Comparative Analysis of British and American English

TRNAVA UNIVERSITY IN TRNAVA FACULTY OF EDUCATION

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH Bachelor thesis

2012 PETRA TIBENSKÁ

TRNAVSKÁ UNIVERZITA V TRNAVE PEDAGOGICKÁ FAKULTA

KOMPARATÍVNA ANALÝZA BRITSKEJ A AMERICKEJ ANGLIČTINY Bakalárska práca 8859

Študijný program: Učiteľstvo anglického jazyka a literatúry a etickej výchovy Školiace pracovisko: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry Pdf TU Študijný odbor: Učiteľstvo akademických predmetov – 1.1.1. Vedúci práce: doc. PhDr. Ľudmila Jančovičová, CSc.

Trnava, 2012 Petra Tibenská

Čestné vyhlásenie Čestne vyhlasujem, že som bakalársku prácu vypracovala samostatne, neporušila som autorský zákon a použitú literatúru uvádzam na príslušnom mieste.

Trnava, 24. 04. 2012

............................................. Podpis 3

Poďakovanie Touto cestou by som chcela poďakovať školiteľke mojej bakalárskejej práce doc. PhDr. Ľudmile Jančovičovej, CSc., za jej ústretovosť, cenné rady, odborné vedenie a metodickú pomoc, ktorú mi poskytla pri jej vypracovávaní. Moje poďakovanie patrí tiež Krisovi Lungaardovi za inšpiratívne rady a pomoc so štylistikou. 4

ABSTRACT TIBENSKÁ, Petra: Contrastive Analysis of British and American English . [Bachelor’s work]/ Petra Tibenská. – Trnava university in Trnava. Faculty of Education; Department of English Language and Literature. – Advisor: doc. PhDr. Ľudmila Jančovičová, CSc. Trnava 2012.

This work deals with selected differences in British and American English. The goal of this work is to describe the origins of the English language and the American dialect and to compare the use of the selected differences in the two dialects and demonstrate them with examples. The work concentrates on the history of the English language and its development, the origins of American English and selected differences in the two dialects which include: selected differences in grammar, the most common differences in pronunciation, common differences in British and American spelling, and differences in vocabulary. Key words: British English, American English, language, differences, spelling, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary. ABSTRAKT TIBENSKÁ, Petra: Kontrastívna analýza britskej a americkej angličtiny. [Bakalárska práca]/ Petra Tibenská. – Trnavská univerzita v Trnave. Pedagogická fakulta; Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry. – Školiteľka: doc. PhDr. Ľudmila Jančovičová, CSc. Trnava 2012.

Práca sa zaoberá vybranými rozdielmi medzi Britskou a Americkou angličtinou. Cieľom práce je opísať pôvod Anglického jazyka a Amerického dialektu a porovnať použitie vybraných rozdielov v spomenutých dialektoch a ukázať ich na príkladoch. Práca sa sústreďuje na históriu a vývoj Anglického jazyka, pôvod Americkej angličtiny a vybrané rozdiely v týchto dvoch dialektoch, ktoré zahŕňajú- vybrané rozdiely v gramatike, najbežnejšie rozdiely vo výslovnosti, rozdiely v britskom a americkom pravopise a rozdiely v slovnej zásobe. Kľúčové slová: britská angličtina, americká angličtina, jazyk, rozdiely, hláskovaie, gramatika, výslovnosť, slovná zásoba. 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 8 1

2

WHY ARE BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH DIFFERENT? ................ 10 1.1

Brief History of the English Language ......................................................... 10

1.2

History of English in the USA...................................................................... 12

SELECTED DIFFERENCES IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

GRAMMAR ................................................................................................................ 15

3

4

5

2.1

The Verb Get and its Forms ......................................................................... 15

2.2

Comparison of the Use of Verbs Have and Have Got.................................. 16

2.3

The difference in use of Present Perfect and Past Simple Tense ................. 16

2.4

The use of the Subjunctive ........................................................................... 18

2.5

Different Use of Compound Words ............................................................. 19

2.6

Collective Nouns .......................................................................................... 21

MOST COMMON DIFFERENCES IN PRONUNCIATION ............................ 22 3.1

Differences in the pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs ........................ 22

3.2

Differences in the pronunciation of consonants ........................................... 24

SELECTED DIFFERENCES IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN SPELLING .... 27 4.1

Words ending in -ise or -ize ......................................................................... 28

4.2

Words ending in –se or -ce ........................................................................... 28

4.3

Words ending in -our and -or ....................................................................... 29

4.4

Words ending in a consonant followed by -re or -er .................................... 30

4.5

Doubling final consonants ............................................................................ 30

DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY ................................................................. 32 5.1

Typical British idioms and their American equivalents ............................... 32

5.2

British Idioms with Very Similar American Equivalents............................. 34 6

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 37 RESUMÉ ........................................................................................................................ 39 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 43

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INTRODUCTION English is the most widely spoken language in the world. Not only are there hundreds of millions of native English speakers, there are also hundreds of millions of speakers who learn English as a second or foreign language. English is the international language of business and science; it is the universal language of the internet. It is a global language. But this global language is not the same everywhere you go. The fact that this vast number of English speakers is spread all over the world results in a large number of varieties of English language. Each of these varieties has its specific characteristics – some of them are easy to recognize by a specific intonation, some by a specific set of vocabulary, and others by an unusual usage of particular grammatical phenomena. The motivation for this thesis was our own experience with different varieties of English. Time spent in the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland was eye-opening when it came to the knowledge of the specifics of different dialects. We decided to focus on the British (RP) and American (GA) dialects, as they are the most commonly spoken dialects. This thesis aims to focus on differences between British and American English. It aspires to describe the origins of the English language and the history of English in the USA and compare selected differences between the two dialects and demonstrate them with examples. There are many “manuals” written for British English speakers travelling to the United States, or Americans travelling to Europe where they may encounter British English, telling them how not to embarrass themselves or cause confusion. We have not been able to find a comparative linguistic study focusing on all aspects of the language. The core of this bachelor thesis is centered on selected differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. The work is divided into five main chapters. The first chapter answers the question, Why are British and American English different? by providing insight into the origins of the English language. It describes the development of English language, which shows that English is a dynamic language, always changing. This chapter also describes the history of the English language in the

8

United States and provides a list of the most influential European languages in the development of the American dialect. The following chapter focuses on selected grammatical differences in the two dialects. The topics covered in this chapter are- the different use of Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses, the use of have and have got, the verb get and its forms, the use of the subjunctive, collective nouns and, in the final section, the differences in compound words, their form and use in British and American English, which is one of the most common grammatical differences between these two dialects. The third chapter deals with the most common differences in pronunciation. We believe that different pronunciation in different varieties of English can cause the most confusion and misunderstanding. This chapter focuses only on selected common differences in the two dialects. Authors like Rohdenburg and Schlüter, Davies, and others give a more detailed account of differences in pronunciation. Chapter four describes the importance of Noah Webster’s work on the standardization of American spelling and explains common differences in British and American spelling which are demonstrated with our own examples. The final chapter concentrates on differences in British and American vocabulary. We demonstrate these differences with examples of British idioms and give their American equivalents, explanations and use them in a sentence. In the first section we focus on those idioms, which are completely different in the two dialects, and the second section focuses on idioms, which are only different in their grammatical form or differ in one word of the phrase.

