American English is spoken in the USA, Canada and many Pacific Rim countries where America has exerted an influence.
British English is spoken throughout the British Commonwealth of 54 countries, some of the most notable being the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with Canada being the exception. Although part of the Commonwealth, Canadians tend to speak a mixture of American and British English due to that country's proximity to the USA (although they spell the British way).
*In the dictionary section, you will see how many words differ completely between the two "languages". This is a virtual "Yank to Limey speak" dictionary - the words are listed in alphabetical order by American English word. Or visit the search page to find a specific word or phrase.
*The FAQ (frequently asked questions) covers those often asked questions about Commonwealthers and Americans. Questions such as why are American's called Yanks and the English called Limeys, and where does that "bloody" word come from the English use in every sentence?
*Spelling covers that vast and confusing differences in the ways of spelling the exact same word.
*Pronunciation covers the differences in the way Americans and Commonwealthers sound certain words.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Much of what I say at this site is a GENERALIZATION, OK? Yes, there are and will be exceptions to some of the things mentioned, as I can hardly take every nuance of every part of all these countries into consideration. PLEASE don't go writing me nasty emails about how I am wrong because you have been to a restaurant in America where the check is never brought unless asked for first! That would fall under my above mentioned EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE!
This website is a tongue in cheek look at the differences in the culture and is not meant to be a definitive authority on the subject.
The FAQ:
The way words are pronounced in America differs quite substantially from the Commonwealth. This goes to accents, of course, which differ vastly even WITHIN America AND within individual Commonwealth countries.
Some states in the USA use more of a British pronunciation (New England) while other states use a more American middle-ground pronunciation (West Coast) and at the same time other states use a barely understandable off-shoot of the American language (the South)!
In London alone there are many different accents, never mind other Commonwealth countries. Even a small country like South Africa has several different accents.
However, there are some common threads that definitely distinguish Americans from Commonwealthers.
The Rounded A
People in the Commonwealth pronounce many of their A's in a rounded way. That is, their mouths have a rounded shape. American's pronounce some a's this way, such as "park" and "car", but most a's have a flatter sound, like the a in "hat".
Example: the "a" in the word "ask" is pronounced like the a in "hat" in America but in the Commonwealth the "a" in "ask" is pronounced more like the "a" in "car" or "park". The same with "plaza", "task", "mask", "answer", "afternoon" and many others.
T's versus D's
Commonwealthers pronounce their t's with precision. Americans tend to either drop their t's completely, or replace them with a d. Here are some examples:
-Mountain
-Moun'in
-Daughter
-Dawder
-Letter
-ledder
-Norton
-Nor'in
The '..in'
American do not pronounce the "g" in many words ending "ing". Examples"
-Running -Runnin'
-Walking
-Riding -Ridin'
-Driving -Drivin'
The U
U's in America are pronounced like a double o, while in the Commonwealth they are pronounced like a "ew". Here are some examples:
World- USA- Commonwealth
-Stupid -Stoopid -Stewpid
-Student -Stoodent -Stewdent
The -ter
Many people from Britain drop their r's at the end of words ending-ter, while ALSO dropping the t. While Americans will fully pronounce the r (some might drop the t, though).
Generator gena-ra-yar
Meter mee-ah
The i
Certain words or prefixes that have an an "i" in them are pronounced differently.
-Anti- -An-TYE -An-TEE
-Vitamin -Vye-tamin -vuht-amin
Then there are words that are pronounced differently for no real discernable reason!
Word - USA - Commonwealth
-Schedule -Sked-jule -Shed-jill
-Lever -leh-ver -lee-ver
-Route -R-ow-t -Root
-Aluminum -A-loo-minum -Alu-mee-nium
-Mazda -M-ahz-da -M-ehz-da
-Nissan -Neeson -Niss-eh-n
-Leisure -Lee-sure -Leh-sure
Emphasis
Where the emphasis in words is placed varies between Americans and Commonwealthers as well. Americans tend to place the emphasis in most words on the first syllable. In the Commonwealth, more often it is on the second syllable. This can make the word sound VERY differently.
USA Commonwealth
-CON-troversy -Con-TROV-ersy
-IS-sue -Is-SUE
Adding an "s"
In the word "forward", Commonwealthers add an "s" on the end. As in: "Move that car forwards a little".
Difference between plurals and singulars
When speaking about a group or a team. In the Commonwealth, they may say, "Italy are playing well tonight." Americans would say, "Italy is playing well tonight."
Adding a "R"
Some Commonwealthers add -r to words ending in an A. Like the British would pronounce America like 'Americar' or Cuba like 'Cubar'. This is also prevalent in many New Britain states (especially Massachusetts).
Should vs. Would
Commonwealthers use the word "should" where American's use the word "would". E.G. "I should think that he will like that." vs. in America: "I would think that he would like that".
Entradas
10 comentarios:
I have read about the differences between the American and British English and I consider that is very important to know not only how to write but also how to pronounce, so it has been a good information now I could help me more with it.
As in Southamerica even though we speak the same language, we have different intonation and we refer to the same thing with different words, it happens the same in other countries, and in some ocassions it is not easy to communicate to each other, for example if we talk to an Argentinian or an Spanish.
As teachers we need to know more aspects of other countries.
Well, definitely Both cultures are different . And if we talk about language we can find many differences in entonation pronunciation and accents. We as an English teachers can noticed that because we are involved with it. For example I study American English at the institute and British English at the University and I think I have luck because it has helped me a lot with my students specially when they ask me some question about it.
British English has a reasonable degree of uniformity in its formal written. The spoken forms though vary considerably, reflecting on isolated populations. While American English is more popular . The differences are between accents and pronounciation. I can say that Culture has an effect on language,too. Cultural differences give rise to different vocabulary phrases and different developments in grammar.
British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written and taught in the rest of the world. The difference is in accent and pronounciation of individual words in the lexicon.
The difference between British and American English is in pronounciation and accents. Be careful when we put in practice the language. You can consider which of those you can teach. The culture is important on it,too.
It was interesting to read about the differences between American English and British English. Personally I prefer to use The American English in spite of at my university taught me British English, but I feel more confortable using The American one.
Anita:
I think that although American English and British have different accents and pronunciation they must be known for all the English teachers to teach each daay better.
Hello again Miss,this theme was very interesting and very useful because i learnt something else about these languages, it is important to know about that,this way i can teach better and improve my entonation and pronunciation too,increase my vocabulary and after that transmit to my students and help with the questions about these cultures.
I read about differences between the American and British English and I´ve found many differences pronunciation and writing. We can learn more about these differences.
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