CHAPTER II

CONTENT

A. Language and Culture

Uncountable noun language is a system of communication which consists of a set of

sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region
for talking or writing. And then in uncountable noun is language is the use of a system of
communication which consists of a set of sounds or written symbols.
Culture is the characteristics and knowladge of a particular group of people,
encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. So, Language and
culture are intertwined like the two-sides of the same sheet of paper. They breathe, blossom,
shrivel up and die due to many reasons. Both of them are sensitive and adapt to prevailing
circumstances. Language gives full expression to people’s values and norms, and since values
and norms are dynamic by nature, language has to be in tandem with cultural transformations.
Technological, political, economic and social innovations require language to enrich its lexicon
to capture the new realities. Indeed, our minds create mental representations of values thanks
to language. The collapse of a value system may sound the death knell to the language in
question. The death of a culture will almost certainly be followed by the demise of the language
associated with that culture.

B. American and British Language Culture

There are many vareties of english other than American (here the English of the United
States) and British (here the english of the United Kingdom). All of those other varieties are
instrincally just as worthy of study and use as American and British. But these two varieties
are the ones spoken by most native speakers english and studied by most foreign learners. They
have a special status as two principal national varieties of the language simply because there is
more material available in them than in any other variety.
British is the form of English now used in the country whence all other forms of
English have ultimately derived. But present-day British is not the origin of any other variety
of the language; rather it and all the other varieties are quality descendant from a form of
English spoken in the British isles in earlier times. In some respects, present-day varieties than
is American or other varieties; but in other respects the reverse is true, and American, for

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intance, preserves older uses that became obsolete in British use. To mistake present-day
British for thr ancestor of all others forms of English is a logical and factual error.
The focus of this study is on hoe contemporary British English differsfrom American.
That is, in comparing two varieties of a language, it is convanient to take one as the basis for
comparison and to describe the other by contrast with it. This study takes American as its basis
and discribes British in relation to that basis. The reason for this approach is that American has
more native speakers than British and rapidly becoming the dominant form of English in non-
native countries other perhaps than those of western Europe. Much European established
academic bias favors British as a model: but evolving popular culture is biased toward
American. This widespread disseminaation of the American variety makes it a reasonable basis
for describing British.

 American English Language

American english language is a kind of the English language which is used in the
United States of America. It is one of the two most popular kinds of English in the world.
American language usually use in our daily conversation, but for sometimes in the formal
situation there is a people use American language. How it happaned ? Because, he comes from
America or he habits use American language. American language has slang of America, there
are :
No Slang Word Meaning
1 Chick Cewek
2 Guy Cowok
3 Puppy-love Cinta monyet
4 What’s it up ? Apa kabar ?
5 Armscary ! Enyah ! Pergi ! Minggat !
6 Baby-doll Gadis Cantik
7 I get the air Saya Dipecat
8 Buddy Teman
9 Bingo ! Tepat !
10 Be good ! Sampai jumpa !
11 Shoot the bull Bergosip
12 Bananas ! Omong Kosong !

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 13 Chink/Chino Orang China
14 Posh-boy Anak Pintar
15 Hang On ! Bertahanlah !
16 Parking lot Tempat parkir
17 Picture Gambar
18 Restroom Kamar kecil
19 Pants Celana panjang
20 Pal Teman

It is some word or sentence in American language Culture. Ethical ways in the US to

Adjust Local Culture, there are :
1. Try to communicate using English. Don't expect everyone to know or
understand your unique dialect.
2. Know English words that cannot be understood by speakers of American
English. If you have previously studied British English (English used by
residents of the United Kingdom), know that the words and phrases of these
languages are not similar to American English words and phrases.
• "Restroom" or "bathroom" rather than "Toilet" or "Lavatory"
• "Elevator" rather than "Elevator"
• "Trunk" (baggage) rather than "Boot"
• "Freeway" (highway or highway) rather than "motorway"
• "Sweaters" rather than "jumpers"
• The word "pants" in American English is used to refer to "trousers", while the
word "pants" in British English is used to refer to "panties"
• The word "vest" in American English is used to refer to "vest", while the word
"Vest" in British English is used to refer to "singlet" (in American English, the
word "undershirt" is used to refer to "singlet" )
• "Sneakers" rather than "trainers"
3. Include humor in social interaction. If you can't speak English well, don't be
offended if the United States jokes or laughs when you say things they can't
understand. For some Americans, laughter can reduce the frustration caused by
language barriers.