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1

WHY

ARE

BRITISH

AND

AMERICAN

ENGLISH

DIFFERENT? In this chapter we will introduce the history of the English language and its development in Britain since the first Anglo-Saxon raids and settlers. We will describe the formation of Old English, its shift to Middle English in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and finally characterize the period when Modern English was formed. We will also give a brief description of the formation of American English as a distinct dialect of English in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when the first permanent settlements were founded in the United States. We will also point out that the language is a dynamic entity, always changing and adapting to the speakers’ needs, which is obvious from the example of the rich history and many dramatic changes found over time in the English language. We believe it is important to describe the different development of the two dialects as a basis for all differences which can now be found between British and American English. 1.1

Brief History of the English Language

The history of English is usually divided into three major periods called Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English. The early period, dating from approximately 450-1150 A.D., started with the migration of Germanic tribes from the north-western coast of the continental Europe and their settling in Britain. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes brought their own languages to the British Isles and pushed the Celtic-speaking people out of their homeland into parts of the Isles now called Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Ireland. It is suggested that the invaders spoke Germanic, which is a language believe to be widely spread before 500 A.D. The language is believed to be related to Dutch, Frisian, German, some Scandinavian languages and to Gothic language. There are no written records of the Germanic languages and so it is difficult to know how exactly these influenced the language development on the British Isles. The Germanic tribes were not the first to invade Britain. It was the Celts who first invaded Britain long before the Germanic tribes, but we see only a little influence of their Celtic language on today’s English. Another group of invaders who raided Britain in this period were the Danes from Denmark and Norsemen from Norway, known as the Vikings. Because some of the 10

raiders settled in Britain and spoke their own language, they brought with them another big influence on the Old English language. Danish, in particular, was spoken on the east coast of the British Isles until about 1100 A.D. and was a major influence on English. The Middle English is the period that extends from roughly the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries. In A.D.1066 a major event in the development of the English language took place: William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England. France conquered England and replaced the ruling English with French-speaking officials. Britain thus became a bilingual country. During the period of the French reign about 10,000 French words came into English. French, being of Latin origin, imposed a large influence of the Latin language on the development of English. Much of the modern English vocabulary is of Latin origin rather than of Germanic. During this period came most grammatical changes re-forming English from the synthetic Old English to the analytic English. English lost most of the case endings of nouns, many irregular and strong forms of verbs were simplified, prefixes and suffixes were used more freely and verbs were no longer conjugated. (Crystal, 1995) The Middle English period is characterised by the formation of many different dialects, making it hard for people from opposite sides of the Isles to understand each other, but one dialect became the standard language of Britain – the dialect of London, the capitol of Britain. The Modern English period can be divided into two distinct periods. The period of Early Modern English dates approximately from 1500-1800 and the period of Late Modern English from 1800 to the present. There were two major factors that clearly separated Middle and Modern English. The first was a change in pronunciation, also known as the Great Vowel Shift, during which the vowels in general started shortening. The other factor was instigated by William Caxton’s bringing the printing press to England, which led to the publishing of literature for the masses becoming more popular. Literacy became more common, and works in English were more popular than the ones in Latin. This in turn led to the need for standardized English. The London dialect became the standard. (Van Gelderen, 2006) The biggest difference between early and late Modern English can be seen in vocabulary. The period after 1800 is characterized by the Industrial Revolution, science

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and the advancement of technology. New English words in this period were formed mostly from Latin and Greek root words. As Britain grew as an empire, the English language spread all over the world and was spoken by more people than ever before. International trade, for example, not only helped spread English into other parts of the world, it also brought new words into English from many different languages. Also important is the period of colonization, which started around 1600 A.D. and spread English to North America, creating a completely new and unique American dialect. 1.2

History of English in the USA

The first settlers in what is now the United States brought with them their own languages and lost contact with the English speakers in Britain. This may be considered to be the moment when the division between British and American English started. The English came to North America with vocabulary that was neither sufficient nor suitable for the “new world.” The colonists found themselves in an environment where they were unable to name foods, animals, plants and many other things. This was a basis of a speech modification which “came about in a perfectly simple, natural way.” (Mathews, 1963, p. 1) In Divided by a Common Language, Christopher Davies mentions several countries that enriched English in the US. Immigrants from these countries coming to the United States “have contributed many of the words that distinguish American English from British English.” (Davies, 2005). For a long time French was widely spoken all over the world, just like English is now and was in the past. French influence on the English language started after the Norman Conquest in 1066 in Britain and we can find examples of French borrowings in almost all public domains, such as government, law, religion, etc. The colonists from France came to the New World in the 16th century and settled mostly in the Mississippi Delta. “The state of Louisiana gets its name from the French king Louis XIV.” (Finegan, Rickford, 2004) The French also explored the far north of the continent and came into contact with native tribes. As they tried to converse with them, they encountered many objects which were unknown to them in their homeland. They 12

adopted some native terms which later became part of the American English vocabulary. We can say that French functioned as a “carrier language.” Some examples of words brought to American English by French from the Native Americans are toboggan, bayou and caribou. Apart from this, French also named objects that were unknown to them with their own French words. These became a part of the American English vocabulary and remain so to this day. Some examples of words entering the vocabulary in this manner are prairie (an extensive area of flat or rolling grassland), levee (an embankment raised to prevent a river from overflowing), chowder (a thick seafood soup often with a milk base), praline (a crisp confection made of nut kernels stirred in boiling sugar syrup), etc. (American Heritage Dictionary) New York, originally called New Amsterdam, was a Dutch colonial settlement. The Dutch settlers lived in relatively isolated communities and so the Dutch language only started mixing with English later, when the Dutch lost their colonies to the British (Davies, 2005). Examples of words of Dutch origin in today’s American English are coleslaw (a salad of shredded raw cabbage), cookie (a small cake, flat and crisp), Yankee (a native of a northern US state), etc. (American Heritage Dictionary) Davies writes that “the Spanish conquistadors left a hefty legacy of place names behind” and in addition “they left Americans many words that are associated with cowboys these days, such as lasso, mustang, rodeo and burro.” (Davies, 2005, p. 5) The contact between America and Spain came long before the colonial period and so Spanish loans have been long welcomed into the English language. During the exploration of America in the 18th century, terms commonly used in today’s everyday English were adopted. Some of these are potato (from Spanish word patata), tomato (from Spanish word tomate), barbecue (from American Spanish word barbacoa, meaning a framework of sticks), mesa (from Spanish word mesa, meaning table), etc. (Online Etymology Dictionary) In our research we have seen that not only Davies, but many other authors, e.g. Finegan and Rickford, Crystal, Rohdenburg and Schlüter, Mencken, etc., find not only influence on the American language but also traditions quite important in its development, mainly due to the large number of German immigrants in the US. Many authors also find it hard to distinguish between German and Dutch origins of words mainly because 13

German was often mistakenly referred to as Dutch. Some examples of words that have German origin are semester (originally meaning a course of six months), seminar (originally meaning a group of students working with a professor), sauerkraut (from German Sauerkraut, meaning sour cabbage), etc. (Online Etymology Dictionary) After comparing several authors’ works on the topic of the history and development of American English we can conclude that it is as rich as the development of English from its very roots. There are other minor influences on the English language in the US that are discussed by most works, namely the influence of Slavic languages and Yiddish. Just like all other languages, English never stopped developing. There are several reasons for this continuous development, one of them being the needs of English speakers changing over time as new technologies, new inventions and new experiences bring with them a need to name phenomena which are new not only to the world and society but also to the vocabulary system of a language. Based on the fact that needs of speakers will never stop changing we can conclude that no language will ever stop developing and adapting to the speakers. Another reason is that no two speakers speak the language the same. We all have a different vocabulary, use a different construction; we adopt words from people we talk with and none of us have exactly the same language experience. Weinreich claims that the language also changes due to “contact between speakers of different languages or dialects, rather than by variation internal to a given speech community.” (Weinreich, 1953) This is especially true about the English language as we see it spreading into more and more countries of the world. This chapter aims to show the different influences on development of British and American English, and also how one language became two different dialects. We believe that this is the basis for all differences we see when comparing British and American English today.

