Transatlantic Connections

(the beginning of the story is on p. 242)

Well, what can we say about the present situation?

There is, no doubt, a difference between British and American English in accents, spelling and vocabulary and even in grammar. Numerous territorial ac­cents that vary greatly within the boundaries of both countries have been the subject of extensive research and analysis by phoneticians.

Americans have made some attempts to simplify the spelling, but for for­eign learners of English it would take some time to make sure whether the au­thor of the written text is British or American unless they are lucky enough to come across 'center', 'catalog', 'color' or 'traveler', spelt American way, on one of the first pages of the text they are reading.

The difference between spoken British English and spoken American English is more obvious. Some of the differences in everyday vocabulary could even lead to amusing situations. Did you know that American buildings have no ground floor? This doesn't mean you have to jump up ten feet to get into them, simply that what the British call the 'ground floor' is what Americans call the 'first floor' - useful to remember in a department store (which, by the way, is an American innovation and hence an American word).

If an American says he is wearing his new 'pants' and 'vest' to a party - do not be alarmed. He is not going in his underwear, but 'pants' and 'vest' are the American words for 'trousers' and 'waistcoat'. On the other hand, if a British person wears his 'mackintosh' and 'Wellingtons' on a rainy day, he will have to explain to his American cousin that these are his 'raincoat' and 'rubbers'.

When an Englishman goes on his 'holidays', an American will go on 'vaca­tion'. And whereas an Englishman will be 'ill in hospital', an American will be 'sick in the hospital'.

Perhaps it is because of the fast-moving American lifestyle and the slower English way of life that a candidate in Britain 'stands' for office, while in the USA

Part 2

he 'runs'. Americans are more ready to accept new ideas and new customs than their British cousins, and the same goes for new words. Many of these words belong to a short-lived fashion, but others are here to stay.

In some cases the British seem more modern in their use of English than Americans. The word 'fall' is considered archaic in Britain, where the word 'au­tumn' is used instead. In the USA people use the old-fashioned past participle of 'get' and say 'He has gotten thin' or 'I could have gotten here sooner' when in Britain people always use 'got'.

Two important features of the present state of affairs can be asserted with­out any exaggeration:

Firstly, there are more than two variants of the English language (Cana­dian, Australian, South African, etc.), but the main competitors are the British and the American variants.

Secondly, the tendency to eliminate the differences between these two variants of English is more likely to increase than to decrease.

Furthermore, if we can speak about the existence of one English language that has acquired the status of the world language, we can't ignore the fact that along with the great English literature a much younger country has succeeded in creating the great American literature of its own.

What else could be said in conclusion? It would be naive to assert that in our age of global communication and the Internet the differences would not get fewer and fewer. Whether a person speaks British or American English is far less important than the correct or incorrect manner in which either of the versions is used. Therefore, in matters concerning the use of a common language educa­tion will be far more important than the place where one was born.

phonetician [faum'tiJan] n фонетист, специалист по фонетике

innovation [.mau'veijan] n нововведение

hence [hens] adv следовательно, отсюда

underwear [4ndswea] n нижнее белье

pants (Br.) трусы, (Am.) брюки

vest (Br.) нижняя рубашка, (Am.) жилет

waistcoat ['weistkaut] n жилет

mackintosh ['maekmtDf] n плащ, непромокаемое пальто

Wellingtons ['welintans] n резиновые сапоги

short-lived [To: t'livd] adj недолговечный

archaic [, a: 'kenk] ad/архаический, устаревший

furthermore [/з: йэ'тэ: ] adv кроме того, более того

naive [nai'i: v] adj наивный

therefore ['deafo: ] adv поэтому, следовательно

Unit ten

Questions for discussion.

1. What are the examples of American simplification of British spelling
given in the text? Can you give some other examples of your own?

2. What American word (from the text) is considered archaic in British
English?

3. Do you think American English and British English will drift further apart
in future?

4. Can you give any examples in the grammar rules of British and American
English?

5. Do you agree that " the tendency to eliminate the differences between
British English and American English is more likely to increase than to
decrease? " Give your reasons.

6. Do you think that a foreign learner of English should keep to one variant
of English either British or American? Give your reasons.

7. Do you agree that 'in matters concerning the use of a common language
education will be far more important than the place where one was born'?

EXERCISES

1. Find English equivalents in the text for the following (you may think of better Russian translations).

1. Многочисленные местные акценты, которые значительно отлича­
ются друг от друга даже в пределах каждой из этих стран, давно
являются предметом обширной исследовательской работы и ана­
лиза, ведущихся фонетистами.

2....если только им не посчастливится на одной из первых страниц
книги, которую они читают, увидеть такие слова, как..., написан­
ные по американским правилам.

3. Разница между устной британской и американской речью более
очевидна.

4. Некоторые различия в словаре повседневного общения могут
даже привести к возникновению забавных ситуаций.

5. Возможно, из-за стремительного американского стиля жизни
и более спокойного английского образа жизни, в Британии канди­
дат на (высокий) пост «стоит» (во время избирательной кампании),
в то время как в Соединенных Штатах Америки он «бежит».

6....то же самое относится к новым словам.

7. Во-первых... во-вторых... кроме того... в заключение... поэтому...

8. Говорит ли человек на британском варианте английского языка
или на американском, гораздо менее важно, чем...

Part 2

VOCABULARY

Read and translate these sentences into Russian so as to have a better idea of how these words can be used.

phonetics [fa'netiks] n, phonetic adj, phonetician n

1. 'Phonetics' is the study and science of speech sounds and intonation.

2. Phonetic symbols are often different from ordinary letters, representing
the actual sounds of speech.

3. These are some of phonetic symbols / characters: as, 9, rj...

4. 'Phonetician' is a person who has a special knowledge of phonetics.

5. Professor Higgins in Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw was a famous
phonetician who accepted the challenge of correcting the pronunciation
of a poor Cockney flower girl.

innovate v, innovation n, innovative adj

1. To innovate means to make changes, introduce new ideas, inventions etc.

2. His new method is obviously an innovation, and the company is going
to introduce it soon.

3. Unfortunately, his innovative techniques were never carried out.

hence adv, henceforth adv, henceforward adv, therefore adv

1. 'Hence' is often used in a phrase without a verb meaning 'for this
reason or from this origin'.

2. The town was built near a bridge on the River Cam: hence (отсюда) the
name Cambridge.

3. 'Hence' also means 'from here or from now',
e.g. 2 miles hence, 3 days hence

4. 'Henceforth' or 'henceforward' (formal) both mean 'from this time on
(from now on)', e.g. Following our merger with Brown and Co., the
company will henceforth (отныне и впредь) be named Johnson and
Brown Inc.

5. 'Therefore' means 'as a result', 'for this reason', 'so'.

e.g. These birds are very rare and therefore (поэтому) are protected by law. 6.1 think, therefore (следовательно) I exist.

furthermore adv, furthermost adj

1. 'Furthermore' means 'in addition to what has been said'.

e.g. The house is too small for the family of four, and furthermore it is in a bad location.

2. 'Furthermost' means 'most distant', 'farthest away'.

e.g. I saw her sitting in the furthermost corner of the room.

Unit ten

naive adj, naively adv

1. The youngest girl was laughed at for her naive remarks.

2. He told her he was a close friend of a royal family and she was naive
enough to believe him.

3. She naively believes everything he says.

3. Here are some other examples of differences in American and British vo­cabulary. Translate the words into Russian. You can add to the table your own examples.