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Ministry of Education and Science

Kyiv National M. Dragomanov Teacher Training University

Research - paper

Standard Peculiarities of American English

Performed by

Odinetska Victoria

Associate professor

Kernozhytska O.A.

KYIV - 2017

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Foundation of American English

1.1 American English (Dialects vs Variety)

1.2 Historical background of American English

2.2 Differences in American and English Pronunciation

2.3 The differences of American and British English vocabulary

2.4 Grammatical Differences between American and British English

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix

Introduction

American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), also known as United States English or U.S. English, is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States. [4]

The variety of English spoken in the USA has received the name of American English. The term variant or variety appears most appropriate for several reasons. American English cannot be called a dialect although it is a regional variety, because it has a literary normalized form called Standard American, whereas by definition given above a dialect has no literary form. Neither is it a separate language, as some American authors, like H. L. Mencken, claimed, because it has neither grammar nor vocabulary of its own. From the lexical point of view one shall have to deal only with a heterogeneous set of Americanisms. [4]

Object of study is American English and its peculiarities, especially the historical background, spelling and vocabulary. And the main differences between American and British English.

Subject of research are spelling, grammar, vocabulary of American variant of English.

The aim of this study is to analyze the origin of American English and peculiarities of American English. And it is supported with the following objectives:

1. To study American dialects and variety;

2. To study the historical background of American English;

3. To describe spelling peculiarities in American English;

4. To describe grammar peculiarities in American English;

5. To describe pronunciation American English;

6. To describe the difference between British English and American English vocabulary.

Though the topic about peculiarities of American English were widely discussed among researchers, in this paper we want to emphasize especially the origin of American words, to investigate borrowings in American Language and to observe the way American English was formed in the sphere of vocabulary.

Problems of the work paper:

We investigated certain peculiarities of American English vocabulary, also we picked out some differences between American and British English vocabulary. In work paper we especially emphasized the origin of American English words and their cultural background, also we emphasized the dialects and peculiarities of American English.

In this paper we used such methods as:

1. Descriptive method.

2. Comparative-historical method.

3. Contrastive method.

The practical value of the given work is following;

- The dictionary of American and British English words can be used by students to differ some American and British words and use this words in the right way;

The Theoretical part includes:

- American English (Dialects vs Variety);

- The history of american English formation;

- Spelling peculiarities in american English;

- Grammar peculiarities in american English;

- Pronunciation in american English.

The Practical part includes:

The differences of American and British English vocabulary. It means that we will pick out some words which have different way of spelling and different means in American and British English.

Chapter 1. Foundation of American English

1.1 American English (Dialects vs Variety)

American Dialects

Dialects originate in various ways. First, by the proximity of nations speaking different languages, in which case many words and phrases are borrowed from one into the other; witness the Scotch and Irish dialects of the English. Secondly, by migrations. This is the most fruitful and permanent source of dialects. We see its effects in the English language ; for the immigration of various nations into Great Britain from the Saxons down to the period of the Norman conquest are yet distinctly marked in the dialects of that country. [8. p 15]

New England dialect is spoken from the Connecticut River north and eastward through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. New England was nor misnamed: between 1620 and 1640, 200 ships brought 15,000 English colonists to the region, two-thirds of them from East Anglia, the Puritan stronghold. Those colonists from East Anglia, and other parts of southern and southeastern England, gave New England its distinct dialect, first called the New England dialect in 1788. It is still closer to English than any other dialect of American English. Some of its characteristics are:

(1) pronouncing the «a» in such words as ask, brass, can't, class, fast, grass, half, last, and path somewhat like the broad a in father,and lengthening the «a» sound in such words as bar, dark, far, farm, and heart to a sound somewhat between the sound the rest of us pronounce in hat and father (this last «a» sound is also found in eastern Virginia and elsewhere in the tidewater region). Thus we tease Bostonians for saying "ahnt" (aunt) and "vahz" (vase).

(2) pronouncing the «o» in such words as box, hot, not, pot, and top with the lips rounded, forming an open «o» sound. The rest of us tend to pronounce this «o» more as the broad a sound of father.

