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英語屬于美式還是英式(一)
中文摘要
英語屬于美式還是英式？一個關(guān)于兩種不同形式的英語辯論在未來將會引起很大爭議。 作為其它英語國家(加拿大英語,澳大利亞英語,新西蘭英語和南非英語)的父系語言，英式英語和美式英語，是今天英語世界里主要的兩種英語形式。雖然這兩種語言在不久的將來的范圍、類型和這兩種形式英語的矛盾可能的影響如何已經(jīng)說過太多,我們對這個問題的爭吵還沒有結(jié)束。本文從美式英語的發(fā)展和普及來解釋它們歷史和背景，另外還從語音、詞匯和語法來做相比較。在課堂上,對于老師和學(xué)生來講, 關(guān)于這兩種形式的英語的認識是非常重要的,但往往它們都要被作出選擇,到底哪一種才是正確的。本文通過一些相關(guān)方面的專家的實例和他們所說過的話，來權(quán)釋美式英語和英式英語的區(qū)別。
Key words: British English，American English
[關(guān)鍵詞] 英式英語、美式英語
中文譯文
英語屬于美式還是英式
作者：未知 譯者：鐘利婷
1，一個關(guān)于兩種不同形式的英語辯論在未來將會引起很大爭議，以下是我的一些觀點：
2，作為其它英語國家(加拿大英語,澳大利亞英語,新西蘭英語和南非英語)的父系語言，英式英語和美式英語，是今天英語世界里主要的兩種英語形式。雖然這兩種語言在不久的將來的范圍、類型及這兩種形式英語的矛盾可能的影響如何已經(jīng)說過太多,我們對這個問題的爭吵還沒有結(jié)束。
3，美式英語的發(fā)展和普及
4，在美式英語被引入后新世界的一段時間里，它仍被認為是不標準的英語。Kahane先生指出，在18世紀80年代的一些人看來，美式英語是“失敗者”和農(nóng)民的語言，一個“紳士”是不會說這種英語的。從雙語的觀點來看，英國英語是居支配地位的語言，并且和威望及純粹主義聯(lián)系在一起。對權(quán)威的信仰或者說是英式英語的優(yōu)越，一直維持到20世紀初，尤其是在前英國帝國或在英國領(lǐng)域的影響。因此，據(jù)報道，在中國教師和學(xué)校的教科書參考和推薦英式發(fā)音作為參考模型，以及標準的英國語法，拼寫和詞匯。英式英語也被鼓勵和接受作為一些主要的官方考試標準，例如,官方的全國大學(xué)英語考試， 英語專業(yè)學(xué)生考試。在其他國家也可以發(fā)現(xiàn)類似的情況，比如在非洲,西非的入學(xué)考試委員會和聯(lián)合招生和錄取委員會都以英式英語作為標準英語。類似的報道在開羅也有，早在1984年，一些大學(xué)生,如果他們使用美式英語而不是英式的話，他們得到的分數(shù)就會較低。Modiano寫道,在歐洲，“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)教師們，英國人以及該國工作的原住民，他們都會接受英式英語而蔑視美式英語�！�
5，然而上述態(tài)度只不過是早已過去的英國霸主地位時期最后的影響力。根據(jù)坎貝爾和其他人的觀點,追溯到第二次世界大戰(zhàn)之后的幾十年，美式英語就開始明顯占主導(dǎo)地位。這時正好是美國軍事和科技力量崛起和大英帝國衰退的時期，這對推動美式英語的發(fā)展起了很大的作用。從那時起，美式英語的不斷影響世界的每個角落。
6，美國人一直是其全球化背后的推動力。Modiano在報道上說，雖說受英國的專業(yè)英語教師的影響，但歐洲人“受大規(guī)模美式英語的支配”，很多學(xué)生對美式英語更感興趣�？藏悹査e的受美式英語的影響的例子，就有歐洲、亞洲和俄羅斯的年輕人在日常對話中會使用美式英語，甚至他們中大部人之前都有接受英式英語的教育。在巴西, 人們需要美式英語課程，而不是英式英語課程。這是因為美式英語正浸潤著前身是英式英語影響的領(lǐng)土。例如；尼日利亞、埃及、泰國，更有力地滲透于拉丁美洲，日本和韓國。甚至今天的英國廣播公司(BBC)，以前只使用英國英語播音員，現(xiàn)在也增加了美式英語的播音員，特別是在韓國，廣播的美式英語尤受偏愛。
7，據(jù)坎貝爾的估計，大約350萬英語母語人士就有70%的人說美國版本的英語。事實上，兩大主要母語英語國家的人口更有說服力:美國人口約達2.6億人，英國人只有約55萬。這似乎對美國英語更有利。
8，過去幾十年已經(jīng)見證了美國對這個星球不斷增加的政治統(tǒng)治。這種狀況是在共產(chǎn)主義的倒退的80年代后期進一步加強的，導(dǎo)致美國在前社會主義領(lǐng)土上滲透和鞏固了其位置。
