Some Specific Features of American English

Varieties of English

English is not a single language, it varies according to forms of communication (spoken or written), speech situations (formal – informal), functional styles (language of science – literary language), geographical areas (British English (BE) – American English (AE)).

In writing we usually have time to plan our message, to think about it carefully and revise it if necessary. The language of science belongs mostly to formal written communication, it is usually objective ¹, precise and unemotional. Some of the common features of the language of science are passive constructions, sentences beginning with introductory “it” (e.g. It is important to remember.)

Formal language is the type of language we use publicly for some serious purpose, for example, in official reports and business letters. Informal language is the language of private conversation, of popular newspapers, of personal letters. In English there are many differences of vocabulary between formal and informal language. Much of the vocabulary of formal English is of French, Latin and Greek origin. Many phrasal and prepositional verbs are characteristic of informal style:

находить, открывать	to discover/to find out
записывать	to write/to put down
исследовать	to investigate/to look into

English is spoken as a native language by nearly three hundred million people. The varieties of English used in the USA and Great Britain are the most important in terms of ² population and influence.

The British first came to the American continent at the beginning of the 17-th century. As time went on Americans began to use different English words for the same things. For example, instead of “petrol” Americans use “gas”, instead of “child” they use “kid”. One of the differences is the spelling of words. Americans stopped using “u” in words like “colour”, “honour”, but the British kept using it. The grammatical differences between two varieties of English are not very great. Here is one example:

I have got a sister. – BE

Have you got a sister? - BE

Do you have a sister? - AE

There are many suggestions to simplify English by changing the spelling system. But people think that there are too many problems connected with the change of the spelling rules.

Notes:

1.it (the language of science) is objective – он

(язык науки) беспристрастен

2.in terms of – с точки зрения

12. Read the text and name all the differences between British and American English.

The pronunciation of American English and the pronunciation of British English are similar. The general impression of American English pronunciation is as follows:

· American English intonation does not rise or fall as much as that of British English, it sounds more monotonous.

· American voices usually have a higher pitch. That is why American English often seems too emphatic and American voices seem louder than those of British speakers.

· American pronunciation is more nasalized.

· There are certain differences in the pronunciation of vowels and consonants.

Though British and American spelling is the same in most cases, it differs in a few details, which sometimes leads an unexperienced student to failures in his attempts to find some unknown words in the dictionary.

If a student looks for the word “reflexion” in a small dictionary, he may be unable to identify the word, unless he recollects that there may be some differences in spelling, and that the American “exion” looks “ection” in the British usage.

The changes introduced into the American variety of English are to be found in grammar and structure as well, but they are especially evident in the vocabulary. Some English words have developed new meanings, and many of these are traceable to the development of American institutions and American ways of life. Yet the striking feature of American English innovations is their close correspondence to characteristics of the temperament and the ways of life of the people who developed them.

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