor,
color.
c) Some words end in -og in American English and in -ogue in British: catalog,
dialog, analog.
d)Some spelling differences in individual words:
Am.E.: analyze, check, defense, jewelry, offense, plow, program, thru Br.E.- analyse,
cheque, defence, jewelelry, offence, plough, programme, through
If you saw words spelt in the following way would you expect the writer in each case
to be British or American? Why?
1 labor 2 centre 3 hospitalized 4 movie 5 theater 6 favour 7 thru
4 Pronunciation
a)Stressed vowels are often lengthened more in American English;
b)Vowels are often nasalized in American English;
c)Three vowels are very different.
1.The vowel [ou] (as in home) is a diphthong (double vowel) in British English; in
American English it is closer to being a single vowel.
2.The vowel [o] (as in pot) is pronounced in American words without lip-rounding,
and sounds like [a:] (as in palm).
3. Americans pronounce [e ] in some words where British people pronounce [a:]:
can't, castle, fast, glass, after.
d)In standard British English, V is only pronounced before a vowel. In American
English, V is pronounced in all positions in a word. So words like car, turn, offer sound
different.
e)In American English t between vowels sounds like d (and d often sounds like a kind
of r): latter, ladder, tomato.
f) In American English the sound [ju:] after s, t, d, n is replaced by [u:], so the words
are pronounced as they are written: duke, due, dew, reduce, tube, resume, Tuesday, new.
g)In American English er is pronounced as it is written and not like ar in British
English: clerk, derby.
h) In words of four syllables and over, in which the main stress falls on the first or
second syllable, the secondary stress on the last but one syllable is not reduced like in
British English, but remains strong: temporary, territory.
5. Vocabulary
Here are some common British words with their American equivalents.
British English
American English
aerial
autumn
bill
biscuit
boot
bonnet
car park
draughts
chemist
class
curtains
dressing gown
engine driver
film
flat
full stop
grilled
garden
holiday
lift
lorry
luggage
motorway
nappy
paraffin
pavement
petrol
pram
antenna
fall
check
cookie
trunk (of car)
hood (of car)
parking lot
checkers
druggist
grade
drapes
bathrobe
engineer (on train)
movie
apartment
period
broiled
yard
vocation
elevator
truck
baggage
freeway
diaper
kerosene
sidewalk
gas/gasoline
baby carriage
puncture
blow-out
railway carriage
railway car
return
round trip
rubber
eraser
rubbish
garbage
queue
line
schoolboy
student
sellotape
Scotch tape
sweets
candies
tap
faucet
taxi
cab
term
semester
tights
panti-hose
toilet
restroom
town center
downtown
trousers
pants
underground
subway
wardrobe
closet
stalk (cherry)
stem
pip (apple, grapefruit)
seed
skin (banana)
peel
stone (peach)
pit
spring onions
green onions
aubergine
eggplant
sweetcorn
corn
courgette
zucchini
beetroot
beet
peppers
bell peppers
trousers
pants
waist coat
vest
tie
necktie
braces
suspenders
check pyjamas
checked pajamas
nightdress
nightgown
polo neck
turtleneck
tracksuit
sweats
tracksuit bottoms
sweatpans
anorak
jacket
cagoule
jacket
soft toy
stuffed animal
camp bed
cot
cot
crib
Here are some words and phrases, which can cause confusion when used by Brits and
Americans talking together because they mean something different in each 'language'.
when they say:an American means
a Brit means what
what a Brit calls:
an American calls:
a bill
a (bank) note
a check (in a cafe)
the first floorthe ground floor
the second floor
pants
trousers
underpants
potato chips potato crisps
French fries
purse
a handbag
a wallet
subway
an underground railway an underpass
vest
a waistcoat
an undershirt
wash up
wash your hands
wash the dishes
Americana tend to use very direct language, and polite forms, which occur in British
English, such as 'Would you mind if I ...' or 'I'm afraid that sound formal and unnatural
to them.
PART 2
6. General American English
General American English (GAE) is a term for the standard English of the US,
though few Americans have heard of the name. GAE includes grammar and vocabulary
as well as pronunciation. It can be compared in some respects to standard British
English spoken with an RP (Received Pronunciation) accent. GAE can be used as a
standard of comparison for examining other dialects and accents, though it does not
imply that they are inferior or wrong.