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2

SELECTED DIFFERENCES IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

In this chapter we will concentrate on selected grammatical differences between British and American English. It is not our goal to cover all differences in the area of grammar; rather, we will focus on selected common differences and demonstrate the different usage with examples.

Topics which are covered in this chapter are the different use of Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses, the use of have and have got, the verb get and its forms, the use of the subjunctive, collective nouns and, in the final section, the differences in compound words and their form and use in British and American English, which is one of the most common grammatical differences between these two dialects. 2.1

The Verb Get and its Forms

Crystal claims, in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, that “gotten is probably the most distinctive of all the British/American English grammatical differences.” (Crystal, 1995, p. 311) He’s got much taller since we last saw him in 2008. (British English) He’s gotten much taller since we last saw him in 2008. (American English) Some authors consider the form gotten an Americanism, despite the fact that its origins are traced back to the 4th century by the Oxford English Dictionary. The word gotten has been used in works of famous authors including Shakespeare and was brought to America by the first colonists. It has since then vanished from British vocabulary and the form got is used in the past participle. To the contrary, in One Language, Two Grammars, Rohdenburg and Schlüter claim that “evidence from ARCHER indicates that the use of gotten in AmE is not a straightforward case of colonial lag. Initially, the apparently ‘conservative’ form was also occasionally used in BrE (British English). That it fell out of use in BrE in the course of the LModE (Late Modern English) period is also attested by data from the

15

ZEN corpus where the latest occurrences date from the end of the eighteenth century.” (Rohdenburg, Schlüter, 2009, p. 21) As small as this difference may seem, we agree with Crystal that the past participle gotten is one of the most distinctive differences between British and American English, as it is very rarely used by the British and common and preferred by the Americans.

There are other verbs which have two acceptable forms in past tense and past participle. The regular form is generally preferred by American English and the irregular form by British English. These include verbs like dream, lean, spill, learn, etc. Dream – dreamt/dreamed Lean - leant/ leaned Spill – spilt/spilled Learn – learnt/learned

2.2

Comparison of the Use of Verbs Have and Have Got

In British English, have got is the preferred phrase to express possession, relationships and other states. This double form is often used in conversations and informal writings. E.g. I have got a throbbing headache. Have got; in this case, means exactly the same as the present tense of have. It is not the present perfect of get. Have got is not common in American English. Instead, American English uses the single form have to express possession or ownership. E.g. I have a throbbing headache. In informal American speech, speakers may use the contracted form ’ve got, e.g. I’ve got a problem with that. (Swan, 2005) 2.3

The difference in use of Present Perfect and Past Simple Tense

In A Student’s Grammar of the English language Quirk states that “the Present Perfect is used to refer to a situation set at some indefinite time within a period beginning in the past and leading up to the present.” (Greenbaum, S. – Quirk, R., 1993, p. 51) When comparing the Present Perfect with the Past Simple tense in British English, the general rules state that we use the present perfect when thinking about the past in connection with the present or when referring to a period of time “up to now,” when announcing news (but not when telling a detailed story which happened in the past) and we do not

16

use the present perfect with words which imply a finished period of time, like last week, when, three months ago, in 1885, etc. (Swan, 2005) I have lost the key to our mailbox. (I still do not have the key now) I haven’t heard of the singer. (“Up to now”) Have you heard that she’s pregnant again? (Announcing news) The students have met with the dean; they discussed the social event planned for the month of May and agreed that more volunteers were needed. (Giving details, past simple) Marry Anne broke her leg a month ago. (Finished period of time implied) In British English the Present Perfect tense is used with the adverbials since, already, just and yet. On the other hand, American English has a tendency to use both Present Perfect and Past Simple. Did you eat lunch already? (American English) Have you already eaten lunch? (British English) Generally, we can say that both British and American English have gone through a change in the use of Present Perfect tense. It is often suggested that the cause of the tendency to use the Past Simple tense instead of Present Perfect is becoming more common in Britain because of “the fairly rapid decline in the use of the present perfect which appears to have occurred in American English over the past 20 to 30 years.”

Jonathan has not come to school since the car accident. They have been busy working on the research lately. The number of illegal immigrants to the United States was lower last year. The Democratic Party agreed on a presidential candidate yesterday. I always knew I couldn’t trust her. I have always known I couldn’t trust her.

17

We can summarize that Present Perfect is generally used with adverbs like since, lately, for the time being, up to now and so far, Past Simple is used with words like last, yesterday and ago, and both tenses can be used with words always, never, ever, just and yet. 2.4

The use of the Subjunctive

In One Language, Two Grammars, the subjunctive is defined as a term which “refers to the base form of the verb (except were), which lacks tense and agreement features and does not take DO support. The mandative subjunctive can occur in subclauses dependent on mandative verbs and nouns and emotive adjectives (expressions of wishing, desiring, commanding, insisting, praying, asking, suggesting, forbidding and the like).” (Rohdenburg, Schlüter, 2009, p. 246, 247) Swan defines the subjunctive as “special verb forms, which are used to talk about ‘unreal’ situations: things which are possible, desirable or imaginary.” He also notes that these verb forms used to be common in Older English, “but in Modern English they have been replaced by uses of should, would and other modal verbs, by special uses of past tenses, and by ordinary verb forms.” (Swan, 2005, p. 559)

There are two forms of the subjunctive. The present subjunctive is expressed by the base form of the verb or by its bare infinitive. Thus for the verb be, the subjunctive form is be in all persons – I be, you be, he/she/it be, we be, they be. “For other verbs, the subjunctive is distinctive only in the 3rd person singular.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1993, p. 43) Mr. Johnson insisted that I be the one responsible for our new project. The committee suggested that he be re-elected the chairman. We recommend that she leave before it is too late. Whether he vote for this or not, it is a closed deal.

“The past subjunctive survives only in were as a past form of be.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1993, p. 44) It often appears in that-clauses where the main verb is wish and has a 18

hypothetical meaning. The subjunctive were is often replaced by the indicative was in informal style. I wish that he were here with us. They wish she were honest about the accident. If I were child of rich parents, I would have a much easier life. Generally the subjunctive is more commonly used in American English with phrases expressing demand, recommendation, proposal and intention. The subjunctive is used in that-clauses which follow such phrases. “In British English the alternatives are putative should and the indicative.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1993, p. 44) The boss insisted that he move to a different department in the company. The boss insisted that he should move to a different department in the company. The boss insisted that he moves to a different department in the company. Greenbaum and Quirk conclude that “the subjunctive is now a characteristic of especially AmE. The reasons for its come-back in AmE are, first, that the ground was well prepared for the change through popular acquaintance with biblical subjunctives and through the use of potentially subjunctive forms.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1993, p. 256)

2.5

Different Use of Compound Words

“Compounding is one of the principle, most productive and oldest ways of creating words in English.” Kvetko defines a compound word as a “unit (lexeme) consisting of two or more bases (roots).” (Kvetko, 2009, p. 27) Most of the compound words in English are two-root compounds. They are formed by the combination of different word classes. Noun Compounds