9，1962年由肯尼迪總統(tǒng)創(chuàng)辦的“和平工作團”，一直是美國人移民到第三世界國家不同地方的主要根源。和平志愿者致力于醫(yī)學(xué)領(lǐng)域，農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)中，在英語語言教學(xué)中起到非常重要的作用，在他們歸國后，美國英語在當(dāng)?shù)禺a(chǎn)生了相當(dāng)大的影響。英國的嚴格的移民法，加上英國人的冷漠的態(tài)度，導(dǎo)致了來自第三世界國家的學(xué)生和人們轉(zhuǎn)移到世界各地去尋找生存的地方——美國。這個因素造成的連鎖反應(yīng)導(dǎo)致更多的移民來到美國。因為人們都抱著這樣一種觀點，他們更愿意從住在美國的朋友和親戚那里尋找?guī)椭�。美國近來頒布了一項這樣政策，每年以簽證“招聘”50,000新移民到美國，這樣就增強了人們試圖移民來到美國的欲望。長期大量的遷移，對于移民者的本土英語被美國化這個現(xiàn)象是顯而易見的，移民者回國之后仍繼和他們家鄉(xiāng)的朋友和親戚小聚，有很多人最終還是回到美國并定居下來。
10，以上的故事只是一種已經(jīng)成長起來并威脅母語主體地位的英語語言的寶寶版本，這種現(xiàn)象在其他地方可能幾乎沒有見到過。既不是和法國法語有關(guān)的加拿大，比利時或者瑞士法語的這種情況，也不是和西班牙或葡萄牙的西班牙語或葡萄牙語有關(guān)的拉丁美洲西班牙語或葡萄牙語這個例子，而是各有特色。說英語語言的人，尤其是英語學(xué)習(xí)者,現(xiàn)在面臨著兩種相對語言的共存管理任務(wù)。然而，他們并不一帆風(fēng)順。
11，這是說,就像在M.Mathews在上面的引言里說的，美國英語和英國英語是“壓倒性的相似”，或和Quirk在上面所提到的“甚至在發(fā)音時，很難找到過多的英式英語和美式英語的絕對差別”。當(dāng)然這取決于Quirk所考慮的數(shù)量怎樣才為之多。先前Quirk和M.Mathews已經(jīng)列出了數(shù)百詞的發(fā)音差異的表，這個列表上的單詞發(fā)音差異以任何標準來看都會被認為是主要的差異。定性的說,差異同樣是很重要的。全世界的語言學(xué)習(xí)者一定會同意我的觀點，例如，下面的差別很混淆:英式英語ant[i]， mult[i]；sem[i]； do[sail]， fu[tail]； l[e]sure， fer[tail]， [lef]tenant， g[o]t；p[o]tter vs American English ant[ai]，mult[ai]，sem[ai]； do[sl]，fer[tl]； l[i:]sure， [lu]tenant，g[a:]t， p[a:]tter。還有許多其他這樣的對比,在詞法和語法中，我們也可以在溝通的發(fā)生率中找到許多不同,我們接下來就會給你一一道來。
12，當(dāng)演講者和作家都熟悉這兩種語言時，并且可以很容易地找到他們自己的語言形式和另一種語言形式相對應(yīng)得特點時，英式和美式英語兩者之間的差異并不重要。但是當(dāng)傾聽者和讀者不熟悉這兩種語言形式時，困惑就產(chǎn)生了,尷尬或純粹的不理解在許多日常情況下就隨之而來。
13，在課堂上，對于老師和學(xué)生來講，關(guān)于這兩種形式的英語的認識是非常重要的,但往往它們都要被作出選擇，到底哪一種才是正確的。如果老師和學(xué)生們都知道“fiber” 和 “fibre”, “transportation” 和 “transport”，“proctor” 和“invigilator”，“barette”和 “hairslide”，“faucet”和“tap”， “fall” 和“autumn”，“five years back” 和“five years ago”，“Monday through Friday”和“Monday to Friday”，“a half meter” 和“half a metre” 這些美式和英式英語的特點，而且兩者之間的差異能夠被接受，自然教授和學(xué)習(xí)這兩個過程將會毫不受阻礙。但戲劇性的是,特別是在測試這種情況下，當(dāng)學(xué)生考卷上出現(xiàn)的了一種英語語言形式，只熟悉另一種英語語言形式的老師就會不明白.這時學(xué)生的考卷就會受到不公正的評判。
