BeingthepaternallanguageoftheothernativeEnglishes(CanadianEnglish,AustralianEnglish,NewZealandEnglishandSouthAfricanEnglish),BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishtodayarethetwomainEnglishlanguagesoftheEnglish-speakingworld.Althoughtoomanyhasalreadybeensaidoverhowthescope,thetypes,andthepossibleeffectsoftheinconsistencybetweenthetwokindswillbeinthefuture,thequarrelontheissuehasnotcometoanendatall.
ThecoverofthejournalForumXXVII,No3,July1989,recallingthetopicandprovidesaresearchofevidenceofthedifferencebetweenthetwokindsofEnglishoverthecenturies.NoahWebster(inDissertationsontheEnglishLanguage)claimedthatafurtherincompatibilityoftheAmericanlanguagefromtheEnglishnecessaryandinevitable.Healsopredictedthat“NorthAmericanEnglishwouldeventuallybeasdifferentfromBritishasDutch,DanishandSwedisharefromGermanorfromoneanother”.MarkTwain(inTheStolenWhiteElephant)thoughtAmericanandBritishEnglishtobedifferentlanguagesanddeclaredthattheformer,spoken“initsutmostpurity”,cannotbeunderstoodbyanEnglishpeopleatall.ThisattitudewaspreviouslyexpressedbyCaptainThomasHamilton(inMenandMannersinAmerica).Hesaidthat“inanothercentury,thedialectoftheAmericanswillbecomeutterlyunintelligibletoanEnglishman.”
Authorsofthetwentiethcenturyholdentirelydifferentattitudetowardthoseofthepreviouscenturies,theytendtohaveamuchmoredistinctivefeeling&nbs
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p;ofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglish.Thus,MitfordM.Mathews(fromBeginningsofAmericanEnglish)seesthetwokindstobe“sooverwhelminglyalike.”ForStephenLeacock(fromHowtoWrite),“ThereisnotthefaintestchanceofthereeverbeinganAmericanlanguageasapartfromEnglish.”RandolphQuirk(inTheNewYorkTimesMagazine),believesthat,”eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanyabsoluteBritishandAmericandistinctions”;QuirkclaimedthatevenNoahWebster,afterfruitlessyearsintryingtocreatea“linguisticgulf”,“cametorealizethatinallessentialsBritainsandAmericansspokethesamelanguage”.AlbertH.MarckwardtandRandolphQuirklatelyexpressedtheirconclusionthattheyconsiderBritishEnglishandAmericanasthesameintheirbookACommonLanguage:BritishandAmericanEnglish.It’sIntroductionwhichisanexcerptfromthebookreadsthat“ThetwovarietiesofEnglishhaveneverbeensodifferentaspeoplehaveimagined,andthedominanttendency,forseveraldecadesnow,hasbeenthatofconvergenceandevengreatersimilarities.”
ThepresentbooksarguesthatthisgrowingviewofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishgiveouttheriskofneglectingtheexistenceofsomesignificantdifferenceswhoseimpactincertaindomainsoflifeshouldnotbeoverlooked.ButbeforelookingintotheproblemswhicharisefromthedifferencesbetweenthetwoEnglishes,IwillgiveabackgroundshowingthedevelopmentprocessofthestatusofAmericanEnglishintheworld,itsinfluenceandexpansionandanalyzeit’scausesofgrowing.
1.Thedevelopment&nbs
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p;andpopularityofAmericanEnglish
LongafteritsintroductionintotheNewWorld,AmericanEnglishwasstillconsiderednon-standardEnglish.Mr.Kahanepointedoutthataccordingtosomepeopleofthe1780sAmericanEnglishwasthe“underdog”orapeasant’slanguagethata“gentleman”willnotspeak.Consideredinabilingualpointofview,BritishEnglishwasthedominantlanguagelinkedtoprestigeand(linguistic)purism.ThebeliefintheauthorityorsayinthesuperiorofBritishEnglish,hasmaintainedtothetwentiethcentury,especiallyintheformerBritishEmpireorinthefieldsofBritishinfluence.Thus,itisreportedthatinChina,teachersandschooltextbooksrefertoandrecommendReceivedPronunciationasthemodel,aswellasstandardBritishsyntax,spellingandlexis.BritishEnglishisalsoencouragedandacceptedasthecriteriaofsomemajorofficialexaminations,forexample,CollegeEnglishTestandTestforEnglishMajorswhichareconductedbygovernment.Similarsituationscouldbefoundinothercountries,forexample,inAfrica,theWestAfricanExaminationCouncilandJointAdmissionandMatriculationBoardaccepttheBritishEnglishasthestandardEnglish.ReportcanalsobefoundthatinCairo,asrecentlyas1984,someuniversitystudentsreceivedlowergradesiftheyusedAmericanspellingsinsteadofBritish.ModianowrotethatinEurope,“wefindteachers,Britishpeopleaswellasnativesofthecountryinwhichtheywork,whofollowtheBritishEnglishstandard,andscorntheAmericanEnglish”.
Howevertheaboveattitudesarenothingbutthelastinfluenceofalong-goneperiodof&n
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bsp;Britishsupremacy.AccordingtoCampbellandothers,thebeginningofadistinctleadofAmericanEnglishcanbetracedtothedecadesafterWorldWarII.ThiscoincideswiththesimultaneousriseoftheUSasamilitaryandtechnologicalpowerandthedeclineoftheBritishEmpire,whichdrovemanytoAmericanEnglish.Andfromthenon,AmericanEnglishhascontinuouslysentitsinfluencetoeverycorneroftheplanet.
BritainmadeEnglishaninternationallanguageinthenineteenthcenturywithitsimperialismpower,butAmericanshavebeenthedrivingforcebehinditsglobalizationinthetwentiethcentury.AgreatdealofexamplesoftheinfluenceofAmericanEnglishcanbefoundinalargequantityofcurrentbooks,magazines,movies.AccordingtoFoster,thepopularityofAmericanismamongtheyounggenerationinBritainis“thehall-markofthetough-guyandthehe-man”.AfterreviewingthepresenceofAmericanEnglishfeaturesintheBritishvarietyofEnglishitself,AwonusigivesagreatdealofexamplesofAmericanizedEnglishinphonologyandlexisthathehasidentifiedco-exitinginhisownNigerianEnglish.Modianoreportsthat,despitetheinfluenceofexpertEnglishteachersfromBritain,Europeans“aresubjectedtoamassiveamountofAmericanEnglish”,whichmanystudentsaremuchmoreinterestedin.Campbell’sexamplesoftheinfluenceofAmericanEnglishincludethefactthatyoungpeopleinEurope,AsiaandRussiauseitindailyconversation,evenwhenmanyofthemhavebeentaughtBritishEnglish.InBrazil,peopledemandforcoursesinAmericanstyleratherthanBritish.ThisisbecauseAmericanEnglish&nbs 2007-12-05 文章来自《中国免费论文网》英语教学论文论文频道 http://lunwen.52xoyo.com
