The Outline :
- General statement :English is used in many countries either as a mother tongue or as a second language.
- Thesis Statement : Therefore, those are the similiarities and differences between British and American English in particular.
- Similarities : Both of them have the same similiarities which could be predicted by English learners well. Two kinds of this style are currently applied in English language and taught in the rest of the world, such as Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
- Transitional Paragraph : After conveying few similiarities of those styles, it is important also to know what some differences which are closed to both of them distinctly viewed from several perspectives.
- Differences :There is little difference between British English and American English tends to only enrich communication and does not pose a problem or difficulty in communicating such as spelling, pronounciation and vocabulary.
- Conclusion : In brief, both British and American English have some similiarities and differences based on related aspectscommonly.
British and American English
English is used in many countries either as a mother tongue or as a second language. As a second language, it can be observed from several aspects which has been discussed completely and determinedly. Thus, it refers to two kinds of English language most commonly used in several countries. Those are British and American English style in which many colleagues could not distinguish specifically. Therefore, here are the similarities and differences between British and American English in particular.
Both of them have the same similarities which could be predicted by English learners well. Two kinds of this style are currently applied in English language. So far, they are used to communicate and practiced by using English as the pattern of communication. In spoken, they are similarly uttered by English as a second language in western commonly.British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world, excluding countries where English is spoken natively such as Australia,Canada,Ireland and New Zealand.
After conveying few similarities of those styles, it is important also to know what some differences which are closed to both of them distinctly viewed from several perspectives.
There is little difference between British English and American English tends to only enrich communication and does not pose a problem or difficulty in communicating. The differences could be distinguished from lots of the use and application in communication context fro some learners. Here’s the difference of English British and American based on its use.
Spelling becomes the first aspect which refers to some words pronounced in both British and American.British spelling tends to retain many words of French originally while American English directs to spell a word which is closer to the way they pronounce it, and also they eliminate the lettersnot required.
Here are some examples between British and American spelling. British English: centre, theatre, realise, catalogue, programme, travelled, neighbour, grey, plough, to practise (verb), practice (noun), cheque (noun)American English: Center, theater, Realize, catalogs, programs, Traveled, neighbor, gray, plow, to practice (verb),practice (verb), check (noun)
The following aspect is about pronunciation. Americans usually pronounce the letter “r” with their tongues rolled back and pressed them together to the palate mouth while most British people do not pronounce the letter “r” in the word, especially if there is the final word.In American English the word “can” and “can not” sound very similar, while in English British, you can distinguish them clearly.Americans tend to pronounce words like “reduce”, “produce”, “induce”, “Seduce” (verbs that ending in “duce”) with more relaxed, which means that after the letter “d” followed by the sound / letter of “u”. In the contrary, In British, it happens after the letter “d” added by “j”. Americans have a tendency to reduce the word with eliminating some letters. For instance, the word “facts” in American English is pronounced the same as the word “fax” –The letter “T” is not pronounced.In American English, the letter combination “cl” in words like “cling”, “climate”, “club” etc., sounding more fricative. You can produce this sound with thrilling vocal cords. Emphasis is also sometimes different words.For example, the word “details” to get the emphasis on the letter “e” in British English and the “ai” in the United States.
The last aspect is about vocabulary which is sometimes nearly difficult to understand and compare both in spoken and written English. The only key to master and differ those related vocabulary is memorizing and often look up some words from dictionary such as Oxford and Longman dictionary. Here are some few examples of British : lift, boot, autumn, litter, cross, road, trousers, while American : Elevator, trunk, fall, garbage, crossing, pants, etc.
In brief, both British and American English have some similarities and differences based on related aspects commonly.For similarities, both of them have currently practiced by using English at all and taught in the rest of the world, such as Australia,Canada,Ireland and New Zealand. For differences, they commonly are diversified in some uses such as spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary. In fact, for some learners in school, they prefer to use British as the English subject in practicing and communicating dominantly.
This post is regularly posted to fulfill Writing 3 assignment lectured by Mifatchudin Arjuna M.Pd in IAIN Salatiga
Written by :
Danang Sigit W.
113 – 13 – 065