英语专业论文外文翻译.docx

1、英语专业论文外文翻译1. IntroductionAmerica is one of the countries that speak English. Because of the special North American culture, developing history and the social environment, American English has formed its certain unique forms and the meaning. Then it turned into American English that has the special f

2、eatures of the United States.American English which sometimes also called United English or U.S English is the form of the English language that used widely in the United States .As the rapid development of American economy, and its steady position and strong power in the world, American English has

3、 become more and more widely used. As in 2005, more than two-thirds of English native speakers use various forms of American English. The philologists of the United States had divided the English of the United States into four major types: “American creating”; “Old words given the new meaning”; “Wor

4、ds that eliminated by English”; “The phonetic foreign phrases and the languages that are not from the English immigrates”1.Compared to the other languages, American English is much simple on word spelling, usage and grammar, and it is one of the reasons that American English is so popular in the wor

5、ld.The thesis analyzes the differences between American English and British English. With the main part, it deals with the development of American English, its peculiarities compared to that of British English, its causes and tendency.2. Analyses the DifferencesAs we English learners, when we learni

6、ng English in our junior or senior school, we already came across some words that have different spellings, different pronunciations or different expressions, which can be represented by following contrasted words: spellings in color vs. colour; pronunciations in sec-re-ta-ry vs. sec-re-try; express

7、ions in first floor equals to the ground floor. With the above words, the former represents American English, and the latter represents British English. They are not errors but just the differences between the two languages.To be consistent in the use of English, and more importantly, to be understo

8、od easily, there is a need for the nonnative speaker to know that which words have distinct meanings and pronunciations depending on whether they are used by a Briton or an American. This is necessary not only for the sake of communication, but also for avoiding embarrassment. Many differences exist

9、 between American English and British English we have already knew. However, there are still many differences that we are not familiar with. In this part, the author will analyze the differences in several categories like spelling, pronunciation, grammar, usage and so on. 2.1 Spelling There are many

10、 differences between British English and American English in terms of spelling. After analysis by some linguists, it is said that the American English has a different tendency in pronounce, according to economical and phonetic standards. American spelling tends to reflect pronunciation, and British

11、spelling tends to reflect grammatical or historical implications as well. Letters that not needed are being kicked out, and words are spelled as how they sound. The following examples can explain this. With our in words of British English like colour, humour, flavour, etc. are changed to or in the e

12、quivalent words of American English, like color, humor, flavor, etc. With the pronounce letter u being kicked out. Words ending with -re in British English are changed to - er in American English. According to its pronunciation, like centre and metre in British English, but center and meter in Ameri

13、can English. More examples are as follows: (with the former is American English and the latter is British English)2 center centre; check (money) cheque; color colour; curb kerb; gray grey; honor honour; inquire enquire; jail gaol; jewelry jewellery; labor labour; organization organization.2.2 Pronun

14、ciation differences There are of course great regional differences in pronunciation within both countries. For instance, basket，the word “a” in after、class and basket pronounce in American English，but : in British English.(The following examples mentioned all come from Oxford Advanced Learners Engli

15、sh Chinese Dictionary)(1) There is hw that correspond with w in American English. such as which，white，when，why. In British English :wit，wait，wen，wai，but in American English : hwit，hwait，hwen，hwai.(2)There is r behind the vowel in American English ，such as: far，poor. In British English: fa:，pu，but in

16、 American English: far，pur，hir.(3)In British English l pronounces surd before the vowel, (clearl)，and pronounces mix(混音) behind the vowel (darkl)；However, in American English, no word pronounces l. For instance，like, filling, till，well.(4) When the phonetic symbol t appears between the two vowels an

17、d behind the accentuation or between the voiced consonant and the vowel, it will pronounce d. Such as city: sidi.2.3Vocabulary differences The average use of the total English vocabulary, the number of words which are used only in one or the other country is very small, but the problem for learners

18、of English is that these words are among the most common in the language. There are many words that are used almost exclusively by Americans, which are understood by most Britons, and vice versa. But there are others that can cause difficulty. For example, most Britons know that Americans call biscu

19、its cookies and flats apartments, but not so many know what an alumnus or a fender is. Similarly, Americans know that what they call their yard is called a garden in Britain and that trucks are Lorries, but common British English words like pistols or off-license may mean nothing to them. 2.3.1Same

20、meaning, different wordsThe majority of the significance in glossary between American English and British English is identical, but there still exists some difference. For example, the same thing can be expressed by different words in both languages. The following examples are typical.American Engli

21、sh: British English: bathroom，toilet, W.C./or loo; closet, cupboard; corn ,maize; drugstore, chemists; gas/ gasoline , petrol; line , queue; oven , cooker; round-trip ticket , return ticket; suspenders , braces; truck , lorry;underpass , subway; undershirt , vest; vacation, holiday; etc. 42.3.2. Sam

22、e words, different meaningThe identical word expresses the different meaning between British English and American English. For example:Word American English British English rubber condom Tool used to erase pencil markings date appointment day dresser A wardrobe assistant cupboard2.4 Grammar British

23、English and American English grammar are the same in most sense; there are however some interesting variations. For example, there are differences in certain verb forms. In American English, the past tense of fit is fit; in British English, it is fitted. Americans say Ive gotten to know her well; wh

24、ile British: Ive got to know her well. Other differences involved the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet. British English: Ive just had lunch Ive already seen that film Have you finished your homework yet? American English:

25、 I just had lunch OR Ive just had lunch Ive already seen that film OR I already saw that film. Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet? As another example, Americans are much more likely to be technically correct in the agreement of collective noun and verb form tha

26、n Britons. So in standard American English it would be: The team is playing well this season whereas in British English, it is common and acceptable to say the team are playing well. Similar differences can be seen in the use of words like government, committee etc.: The government is. (American Eng

27、lish). The government are (British English). 2.5 Usage There are countless other small and interesting differences between American English and British English, which come under the heading of usage. Take the useful expression used in American English through, means up to and including. e.g. The exh

28、ibition is showing March through June. The equivalent expression in British English is from March to June, but this is ambiguous. Does the exhibition close at the end of May or the end of June? To avoid any misunderstanding, it is necessary to say something like: The exhibition is showing from March

29、 to the end of June. As another example: for Americans, the number billion has 9 zeros (a thousand million); for most Britons it has 12 zeros (a million million). Zero itself is a more common word in American English than in British English, where naught is more widespread. Americans say the number

30、453 as four hundred fifty three, whereas in Britain it would be said four hundred and fifty three. Time expressing also is different, and may cause confusion like 4/12/1981(month first) in the USA and 12/4/1981 (day first) in the UK.2.6 The causes of the differences At first there were no distinctio

31、ns between British English and American English known to us in the development of contemporary English. But later in the 20th century, America emerged to be a great power and began to participate the practice of the world affairs. During the World War II, America demonstrated a great strength in the

32、 leadership of the world in world various forums. And after the world war, America emerged to be one of the only two superpowers in the world. Thus and thus, the distinctive ways Americans spoken, wrote was being analyzed, studied or learned by the people of other countries, including even British. What are the causes that led to American English distinctive from British English? Or we may say exactly were there any cha