Spotlight on Standard American English and Standard British English
Spotlight on Standard American English and Standard British English

Author: Thomas Schachtebeck

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13: 3640804120

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Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English - Grammar, Style, Working Technique, grade: 1,3, Free University of Berlin (Fachbereich Englisch), course: Sociolinguistics and Varieties of English II, language: English, abstract: Throughout the 20th century, Standard British English (hereafter BrE) and Standard American English (hereafter AmE) made up the two 'reference varieties' of the English language. Even today - in the 21st century - BrE and AmE represent "a large proportion of all native speakers of English (83 per cent)" [Svartvik & Leech 2006: 150] in the world. The reason why these two varieties have aquired such a prestigious position among many other varieties of English is that in Great Britain and in the United States - two of the most influential nations of the 20th century in terms of political power and economical strength - "English has been institutionalised longer than anywhere else" [Cheshire 1991: 13]. Consequently, BrE and AmE "provided the chief native-speaker models which non-native speaking teachers of English" [Svartvik & Leech 2006: 150] aim to instil. Although both 'reference varieties' of English seem to be very much the same at first sight, "British and American English undoubtedly are different, and Englishmen and Americans undoubtedly know it." [Partridge & Clark 1951: 308]. Closer investigations reveal that AmE is different from BrE at levels of phonetics, phonology, grammar, lexis and spelling. Whereas the fields of pronunciation and lexis definitely share the most prominent and numerous differences between AmE and BrE, the field of spelling shows only a couple of minor differences. Today, the vast majority of English lexis is spelled the same in AmE and BrE. However - to a certain extent - there are some characteristic spelling differences between AmE and BrE which many learners of English are not well familiar with. In the following, this paper concentrates on pointing out the major differences in spelling

Spotlight on Standard American English and Standard British English
Spotlight on Standard American English and Standard British English

Author: Thomas Schachtebeck

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2011-01-19

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 3640804090

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Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Grammar, Style, Working Technique, grade: 1,3, Free University of Berlin (Fachbereich Englisch), course: Sociolinguistics and Varieties of English II , language: English, abstract: Throughout the 20th century, Standard British English (hereafter BrE) and Standard American English (hereafter AmE) made up the two ‘reference varieties’ of the English language. Even today - in the 21st century – BrE and AmE represent “a large proportion of all native speakers of English (83 per cent)” [Svartvik & Leech 2006: 150] in the world. The reason why these two varieties have aquired such a prestigious position among many other varieties of English is that in Great Britain and in the United States - two of the most influential nations of the 20th century in terms of political power and economical strength – “English has been institutionalised longer than anywhere else” [Cheshire 1991: 13]. Consequently, BrE and AmE “provided the chief native-speaker models which non-native speaking teachers of English” [Svartvik & Leech 2006: 150] aim to instil. Although both ‘reference varieties’ of English seem to be very much the same at first sight, “British and American English undoubtedly are different, and Englishmen and Americans undoubtedly know it.” [Partridge & Clark 1951: 308]. Closer investigations reveal that AmE is different from BrE at levels of phonetics, phonology, grammar, lexis and spelling. Whereas the fields of pronunciation and lexis definitely share the most prominent and numerous differences between AmE and BrE, the field of spelling shows only a couple of minor differences. Today, the vast majority of English lexis is spelled the same in AmE and BrE. However - to a certain extent - there are some characteristic spelling differences between AmE and BrE which many learners of English are not well familiar with. In the following, this paper concentrates on pointing out the major differences in spelling between contemporary AmE and BrE since this linguistic field of interest is very strongly related to the different historical and political developments America and Great Britain went through. Therefore, this paper will first work out some historical reasons for the development of spelling differences between the two ‘reference varieties’ and highlight America’s most influential attempts to standardise American spelling. Afterwards, it will give a detailed overview about the most prominent and common spelling differences between AmE and BrE by categorising them into three major groups and providing a couple of examples for each group, and finally, this paper will briefly reflect on the situation of AmE and BrE in the world today.

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English

Author: Kenneth G. Wilson

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1996-08-30

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 0585041482

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In the most reliable and readable guide to effective writing for the Americans of today, Wilson answers questions of meaning, grammar, pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling in thousands of clear, concise entries. His guide is unique in presenting a systematic, comprehensive view of language as determined by context. Wilson provides a simple chart of contexts—from oratorical speech to intimate, from formal writing to informal—and explains in which contexts a particular usage is appropriate, and in which it is not. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English provides the answers to questions about American English the way no other guide can with: * an A–Z format for quick reference; * over five thousand entries, more than any other usage book; * sensible and useful advice based on the most current linguistic research; * a convenient chart of levels of speech and writing geared to context; * both descriptive and prescriptive entries for guidance; * guidelines for nonsexist usage; * individual entries for all language terms. A vibrant description of how our language is being spoken and written at the end of the twentieth century—and how we ourselves can use it most effectively—The Columbia Guide to Standard American English is the ideal handbook to language etiquette: friendly, sensible, and reliable.