GAE is especially common in the Midwestern part of the US, although speakers of
GAE can be found all over the country. It is also the form of American English that it is
often heard on news programmes on national television. An important difference
between GAE and standard English spoken with an RP accent is that GAE is
connected more closely with certain geographical regions of the US than with a
particular social class. Sometimes, the term General American is used to refer only to
a form of American pronunciation that does not have a strong regional accent.
In the past English helped to unite immigrants from many countries, but now some
people are worried that recent Hispanic immigrants are continuing to use Spanish. There
have been attempts to prevent this by making English the only official language. In the
1980s the political correctness movement had a lasting influence on American English
by trying to get rid of words with negative associations, e.g. those describing disabled
people, and to replace them with positive-sounding expressions.
New words are still being added to English from other languages, including Italian
(tiramisu), Chinese (feng shul) and Japanese (karaoke). Existing words gain new senses,
and many slang terms become part of the standard language. New expressions spread
quickly through television and the Internet.
English is now an international language and is used as a means of communication
between people from many countries. As a result the influences on the English language
are wider than ever and it is possible that World English will move away from using a
British or American standard and establish its own international identity.
7. Regional Differences
General American English (GAE) is the dialect that is closest to being a standard. It is
especially common in the Midwest but is used in many parts of the US. The associated
Midwestern accent is spoken across most of the northern states, and by many people
elsewhere.
The main dialect groups are the Northern, the Coastal Southern, the Midland, from
which GAE is derived, and the Western. The main differences between them are in
accent, but some words are restricted to particular dialects because the item they refer to
is not found elsewhere: grits (corn, which has been partly crushed and then boiled. It is
usually eaten warm, with butter, as part of breakfast), for example, is eaten mainly in
the South and is considered to be a Southern word.
Northern dialects spread west from New York and Boston. New England has its own
accent, though many people there have a Midwestern accent. The old, rich families of
Boston speak with a distinctive Bostonian accent, which is similar to Britain's RP. (New
England an area of the northeastern US which includes the states of Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. New Englanders, a
large number of whom have Irish ancestors, are often called the real Yankees. Other
Americans consider them to be very independent, clever, practical and suspicious of
people they do not know. The English explorer Captain John Smith named the area in
1614, and the American Revolution began there.)
Midland dialects developed after settlers moved west from Philadelphia. Both
Midland and Western dialects contain features from the Northern and Southern groups.
There are increasing differences within the Western group, as south-western dialects
have been influenced by Mexican Spanish.
The Southern dialects are most distinctive. They contain old words no longer used in
other American dialects, e.g. kinfolk for 'relatives' and hand for 'farm worker'. French,
Spanish and Native-American languages also contributed to Southern dialects. Since
black slaves were taken mainly to the South and most African Americans still live there.
Black English and Southern dialects have much in common. The accent is a southern
drawl, which even foreigners recognize. An V at the end of a word is often omitted, so
that door is pronounced /dou/, and diphthongs are replaced with simple vowels, so that
hide is pronounced /ha:d/. Some people use y'all as a plural form of 'you'. This is more
common in speech than in writing.
Southern dialects and accents are often thought by other Americans to be inferior.
Black English and Cajun English (people in the US state of Louisiana who are
descended from French Canadians called Acadians. They moved to Louisiana after the
British forced them in 1755 to Leave Acadia (Nova Scotia) in Canada. They speak a
form of French, and are known for their lively music and hot, spicy food. Compare
Creole) may also be less acceptable. Both varieties are restricted to particular ethnic or
social groups, and the attitude probably reflects more general feelings about those
groups.
People in the southern states speak with a drawl - they tend to speak slowly and
lengthen the last sound of each word. They use expressions like 'Howdy, y'all for 'Hello,
everybody'.