14，據(jù)觀察，許多美式英語范疇的變化在某些情況下是完全違反英國英語語法的。例如,住宿變成了可數(shù)名詞(例如，Good accommodations are rare)；一些不規(guī)則動詞變成了規(guī)則動詞(snuck out for British English sneaked out)；有些不及物動詞變成及物動詞（e.g. The plane departed New York; We protested the salary cuts）；有些及物動詞變成不及物動詞(e.g. I visited with my friends for British English I visited my friends)；某些形容詞是可以被用來作為副詞(e.g. It’s real nice)。其他違反英式英語句法的例子在用法中也有，如：“A is different than B”在than前沒有使用應(yīng)該要用的-er /more or less，在“Susan wants out”一句中（to go）完全被省略；在“l(fā)ike I said”句中的“l(fā)ike”換作是英式英語的話應(yīng)用“as”引導(dǎo)從句； 在“I want for you to go”，句中插入了一個介詞“for”，在“He looked out the window”，中刪除了介詞“of”.在 “He just left”中盡管過去的動作與現(xiàn)在有關(guān)，但沒有用到現(xiàn)在完成時，等等。
15，一項非正式調(diào)查最近在一群工作已久的英語老師中進行，結(jié)果表明，盡管他們宣稱他們欣然接受美式英語，但他們會認為上述的美式英語用法是不正確的。他們都知道美式英語是 –or 代替 –our (e.g. color)，-ize 代替 –ise，center寫成centre，這些類似的小的和常見的差異。
16，在一些國家里, 像前英帝國那樣, 它能夠使多種類型的英語本土化,并且建立了屬于自己的有權(quán)威的本土化英語標準, 但是多重化標準這個問題卻日益嚴重。在那里,美式英語的入侵,增加了英式英語和地方英語已經(jīng)存在的沖突和競爭。Awonusi(1994)準確地描述了在尼日利亞的這種現(xiàn)象。更重要的是,其他國家,比如中國,面對一個類似的情況。就拿中國英語作為例子, 這種三方占據(jù)的情形, 它最有趣的地方是, 什么時候本地英語被確立，什么時候本地英語會有別于英式和美式英語。
17，除了對上面問題正確性討論外，英美兩國之間的所提出的清晰度問題的分歧，也不能完全忽視。
18，在這個時候?qū)γ朗接⒄Z和英式英語的清晰度進行具體測量的研究，對我來說是不可行的。但是其他人從非以英語為母語的人這個角度來看，這兩種語言品種的清晰度確實存在，并表明美式英語和英式英語沒有相同程度的清晰度。例如,在史密斯 (1992) 在美國進行的研究表明，一個講英式英語的人和巴布幾內(nèi)亞人互動，這個巴布幾內(nèi)亞人能理解70%。然而一個講美式英語的人與一個印度尼西亞人進行交流，則有90%的內(nèi)容能被理解�？衫斫庑院涂山馕鲂月试谕徽Z境下分別是90%和60%，10%和30%。
19，如果他們只關(guān)心語音特證，美式英語和英式英語之間的差異對清晰度沒有大的影響，例如，像美國英語rhoticity、鼻音、有些單詞的重讀音差異；上面提到的-ize， -or和-er的拼寫；或詞匯如vacation,，movie，cab,，schedule (英國英語時間表)等。但不同層次的分析讓分歧更為嚴重，并常常鮮為人知。
20，詞匯也提供了非常有趣的例子。一個講英式英語的人聽或讀美國英語將會面臨的詞匯清晰度的問題，因為這些詞匯在他自己的意識里是不存在的，像faucet (英式英語 tap)，janitor (caretaker)，pitcher (jug)，mortician (undertaker)，realtor (estate agent)，closet (cupboard)，penitentiary [名詞] (prison)。他/她還會發(fā)現(xiàn)有些存在他們字典中的詞，在這里卻有不同的含義。意義的差異微不足道并不造成溝通問題，就像美式英語的和英式英語的vacation和holidays，call (by phone)和 ring，schedule 和time；這幾對意思相同的詞，還有許多這樣的同義異形詞，現(xiàn)在英國已經(jīng)普及使用，從而降低了溝通失敗的風(fēng)險。但是主要的語義差別有時也存在，例如first floor，second floor（美式英語）和ground floor，first floor（英式英語），pants 和 trousers，gas 和 petrol。這些極端例子的分歧在某些情況下，可能會導(dǎo)致交際問題的尷尬。想象一下一個講美式英語的人指引一個講英式英語的人到the first 或 second floor，向他/她要gas，要求他/她給他/她的pants，你會同意,美式英語和英式英語并不是像上面說的那樣“壓倒性的相似”。