World English(es) and the Multilingual Turn
World English(es) and the Multilingual Turn

Author: Annalisa Bonomo

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2017-01-06

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1443869384

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The recent multilingual turn involves various different implicit and explicit language policies, urging pressure and resistance with regard to the spread of English and its dominant relationships with other national languages. As such, this book considers the social value of communication as the basis of multilingualism and of the evolution of language systems. The data presented here show English as being in the middle of the double “listening” of cultural mediation and the imperfect “magnifying” glass of translation, with worldwide Standard English being but one of the many other related varieties which enjoy prestige on a large scale. These varieties may be identified according to different features which make the plural “world Englishes” an umbrella term with blurred edges. New approaches to dialects study have been developed in recent decades, and cartographic mapping has overlapped with the emergence of a new dialectology which deals with the description of language phenomena as complex concepts, where “complexity” provides a challenging framework for investigation and research of languages as dynamic systems made up of variables which mutually influence each other. Thus, dialectometry, dialectology and standardization become interesting tools for measuring linguistic differences, establishing language typologies and endorsing the systemic characteristics which can be formalized. Comprehensive and well-informed, this volume will appeal to anyone interested in the spread of English, from researchers and teachers to students, providing them with a greater understanding of some examples of world Englishes analysed under the light of complexity as a product of global society.

Do You Speak American?
Do You Speak American?

Author: Robert Macneil

Publisher: Nan A. Talese

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0307423573

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Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to linguistic variations? These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert MacNeil and William Cran—the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the language classic The Story of English—across the country in search of the answers. Do You Speak American? is the tale of their discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American English—if a standard exists—is changing quickly and dramatically. On a journey that takes them from the Northeast, through Appalachia and the Deep South, and west to California, the authors observe everyday verbal interactions and in a host of interviews with native speakers glean the linguistic quirks and traditions characteristic of each area. While examining the histories and controversies surrounding both written and spoken American English, they address anxieties and assumptions that, when explored, are highly emotional, such as the growing influence of Spanish as a threat to American English and the special treatment of African-American vernacular English. And, challenging the purists who think grammatical standards are in serious deterioration and that media saturation of our culture is homogenizing our speech, they surprise us with unpredictable responses. With insight and wit, MacNeil and Cran bring us a compelling book that is at once a celebration and a potent study of our singular language. Each wave of immigration has brought new words to enrich the American language. Do you recognize the origin of 1. blunderbuss, sleigh, stoop, coleslaw, boss, waffle? Or 2. dumb, ouch, shyster, check, kaput, scram, bummer? Or 3. phooey, pastrami, glitch, kibbitz, schnozzle? Or 4. broccoli, espresso, pizza, pasta, macaroni, radio? Or 5. smithereens, lollapalooza, speakeasy, hooligan? Or 6. vamoose, chaps, stampede, mustang, ranch, corral? 1. Dutch 2. German 3. Yiddish 4. Italian 5. Irish 6. Spanish

Standard American English: Socially Distinguishing?
Standard American English: Socially Distinguishing?

Author: Daniela Daus

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2006-04-10

Total Pages: 19

ISBN-13: 363848808X

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Intermediate Examination Paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2.5, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: PS Regional and Social Varieties of American English, language: English, abstract: Language variation could also be called „. . .the most basic and fundamental of human socialisation tools.” You need language to express yourself, to learn things, to communicate and to get educated. Without language, an independent life is hardly to live. As long as people speak, there always have been dialects and individual ways of speaking in one language. British English for example, during the twelveth and thirteenth century, was spoken in four varieties, besides French and Latin. Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the more unified Great Britain needed some kind of “Standard”, to cope with official tasks and affairs. So, at some point, it seems necessary to compromise on one way of speaking for official matters. This paper will focus on “Standard American English” as a sociolinguistic tool: A brief history of American English will be given and definitions of “Standard American English” will be discussed. The central question of this paper will be: Why there is a need for the so-called “Standard”? Whom does it serve? Is it an “ideology” of the upper classes to distinguish them also linguistically from the lower classes? Or is the function of “Standard American English” solely to enable the American people to communicate on an even level, despite the various dialects? Further, the example of New York City speech will be given, to show that “Standard” seems to be necessary for “upward mobility”.

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English

Author: Kenneth George Wilson

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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A guide to how the language is best written and spoken and how it can be used most most effectively, this site features a searchable database of over 6,500 entries containing thousands of examples, both descriptive and prescriptive, and 4,300 hyperlinked cross-references.

American and British English differences with a look at their history
American and British English differences with a look at their history

Author: Anke Werckmeister

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2012-10-15

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13: 3656288879

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Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 2,0, Free University of Berlin (Institut für Englische Philologie), course: VS Sociolinguistics and Varieties of English II: English as a pluricentric language, language: English, abstract: Both British English and American English are interesting topics to look at but to look at them in a contrastive way is even more interesting because here you have to take the history of both varieties into consideration to see where the differences lie and why they became two distinctive varieties. Now you have to keep in mind that America was settled by British people but yet Americans now do not speak British English and then voted for their own way of speaking and pronouncing English. But how did that come? It was simply impossible not to have a different variety of English in America since English was exposed to different external factors such as other existing languages and a new environment compared to English in England and Great Britain. Hence with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 as a political separation from the mother country a linguistic separation needed to follow to finally divorce the USA from England which was important for the Americans because they wanted to have their own national identity.