CONTRASTIVE STUDY ABOUT THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

CONTRASTIVE STUDY ABOUT THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

Luiza Djumaniyazova

Teacher of the department “Roman-German philology”, Urgench State University,

Uzbekistan, Urgench

Tatyana Yusupova

Teacher of the department “Uzbek language and literature,languages”, Urgench branch of the Tashkent Medical Academy,

Uzbekistan, Urgench

ABSTRACT

The English language enjoys a great importance not just as an international, but as a global language. Nowadays, it is becoming the indispensable key to the changing world of science. However, people may have little background knowledge about this language. For this purpose, this work attempts to give a clear picture of  English language and differences between British and American English using real examples.

Keywords: differences, advanced, English, language, communication, pronunciation.

English is the mother tongue of 500 million people in the world. It is used by residents of the UK, USA, Australia and dozens of other countries. It is not surprising that with such a geography of distribution, the English language has many different dialects. Basically, the most famous of them are British (Royal) and American English.

Language is an organism that lives its own life, develops, changes. This is what happened to English: it developed in different regions in its own way. That is why we now have British and American English. Despite the globalization and interpenetration of cultures, the difference between American and British English is still visible to the naked eye. Of course, it is not so colossal that the inhabitants of these two countries do not understand each other at all, but still, it is there. This applies not only to pronunciation, but also spelling and even grammar.[1,p.27] You need to know the differences in order to avoid awkward situations during communication and choose the right expressions, depending on which native speaker of English you are communicating with at the moment.

American English has been greatly simplified. As in the whole world, this process was conditioned by necessity. As a result, we have simplified spelling, grammar, as well as a peculiar pronunciation and a lexical composition of the language different from British English.[2,p.35] In the American version of English, there are three main dialects that residents use in communication: North America (Northern dialect), South America (Southern dialect), Central America (Central dialect). Each of these dialects is divided into subdialects. The Southern dialect is significantly different from others, it seems to be the basis, the essence of the pronunciation adopted in American English. The Northern dialect is closest to classical British English. It is spoken by residents of the east coast. It was here that immigrants from the UK moved during the years of emigration, and it can also be said that America formed its own, completely new language.[3,p.18] Here, British English has changed completely. Innovations were introduced into phonetics, vocabulary, and even grammar, the most stable part of the language.

The difficulty for those who study English is that there is no standard in this language. You have to learn two options: British English and American (even if you do not take into account the Australian, Indian, South African dialect, etc.). Despite the mutual intercultural influence, it seems that the vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation of British and American English differ more and more every year.[4,p.68]

For example, if a woman from London tells a New Yorker: "I have left my child's dummy in the pram and his nappy in the boot", the answer will be only a puzzled look. If a New Yorker tells her, "You have nice pants," she can easily take it as an insult.

From the lessons of history, we know that America and the USA in particular have been inhabited for a long time by immigrants from European countries, the local population was oppressed in places, in places simply exterminated, and new languages settled in the territories together with the settlers.

The large-scale colonization of America by the British, the largest wave of which occurred in the 17th century, brought English to America, which began to take root in local languages and newcomers: German, French, Spanish.

Due to the fact that by the time of the War of Independence in the United States, more than 80% of the settlers were English, English became the main language of the independent state.

Considering the modern English language, it is possible to distinguish three types in it:

1.received pronunciation or BBC English – the language of mass media, the standard adopted in the UK;

2. conservative – a conservative type of language spoken in parliament and communicated by members of the royal family and the language spoken by young people (it is called advanced English);

3. Advanced (Advanced English) – being the language of youth, it is actively changing. Words from other languages and elements of the culture of other countries are constantly being introduced into it. Advanced English is undergoing a tendency to simplify to a greater extent than other types of language. The vocabulary of British English is changing. There are names of new phenomena arising in life, and the name of the old, already existing, changes.

Differences in vocabulary. Having settled on a new continent, the British faced concepts that they had not met at home, ranging from climatic conditions, flora and fauna, ending with various household needs, all spheres of life required new words to describe them.

The most revealing layer of differences is still vocabulary. There's no arguing: Americans call cookies “cookie”, and the British - "biscuit".

Here are some more common examples of differences in vocabulary (for details, you can refer to any dictionary, there will always be indicated which word is most often used in British and American English):  flat – apartment ;  autumn  – fall; lift – elevator ; film  – movie ; trousers – pants;  timetable  – schedule ;  underground  – subway; queue  – line; hoover – vacuum ; garden  – yard ; homework-assignment; assembly hall- auditorium; luggage – baggage; cellar – basement; banknote – bill; draughts –checkers; course – class; wardrobe – closet; maize – corn; sofa – couch; ⠀chemist – druggist; autumn – fall; repair – fix; motorway – freeway; bin – trash can; lift – elevator ; flat – apartment ; autumn – fall ; cooker – stove ; tap – faucet ; postal code, postcode – zip code ; dustbin – garbage can, trash can ; rubbish – garbage, trash; surname – last name, family name ; holiday – vacation ; queue – line; cinema – movie theater ; film – movie, film ; mobile phone, mobile – cellular phone, cell phone ;bill – check ; book a seat – reserve a seat.