Toothpaste (noun-noun) Blackboard (adjective-noun) Swimming pool (verb-noun)

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Aftertaste (preposition-noun) Verb

Compounds

Sunshine (noun-verb) Dry-clean (adjective-verb) Underestimate (preposition-verb) Sleepwalk (verb-verb)

Adjective Compounds

Worldwide (noun-adjective) Bittersweet (adjective-adjective) Ingrown (preposition-adjective)

From orthographic point of view, Kvetko distinguishes three kinds of compounds – one word compounds (fireman), hyphenated (tax-free) and compounds written as separate words (sitting room). (Kvetko, 2009)

The orthographic point of view is where we find differences in British and American English. Different authors agree that the differences in spelling of compound words are only a matter of style but it is also obvious that British and American preferences are different. According to both Kvetko (2009) and Rohdenburg, Schlüter (2009) American English has a tendency to use the one word or separate words spelling and British English frequently uses the hyphenated form which is rare in AmE. Officers find paperwork rather time-consuming. Nina drinks a lot of water and carries a water-bottle with her at all times. (British hyphenated preference) Taking care of children at the orphanage is the most time consuming activity in her life at the moment. The students were reminded to bring a water bottle to the hike. (American preference – separate words) It can be concluded that compound words are practically used in the same way in both dialects. The difference which can be observed between British and American English use of compound words is orthographic.

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2.6

Collective Nouns

“In British English grammatically singular collective nouns are treated as notionally plural if the group is considered as a collection of individuals.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1993, p. 216) Singular is used when the group is considered or viewed as one body. The audience was shocked by the bad performance. The audience were delighted by the big surprise. Greenbaum and Quirk also note that grammatically singular collective nouns in American English are often treated as singular when they refer to government and sports teams. Manchester United is the best to be seen in Premier League. The team is well prepared and they expect to with the match. Singular collective nouns, when used with a singular verb are often used with plural pronouns. The committee has not shared their decision yet. The police has expressed their concern about this matter. From our study of different sources which deal with differences in British and American grammar, we can conclude that even though there are many of them, there are not many works which systematically deal with and compare British and American grammars side by side. We were able to compare the grammatical differences by searching for works dealing with British grammar only, which we later compared with the few resources which offered theoretical background to American grammar. This chapter shows, that different use of verbs, verb forms, and verb tenses is one of the bigger differences between the two dialects.

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3

MOST COMMON DIFFERENCES IN PRONUNCIATION Some of the biggest differences that can be noticed between British and

American English are differences in pronunciation. English, being spoken in a large territory and by a large number of people, presents a wide variety of pronunciations, but there are only three standard pronunciations distinguished: The Received Pronunciation (BBC English or Oxford English, RP), The General American (GA), and The General Australian. There are many regional varieties of both American and British English. These varieties are called accents. Accent refers to variety of speech distinguished by pronunciation differences. Dialect includes varieties differing in grammar and vocabulary as well as pronunciation. In this work we deal with differences between GA and RP. General American is the pronunciation used by the general population of the United States and by most US radio and TV announcers. It is also the model accent which is taught in American schools and in parts of the world close to the United States where English is taught as a second language. Received Pronunciation is the accent known as the model in Britain. Received in this case means generally accepted. It is a model of pronunciation taught in British schools and also in language schools where British English is taught rather than American English. Received Pronunciation is considered “regionally neutral.” This accent is not typical for any geographical region and can be heard all over the country. It is often associated with the level of education and social status. There are many differences in pronunciation of GA and PR but we will only present a few of them and illustrate with examples. 3.1

Differences in the pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs

RP distinguishes 7 different short pure vowel sounds – [ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, ɘ]. These can also be found in GA, except for the vowel sound [ɒ] which is replaced by the sound [ɑ:], e.g. not, lot, hot, knowledge, etc.

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RP

GA

not

[nɒt]

[nɑ:t]

lot

[lɒt]

[lɑ:t]

hot

[hɒt]

[hɑ:t]

knowledge

[nɒlidʒ]

[nɑ:lidʒ]

In a large number of words where in RP [ɑ:] is pronounced, in GA the front open vowel [æ] is found, e.g. dance, past, half, athlete, aunt, example, etc. RP

GA

dance

[dɑ:ns]

[dæns]

past

[pɑ:st]

[pæst]

half

[hɑ:f]

[hæf]

math

[mɑ:θ]

[mæθ]

aunt

[ɑ:nt]

[ænt]

example

[igzɑ:mpɘl]

[igzæmpɘl]

In RP we often find the sound [ɔ:] where in GA the sound [ɑ:] occurs. The long back mid rounded [ɔ:] loses its roundness and becomes an open [ɑ:], e.g. thought, walk, daughter, etc. RP

GA

thought

[θɔ:t]

[θɑ:t]

walk

[wɔ:k]

[wɑ:k]

daughter

[dɔ:tɘ]

[dɑ:tɘr]

RP distinguishes eight diphthongs. Three of these end in the sound schwa - iə, eə, ʊə, e.g. clear, dare, and cure. There are no diphthongs ending in the sound schwa in GA, rather the sound schwa is replaced by the sound [r]. (Pavlík, 2003) RP

GA

clear

[kliə]

[klir]

dare

[deə]

[der]

cure

[kjʊə]

[kjʊr]

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Diphthong [əʊ] which is used in RP shifts to [oʊ] in GA. The mid, central vowel [ə] shifts to close mid, back, rounded vowel [o], e.g. no, go, low, old, flow, etc.

3.2

RP

GA

no

[nəʊ]

[noʊ]

go

[gəʊ]

[goʊ]

low

[ləʊ]

[loʊ]

old

[əʊld]

[oʊld]

flow

[fləʊ]

[floʊ]

Differences in the pronunciation of consonants

Rhotic Accent One important difference between various English accents is the pronunciation of the consonant r. We call American English rhotic because the r is pronounced before a vowel, a consonant and at the end of a word. On the other hand RP is called non-rhotic because the consonant r is not pronounced before a consonant and at the end of a word. It is believed that the weakening of the r started in Britain in the 1600s and it took about one hundred years for the r to be completely lost. The non-rhotic accent became standard among the British sometime in the 1800s. There are three main realizations of the phoneme [r] in GA. Rhotic accent can be pronounced as a retroflex approximant. This occurs when r is found in an initial position in a word, e.g. rat, red, etc.; intervocalically, e.g. irregular, floral, etc.; and in the final position in a word when preceded by a vowel, e.g. beer, far. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [ɻ]. It always functions as a consonant. Another realization of the phoneme [r] can be found when it occurs in the medial position in a word and is preceded and followed by a consonant, e.g. perhaps, perform, etc.; and in a final position in a word when preceded by a consonant, e.g. biker, teacher, etc. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [ɚ]. It functions as a vowel. 24

The third realization of the phoneme [r] is found in all positions in words and functions as a long vowel. Its symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [ɝ]. It is found in words like hurt and burn. There are many variations of the phoneme [r] in the Received Pronunciation. The most common is a voiced post-alveolar approximant. It occurs only before a vowel or a voiced consonant, e.g. arrow, agree, etc.; or in the initial position in a word, e.g. red, really, etc. Rhotic accent in American English, in contrast to RP, can be found associated with the following sounds: [ɑ:], e.g. hard; [ɔ:], e.g. born, and [ɜ:], e.g. hurt, after the sound schwa ([ə]), e.g. later, in diphthongs ending by the sound schwa as in [iə] and [eə], e.g. here, there. (Pavlík, 2003)

