When we face the challenge of learninglanguages, we often come across various dialects. For example, in Spanish there is Catalan, and in French Provencal. It happened with English. Of course, one cannot argue that the American is a dialect of the British variant, but still one is considered the progenitor of the second.
The history of the American language
На американский континент английский язык попал across the ocean. In the 17th century, British peasants began to migrate to New Land in colonies. At that time there were many nationalities here, respectively, their language was also different. Here are Spaniards, Swedes, Germans, French, and even Russians. The first settlement became the city of Jamestown as early as 1607. In the neighborhood with them after ten years, the Puritans settled, who had excellent linguistic traditions.
Carriers of different dialects began to spreadthroughout the continent, with many still preserved. In the 18th century, settlers from Ireland began to influence the colonists. They began to contribute to the formation of the American language. To the south-west, Spanish speakers are located at all. Pennsylvania was settled by the Germans.
Континент необходимо было отстраивать, а ситуация it seemed quite difficult. A huge amount of work needed to be done: build houses, raise production, work the land, and, eventually, adjust to the new social and economic situation.
In order that all our plans come together,communication and interaction were necessary, so one common language was needed. English became the binder in this matter. But it is worth noting that even in England itself, this language was heterogeneous. Here differences arose between the talk of the bourgeoisie, peasants, aristocrats, etc.
It is worth recalling that immigration lasted until 20century. Of course, it is observed now, but then it was a large-scale event. By the way, despite the fact that the residents tried to adapt to one adverb, they kept their names. At birth, the child could wear the German name Rudolph, the Spanish Rodolphe, the Italian Paolo, etc.
It seemed that a common ground was ready for communication,but still new settlers surrounded a completely different world. They needed to get used to other concepts, customs, and priorities. People appreciated completely different qualities, so the language began to change rapidly. Unknown plants were called Indian words, animals received Swedish or Dutch roots, the food often carried the French character.
Some English words have become more accurate.Culture also contributed greatly. Books that were read by residents of America were brought from England. In addition, pro-English groups were created that tried in every way to promote the native and real British language. Of course, now English is understandable to any American and vice versa, however, there are differences, and they are significant.
Differences with the British
If you compare American, English, inThey can find more similarities than differences. They are not fundamentally different from each other, as the languages of the Germanic groups. Of course, we can distinguish Spanish from French, German and English.
If we have not studied in depth American,English, at first hearing, we can not distinguish them. If you have been learning English since childhood, but decided to go to America, it would be better, of course, to get acquainted with some features, so as not to be in a mess.
As the story tells, in America the peasantsThey brought not pure English, but already simplified. Considering that simple language was necessary for the detuning of the state, this option became even more uncomplicated. That is the main difference is simplicity. Next, we will look more deeply at the difference between a speech in the United States and Britain.
Spelling features
Language researchers began to notice that withSpelling point of view, the American language has really become easier. At one time, linguist Noah Webster compiled a dictionary in which he consolidated the use of words with –or instead of –our. So words like honor began to appear.
The next change was the replacement –re to –er.That is, the meter has already become a meter, the same thing happened with the theater and center. There are a lot of such changes. The words suffered spelling changes, and therefore those who are just learning languages, might think that in these cases a typo was made.
The next interesting fact was the phenomenonlike a synecdoche. Americans began to call something whole the name of one of the constituent. For example, they call any bug a “bug”, any kind of spruce they call “pine”.
Lexical features
As it became clear, the lexical differencearose due to the fact that many elements of the new life did not have a name in English, and they had to give a name. The second factor was the natural influence of other dialects who, with their masters, arrived on the mainland. Especially here felt the influence of the Spaniards.
Now there are so many American words,which are very often used by residents, and yet never occur in the English version. Translation from the US does not always correspond to the British. The most obvious example is the difference between the first floor and the ground floor (ground floor). But here, for example, for the British, the first floor is the second floor, while in America the second floor is the second floor. Not knowing such a nuance, the one who has studied the British version since childhood can be trapped when arriving in America.
There are a lot of such examples.It is much easier for the speakers of the Russian language to learn the American language, since, as already mentioned, it is simpler and simpler. In addition, the translation from the US is more logical perceived.
And, of course, slang influenced AmericanEnglish version. Many words were adopted by dictionaries and have already occupied their “shelf” in the speech component. It is worth saying that in the 20th century there was a merger of English literature and American slang, which once again proved the powerful influence of Americans on the formation of the language.
Grammatical features
Очередным доказательством того, что изучать American is very simple, is the grammatical difference from the British. The British love to complicate things, because it is not for nothing that they have such a huge amount of time. But in America they like to talk using only the group Simple. It is very difficult to meet Perfect here. Apparently, as for the Russians, the Americans do not understand the expediency of applying this group of times.
Despite this mistake, it is worth noting thatIn many ways, Americans can be more meticulous than the British. For example, this applies to verbal nouns, the use of shall / will. The use of adverbs with the ending –ly (slowly) - they are not used by Americans at all, replacing them with slow. By the way. Americans even managed to avoid irregular verbs, many of them are absolutely correct and do not require additional forms.
Phonetic features
Pronunciation and here, of course, different.Returning to the story, it should be mentioned that peasants and ordinary people moved here. They already had distorted pronunciation, and over time it became completely different from the British one.
First, different stress in words.Secondly, the pronunciation of some words is completely different. Third, even the sounds are pronounced differently, here you can give an example with the sound of [r] swallowing the English, the Americans do not.
Another difference is intonation.For the British, this is the main tool in the construction of proposals. But in America there are only two options: flat and downward. It is worth noting that, as in the case of vocabulary, Spanish language has a great influence on phonetics.
Lessons from pimsler
English by the method of Pimsler is focused onpeople with different abilities. Someone can learn languages fluently, but it is difficult for others. Lesson in conversation with Pimsler takes less than half an hour. The linguist believes that such a time, no more, our brain can function in full and with increased efficiency.
English by the method of Pimsler is divided into three levels, which are like steps of complexity. The first one is for beginners, the second and third is designed for those who are already familiar with the base.
What to learn?
If you just started learning languages, got upthe question which one to study after all: British or American, first determine the goal. If you are going to go to the USA, accordingly, the American language should be your priority. If in London, then take up English.
If you have not set a goal to visitcountries, but only want to learn the language from scratch, then you should not go into such details. The main thing is to learn the basics. Also, you will not hurt to replenish vocabulary to express thoughts.
In principle, it makes no difference which one to study:British and American. As practice shows, all the same, the study of more complex English is much more useful. After all, you will definitely understand in America, but if you get to Britain, you may have problems with an American. English is broader and more developed. Having studied it, you will be able to read the classics with much greater pleasure (Jack London, Shakespeare, etc.) In any case, the Russian-speaking people are doomed to be “strangers”, even with perfect knowledge of English and American. Of course, only if they have not lived for more than 10 years in the USA or England.