(3) omitting, slighting, or shortening some «r» sounds, thus car, dear, and door sound like "cah," "deah," and "doah" to the rest of us. The broad a sound and the slighted «r» cause the rest of us to hear "pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd" (park the car in Harvard yard). [5.p.77]

REGIONAL DIALECTS

Dialect Variation

Every language that has spread geographically has produced varieties called dialects. Perhaps the most important difference between the linguist's and non-linguist's understanding of dialect lies in the unwillingness of the professional linguist to assign such labels as "incorrect," "limited," "primitive," "slovenly," or "ugly" to any language or variety of language, including regional dialects. Although linguists recognize that at certain periods in the history of a language one dialect may gain considerable influence over others as a language becomes standardized (through commerce, writing, literature, education, and other forces), they also believe that all languages and varieties of languages have equal status as regards grammatical and phonological complexity, beauty and aesthetic potential, and congruity to the culture that supports them for general and complex communication purposes. [8.p.2]

During the twentieth century, immigrants continued to pour into America. Many were members of the same cultural groups who came in large numbers in the nineteenth century (e.g. Germans, Italians, Irish), while others were new to the United States or arrived in significant numbers for the first time. The languages brought by these new immigrant groups affected MAE, just like the languages of previous generations of immigrants. These languages may also serve as bases for the creation of new socio-cultural varieties of English. The influence of Spanish on American English has been longstanding. However, it is only in recent decades that it has become pervasive enough to lead to the formation of distinctive dialects of English. In fact, Spanish?influenced English is now so widespread in the United States that Latino English has its own sub-varieties. In addition, Hispanics now comprise the largest non?white ethnic group in the United States, at nearly 17 percent of the population, and many speak a variety of Latino English as their primary or sole language - not Spanish. The twentieth and twenty?first centuries have also seen large influxes of Asians, especially from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. [9.p. 117]

And whereas the varieties of English spoken by the array of people of Asian ethnicity in the United States have been understudied compared to varieties like AAE and Latino English, research indicates that some distinctive varieties of Asian English have arisen, or are in the process of formation, for example Vietnamese English in Houston, Texas, and Arlington, Virginia Hmong English in Minneapolis?St Paul; and Korean English in Northern New Jersey, adjacent to New York City. And even in cases where the English varieties of Asian Americans are not noticeably different from surrounding white varieties or from MAE, Asian Americans still use quite subtle patterns of language variation to indicate their regionalized ethnic affiliations. [9.p. 120]

1.2 Historical background of American English

According to Richard Hogg, “American English and British English are the two major national varieties of English and it goes without saying that they take the leading positions today among other varieties of English Language.”

The beginnings of Americans began with Captain John Smith who led the first group of brave English- speakers to the America continent in 1607. The first group of colonists wasn't so successful that is expected to be. Only a small number of people among 120 colonists succeeded the shores of America. The first point of destination was the “Promised land” that is located in Virginia. The majority of people were from Europe who desired to find a better life in America. People left Europe to come to South Carolina because it provided them with new financial and job opportunities. In physical size, the United States is nearly as large as the entire European continent, with even greater variability in climate and topography. That's the perfect place for moving populations. There were a great number of factors for settlement America such as discontinuity with the European past, decentralization, democracy, a large land area and a large and ethnically diverse population. The good mobility required a good level of adaptability. Change of location required change of style. The first European settlers had to adapt the new life in America. Later immigrants could adjust to the new conditions in social structures, technology and attitudes. The European Laws were not so conservative as Americans, but federal structure in the USA has more advantages. People went to America seeking and hoping to find there the freedom which they did not have in their mother country. But in searching a better life they had to face many problems. The first one was economic dependence on Britain which considered America to be just a supplying colony of raw materials. But the Britain was aimed to do everything for preventing the further settlements of Europeans. On September 5, 1774, as a definite manifestation of settlers, the colonists gathered at the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia. A few months later, the first groups of American soldiers were ready to face the British army in a military battle. From this point we can say that the history of Americans and American English can be divided into periods of wars and declarations. Though English speakers had established contacts with a new world in the USA, directly or not, the Jamestown colony began the creation of a new variety of the language. [7.p.6]

H. Mencken in his book pointed out main geographical borrowings in English: “Borrowings from Native Americans are particularly distinctive of American English, and many cities, states, and rivers bear Indian names: Arkansas, Kansas, Malibu, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Penobscot, Texas, Waukesha, Winnipesaukee, Wiscasset, Wisconsin, and thousands of others. Other identify animals or plants unfamiliar to the arriving colonists, who borrowed the names from Native Americans but adapted their pronunciations to English patterns: chipmunk, raccoon, skunk, woodchuck, opossum, persimmon, sequoia, and squash.”[7.p.7].