Differences in spelling. As for the spelling of British English  and American , we can say that Americans add here to a more economical and phonetic spelling. Unpronounceable letters are skipped, and words are written closer to their sound. The most obvious example is the absence of the letter u in such American words as color, neighbor, honor, etc. The British version is presented on the left, and the American one on the right:  

-our- vs. –or - behaviour – behavior ; colour – color; favourite – favorite; neighbour – neighbor ;

-ll- vs. –l - fuelled – fueled; travelling – traveling ; jewellery – jewelery;

-re vs. –er - centre – center ; theatre – theater ; litre – liter; metre – meter;

-se vs. –ze - analyse – analyze ;paralyse – paralyze ; apologise – apologize; recognise – recognize;

-oe- or -ae- vs. -e- manoeuvre – maneuver ; encyclopaedia – encyclopedia;
paediatric – pediatric;

-ence vs. –ense- defence- defense ; licence – license; offence – offense

-ogue vs. –og- dialogue – dialog ; catalogue – catalog ; monologue – monolog.

And following words are also often found, which are also spelled differently in the British version and the American one: programme – program ;
cheque – check ; judgement – judgment ; grey – gray ; pyjamas – pajamas ; whisky – whiskey ; tyre – tire .

Phonetic features. Considering the phonetic aspect of the language, it is necessary to pay attention to the difference in the following categories: sounds, stress, intonation.

Omission of the sound [r] in the British English  in the position after the vowel:

If the vowel is in front of the letter r, the British version is characterized by a deep and long pronunciation of the vowel, and the consonant itself will disappear. For example, bird - [bɜːd], car - [ca:]. In the American version, the consonant sound will be present.

Pronunciation of the letter "u“: In the British, the letter is transcribed as [juː], and in American English, the sound "j" is absent in transcription. Thus, it turns out: new – BrE [njuː] vs. AmE – [nuː].

Pronunciation of the letter "a". Americans tend to substitute a deep back sound [α:] by the so-called frog - front open sound [æ]. It turns out: last - BrE [la:st] vs. AmE – [læst]. This is one of the characteristic features of American speech.

Neglect of diphthongs. Americans often replace diphthongs in speech with ordinary monosyllabic sounds, as, for example, in the word fate [feit], an American will say [fe:t].

The sounds [e] and [ɛ] have practically no differences. The American version has some phonetic fusion of the two sounds.

The Americans will pronounce the letter combination such (as in the word schedule).

as [sk], and the British - [sh].

Differences in stress. In addition to the standard phonetic features, the speech of American speakers is characterized by the presence of additional stress in two and three compound words.

Ignoring intonation schemes. In the process of advanced training in classical English, much attention is paid to intonation schemes and types of tones. In the British version, these rules are unshakable, while the Americans do not follow them much.[6,p.12]

In the process of advanced training in classical English, much attention is paid to intonation schemes and types of tones. In the British version, these rules are unshakable, while the Americans do not follow them much.

British English is characterized by prudery and attention to detail (that is, clear pronunciation and adherence to pronunciation norms), and the American version is more frivolous and variable. In comparison with British speech, American English sounds more careless and harsh. While the British version is slow and smooth, the American's speech will be more impulsive and fast. These differences, as well as some others, have formed the above-mentioned features of these two variants of the same language.[7,p.32]

After analyzing the material provided by us, we can conclude that at the moment society is gradually moving from classical and correct pronunciation to American dialects and slangs, since this version of English is simpler and easier to communicate, although British English is still more preferred. English can be a hobby, a means for work, a subject of study at school or university. But it always remains the most beautiful and interesting language in the world. Learning English means expanding your horizons, training your memory, and getting new opportunities in life.

References:

1. "A brief reference of American-British correspondences" , M.S.Evdokimov, G.M. Shleev.
2. English, M.I. Dubrovin. Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2013;
3. British English, S.S. Kuzmin, N.L. Shadrin. Moscow: Russian Language, 2009;
4. American English, A.V. Kunin. 4th edition, Moscow, 2014;
5. Comparative characteristics of British and American English, N. M. Elyanov. Leningrad: Enlightenment, 2010;
6. Vocabulary of  British and American English (in English), Leningrad: Enlightenment, 2014.
7. Differences between American and British English , Kravtsov  R.A. ; Proceedings of the IX International Student Scientific Conference "Student Scientific Forum"