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 4. Don't generalize a nation based on one's attitude. You might meet someone who
is friendly or rude. However, he does not reflect the personality of the entire
nation of the United States. In addition, the attitude you receive varies depending
on where you are and to whom you speak.
5. Try to talk a little faster when talking to Americans. This is common throughout
the United States and can create an atmosphere of togetherness that can warm
up the conversation.
6. Be polite and pay attention to your words. You should be careful when talking
to prevent yourself from saying things that offend the other person. However,
instead of stopping fully conveying your thoughts, you should try to arrange the
way you convey your thoughts so as not to offend the other person.
7. Almost all Americans tend to "swallow" the double "T" that is written on the
word so they are like saying the letter "D". For example, the word "Bottle" is
said to be "boddle" and the word "little" is pronounced "liddle". Pay attention to
the accents of the people of the United States to get yourself used to the way
they talk.

 British English Language

British English is a kind of the English language which is used in Great Britain. It is
one of the two most popular kinds of English in the world. Ethical ways in the UK to Adjust
Local Culture, there are :
1. At The Time Of Meeting The First Person
Like in Indonesia, when meeting new people we shake hands, but not too
tight and look at their eyes while shaking hands but don't take too long to look
at him. Usually English people when they first meet new people, they look stiff
and don't give too much of an impression of familiarity or it's easier to keep their
distance.The way they speak also feels very formal and rigid and is not easy to
get familiar with when meeting. But over time when they already know each
other, they will be a little more relaxed.

2. How To Give Greetings At The Formal Event

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 When you go to a formal event, how to give greetings to new people is
by shaking hands while putting on "How do you do" Remember this is not a
question, but greetings. And to answer it, you can just repeat the word like "How
do you do" while looking at their eyes and not for too long because this will
make them uncomfortable.

3. How To Break In A General Place

• Do not spit in public, on the road or even in the trash because it is very bad
behavior in the UK. If you want to spit, go to the toilet or to a quiet place and
saliva in the tissue. If you cough or yawn, shut up and say "Sorry" if there are
people around afterwards.

• Do not throw wind, belching in public places. But if you do it on purpose,

say "Excuse me" And don't clean your nose in front of people. They are
disgusted when someone does this in front of them. Use a tissue instead if
necessary.

• If on public transportation, do not look at people because it is an act that is

not polite and they will not be comfortable.

• Hold the door for the person behind you.

• Cultivate queuing in English. This is their very prominent culture. Never step
over the line in the queue. If you are in a hurry, they will usually give way to
you if you ask for it in a kind and polite manner.

4. In Conversation

English people often use the word sorry, thank you, please in their daily
conversation. This has become their daily habit. Use these polite words when
talking to English people there because they will be more comfortable.

• Example 1. If they accidentally crash on the road, they both usually say
"Sorry"

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 • Example 2. If they will ask someone who is not known as "Sorry, are you in
the queue?"

Avoid asking questions about personal things like age, salary, religion,
politics, weight. Begin conversing about weather, news, soccer if male.

5. Good Time

If you have an appointment with anyone, never be late because they consider it
impolite to let them wait. If you will arrive late, tell them and apologize. English
people are always on time so try to follow their culture. That is a guide to ethical
ways in England to adjust the local culture. And of course there are still many
other ethical rules that we must follow in the UK. And of course sometimes it
all depends on the situation, location, gender, with whom we act and others. But
at least we know the ethical basis that exists in the UK so that we look better.

No Slang Word Meaning

1 Cheers Terima Kasih
2 Scrummy Lezat
3 Tosh! Omong Kosong!
4 Kip Tidur
5 Blimy (Menyatakan Kaget)
6 Gutted Kesedihan
7 Skive Malas
8 Mate Teman
9 Dodgy Ilegal
10 Knackered Lelah
11 Gobsmacked Menyatakan Kaget
12 Damp Squid Gagal Total
13 Fortnight Dua Minggu
14 Bugger All Tidak Semuanya
15 Balls Up Kesal
16 Car park Tempat parkir

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 17 Toilet Kamar kecil
18 Photo Gambar
19 Trousers Celana panjang
20 Cinema Bioskop

C. The Difference Between American and British Language

1. The Rhotic Accent

How exactly then have our accents diverged since the Boston Tea Party? Many books
have been written about the precise phonetic details of different English dialects, but for now
I’ll stick with just one: rhoticity.

If you have a “rhotic accent”, that means you pronounce the letter “r” every time it’s
written, and most American dialects (along with Irish and Scottish ones) remain fully rhotic.

In England, on the other hand, most of us at some point in the last few hundred years
stopped pronouncing the letter “r” when it comes before a consonant (or is at the end of a
word). For example in my own name, George, which I pronounce like the word “jaw” with an
extra “j” sound on the end, no “r” to be found.