A list of French borrowings will include examples like: pumpkin, prairie (?pr?ri), chute (?ut), bureau (?bj?ro?), chowder (?t?a?d?r), cent, dime, and others. Some of the French words that made their way into the English language were coined by French inventors, discoverers or pioneers, or scientists: cinema, television, helicopter, bathyscaphe, lactose, bacteriophage, chlorophyll, mastodon, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, photography, stethoscope, thermometer, troposphere. The political/economic lexicon include many words of French origin like money (from the French 'monnaie'), liberalism, capitalism, materialism, nationalism, plebiscite, coup d'йtat, regime, sovereignty.The judicial lexicon has also been heavily influenced by French (justice, judge, jury, attorney, court, case). Here we have some peculiarities with pronunciation of these words, because they are not agreed with the general rules of English pronunciation. Some of these words have both American and British pronunciation. E. g., praline (AE?pre??lin, BE ?pr??lin), depot (AE?dipo?, BE?d?po?). The existence of French elements in English is due, among other reasons, to the contact with the French when the westward expansion was taking place. The colonists' coming into such contact was linguistically relevant to the same extent that the impact of New Orleans was the center of French influence in the United States. Spanish influence in AE can be perceived particularly in the South, since when moving southward toward the Gulf of Mexico the English colonists were exposed to Spanish, which had been spread over the South.”Some of the previously adopted Spanish words are now extinct in English; however, the body of terms in current use is still vast: marijuana, cockroach, coyote, mustang, sombrero, lasso, hacienda, wrangler, cafeteria, pueblo, bonanza, canyon, sierra, filibuster, rumba, tornado, etc. Although the Dutch influence in America was not long-lasting (New Amsterdam was captured by the English in 1664), certain Dutch expressions made their way through the linguistic "crowd" and gained for them-selves a fixed place in the English vocabulary.” The following serve as examples: spook, Santa Claus, dope, yankee, boodle, coleslaw. The list of German loanwords in AE is also quite extensive. Since the German immigration groups began coming to America as late as the end of the seventeenth century (the first flocks) and then in the thirties and forties of the nineteenth century, most of the words listed below were adopted into English long after the first Indian, Dutch and French items had been adopted. The list includes words like: delicatessen, frankfurter, hamburger, noodle, pretzel, pumpernickel, kraut, wiener, seminar, etc. Each of the lists of English words of foreign origin could be easily expanded, but the difficulty to be wrestled with is the problem of which items to include and which to omit. [7.p7]

The influence of American English is exerted through films, television, popular music, the Internet and the World Wide Web, air travel and control, commerce, scientific publications, economic and military assistance, and activities of the United States in world affairs, even when those activities are unpopular. The coverage of the world by English was begun by colonization culminating in the British Empire, which colored the globe pink, as a popular saying had it, alluding to the use of that color on maps to identify British territories. Although no one had planned this development, English has become (somewhat improbably, considering its modest beginnings on the North Sea coast of Europe) the world language of our time. Since language undergoes no sea change as a result of crossing an ocean, the first English-speaking colonists in America continued to speak as they had in England. But the language gradually changed on both sides of the Atlantic, in England as well as in America. The new conditions facing the colonists in America naturally caused changes in their language. However, the English now spoken in America has retained a good many characteristics of earlier English that have not survived in contemporary British English. Thus to regard American English as inferior to British English is to impugn earlier standard English as well, for there was doubtless little difference at the time of the Revolution.

Now, we can say that, mainly the vocabulary of AE which was influenced by foreign tongues. The languages which have been mentioned hardly affected the phonological and the syntactic components of the language. Differences in grammar between BE and AE at the present moment are not due to foreign influence. Yet despite the historical prestige of British, today American English has become the most important and influential dialect of the language. [7.p.9]

Chapter 2. General Peculiarities and differences between American and British English

2.1 Differences in American and English Spelling

There are several areas in which British and American spelling are different. The differences often come about because British English has tended to keep the spelling of words it has absorbed from other languages (e.g. French), while American English has adapted the spelling to reflect the way that the words actually sound when they're spoken.

If you're writing for British readers, you should only use British spellings. In one or two cases, the preferred American spellings are acceptable in British English as well, especially the -ize/-ization endings. While you can use both the -ise/-isation or the -ize/ization endings in British English, it's important to stick to one style or the other throughout the same piece of writing. [14]

Webster was a strong proponent of spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. Many spelling changes proposed in the U.S. by Webster himself, and in the early 20th century by the Simplified Spelling Board, never caught on. Among the advocates of spelling reform in England, the influences of those who preferred the Norman (or Anglo-French) spellings of certain words proved decisive. Subsequent spelling adjustments in Britain had little effect on present-day U.S. spelling, and vice versa. While in many cases American English deviated in the 19th century from mainstream British spelling, on the other hand it has also often retained older forms. [14]