In New York City, especially in the boroughs outside Manhattan, many people have
a way of speaking English that is called New Yorkese. Speakers of New Yorkese often
speak very fast. They tend not to pronounce the r in words that end in -er. A word like
'water' sounds like 'wata\
The speech of any person is a mixture of social and geographic features. The
educated person will undoubtedly share some of the geographical features found in the
speech of his uneducated townsman, but he will probably not share his speech features,
which label the other man uneducated. The past tense of the verb climb can provide a
good example for understanding of what dialects are. Well-educated people in all
dialect areas favor climbed as the past tense form. Some uneducated speakers in certain
northern areas may say dim. In some parts of the Midland and Southern dialect areas,
many uneducated speakers say clum, in Virginia - dome. With this verb, then we find
dialect variants only among uneducated speakers. The variants dim, clum and dome
have geographical and social patterns. A dialect then is a variety of a language, which
differs from other varieties in certain features of pronunciation, vocabulary and
grammar. It may reveal something about social or regional background of its speakers,
and speakers of other dialects of the same language will generally understand it.
8. An Official Language?
For a long time English helped to unite immigrants who had come from many
countries. Now, Hispanic immigrants, especially in south-western states, want to
continue to use their own language, and many Americans are afraid that this will divide
the country. The Hispanic population is growing and will reach 80 million by 2050.
This situation led to the founding of the English Only Movement, which wants to
make English the official language of the US. Supporters believe that this will help keep
states and people together, and that money spent on printing forms, etc. in both English
and Spanish would be better spent on teaching the immigrants English. Others think that
an official language is unnecessary. They argue that children of immigrants, and their
children, will want to speak English anyway, and that a common language does not
always lead to social harmony.
English Only Movement a campaign by some US groups to make English the official
language of the country. Two organizations, English first and US English mainly
support it. An English Language Amendment to the American Constitution was
introduced in Congress in 1981, but its members have never voted on it. However, 21
states have passed their own official English Only laws.
9. Dialect or Standard?
In the US General American English is heard on national television. Regional dialects
have some differences in vocabulary, and their accents are distinctive, but it is
uncommon for Americans from different parts of the country to have difficulty
understanding each other. Vocabulary and accent are influenced as much by social
contact, ethnic background, age, class and occupation as by regional boundaries.
Varieties such as Black English, Jewish English, Hispanic English and Cajun English
are based on ethnic background, but many of their features have become more widely
known through the media. The accent that is closest to being a standard, and which is
associated with General American English, is the Midwestern accent, which is spoken
in most of the northern states and by many people throughout the country.
10. Accent and Social Status
In the US accents provide much less information about people. It can be hard to
identify where a persoh comes from by their accent, harder still to learn anything about
their social position. The South is not as rich as the North, and African Americans are
more likely to be poor than white people are, but that says little about an individual with
a particular accent. However, at a local level, New Yorkers use accent as the basis far
making judgments about their fellow citizens, and a Bostonian accent, the American
equivalent of marked RP, helps identify the old, rich families of New England.
Attitudes to accents vary in different parts of the US. In big cities, people barely
notice accents, but in small towns and country areas people may be much more
sensitive. The accent, which is most widely criticized, is the southern drawl. Many
southerners feel embarrassed about their accent and try to modify it. There is some
feeling in the US now that professional people should lose an accent, which is
considered less socially acceptable.
Questions for discussion:
1
Where can the main distinctions between British English and American English be
found?
2
Does the language barrier between British English and American English really
exist?
3
Why do people in the United States use different dialects?
4
Give the definition of an accent and comment upon it.
5
Dialect or standard? Give your reasons.
6
Describe specific features of General American English.
7
What is an important difference between GAE and standard English spoken with an
RP accent?
LITERATURE
1
Гапонів А.Б., Возна М.О. Лінгвокраїнознавство. Англомовні країни.
Підручник для студентів та викладачів вищих навчальних закладів. Вінниця:
НОВА КНИГА, 2005. 464 с.
2
Ніколенко А.Г. Лексикологія англійської мови – теорія і практика. Вінниця:
Нова Книга, 2007. 528 с. С. 373-388.
3
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. Oxford University Press, 2001.
4
The English-speaking world. / Упоряд.: M. Poccoxa. Тернопіль, 1996.
5
Michael McCarthy, Felicity O'Dell English Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge
University Press, 2000.
6
Meet the United States of America. За ред. O.M. Константинової. К.: Форум,
2002.