RP

GA

hard

[hɑːd]

[hard]

born

[bɔːn]

[born]

hurt

[həːt]

[ˈhərt]

later

[ˈleɪtə]

[leirər]

here

[hɪə]

[hɪər]

there

[ðeə]

[ðeər]

Pronunciation of Letter t GA recognizes six different realizations of the phoneme [t]: Aspirated sound – occurs in both RP and GA. This realization of the phoneme [t] is found in an initial position in a word, e.g. time; or in a stressed mid-position in a word, e.g. potentially. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [th]. De-aspirated sound – also occurs in both RP and GA. This realization of the phoneme [t] is found in unstressed syllables, after [s] or at the end of syllables, e.g. dieting, stamp, hat. Alveolar flap (tap) – is never used in the RP. In RP it is always pronounced as a deaspirated [t] or as a glottalised [t]. In American English [t] in an unstressed intervocalic 25

position, e.g. better, but it, city, etc., or preceded by a vowel and followed by [l], e.g. battle, cattle rattle, etc., is generally realized as a voiced flap. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [ɾ] or

.

Glottal stop – occurs in both RP and GA. Glottal stop is a type of voiceless consonant sound which is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [ʔ]. Glottalised stop – is very similar to the glottal stop. In this sound, both de-aspirated [t] and glottal stop are produced at the same time, e.g. curtain. The phonetic symbol for this sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet is [tʔ]. Omission of the sound [t] - In several varieties of American English and also in RP sound [t] can be omitted. When a stressed vowel is followed by [nt], e.g. winter, center, etc., the sound [t] is sometimes omitted. It is typical for the RP to pronounce [j] in a stressed syllable after one of the alveolar consonants [t, d, n], e.g. student, reduce, news, etc. (Finegan- Rickford, 2004) RP

GA

student

[stjuːdənt]

[stuːdənt]

reduce

[rɪdjuːs]

[rɪduːs]

news

[njuːz]

[nuːz]

In conclusion it should be stated that there are many more differences in pronunciation than this work deals with. We chose only a few examples to demonstrate that General American and Received Pronunciation, though still one language, are two quite different accents. These two accents are most likely to be the models for learners of English as a foreign language all over the world. As sound of the language is often the thing that makes it “attractive” to listeners of learners

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4

SELECTED DIFFERENCES IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN SPELLING

In this chapter we will focus on the influence of Noah Webster on the process of standardizing of American English spelling and on selected spelling differences between British and American English. We will focus on the most common differences which include words ending in -ise in British English and -ize in American English, words ending in -ce and -se, words ending in -our or –or, words ending in a consonant followed by -re or -er and doubling of the final consonant in a word. We will demonstrate the differences with examples. Noah Webster is the most important figure in the development and standardizing of American English spelling. The influence of his works on spelling was immediate and profound. Among his most influential works are Grammatical Institute of the English Language (1783), American Spelling Book, and American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). There were two reasons why Webster suggested a spelling reform: philological and nationalistic. “As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government. Great Britain, whose children we are, and whose language we speak, should no longer be our standard; for the taste of her writers is already corrupted, and her language on the decline. But if it were not so, she is at too great a distance to be our model, and to instruct us in the principles of our own tongue.” (Webster, 1789, p.20) Webster’s dissatisfaction with the language used in the United States sparkled when he worked as a teacher and found that many of the texts he had to work with lacked an American perspective. He thus started publishing and travelling around the country to find support for his ideas. Webster tried to apply quite dramatic changes in both spelling and pronunciation but this reform was not supported and was only received in a moderate form. (Crystal, 1995) The British counterpart to Webster, Dr. Samuel Johnson, the author of A Dictionary of the English Language, tried to reform and unifies the spelling in Britain.

27

We will now focus on several spelling differences between RP and GA, explain their origin and provide examples to illustrate the differences. 4.1

Words ending in -ise or -ize

The suffix -ize is typical for American English, in words such as organize, recognize, realize, etc., rather than British. In Britain the alternate -ise is preferred, e.g. organise, recognise, realise, etc., which shows an influence of French on the British English. Even though the suffix -ize is now rarely used in British English, we still find that some British sources prefer it to the suffix -ise because of its Greek and Latin origin. One of the important British sources supporting this theory is the Oxford English Dictionary. It states that “some have used the spelling -ise in English, as in French. . . But the suffix itself, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Greek -izein, Latin izare; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic.” (Oxford English Dictionary) From our study of this topic it could be concluded that even though some British sources use both suffixes, the suffix ize is only rarely used in everyday British English and is considered an Americanism. These suffixes are not to be confused with words ending in -ize or -ise which are not derived from the Greek language. Their endings are not interchangeable like those with Greek or Latin origin. These include words such as compromise, advise, exercise, surprise, size, prize, etc. 4.2

Words ending in –se or -ce

The meaning of words ending in -se and -ce is often confused. The general rule is that words ending in -ce are nouns, e.g. advice, device, practice, etc., and words ending in se are verbs, e.g. advise, devise, practice, etc. British English kept this noun-verb distinction, and American English did as well with the exception of license and practice used both for noun and verb forms. (Mencken, 1919) License - noun - official or legal permission to do or own a specified thing License - verb - to give permission to or for

Practice - noun - a habitual or customary action or way of doing something

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Practice - verb - to do or perform habitually or customary, make a habit of (The American Heritage Dictionary)

4.3

Words ending in -our and -or

After comparing different American and British sources, we can conclude that the ending -our is commonly used in British English; on the other hand, the ending -or is used in American English. When Noah Webster suggested that standardized American English Language be used in the United States, one obvious difference from British English was simplifying and shortening the spelling of words. This is obvious in the case of these two endings. Webster only uses the ending -or in his American Dictionary of the English Language from 1828. On the other hand Johnson, in his Dictionary of the English Language. only uses the ending -our. This ending originated in Old French and was made common after the Norman Conquest during the use of Anglo-French, when the influence of French on English was the strongest in history. Examples of words with these endings include – armour - armor, behaviour – behavior, colour – color, glamour – glamor, saviour – savior, flavour - flavor, honour – honor, etc. They had to wear full body armour to stay protected. Protecting soldiers in war was important to their leader. He supplier his army with the best armor available. Looking back at the situation, John found himself ashamed of his impatient behavior. Future teachers are taught to understand children’s behavior and to be able to detect its nature. It is an honour and a privilege to stand in front of such audience today. The guest of honor at the University ball 2012 was a well-known professor from Cambridge who accepted our invitation despite his busy schedule.