21，據(jù)Modiano報道，溝通失敗的情況 (或潛在的失敗)是由于詞匯語義的問題所引起的。它們包括美式英語中的round trip ticket（往返機票）和英式英語中的return ticket（回程機票），美式英語eraser和英式英語rubber（橡皮擦），英式英語中public school和它在美式英語中的意思的對比。
22，Modiano要一張去倫敦機票時，他卻被問到他是否想要一張return ticket。解釋說return ticket意味著一張從倫敦返回他現(xiàn)在旅行的地方的票，Modiano回答道，“你怎么能指望我到那兒呢？”至于英式英語的rubber,筆者發(fā)現(xiàn),在美式英語中是一個俚語“安全套”，它的使用在某些情境中可能會引起尷尬。Modiano繼續(xù)發(fā)現(xiàn)英式英語中使用的rubber，在美國不知道它是eraser的意思。關(guān)于public school（公立學(xué)校），Modiano通過對比指出,在英式英語中它意味著私營機構(gòu)，在美式英語中它的意思是“公共基金擁有和運作的學(xué)校”。
23，對美式英語和英式英語的競爭和共存狀況，最好的應(yīng)對方法是將美式英語和英式英語進行統(tǒng)一。這個解決方案表明改變一種或各種各樣的語言的自然變化過程，幾乎不成功了。另外一個問題是,即使該方案是可能的，以美式英語的方向的統(tǒng)一，是人口、技術(shù)、政治、商業(yè)和相關(guān)媒體的統(tǒng)一。就像以上的分析；事實上,絕大多數(shù)的預(yù)測，包括David Crystal都預(yù)測未來美式英語將會主導(dǎo)地位。贊成以英式英語方向的統(tǒng)一，是因為絕大多數(shù)的字典和英語語言教學(xué)材料是英式英語。另一個論點是一種情感和象征感覺，畢竟是英式英語是英語的母語。
24，對于受美式英語與英式英語的熏陶和混雜，Modiano解決方案是Mid-Atlantic，在歐洲，越來越多的人說MID-ATLANTIC，因此其在歐洲應(yīng)將取代英國英語作為教育標準。根據(jù)“The Americanization of Euro-English”的作者所言，Mid-Altantic是“鼓勵中立的發(fā)音發(fā)音的一種變化和基于以對話者為依據(jù)的參照的詞匯”。Modiano的論據(jù)的唯一問題是，他詳細的說明了Mid-Atlantic英語被廣泛使用的原因，但沒有構(gòu)成結(jié)實的架構(gòu)，也沒有對其進行多樣性特征的討論和作出具體的措辭。
25，因缺乏能保證可以解決這個問題的方案,筆者建議，英語課程應(yīng)廣泛包括美式英語和英式英語的對比分析，以消除把英語作為第二語言來學(xué)習(xí)的學(xué)習(xí)者的困惑。
English Language: American or British
1、A quarrel about how great would the differences between the two kinds of English be in the future caused vehement argument and the following is my point of view
2、Being the paternal language of the other native Englishes (Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and South African English), British English and American English today are the two main English languages of the English-speaking world. Although too many has already been said over how the scope, the types, and the possible effects of the inconsistency between the two kinds will be in the future, the quarrel on the issue has not come to an end at all.