Latin-derived spellings

-our / -or

Most words ending in unstressed -our in Britain (e.g. colour, flavour, honour) end in -or in the U.S. (e.g. color,flavor, honor). Most words of this category derive from Latin non-agent nouns having nominative -or; the first such borrowings into English were from early Old French and the ending was -or or -ur. [14]

Internationally, the American spelling is closer to the way most languages spell such words; for instance, almost all Romance languages (most of which are phonetic) lack the ae and oe spellings (a notable exception is French), as do Swedish, Polish, and others. [14]

British English generally doubles final -l when adding suffixes that begin with a vowel if -l is preceded by a single vowel, whereas American English usually doubles it only on stressed syllables hus American spelling treats -l the same as other final consonants, whereas British spelling treats it irregularly. The American spelling rule was apparently created by Noah Webster [14]

2.2 Differences in American and English Pronunciation

General American Pronunciation

In the United States, this is an accent called General American, or GA. In fact, the label “General American” covers a range of accents which don't exhibit any Eastern or Southern local colouring. General American is the pronunciation used by the majority of the population of the United States and by most US radio and TV announcers. It is also the model accent used in teaching English in such parts of the world as Central and South America, the Philippines, etc. [11]

In the United States there may be distinguished three main regional variants of standard pronunciation:

1) the Eastern type of standard pronunciation;

2) the Southern type of standard pronunciation;

3) the Western (Midwestern, Northern, Central Western) type of standard pronunciation.

The Eastern type is spoken along the East coast of New England and in New York City; it bears a close resemblance to the Southern English pronunciation which is explained by close contacts of the New England States with Britain during the colonization of America. But there are, of course some slight differences.

The Southern type is spoken in the South and South-East of the USA. Its most striking distinctive feature is the so called Southern drawl, which is a specific way of pronouncing vowels, consisting in the diphthongization of some simple vowels and monophthongization of some diphthongs at the expense of prolonging (“drawling”) their nuclei and dropping the glides (ex. that [ржiet] ,cute [kju?t], fine [fб:n]). Southern American pronunciation has some features in common with RP, such as the dropping of [r] after [з:], and [?] the use of clear before a vowel and others. Some linguists consider Southern American pronunciation non-standard, as it is peculiar only to that part of the country and has not spread north.

The Western American is spoken in the central Atlantic States: New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin and others. It is not only the most widespread type, but also, like RP in Great Britain, the least regional in character, which is why this type of pronunciation is called General American (GA). It is close to modern Northern British Pronunciation. dialect pronunciation grammatical conversation

Generally speaking, the situation in the USA may be characterized as exoglossic, i.e. having several languages on the same territory, the balance being in favour of American English.

It is true, of course, that the formation of the American Standard underwent the influence of minorities' languages, but its starting point was the English language of the early 17th century- However, time has passed. American English has drifted considerably from English though as yet not enough to give us ground to speak of two different languages. Thus we speak of the national variant of English in America. [12]

Vowels

There is no strict division of vowels into long and short in GA, though some American phoneticians suggest that certain GA vowels are tense and likely to be accompanied by relative length.

They also admit that a slight rise in tongue position during the pronunciation of tense vowels leads to a diphthongal quality

It has been estimated 2/3 of American population pronounce |r| and 1/3 omit it. Thus GA is rhotic in words like far, core, etc. ), this sound is consonantal non-syllabic according to Ch. Thomas. It involves the characteristic hindering of the free flow of breath which we associate w th consonants. The sound [r] in lot closes tlie syllable more definitely than in British Received Pronunciation of the word [fa:]. On the other hand, [here is a vocalic, or vowel-like and syllabic [r], that occurs in words like bird, murmur (after a vowel and before a consonant*. Ch.Thomas writes that in such cases we should better transcribe the words bird and murmur like [brd] and [mrmr]. In such cases [r] is responsible for the characteristic vowel-like quality within the syllable; it is responsible for syllabic quality as well. That's why Ch.Thomas says that [r| syllabic in bird and [rj non-syllabic in far should be transcribed differently.. [15]

Consonants

1. The RP allophonic differentiation of (1) does not exist in GA. In all positions (I] is fairly dark.

2. Intervocalic is most normally voiced. The result is neutralization of the distribution between [t] and [d] in this position, i.e. latter, ladder. The original distinction is preserved through vowel length with the vowel before [t| being shorter.

In words like twenty, little [i] may even drop out. Thus winner and winter, for example, may sound identical,

3. GA [r| is articulated differently from RP one. The impression is one of greater retroflexion (the tip of the tongue is curled back further than in RP}.

4. The "wh" spelling is represented in GA by (»| sound (or sometimes transcribed as [hw]. So most American speakers make a clear distinction between "wh" and "w" words: where -- ware, which -- witch.