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4.4

Words ending in a consonant followed by -re or -er

A common difference in British and American English spelling is found in words which end in a consonant followed by the ending -re (RP) and -er (GA), both pronounced [ər]. This difference is most obvious in many words of French, Greek and Latin origin which end in the consonant b or t followed by the -re or -er ending. These include words like centre, litre, metre, sabre, etc. We find many exceptions or words that are spelled with the ending -er in both British and American English. These include words like enter, member, letter, sober, etc. Other exceptions include words of Germanic origin such as anger, mother, water, etc. The new sports’ center is modern and well equipped, unlike the old one. Citizens with insufficient health insurance often visit the new Health Centre near the housing project. Each adult has about five liters of blood. They now sell Coca-Cola in 1.5 litre bottles. John won in the 800-meter run even though he was the youngest competitor. The closest Nero Cafe is only 100 metres from our house. Soldiers in the American army are no longer taught how to use a saber when fighting the enemy. The sabre is still considered a deadly weapon. The teacher entered the classroom and immediately started speaking French. Many men have already benefitted from our Anger management classes. 4.5

Doubling final consonants

In both British and American English, “we sometimes double the final consonant of a word before adding -ed, -er, -est, -ing, -able, -y (or any other ending that begins with a vowel).” (Swan, 2005, p. 553) This doubling usually occurs when the final syllable in a word is stressed. It is always only the final consonant which is preceded by one vowel which is doubled, e.g. stopped, sitting, winning, slimming, referring, beginning, etc., however in British English the final consonant l can be doubled even in unstressed syllable, e.g. travelling. This is not common in American English. (Swan, 2005) Words where the spelling –ll occurs can be found in American English, but the spelling with a single –l is preferred in British English. This happens when the words form the 30

main part of other words. Some examples of these words are – fulfillment – fulfilment, installment – instalment, willful – wilful, skillful – skilful, etc. Although there are many differences in spelling between British and American English, most of them are not due to a set of spelling rules in one or the other dialect; rather they are preferences made by speakers which became common over time. The differences in spelling, though there are many, may be considered unimportant because they do not in any way influence the level of understanding of speakers of different dialects.

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5

DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY

In this chapter we will focus on typical British idioms and phrases and compare them to their American equivalents. As was mentioned before, the American and British speak the same language which over time became two distinct dialects. Because of the historical development of both dialects, different influences and two different national standards, the British and Americans generally understand each other, but, there may be instances when individual words are misunderstood or not understood at all, metaphorical expressions and idioms may sound bizarre, and the form of speech may seem “wrong” due to lack of understanding the system of the other dialect. This chapter will be divided into two sections – the first section will provide typical British idioms and their American equivalents that are completely different. The second section will deal with idioms that are only partially different in British and American English. This difference may be only grammatical or the idioms will differ in one or two words. We will provide definitions of idioms and phrases as stated in different dictionaries. All idioms were chosen randomly from the vast number of British idioms and listed alphabetically. We chose the ones that we believe to be widely known and understood by a large audience. 5.1

Typical British idioms and their American equivalents

In this section we will list selected British idioms, give their definitions, use them in a sentence to demonstrate their meaning and give an American equivalent to compare idioms with the same meaning in the two dialects. In this section we will focus on those idioms that are completely different in British and American English. To beat someone hollow means “to defeat someone easily and by a large amount” in British English (Ref.1) In American English, there is an idiom with the same meaning but different wording - to clean their clocks. We played our first match this season with the best team, they beat us hollow. There was no dispute about the winner; the Brazilian boxer really cleaned his opponent’s clock.

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When you tell people something that someone else was trying to keep secret, you blow the gaff. This phrase is often used with the preposition on. American English has an idiom with the same meaning – spill the beans. The youngest gang member almost blew the gaff on the drug deal. You can never trust Jeff. He’s like a kid and will spill the beans when he gets a chance. To be kept on tenterhooks or to wait on tenterhooks means “to nervously wait to find out what is going to happen.” (Ref.2) The American equivalent of this idiom is to be on pins and needles. The American Idioms Dictionary defines this phrase as being “anxious; in suspense.” (Spears, 2000, p. 290) We were kept on tenterhooks until we heard that your plane had landed safely in Atlanta. The whole family was on pins and needles, waiting to hear how Jack’s surgery went. When a British English speaker wants to express an idea which means “to be with two people who are having a romantic relationship and who would prefer to be alone,” he would use a phrase to play gooseberry. (Ref.3) Davies (2005) suggests that the American equivalent for this phrase is to chaperone someone. However, in MerriamWebster Dictionary the word chaperone is defined as “an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior; broadly: one delegated to ensure proper behavior.” (Ref.4) If it is only you and your girlfriend going to the cinema, I won’t go. I do not want to play gooseberry. We need a volunteer to chaperone the youth group’s Christmas party. When someone drives you round the bend it means that they “make you irritated and annoy you.” (Ref.5) The American equivalent of this idiom is to drive up a wall. The American Idioms Dictionary defines this phrase as “to make someone insane” or “to annoy or irritate someone.” (Spears, 2000, p. 98) Your whistling is driving me round the bend, please stop! 33

The constant loud noises from our neighbor are driving me up the wall. In British English, when someone is talking nineteen to the dozen it means they are talking “very fast without stopping.” (Ref.6) This phrase is also used in American English, but Davies (2005) suggests that the American equivalent to the British phrase is talk up a blue streak. The definition of this phrase in the Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs is: to talk very much and very rapidly. (McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. 681) After searching for different authors’ definitions of these two idioms, we can conclude that different authors have different opinions about their usage. Some claim that they have the same meaning; the others seem to argue that the two idioms have a slightly different meaning. Some also claim that the idiom to talk nineteen to the dozen is used in both British and American English with the same frequency. Many people can’t stand Suzanne because she talks nineteen to the dozen. Our math teacher is hard to understand and follow, she talks up a blue streak. 5.2

British Idioms with Very Similar American Equivalents

This section will show examples of idioms that are very similar in both British and American English. Most of these idioms only differ in their grammatical form or in the selection of words used in similes and phrases. Most of them are different in no more than one word. In British English when we would like to express that someone is “powerless, helpless, nervous and stressed, or someone who is incapacitated by alcohol” the idiomatic phrase cot-case is used. (Ref.7) The American equivalent of this idiom is a basket case. This phrase originally referred to “a quadriplegic as a result of catastrophic wounds suffered in World War I (the military vehemently denied there were any such in its hospitals), from basket + case. Probably literal, i.e., stuck in a basket, but basket had colloquial connotations of poverty (begging) and helplessness long before this. Figurative sense of "person emotionally unable to cope" is from 1967.” (Ref.8) From this example we can see that some idioms have a very interesting etymological origin. This example is only one of many on which we could demonstrate the development of its use, and how the original and current meanings are different. She was a complete cot case on the morning of her wedding. 34

Jessica unfortunately failed the important exam. She was a basket case for days. One of many idioms which are frequently used, especially among young people, is to be drunk as a lord. To be drunk as a lord means to be very drunk; intoxicated. The American equivalent of this idiom is very similar and only differs in the noun used in the simile. An American would rather use the phrase drunk as a skunk. It only took three drinks to get John drunk as a lord. After tasting several mixed drinks at the bar, they were all drunk as skunks. To say that someone goes bankrupt, in British English we use the phrase to go bust. The American equivalent of this idiom is to go broke. The only difference we see in the two dialects is in the final word in the phrase. The American Idioms Dictionary defines to go broke as “to completely run out of money and other assets.” (Spears, 2000, p. 160) Our company is going to go bust if we don’t start making profit. Boris can’t go on vacation with us, he’s broke. To knock spots off something or somebody is an informal way to say that something is “very much better than someone or something else.” (Ref.9) The American equivalent to this idiom is to knock the socks off. The difference we see between the two idioms is found in the noun functioning as the direct object in this phrase. McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs adds a meaning to this phrase and states that it also means “to surprise someone thoroughly.”(McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. 379) The new Mexican restaurant in town knocks spots off any other restaurant in our region. The shocking news knocked the socks off everyone present at the meeting. When a British person wants to express the idea of “saving someone from failure or difficulties,” they often use the idiom to save someone’s bacon. (Ref.10) The American equivalent is the phrase to save one’s skin. Once again, we see that the only difference in the two idioms is the noun used as a direct object of the phrase. The Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs defines this phrase as “saving someone from injury, embarrassment, or punishment.” (McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. 581)