3、The development and popularity of American English
4、Long after its introduction into the New World, American English was still considered non-standard English. Mr. Kahane pointed out that according to some people of the 1780s American English was the “underdog” or a peasant’s language that a “gentleman” will not speak. Considered in a bilingual point of view, British English was the dominant language linked to prestige and (linguistic) purism. The belief in the authority or say in the superior of British English, has maintained to the twentieth century, especially in the former British Empire or in the fields of British influence. Thus, it is reported that in China, teachers and school textbooks refer to and recommend Received Pronunciation as the model, as well as standard British syntax, spelling and lexis.British English is also encouraged and accepted as the criteria of some major official examinations, for example, College English Test and Test for English Majors which are conducted by government. Similar situations could be found in other countries, for example, in Africa, the West African Examination Council and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board accept the British English as the standard English. Report can also be found that in Cairo, as recently as 1984, some university students received lower grades if they used American spellings instead of British. Modiano wrote that in Europe, “we find teachers, British people as well as natives of the country in which they work, who follow the British English standard, and scorn the American English” .
5、However the above attitudes are nothing but the last influence of a long-gone period of British supremacy. According to Campbell and others, the beginning of a distinct lead of American English can be traced to the decades after World War II. This coincides with the simultaneous rise of the US as a military and technological power and the decline of the British Empire, which drove many to American English. And from then on, American English has continuously sent its influence to every corner of the planet.
6、Britain made English an international language in the nineteenth century with its imperialism power, but Americans have been the driving force behind its globalization in the twentieth century. Modiano reports that, despite the influence of expert English teachers from Britain, Europeans “are subjected to a massive amount of American English”, which many students are much more interested in. Campbell’s examples of the influence of American English include the fact that young people in Europe, Asia and Russia use it in daily conversation, even when many of them have been taught British English. In Brazil, people demand for courses in American style rather than British. This is because American English is infiltrating the territories formerly known to be the territory of British English influence。 for example, Nigeria, Egypt, Thailand, and more forcefully penetrating Latin America, Japan, and south Korea. Today even the BBC, which has long used British English speaking announcers exclusively, now added American announcers in its broadcasts, especially in programs that go to countries like South Korea, where American English is favored.
7、According to Campbell’s estimate, 70% of the roughly 350 million native English speakers speak the American version of English. In fact, the populations of the two leading mother tongue English countries are even more suggestive: The United States has a population of about 260 million while there is only about 55 million in Britain. This seemingly gives the American English much more advantage.
8、The last few decades have witnessed an ever-increasing political domination of America on the planet. This status was further reinforced in the late 1980s by the fall of communism, which resulted in the US penetrating and consolidating its position in formerly socialist territories.
9、The Peace Corps, founded by President J.F. Kennedy in 1962, has been a major cause of emigration of Americans to various parts of the Third World. The Peace Corps volunteers have been working in the medical sector, in agriculture, and very significantly in English language teaching, leaving considerable influence of American English after their returning back. The strict immigration laws of Britain, coupled with the alleged inhospitality of the British, have of late diverted to America students and people from various parts of the world seeking a substitute place — the United States. The chain reaction of this factor has resulted in much more migration to the US. For people hold the sense that they tend to find help from friends and relatives living in the States. The recent policy, enacted by the US, of the visa program to “recruit” 50,000 new immigrants to the States each year has added to the attempt to migrant to the US. The long-term reaction of the large migration to the States on the Americanization of English in native countries of the immigrants is obvious; the immigrants continue to communicate with their friends and relatives back in their homeland, and many eventually come back and settle.