5. The sonorant [j| is usually weakened or omitted altogether in GA between a consonant (especially a forelingual one) and [u] as in the words: news [nu:z],stupid ['stupid]. [16]

2.3 The differences of American and British English vocabulary

When American and British people meet, the first obvious difference is their accent, the pronunciation of words. However, at a deeper and less apparent level, vocabulary differences give the right to treat the two varieties as two completely different languages. Sometimes, words are used in different ways to name the same thing, such as for the American `railroad tie' and the British `railway sweeper'. Sometimes, two different words are used but their meaning is quite obvious, such as for the American `luggage' and the British `baggage'. In other cases, some words that are common in one place are rare in the other, such as the words

`soppy' or `row': although they are listed in American dictionaries, they are very uncommon in American speech but they are quite well known in the UK. Some words retained in Great Britain have been dropped by Americans, such as `fortnight' and `constable' and many no longer used in British are retained in American, such as `mad' (in the sense of angry), `fall', `sick', etc. [6]

[Apendix I]

House Vocabulary

As regards house terminology, there is a straightforward translation from

a variety to the other for some terms, such as the American `apartment house', `condominium', `duplex', and `row house', which in British are respectively a `block of flats', `owner-occupied flat', `semi-detached house', and `terraced house'. In other cases, there may be no exact British equivalent for the American term, as for `brownstone', used for a house made of red-brown stone, typical of nineteenth century cities in eastern US. [6]

Transport

Many differences between American and British English are related to

transport vocabulary. Whereas in British people take a `couch',

Americans say they would take a `bus'; Americans take `subways',

whereas in Great Britain this means of transport is called an `underground'. Americans would go by train or `railroad', which is the American equivalent of the British term `railway'. `Baggage car', `cafи car', `one-way ticket',' round.-trip ticket', `railroad' are the American equivalents of `baggage van', `buffet car', `single ticket', `return ticket', and `railway carriage' in British. Other vehicle differences are the American `motorcycle', `station wagon', and `truck' against the British `motorbike', `estate (car)', and `lorry'. Reminding that British people also drive on the opposite side to Americans, in the UK, the term `outside lane' refers to the higher speed passing lane closest to the centre of the road, while the term `inside lane' refers to the lane closer to the edge. In American English these terms have the opposite meaning. [6]

Shopping

Going shopping might be quite confusing in the two countries if some lexical differences are unknown. First of all, the nouns `shop' and `store' are used somewhat differently in American and British English. In general, Americans use `store' the way British use 'shop'. Most British `shops' would be called `stores' in the US where the noun `shop' is more often used to mean a small retail establishment, such as an `antique shop' or a `gift shop'. [6]

Food

Recipes demonstrate how many differences in food and cooking terminology there are. For instance, a British `biscuit' is an American `cookie', and American `biscuit' is a British `scone'. Also some fruit and vegetables terms are different, such as the American `eggplants' and `blueberries' which in British are `aubergines' and `bilberries'. [6]

Numbers

Finally, the system of saying and writing numbers is a little different. The

British insert `and' before the tens and the units, as in `two hundred and fifty '. Americans are more likely to read numbers like 1,456 as `fourteen

fifty-six' instead of `one thousand, four hundred and fifty-six', unless they

are referring to years.

Also monetary vocabulary is often said differently. For amounts over the dollar, an American would say both dollars and cents or drop both denominations as in `three twenty' or `three dollars and twenty cents' for $3.20. In Great Britain the form `three pounds twenty' is the most heard. The British slang form `quid' is a sort of equivalent of the American `buck' for the round amounts, as in 50 `quid', or fifty `bucks'. [6]

American slung uses alongside the traditional one* also a lew specific models, such as verb stem-f--er--f-adverb stem-r ef, e. g. opener-upper 'the first item on the programme' and winder-upper 'the last item'. It also possesses some specific affixes and semi-affixes not used in literary colloquial: -o, -eroo, -aroo, -sie, -sy, as in coppo 'policeman', fatso 'a fat man', bossaroo 'boss', chapsie 'fellow .

The trend to shorten words and to use initial abbreviations in American English is even more pronounced than in the British variant. New coinages are incessantly introduced in advertisements, in the press, in everyday conversation; soon they fade out and are rcpla<""d by the newest creations. Ring Lardner, very popular in the 30s, makes one of his characters, a hospital nurse, repeatedly use two enigmatic abbreviations: G.F. and B.F.; at last the patient asks her to clear the mystery. [15]

The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the front of a car the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood.

Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.

New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats.

There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence. [8]

2.4 Grammatical Differences between American and British English