35

Darren was late for work again and we tried to save his bacon, but the boss fired him anyway. I need you to save my skin and lie to my parents for me. The phrase to yell blue murder is sometimes used with the verb scream or cry and it means to “shout or to complain very loudly.” (Ref.11) The American equivalent of this phrase is to scream or cry bloody murder and the meaning found in the Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs is: “to scream as if something very serious has happened, especially unnecessarily.” (McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. 135) In this case we observe that the difference in the idioms is found in the adjective used in the phrase. When my son unintentionally bumped into an elderly lady, she started yelling blue murder because she thought he was trying to steal her purse. There is no reason to scream bloody murder, the car can be fixed. This chapter intentionally focuses on selected British and American idioms as they are a topic which is not discussed much in works concerning differences between British and American English vocabulary. Most works deal with differences in vocabulary in different areas of life such as law, transportation and vehicles, academic life and environment, object in homes, and so on. While we see that many times when we want to express a certain idea using an idiomatic expression, we use two completely different idioms or collocations in the two dialects, we can also conclude that there is a large number of idioms which are very similar in British and American English and the difference between them is a minor grammatical difference or a difference in a choice of one word in the phrase.

36

CONCLUSION “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” ‒Rita Mae Brown English language is fascinating. Its history, development over hundreds of years, its rich vocabulary and fairly easy grammar system make English one of the most interesting languages. It is no wonder that it became the number one world’s language used by millions of speakers all over the world. We took on the goal, as stated in the introduction, to answer the question: Why are British and American English different? We can conclude that the history of the English language itself, as well as the history of the English language in the United States, is important in answering the stated question. The history and development of British and American English as two major different dialects shows that the different needs of speakers in different geographical locations influence of different languages, different social and cultural conditions all contributed to the one language dividing into two major dialects. The core of this thesis aimed to show selected differences in British and American English in the areas of grammar, spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary. This thesis proves that the differences in these areas are many. It shows that the differences which may cause the most confusion are in the area of pronunciation and vocabulary. We can add that not only are Received Pronunciation and General American very different, but these two standard pronunciations are only a small fraction of dialects found in Britain and the United States. With selected examples of British idioms and their American equivalents we have shown that often when the two dialects use the same words, phrases or idioms, they may be expressing a completely different meaning; and on the other hand, one meaning can be preferred to be expressed by completely different words or phrases. The chapters dealing with grammar and spelling show that we find plenty of differences in these areas as well but they do not play such a big role in the interaction between speakers of British and American English. 37

The English language is a dynamic system which is always changing. We can only speculate whether the two dialects will become more or less alike in the future. The fact is that in present British and American English remain one language but two very different dialects.

38

RESUMÉ Táto práca opisuje rozdiely medzi britskou a americkou angličitnou, vybrané na základe štúdia diel, ktoré sa tejto tematike venujú, porovnáva dané javy v jednotlivých dialektoch a ukazuje ich na vlastných príkladoch. Anglický jazyk je ako každý iný jazyk dynamickou entitou, ktorá sa neustále vyvíja a mení. Neustále sa musí prispôsobovať potrebám používateľov, pokrokom v oblastiach vedy a techniky, spoločenským a kultúrnym zmenám. Toto je zjavné zo štúdia vzniku a histórie anglického jazyka, aj zo vzniku a vývoja americkej angličtiny. História angličtiny je spravidla rozdelená do troch období, ktorými sú obdobie Starej angličtiny, Strednej angličtiny a obdobie Modernej angličtiny. Obdobie Modernej angličtiny sa ďalej rozdeľuje na Skorú modernú angličtinu a Neskorú modernú angličtinu, ktorá je posledným predchodcom súčasnej angličtiny. Prvé obdobie začalo približne v roku 450 a pokračovalo až do roku 1150. Je charakterizované migráciou Germánskych kmeňov na Britské ostrovy. Germánsky jazyk, ktorý si so sebou priniesli nájazdníci je príbuzný holandštine, nemčine a škandinávskym jazykom. Ďalšia skupina nájazdníkov, známa ako vikingovia, prišla v tomto období do Anglicka z Dánska a Nórska. Dánsky jazyk mal na Starú angličtinu vplyv až do roku 1100. Začiatok obdobia Strednej angličtiny sa datuje na rok 1066 a pokračuje až do piateho storočia. Rok 1066 a dobytie Anglicka Viliamom Dobyvateľom je dôležitou udalosťou nielen z historického, ale aj lingvistického hľadiska. Anglicko sa stalo bilingválnou krajinou a vplyv francúzštiny bol nezvratný. Obdobie Strednej angličtiny je charakteristické vznikom mnohých dialektov, ktoré spôsobili, že obyvatelia jedného pobrežia nerozumeli obyvateľom pobrežia na opačnej strane ostrova. Štandardom sa stal dialekt hlavného mesta, Londýna. Obdobie Skorej modernej angličtiny sa datuje od roku 1500 do roku 1800 a obdobie Neskorej modernej angličtiny začína približne v roku 1800 a pokračuje do súčasnosti. V tomto období prichádza v angličtine k veľkým zmenám v oblasti výslovnosti a slovnej zásoby. Obdobie po roku 1800 je charakterizované Industriálnou revolúciou a rozvojom v oblasti vedy a techniky. Vytvára sa tak potreba nových slov,

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ktoré by popisovali doteraz nepoznané predmety a idei. Angličtina nachádza zdroj týchto nových slov najmä v latinčine a gréčtine. Čím viac rástla Británia ako svetová veľmoc, tým rozšírenejší bol anglický jazyk vo svete. Dôležitým faktorom v rozširovaní angličtiny a vzniku americkej angličtiny je obdobie kolonizácie „Nového sveta.“ Prví usídlenci v severnej Amerike si so sebou priniesli svoj vlastný jazyk, no zároveň stratili kontakt s anglicky hovoriacimi v Británii. Tento moment môžeme považovať za počiatok vzniku americkej angličtiny. Angličtina neposkytovala dostatočné ani vhodné slová na pomenovanie nových predmetov, jedla, rastlín, atď. a preto do nej začali v Amerike hneď od počiatku prenikať nové slová. Imigranti, ktorí prichádzali do Spojených štátov obohatili Americkú angličtinu o slová, ktoré ju robia ľahko rozoznateľnou od Britskej angličtiny. Francúzština, holandština, španielčina, nemčina, ale tiež niektoré slovanské jazyky mali silný vplyv na vývoj Americkej angličtiny. Postupný vývoj americkej angličtiny v izolovanom Novom svete spôsobil, že rozdiely medzi britskou a americkou angličtinou sa zväčšovali. Dnes tieto rozdiely badáme v oblasti gramatiky, výslovnosti, hláskovania a slovnej zásoby. Niektorí autori tvrdia, že rozdiely v oblasti gramatiky sú také minimálne a ich dôležitosť je tak malá, že nie je rozhodujúce venovať im veľa pozornosti. Na druhej strane sa stretávame aj s autormi, ktorí tvrdia opak. Je samozrejmé, že rozdiely v gramatike nespôsobia medzi hovoriacimi britskej a americkej angličtiny úplné neporozumenie, je však zaujímavé vnímať tieto rozdiely najmä z hľadiska ich pôvodu a porovnávať situácie, v ktorých sú rozdiely markantné. Jedným z často spomínaných rozdielov je rozlišné používanie predprítomného a jednoduchého minulého času a snáď najviac diskutovaný rozdiel tvorby a písania zložených slov. Kapitola „Vybrané rozdiely v Britskej a Americkej angličtine“ sa tiež zaoberá témami rôzneho použitia slovesa get a jeho foriem, rôznym použitím konjunktívu, použitím slovies have got a have a stručne hromadnými podstatnými menami (kolektívami). Rozdiely vo výslovnosti sú jedným z najväčších rozdielov, ktoré vidíme medzi britskou a americkou angličtinou. Sú na prvé počutie zjavné a môžu spôsobiť nedorozumenia aj rodeným rečníkom. Rozdiely vo výslovnosti rozdeľujeme na dve 40