10、Told above is the story of the baby version of a English language that has grown and is threatening to shake the domination of the mother language. This phenomenon could hardly been seen elsewhere. Neither the case with Canadian, Belgian or Swiss French in relation to the French of France, nor with Latin American Spanish or Portuguese in relation to the Spanish or Portuguese of Spain or Portugal, respectively. The speaker, and especially the learner, of English is now faced with the task of managing the co-existence of the two competing languages. They are, however, not problem-free.
11、It is over simplified to say, like M. Mathews in the introduction above, that American English and British English are “so overwhelmingly alike” or, like Quirk equally cited above, that “even in matters of pronunciation, it is difficult to find many British and American absolute distinctions”. It really depends here on what quantity Quirk considers to be many. Already, the list of pronunciation differences that he and Marckwardt themselves give affects hundreds of words, which can be considered to be major, by any standard. Qualitatively, too, the differences are important. Learners all over the world will surely agree with me, for example, that the following differences are quite confusing: British English ant[i], mult[i]; sem[i]; do[sail], fu[tail]; l[e]sure, fer[tail], [lef]tenant, g[o]t, p[o]tter vs American English ant[ai]-, mult[ai], sem[ai]; do[sl], fer[tl]; l[i:]sure, [lu]tenant, g[a:]t, p[a:]tter. And there are many other such contrasts, In lexis and grammer, we can also find many distinct contrasts with an obvious incidence on communication, as will be shown later.
12、Differences between American and British English do not matter when the speaker or writer is familiar with the two codes and can easily find in his/her own variety correspondences to features from the other variety. But confusion, embarrassment or sheer incomprehension will arise in many daily-life situations when the listener or reader who is not familiar with the other variety.
13、Knowledge of the two varieties is equally important in the classroom for the students and teachers where a decision often has to be made about what form is correct. If the teacher and students know that fiber and fibre, transportation and transport, proctor and invigilator, barette and hairslide, faucet and tap, fall and autumn, five years back and five years ago, Monday through Friday and Monday to Friday, a half meter and half a metre are features of American and British English, Respectively, the teaching and the learning process can proceed unhampered, if it is agreed that the two varieties are accepted. But it is dramatic, especially in a testing situation, when features used from one variety by the student are not known by the teacher/tester, familiar only with the other variety. The student will then be unjustly penalized.
14、Many American changes of categories observed in some cases are in outright violation of British English grammar. For example, accommodation becomes countable (e.g. Good accommodations are rare); some irregular verbs become regular (e.g. broadcasted, shined); some regular verbs become irregular (snuck out for British English sneaked out); some intransitive verbs become transitive (e.g. The plane departed New York; We protested the salary cuts); some transitive verbs become intransitive (e.g. I visited with my friends for British English I visited my friends): some adjectives may be used as adverbs (e.g. It’s real nice). Other major violations of British English syntax are seen in usages such as: A is different than B, where than is used without the corresponding –er/more or less required for comparatives; in Susan wants out, where a whole verb and its preceding particle (to go) are omitted; in like I said where like, instead of British English as, introduces a clause; in I want for you to go, where there is a major intrusion of a preposition; in He looked out the window, where there is a major deletion of a preposition; in He just left, where, despite the clear fact that a past action has some relevance to the present, the present perfect is not used. And so on.
15、An informal survey recently carried out among teachers of English who had been working for long, showed that, although they declared that they readily accepted American English, they would consider the above American English usages, and many more as incorrect. All they know of American English is –or for –our (e.g. color), -ize for ise, center for centre and similar minor and common differences.
16、The problem of multiple standards is aggravated in countries like those of the former British Empire where indigenized varieties of English have already established themselves athoritively as local standards. There, the intrusion of American English adds to the already existing conflict and competition between British English and the local forms. Awonusi (1994) aptly describes this phenomenon in Nigeria. What’s more, other countries, like China, face a similar situation. In China English for example, the most interesting manifestation of this triple scale is when a local English form establishes itself, and differs from both the established British English and American English forms.
