Traductorado de Ingls

Facultad de Derecho
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Lengua y Lingstica Inglesa II Ctedra Parini
Comisin 3113

TP 2- DESCRIPTIVE

BRITISH AND
AMERICAN ENGLISH
Daiana Toloza Arce
DNI 33.866.406

FECHA

20/05/2016

INTRODUCTION:
English is spoken today on all the continents as a result of colonial expansion in the last four
centuries. The colonial era is now definitely over but its consequences can be seen in the
presence of English as an official and often native language in many of the former colonies
along with more or less strongly diverging varieties which arose in particular socio-political
conditions.

DEFINITION OF BROADER CONCEPTS

In sociolinguistics a variety is a specific form of a language. This may include languages,
dialects, registers,styles or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety. The use of the
word "variety" to refer to these different forms avoids the use of the term language, which many
people associate only with the standard language, and the term dialect, which is often associated
with non-standard varieties thought of as less prestigious or "correct" than the standard.
Another important concept is Speech community, which is a group of people who share a set of
norms and expectations regarding the use of language. Early definitions have tended to see
speech communities as localized groups of people who live together and come to share the same
linguistic norms because they belong to the same local community.It is considered a fact that
speakers actively use language to construct and manipulate social identities.

BRITISH ENGLISH.British English is the English language as spoken and written in Great Britain or throughout the
British Isles. Slight regional variations exist in formal, written English in the United Kingdom.
Nevertheless, there is a meaningful degree of uniformity in written English within the United
Kingdom, and this could be described by the term British English. The forms of spoken English,
however, vary considerably, so a uniform concept of British English is more difficult to apply to
the spoken language.

AMERICAN ENGLISH
American English is the set of dialects of the English language native to the United States.
English is the most widely spoken language in the United States. It has been given official status
by 32 of the 50 state governments. The use of English in the United States is a result of British
colonization of the Americas. The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North
America during the 17th century, followed by further migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Since then, American English has been influenced by the languages of West Africa, the Native
American population, German,Dutch, Irish, Spanish, and other languages of successive waves
of immigrants to the United States.

COMPARISSON OF VARIETIES.-

Differences in Vocabulary
While some words may mean something in British English, the same word might be something
else in American english. For example, Athlete in British English is one who participates in
track and field events whereas Athlete in American English is one who participates in sports in
general.

Differences in Spelling
American English spelling: color / center / analyze / dialog
British English spelling: colour / centre / analyse /dialogue

Differences in the use of Prepositions

For example: While the British would play in a team, Americans would play on a team. Another
example: While the British would go out at the weekend, Americans would go out on the
weekend.

Differences in Pronunciation
Some words that are pronounced differently in American vs British English are controversy,
leisure, schedule etc. There are also some words like Ax (Axe in British) and Defense (Defence
in British) which have the same pronunciation but different spellings in both languages.

CONCLUSION:
Over the last half a century television and film have done much to familiarise Americans with
British English and British with American English .There are actually thousands differences
between British and American English. While many of these words can be instantly understood
by speakers from the other country, other words might easily baffle someone who hasnt spent a
long period of time in both countries.