Реферат: How and why we learn English

Is there such a thing as Standard British? There is! It is the language of the educated class of people centered in London and its vicinity, and spoken by BBC radio announcers. The differences between American English and British English are considerable. Different words are used for the same common objects, and they may be spelled differently, different phrases are used, and different sounds are heard in speech. I’ll illustrate the main groups of the differences:

The main groups of spelling differences

(1) The colo(u)r group. Most words of this type are from Latin or French:

arbo(u)r, armo(u)r, endeavo(u)r, favo(u)r, hono(u)r, humo(u)r, labo(u)r, odo(u)r, neighbo(u)r, rigo(u)r, savo(u)r, tumo(u)r, valo(u)r, vigo(u)r.

The ending -our becomes -or in American.

(2) The centre/center group. In words of this type British English has -re and American English -er, and the difference is exclusive. The chief members are of non-Germanic origin and are:

fibre/fiber, goitre/goiter, litre/liter, meagre/meager, mitre/miter, sabre/saber, sombre/somber, theatre/theater; centred/centered; centrefold/centerfold.

(1) The instil(l) group. In such words, British English has a single written vowel plus -l, and American English has a single written vowel plus -ll, and all disyllabic verbs stressed on the second syllable:

distil(l), enrol(l), fulfil(l), instil(l), etc.

Exceptionally, extol prevails in American English over extoll. In American English -l in a syllable that is not stressed is not doubled.

5)The -ize/-ise group. Some verbs can only have -ize: capsize, seize. In some, only -ise is possible: advise, surprise. In many, both -ise, -ize are possible, as in civilise/civilize, organise/organize. For such verbs American English has systematic, exclusive -ize, and British English has both -ize and -ise.

Conclusion. Where differences exist, American English spellings tend to be shorter than British English spellings:

5.1 Pronunciation

According to Tom Mcarthur there is no analogous basis for comparing British English and American English pronunciation.

(1) A few words have their stress on a different syllable:

AmE -----> BrE

address -- address

cigarette -- cigarette

detail -- detail

garage -- garage

laboratory -- laboratory

5.0.1 In American English 'r' occurs before vowels and before consonants, and also word-finally:

air, are, arm, bear, beer, more, care, deer, fear, hair, or, peer, pure, wear, work, etc.

5.0.1 In American English when 't' occurs between two vowel sounds it is pronounced as 'd':

bitter, catty, latter, utter, shutter, water, waiting, writer, etc.

5.1 Grammar

The most common differences can be grouped under three headings:

differences to do with the verb

differences to do with the noun and pronoun