sekcie – rozdiely vo výslovnosti samohlások a dvojhlások a rozdiely vo výslovnosti spoluhlások, v ktorej sú zahrnuté spoluhlásky r a t, ktoré produkujú niekoľko zvukov charakteristických výhradne pre jeden, alebo druhý dialekt. V sekcii samohlásky a dvojhlásky poukazujeme na to, že americká angličtina namiesto typicky britského zvuku [ɒ] preferuje zvuk [ɑ:], no na druhej strane tam, kde britská angličtina vyslovuje [ɑ:], americká angličtiny preferuje otvorený zvuk [æ]. V slovách kde je zvuk [ɔ:] použitý v bristkej angličnine, americká preferuje rovnako ako pri zvuku [ɒ] dlhú formu [ɑ:]. Záverom tejto kapitoly sa venujeme dvojhláskam, ktoré v britskej angličtine končia na samohlásku schwa a v americkej angličtine jasne vyslovenou spoluhláskou r. Na rozdieloch vo výslovnosti, ktoré sú spomenuté v tejto kapitole, a na mnohých iných, ktoré nespomíname je zjavné, že práve rozdiely v tejto oblasti sú jednými z najvýraznejších rozdielov medzi britskou a americkou angličtinou. Rozdiely v hláskovaní sú často považované za menej dôležité. V spojení s hláskovaním je nevyhnutné spomenúť autora reformy amerického hláskovania, slovnikára Noah Webstera. Noah Webster je najdôležitejšou postavou štandardizácie hláskovania v americkej angličtine, autorom diel, ktoré umocnili proces štandardizácie a učiteľom, ktorý videl v tomto procese zmysel z pohľadu filologického aj národnostného. V kapitole „Vybrané rozdiely v britskom a americkom hláskovaní“ sa zameriavame na rozdielne hláskovanie rôznych prípon, ako napríklad slová končiace príponou -ise alebo -ize, -ce alebo -se, -our alebo -or. V ostatných dvoch sekciách na príkladoch ukazujeme rozdielne hláskovanie podstatných mien končiacich na -er alebo –re, a ozrejmujeme kedy prichádza k zdvojeniu spoluhlásky pri pridaní prípony. Najväčšie rozdiely medzi britskou a americkou angličtinou nachádzame v slovnej zásobe. Americká angličtina bola od počiatku prinútená okolnosťami obohacovať sa o slová z iných jazykov a zároveň zostávala izolovaná od Británie čo spôsobilo, že slovná zásoba americkej angličtiny sa už od počiatku líšila od britskej. Aj napriek tomu, že v súčasnej dobe je angličtina jazykom, ktorým hovoria stovky miliónov ľudí na celom svete a môžeme teda tvrdiť, že je skutočne globálnym jazykom používaným na rôznych fórach, rozdiely v slovnej zásobe zostávajú. Samostatným slovám, ktoré sú rovnaké v oboch dialektoch, no majú rôzny význam, a zároveň faktu, že na vyjadrenie jednej myšlienky alebo pomenovanie jedného predmetu nachádzame rôzne slová sa venuje mnoho štúdií a „cestovateľských manuálov“. V tejto práci sa v kapitole „Rozdiely v slovnej zásobe“ venujeme idiomatickým výrazom, na ktorých 41

poukazujeme na fakt, že tú istú ideu často vyjadrujú v britskej a americkej angličtine dva úplne odlišné idiomatické výrazy, no zároveň pri porovnaní vidíme, že idiomatické výrazy sa niekedy líšia len v gramatickej stavbe frázy, či jednom slove, ktoré je v každom dialekte iné.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY ALGEO, J. 2006. British or American English – A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13 978-0-511-24091-1 CRYTAL, D. 1995. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521401791 DARRAGH, G. 2000. A to Zed, A to Zee – A Guide to Differences between British and American English. Editorial Stanley. ISBN 84-7873-346-9 DAVIES, CH. 2005. Divided by a Common Language. Mayflower Press. ISBN-13 9780-618-00275-7 ECKERSLEY, C. E. – ECKERSLEY, J.M. 1970. Essential English. London: Longman Group Limited. FENNEL, B.A. 2001. A History of English – A Sociolinguistic Approach. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 0631200738 FINEGAN, E. – RICKFORD, J. R. 2004. Language in the USA. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13 978-0-511-21054-9 GREENBAUM, S. – QUIRK, R. 1993. A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Longman Group UK Limited. ISBN 0 582 05971.2 LOVINGER, P. W. 2000. The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style. Penguin Group. ISBN 0 7865 2886 9 MENCKEN, H. L. 1919. The American Language – A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States. New York: Alfred. A. Knopf. PAVLÍK, R. 2003. A Theoretical Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology. Bratislava: RETAAS s.r.o. ISBN 80-89113-08-7 ROHDENBURG, G. – SCHLŰTER, J. 2009. One Language, Two Grammars? Differences between British and American English. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13 978-0-511-48067-6 SALAMA, N. – GHALI, M.

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CITED INTERNET RESOURCES [Ref.1] Online Free Dictionary: Beat somebody hollow. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/beat+hollow [Ref.2] Online Free Dictionary: Keep someone on tenterhooks. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/keep+on+tenterhooks [Ref.3] Online Free Dictionary: To play gooseberry. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/play+gooseberry [Ref.4] Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary: Chaperone. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaperone [Ref.5] Online Free Dictionary: Drive round the bend. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/drive+around+the+bend [Ref.6] Online Free Dictionary: Talk nineteen to the dozen. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/nineteen+to+the+dozen [Ref.7] Online Free Dictionary: Cot case. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cot+case [Ref.8] Online Etymology Dictionary: Basket case. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=basket+case&sear chmode=none [Ref.9] Online Free Dictionary: Knock spots off. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/knock+spots+off [Ref.10] Online Free Dictionary: Save someone’s bacon. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/knock+spots+off [Ref.11] Online Free Dictionary: Yell blue murder. April 4, 2012 [online] Available: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/yell

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OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES USED POUND, L. 1915. British and American Pronunciation: Retrospect and Prospect. In The School Review, Vol. 23, No. 6 (Jun., 1915), pp. 381-393. The University of Chicago [online] Available: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1076278, March 28, 2012 Oxford Dictionary [Online] Available: http://english.oxforddictionaries.com/, March 19, 2012 Longman Dictionary [Online] Available: http://www.ldoceonline.com/, March 19, 2012 Merriam-Webster Dictionary [Online] Available: http://www.merriam-webster.com/, March 23, 2012 American Heritage Dictionary [Online] Available: http://ahdictionary.com/, March 16, 2012

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