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1、American English1. The growth of American English.Earlier in the seventeenth century, English was brought by the immigration from the United Kingdom to the Americas. By 1732 the original thirteen English colonies had been set up. The language the early immigrants brought with them was Elizabethan En
2、glish, the language spoken by Shakespeare, Milton and Bunyan, which belonged to the early stage of Modern English. Following American independence, famous persons like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin consider that the country should have a language of its own. The independence led to the emergence a s
3、ense of nationality. In the field of language, this patriotic feeling was manifested y the argument for the recognition of the American variety or standard of English. During the 19th century and the 20th century, British English was in a dominant position all over the world After two world wars, th
4、e impact of the United States greatly exceeded the United Kingdom in the political, economic, and cultural aspects, so a large number of American words were melt into British English, and some even replaced the traditional British English words.2. Characteristics of American English.1) Conservativen
5、ess and creativeness in usageAmerican English contains archaic features of the language which have disappeared in English itself. Some words now obsolete in England are familiar and in common use in America.The word loan, for example, when used as a transitive verb, is labeled an Americanism in most
6、 dictionaries. British usage prefers land.American English is characterized by “Yankee Ingenuity and the Frontier Spirit.” Functional change may serve as the first illustration of the creativeness in usage in American English. Some words went through conversion of one part of speech in American Engl
7、ish but not in British English. Moreover, function change is sometimes accompanied by the addition of a new meaning to a word after its conversion.2) Verbosity and brevity of expressionIn present day American English, there is a tendency to convey an idea in as complicated a way as possible. Instead
8、 of being simple, terse and direct, the style is settled, long-winded; instead of choosing the simple and direct word it prefers the quaint and the picturesque. This tendency is known as verbosity.For one thing, new physical conditions on a new continent call for new words. For another, Americans we
9、re in contact with foreign languages more than their British cousins during the period of colonization and wholesale immigration.3) The heterogeneous nature of the American vocabularyA.The melting potIn the field of language, it can be said that American English is a linguistic melting pot in miniat
10、ure, for “here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men.” American English has supplemented its word stock by adoptions from many other languages. It has probably adopted more foreign words than British English.B. Slang, jargon and cantThe American vocabulary abounds with varieti
11、es of substandard language such as Slang, jargon and cant.Slang is a local speech form; jargon is the language of a certain calling or class; and cant is specifically the language of the underworld.a) .Though the British English develops, American English still retains some features of British Engli
12、sh in early 17th century.Eg. old BE AE BEgotten gotten gotrare(未煮熟的) rare underdoneb).The United States experienced the War of Independence, the Civil War and other major historical events, so a unique political and social life formsEg. assembly, assemblyman, president ,vice-president, Ku Klux Klan,
13、 telegram, telephone, reliable, influentialc）During three hundred years, American English absorbed a lot of words from all ethnic groups which do not exist in the original British Englishd）in American English, the earliest foreign language is from the American Indian languages which started in the l
14、ate 16th century and early 17th century .Eg. chinquapin ,chipmunk, hickory ,hominy e）American English absorbed a lot of words from many Countries.Eg. French ：bureau ，cache， prairie， pumpkinSpanish ： abode ,lasso ,ranch ,corral Dutch： boss, scow Germany: noodle, poker, seminar, semester3. The differe
15、nces between British English and American English1) Differences in pronunciationA.Difference in vowels and diphthongsB. IntonationIn intonation American English is flatter than British English, which has more rises and falls.2) Differences in spelling 3) Differences in vocabulary4) Differences in gr
16、ammar Almost words are same, like man, woman, fish. The different words are minorityA .The same word means different in British and American English.BE AEVest 内衣、汗衫 西服背心Pants 短裤 裤子Publish school 私立学校 公立学校 iB The same thought uses different words in the U.S. and British EnglishEg,1. BE AE残羹剩饭 rubbish garage 公寓套房 apartment flat 相貌平平 homely plain2.BE. He completed his seco
