有关the difference between American and British English的作文

有关the difference between American and British English的作文

It has been said that the Americans and the English are
"two nations separated by a common language".
British English
British English (BrE) is a broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere.It encompasses all the varieties of English used within the UK,including those found in England,Scotland,Northern Ireland and Wales.
The vast majority of people in Britain speak English.Although the term "British English" is rarely used within Britain itself (just as Americans seldom use the term "American English"),it is used as a means of distinguishing the forms of English prevalent in Britain from those spoken elsewhere in the world.
There are slight regional variations in formal written English in the United Kingdom.Nevertheless,there is a meaningful degree of uniformity in written English within the United Kingdom,and this could be described as "British English".The forms of spoken English,however,vary considerably more than in most other areas of the world where English is spoken,and a uniform concept of "British English" is therefore more difficult to apply to the spoken language.
Accent
The most common form of English used by the British ruling class is that originating from south-east England (the area around the capital,London,and the ancient English university towns of Oxford and Cambridge).This form of the language is known as the "Received Standard",and its accent is called Received Pronunciation (RP).Earlier it was held as better than other accents and referred to as the King's (or Queen's) English,or even "BBC English".Originally this was the form of English used by radio and television.However,there is now much more tolerance of variation than there was in the past; for several decades other accents have been accepted and are frequently heard,although stereotypes about the BBC persist.English spoken with a mild Scottish accent has a reputation for being especially easy to understand.Moreover,only approximately two percent of Britons speak RP.
Even in the south east there are significantly different accents; the local inner east London accent called Cockney is strikingly different from RP and can be difficult for outsiders to understand.
In London itself,the broad local accent is still changing,partly influenced by Caribbean speech.Londoners speak with a mixture of these accents,depending on class,age,upbringing,and so on.
Differences between British English and American English
American English has some spelling differences from English as used elsewhere.Unlike many 20th century language reforms the American spelling changes were not driven by government,but by textbook writers and dictionary makers.Spelling tendencies in Britain from the 17th century until the present day (e.g.-ise for -ize,programme for program,kerb for curb (noun),skilful for skillful,chequered for checkered,etc.),in some cases favored by the francophile tastes of 19th century Victorian England,had little effect on American English.
The first American dictionary was written by Noah Webster in 1828.At the time the United States was a relatively new country and Webster's particular contribution was to show that the region spoke a different dialect from Britain,and so he wrote a dictionary with many spellings differing from the standard.Webster also argued for many "simplifications" to the idiomatic spelling of the period.Many,although not all,of his simplifications fell into common usage alongside the original versions with simple spelling modifications.
Some words with simplified spellings in American English include center,color,and maneuver,which are spelled centre,colour,and manoeuvre in other forms of English.
Word choice
In Southern Britain the word whilst is used almost interchangeably with while,To Americans the word whilst,in any context,seems very archaic or pretentious or both.The words amidst (as opposed to amid),and amongst (as opposed to among),are also rarer in AmE.
In the UK,generally the term fall meaning "autumn" is obsolete.
In the UK,the term period for a full stop is now obsolete.For example,Tony Blair said "Terrorism is wrong,full stop." rather than "Terrorism is wrong,period."
Time-telling
Normally,Britons 鈥渢ell the time鈥 and Americans 鈥渢ell time鈥?Fifteen minutes after the hour is called quarter past in British usage and a quarter after or,less commonly,a quarter past in American usage.Fifteen minutes before the hour is usually called quarter to in British usage and a quarter of,a quarter to or a quarter till in American usage.In informal British speech the preposition is sometimes omitted,so that 5:30 may be referred to as half five
Idioms
A number of English idioms that have essentially the same meaning show lexical differences between the British and the American version; for instance:
British English American English
sweep under the carpet sweep under the rug
touch wood knock on wood
see the wood for the trees see the forest for the trees
throw a spanner (in the works) throw a (monkey) wrench (in the works)
Tuppence worth two cents' worth
skeleton in the cupboard skeleton in the closet
a home from home a home away from home
a drop in the ocean a drop in the bucket
flogging a dead horse beating a dead horse
haven't a clue have no clue