TWO VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

Two Varieties of English



Two Varieties of English

Introduction

In this paper, we are discussing the two varieties of English which are British English and American English. British English is the form of English used in UK. It includes the dialects used in UK. American English used in America and includes dialects used in US.

Differences in Phonology

There also exists a difference of word pronunciation in British and American English. There are words such as Ax in American English while it is Axe in British English. The word defence in British while defense used in American English. Between American and British English, there are differences in pronunciation and some words and whole sentences (Curtis, 2006, p. 192).

Stress in words

Some of the words British and Americans pronounced with the accent on different syllables, e.g. addr e ss (British English) and address (American English), c a fe (British English) and caf e in American English.

Sounds in words

There are words in which pronunciation of the Americans and the British present one-two different sounds. Such as ask to read (a-sk) in Britain and (ask) America, dance is pronounced (da-ns) in British English, and how (dans] in the U.S. The sound [t] pronounced as poorly articulated (d), and located in the middle of a word combination of letters from Americans tt is very similar to (d). They do not "swallow" the sound [r], as the English, so it seems to be rougher, roaring. Linguists have developed lists of letter combinations and the situations in which the pronunciation of English and the Americans will be different.

Differences in Vocabulary

Some words used in British English can be different in case of American English. For example, athlete in British English is one who participates in field events. In American English, Athlete means the one who participates in sports. ...