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1、EnglishLanguage:AmericanorBritishBeingthepaternallanguageoftheothernativeEnglishes(CanadianEnglish,AustralianEnglish,NewZealandEnglishandSouthAfricanEnglish),BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishtodayarethetwomainEnglishlanguagesoftheEnglish-speakingworld.Althoughtoomanyhasalreadybeensaidoverhowthescope,
2、thetypes,andthepossibleeffectsoftheinconsistencybetweenthetwokindswillbeinthefuture,thequarrelontheissuehasnotcometoanendatall.ThecoverofthejournalForumXXVII,No3,July1989,recallingthetopicandprovidesaresearchofevidenceofthedifferencebetweenthetwokindsofEnglishoverthecenturies.NoahWebster(inDissertat
3、ionsontheEnglishLanguage)claimedthatafurtherincompatibilityoftheAmericanlanguagefromtheEnglishnecessaryandinevitable.Healsopredictedthat“NorthAmericanEnglishwouldeventuallybeasdifferentfromBritishasDutch,DanishandSwedisharefromGermanorfromoneanother”.MarkTwain(inTheStolenWhiteElephant)thoughtAmerica
4、nandBritishEnglishtobedifferentlanguagesanddeclaredthattheformer,spoken“initsutmostpurity”,cannotbeunderstoodbyanEnglishpeopleatall.ThisattitudewaspreviouslyexpressedbyCaptainThomasHamilton(inMenandMannersinAmerica).Hesaidthat“inanothercentury,thedialectoftheAmericanswillbecomeutterlyunintelligiblet
5、oanEnglishman.”Authorsofthetwentiethcenturyholdentirelydifferentattitudetowardthoseofthepreviouscenturies,theytendtohaveamuchmoredistinctivefeelingofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglish.Thus,MitfordM.Mathews(fromBeginningsofAmericanEnglish)seesthetwokindstobe“sooverwhelminglyalike.”ForStephenLea
6、cock(fromHowtoWrite),“ThereisnotthefaintestchanceofthereeverbeinganAmericanlanguageasapartfromEnglish.”RandolphQuirk(inTheNewYorkTimesMagazine),believesthat,”eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanyabsoluteBritishandAmericandistinctions”;QuirkclaimedthatevenNoahWebster,afterfruitlessyear
7、sintryingtocreatea“linguisticgulf”,“cametorealizethatinallessentialsBritainsandAmericansspokethesamelanguage”.AlbertH.MarckwardtandRandolphQuirklatelyexpressedtheirconclusionthattheyconsiderBritishEnglishandAmericanasthesameintheirbookACommonLanguage:BritishandAmericanEnglish.ItsIntroductionwhichisa
8、nexcerptfromthebookreadsthat“ThetwovarietiesofEnglishhaveneverbeensodifferentaspeoplehaveimagined,andthedominanttendency,forseveraldecadesnow,hasbeenthatofconvergenceandevengreatersimilarities.”ThepresentbooksarguesthatthisgrowingviewofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishgiveouttheriskofneglecti
9、ngtheexistenceofsomesignificantdifferenceswhoseimpactincertaindomainsoflifeshouldnotbeoverlooked.ButbeforelookingintotheproblemswhicharisefromthedifferencesbetweenthetwoEnglishes,IwillgiveabackgroundshowingthedevelopmentprocessofthestatusofAmericanEnglishintheworld,itsinfluenceandexpansionandanalyze
10、itscausesofgrowing.1.ThedevelopmentandpopularityofAmericanEnglishLongafteritsintroductionintotheNewWorld,AmericanEnglishwasstillconsiderednon-standardEnglish.Mr.Kahanepointedoutthataccordingtosomepeopleofthe1780sAmericanEnglishwasthe“underdog”orapeasantslanguagethata“gentleman”willnotspeak.Considere
11、dinabilingualpointofview,BritishEnglishwasthedominantlanguagelinkedtoprestigeand(linguistic)purism.ThebeliefintheauthorityorsayinthesuperiorofBritishEnglish,hasmaintainedtothetwentiethcentury,especiallyintheformerBritishEmpireorinthefieldsofBritishinfluence.Thus,itisreportedthatinChina,teachersandsc
12、hooltextbooksrefertoandrecommendReceivedPronunciationasthemodel,aswellasstandardBritishsyntax,spellingandlexis.BritishEnglishisalsoencouragedandacceptedasthecriteriaofsomemajorofficialexaminations,forexample,CollegeEnglishTestandTestforEnglishMajorswhichareconductedbygovernment.Similarsituationscoul
13、dbefoundinothercountries,forexample,inAfrica,theWestAfricanExaminationCouncilandJointAdmissionandMatriculationBoardaccepttheBritishEnglishasthestandardEnglish.ReportcanalsobefoundthatinCairo,asrecentlyas1984,someuniversitystudentsreceivedlowergradesiftheyusedAmericanspellingsinsteadofBritish.ModianowrotethatinEurope,“wefindteachers,Britishpeopleaswellasnativesofthecountryinwhichtheywork,whofollowtheBritishEnglishstandard,andscorntheAmericanEnglish”.Howevertheaboveattitudesarenothingbutthelastinfluenceofalong-goneperiodofBritishsupremacy.AccordingtoCampbellandothers,thebeginningofadistinctlead