17、In addition to problems of correctness discussed above, the divergences between American and British English raised problems of intelligibility that cannot be altogether overlooked.
18、Studies specifically measuring the intelligibility between American English and British English are not available to me at the moment. But others involving the intelligibility of the two varieties, from the point of view of the non-native speaker, do exist, and show that American English and British English do not have the same degree of intelligibility. For example, in Smith’s (1992) study conducted in America, a British English speaker (interacting with a Papua Guinean) is 70% understandable to non-native speakers while an American (interacting with an Indonesian is 90% undertandable). The rates of comprehensibility and interpretability in the same context are 90% and 60%, 10% and 30%, respectively.
19、Differences between American English and British English would have no major impact on intelligibility if they only concerned, for example, features in phonology like American English rhoticity, darkening of “l(fā)” across the board, the nasal twang, some word stress differences; in spelling like –ize, -or and –er discussed above; or in lexis items like vacation, movie, cab, schedule (for British English timetable), etc. But the various levels of analysis offer more serious, and very often, less known divergences.
20、Lexis also offers very interesting cases. A user of British English who listens to or reads American English will face problems of intelligibility with words that do not exist in his/her own version like faucet (British English tap), janitor (caretaker), pitcher (jug), mortician (undertaker), realtor (estate agent), closet (cupboard), penitentiary [noun] (prison). He/she will also find words which exist in his/her variety, but have a different meaning. The difference in meaning may be negligible and not cause communication problems, as in American English vacation vs British English holidays, call (by phone) vs ring, schedule vs time; both members of these pairs, in particular, and many others, are now used in Britain, which further reduces the risk of communication failure. But major semantic differences sometimes exist, such as between (American English) first floor, second floor and British English ground floor, first floor, pants and trousers, gas and petrol, (from American English, 12th of February 1998). These extreme cases of divergence may cause communication problems or great embarrassment in some cases. Just imagine an American English speaker directing a British English speaker to the first or second floor, asking him/her for gas, asking him/her to show his/her pants, and you will agree that American English and British English are not “so overwhelmingly alike”, as claimed above.
21、Cases of communication failure (or potential failure) due to such lexico-semantic problems are reported by Modiano. They include American English round trip ticket vs British English return ticket, American English eraser vs British English rubber, and British English public school (vs its American English meaning).
22、Modiano requested a ticket to London but he was asked whether he wanted a return ticket. Interpreting return ticket as meaning a ticket from London to the place from which he was travelling, Modiano replied, “How do you expect me to get there?” As for British English rubber, the author found that in American English it is an American slang for the word condom and its use in some contexts may cause embarrassment. Modiano go on noticed that the British English use of Rubber rather than eraser is unknown in the US. Concerning public school, Modiano points out the contrast in British English where it means privately owned institutions and in American English where it means “schools owned and operated with public funds”.
23、The best thing to deal with the situation of co-existence, or competition, of American English and British English would be some kind of harmonization. This solution, which suggests changing the natural course of a language or language variety, had hardly been succeeded. The other question is even if this solution were possible, the harmonization in the direction of American English are demographic, technological, political, commercial, and media-related, as analyzed above; in fact, most predictions, including that of David Crystal, are that English in future will be American-dominated. Arguments for harmonization in the direction of British English include the fact that the majority of dictionaries and English Language Teaching materials outside the US are British English–dominated. The other argument is of an emotional and symbolic feeling and mixed with the sense that British English is after all the mother variety.
24、Modiano’s solution to the exposure to, and mixing of, American English and British English is that Mid-Atlantic, spoken in increasing numbers by Europeans. Should replace British English as the educational standard in Europe. According to the author of “The Americanization of Euro-English”, Mid-Atlantic is “a variety that encourages neutral pronunciation and a vocabulary based on the interlocutor’s frame of reference’. The only problem in Modiano’s argument is that he carefully explains the reasons for Mid-Atlantic English to be used, and what does not constitute Mid-Atlantic, but fails to discuss in concrete terms some detailed characteristics of this variety.
25、For lacking in a guaranteed solution to the problem, I suggested that courses in contrastive analysis of American English and British English should be widely included in English Lessons to wipe out the confusion of those who learn English as a second language.
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