In most parts of England (the main exception being the West Country), people
pronounce “father” identically to “farther”, “pawn” identically to “porn”, and “panda”
identically to “pander”, while to most Americans and Canadians those word pairs are all
distinct.

Non-rhotic accents can be found outside England too, particularly in places that we
colonised more recently than North America like Australia and New Zealand. They can be even
found in a small number of places in the U.S., most famously in Noo Yawk. But rhoticity
remains one of the clearest, most prominent dividing lines between different varieties of
English.

2. Vowel Sounds

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 Vowel sounds have shifted a fair bit over the years. In many cases sounds which used
to be pronounced differently are now pronounced the same, or vice versa, but the merger or
split only happened on one side of the Atlantic.

I pronounce “cot” very differently from “caught”, but to many Americans they’re
homophones. Similarly with “merry”, “marry”, and the name “Mary”, which are three distinct
words in British speech, but sound the same in most American accents. In the other direction,
I’d pronounce “flaw” identically to “floor” (there’s that lack of rhoticity again), but in
American English those words are usually separated not just by an “r” but by two noticeably
different vowel sounds.

3. Vocabulary

Where things start to get really confusing is with vocabulary, and I’m not just talking
about slang. In Britain the Royal Mail delivers the post, while in the U.S.A. the Postal Service
delivers the mail. Confusing, huh?

Many of our vocabulary differences are totally arbitrary: if I did something on Saturday
or Sunday, I'd say that I'd done it at the weekend, whilst an American would talk about having
done it on the weekend.

Other differences allow for extra shades of meaning: Americans only talk about being
“in the hospital”, whilst British English retains a distinction between being “in the/a hospital”,
which just means you're literally inside the hospital building, and “in hospital“, which heavily
implies that you're in the hospital as a patient.

It's like the difference between being “in school” and “in a school”… except Americans
use the word “school” slightly differently too. In the U.S., “school” refers to any educational
establishment including college, whilst in the U.K. it's only used to refer to primary and
secondary education: the school that you do before going to “uni”, a British abbreviation for
“university” that Americans don’t use. To add to the confusion, “public school” means
something completely different here; for historical reasons a “public school” in the U.K. is a
type of very expensive and exclusive private school, whilst a free, government-funded school
(what Americans call a public school) is a “state school.” Do you follow?

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 If you’re from America, you may have raised an eyebrow at my frequent use of the
word “whilst” in this article. This word sounds very archaic and old-timey to American ears,
but it lives on in the U.K. as a synonym of “while”.

The verb “to reckon” is also alive and well in the British Isles, while in the U.S. it’s not
really used anymore, except stereotypically by rural moonshine-drinking folks from the
South: ”I reckon this here town ain’t big enough for the both of us!” Then again, I find it weird
when Americans say “I wish I would have”. This construction sounds just plain wrong to me.
In England we say “I wish I had”.

Where do you go to buy alcohol? In the U.S. it's probably a liquor store, but in Blighty
(that means Britain) it's more likely to be at the off-licence, so named because it's licensed to
sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, as opposed to a bar where you can both buy
alcohol and drink it in the same building. After a visit to the off-licence (or “offy”, where I'm
from), a Brit might get pissed, which means “angry” to an American but “drunk” to us.

Another American synonym for “angry” is “mad”, but in the U.K. that word exclusively
means “crazy” – which caused confusion recently when Bill Clinton described British
politician Jeremy Corbyn as “the maddest person in the room”. In context it was clear that
Clinton had meant “angry”, but many British commentators misinterpreted the statement as a
comment on Corbyn's mental health.

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 CHAPTER III
CLOSING
A. Conclusion
From this paper we can get the conclusion that every language has the different
of characteristic and cultural, such as accent, slang word, idiom, spelling,
pronounciation, etc. For example, American language has slang word that we can’t find
in British. Some American culture in communication is different with British Culture
in communication.

B. Suggestion
we have to a practice and apply these languages daily and we dominate both of
them. The ways make us to be master in those languages.

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 REFERENCES

Algeo, Jhon. 2006. A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns. New York: Cambridge
University Press.

Darragh, Glen. 2000. A Guide To The Differences Between British and American English.
Spain: Editorial Stanley.

Nugroho, Satrio. Practical Complete English Grammar. Jakarta: Kartika

https://www.google.co.id/amp/s/amp.livesscience.com/21478-what-is-culture-defenition-
ofculture.html

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/amp/english/language

http://africa.peacelink.org/wajibu/articles/art_485.html

https://id.wikihow.com/Berbicara-Bahasa-Inggris-Amerika

http://www.antimoon.com/terms/british_english.htm

https://www.fluentin3months.com/speak-english-like-the-english/

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