Text 5
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
“England and America are two countries divided by a common language.”
Bernard Shaw
1. The form of English in the UK is called British English (BrE), and the form of English in the United States is called American English (AmE). Most linguists consider American English as a dialect of British English. Others think that one day they will become two independent languages. In general, speakers of English everywhere understand one another, but American English and British English are sometimes different.
2. The differences in pronunciation between American and British English are easily detectable, In American English (a:] sounds like [a] — ask, class, [0] sounds ike (Ʌ) — hor, not. Americans pronounce {r] in such words as car, port. In the written form American and English languages are similar, though some differences exist. For example, in America words like colour, honour are spelt without “u”, American also write –er instead of British –re: centre – center, metre – meter. While the British have kept the original spellings of many foreign words, Americans have simplified spellings. Catalogue and programme become catalog and program.
3. Some lexical differences can lead to amusing situations. Did you know that American buildings have no ground floor? This does not mean that you have to jump up ten feet to get into the house. The explanation is simple – what the British call the ground floor Americans call the first floor. Americans say fall, but the British consider this word archaic and use autumn instead. When an Englishman goes on his holidays, an American will go on vacation. An Englishman lives in his flat and an American lives in his apartment. Here are some more differences: