(1) pronouncing the a in such words as ask, brass, can't, class, fast, grass, half, last, and path somewhat like the broad a in father, and lengthening the a sound in such words as bar, dark, far, farm, and heart to a sound somewhat be tween the sound the rest of us pronounce in hat and father (this last a sound is also found in eastern Virginia and elsewhere in the tidewater region). Thus we tease Bostonians for saying "ahnt" (aunt) and "vahz" (vase).
(2) pronouncing the o in such words as box, hot, not, pot, and top with the lips rounded, forming an open o sound. The rest of us tend to pronounce this o more as the broad a sound of father.
(3) omitting, slighting, or shortening some r sounds, thus car, dear, and door sound like "cah," "deah," and "doah" to the rest of us. The broad a sound and the slighted r cause the rest of us to hear "pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd" (park the car in Harvard yard).
Southern dialect could be divided into separate dialects for the upper and lower South or into several smaller dialects, such as the Virginia Tidewater, South Carolina Low Country, local dialects with Charleston and New Orleans as focal points, etc. In general, however, Southern dialect is used south and east of a line drawn along the northern boundary of Maryland and Virginia and the southern boundary of West Virginia,the southern part of Missouri and down through southeastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas. It is characterized by:
(1) the Southern drawl: a slower enunciation than used in the rest of the country, combined with a slow breaking, gliding, or diphthongization of stressed vowels. Thus to the rest of us the Southern class sounds like "clae-is"; yes like "yea-is" or "yea-yis"; fine, I, ride, and time like "fi-ahn," "I-ah," "ri-ahd," anduti-ahm" (these all being long i sounds).
(2) some of this slow dwelling on the vowel sounds weakens the following final consonants, especially d's, Vs, r's, and t's, giving southerners such pronunciations as fin(d), he(l)p, se(l)f, flo(or), mo(re), po(or), yo(ur), bes(t), kep(t). (3) using such terms as the stereotyped Southern honey-chil(d) and you all as well as bucket (for pail), heap (for very), raise (for rear, children), reckon (think, judge), right (for very), snap bean (string bean), spigot (for faucet) and tote (for carry). [9. p.121 ]
General American dialect is spoken in 4/5ths of the nation's area and by 2/3rds of the population, but is still a dialect. It is not called General American because that is what Americans should speak but because it just happens to be the dialect heard in the general regions outside of New England and the South. It is heard in the area which starts as a wedge between New England and the South, in western Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, then broadens out to include West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, northwestern Oklahoma and west Texas, and finally encompasses the entire western half of the country. It actually includes at least four dialects: the North Central, the New York City Metropolitan Area dialect (including parts of Connecticut and New Jersey), the Middle Atlantic, and the Midlands dialect (Philadelphia to the Rockies and the Potomac to New Mexico, sometimes considered as separate Northern Midland and Southern Midland dialects). All these have more in common with each other than with the New England and Southern dialects, so can be grouped together as General American. It is characterized by:
(1) using the short flat a in such words as ask, brass, can't, class, dance, fast, grass, half, last, and path.
(2) sounding the unrounded o in such words as box, hot, lot, not, pot, and top almost as the broad a in father.
(3) the retention of a strong r sound in all positions, as caR, haKd, etc. [9. p.122 ]
Americans are still moving and communicating from one part of the country to another. As easterners and midwesterners continue to move to the Sun Belt (1950s) the local Florida and Texas speech patterns will be diluted; as people continue to leave large cities for small ones and for rural areas, pockets of local dialects will tend to weaken or disappear. Perhaps someday in the future regional dialects will be no more. Then we may have only two dialects, that of educated, urban Americans and that of rural and poor Americans. Such dialects already exist, heard mainly in grammar and usage. [9. p.123 ]
1.3. English vs American
· American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States of America.
· British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom. [3 ]
This subject could, and does, fill many volumes, but the most obvious and representative differences between English English and American English include:
[10. p.202 ]
1.4. Differences in American and English Vocabulary
It's easy to point out the differences between the American and the English vocabulary: the differences seem quaint and there are comparatively so few that Americans can easily spot them. Many of the differences are merely a matter of preference: Americans prefer railroad and store while the English prefer the synonyms railway and shop, but all four words are used in both England and America. In addition, Americans know or can easily guess what braces, fishmonger's, or pram means, just as the English know or can figure out what innerspring mattress, jump rope, and ice water mean. Finally, many of the words that once separated American English from English English no longer do: American cocktail (1806), skyscraper (1833), and supermarket (1920s) are now heard around the world, and the English increasingly use radio, run (in a stocking), and Santa Claus instead of wireless, ladder, and Father Christmas. The following list gives some of the most interesting and typical differences between the American and English vocabulary, differences that may especially interest tourists and those who enjoy both American and English books and movies.
Examples:
airfield—aerodrome.
apartment; apartment house, apartment building ; block of flats (to an Englishman an apartment means a room). Our high-rise apartment (building) is the English tower block (of flats).
barbershop—barber's shop. The English frequently use the possessive -V or -s' where we do not, as in dolts house, ladies' room, and shop.
can opener—tin opener, candy—sweets[10. p.203 ]
There are, of course, hundreds of more terms that differ in American English and British English. American use of prepositions sometimes also differs: Americans live on a street, the English live in it; Americans chat with people, the English chat to them; Americans speak of an increase in something, the English of an increase on it; Americans get snowed in, they get snowed up; Americans say something is different/row something else, the English say it is different to it.
[10. p.210 ]
1.5. Differences in American and English Pronunciation
The major difference in American and English pronunciation is in intonation and voice timbre. Americans speak with less variety of tone than the English. American voice timbre seems harsh or tinny to the English, their's gurgling or throaty to Americans. English conclusion: Americans speak shrilly, monotonously, and like a schoolboy reciting. American conclusion: the English speak too low, theatrically, and swallow their syllables. [2]
The more precise differences include:
Americans pronounce the a in such words as ask, brass, can't, dance, fast, grass, half, last, and path as a short, fiat [a];the English pronounce it more as the broad [a:]in father. American shorter, flatter [a]is just a continuation of the way first colonists from Southern England pronounced it; the English dropped this pronunciation in the 18th century and began to use the broad [a:](this same change took place in parts of New England and the South, giving some Americans the pronunciation of aunt as "ahnt" and vase as "vahz"). [10. p.210]
On the other hand, most Americans sound the short [ o ] in such words as box, hot, lot, not, pot, and top almost as the broad [a: ] in father, while the English (and some New Englanders) give it a more open sound, with the lips rounded.
And some are just unique pronunciations of individual words. Such miscellaneous differences in pronunciations include:
ate, Americans say "eight"—"et" is an accepted English pronunciation.
been, Americans say "bin"—the English say "bean."
clerks- "dark."
either, neither, most Americans say, "e-ther, ne-ther"—"I-ther, ni-
ther" is the English pronunciation.
issue, Americans say "ish-you"—the English say "is-sue."
leisure, most Americans say "le-sure"—the English say "laysure."
lieutenant, Americans say "lew-tenant"—the English say "lef-tenant."
nephew, Americans say "nef-hew"—the English say "nev-hew."
schedule, Americans say "sked-ule"—the English say "shed-ule." [10. p.211 ]
1.6. Differences in American and English Spelling
When the colonists came to America, spelling was not a problem—if a man could write at all he was lucky. English spelling was not yet rule-ridden: i and y, as well as u and v, were often used interchangeably. Not until 135 years after the Pilgrims landed did English spelling have a guide in Dr. Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language. This monumental work froze much of English spelling and, among other things, decreed that such words as critick, loglck, musick, andpublick end in a final k and such words as colour, honour, etc., end in -our. [10. p.212 ]
England, including its colonies, began to follow Johnson's spelling; but, in 1758, three years after Johnson's dictionary was published, Noah Webster was born, in Hartford, Connecticut, and 21 years after Johnson's dictionary the American Revolution began—two events that were to help separate English English and American English. After graduating in law from Yale, Webster couldn't make a living doing legal work, so he became a teacher. He then found English schoolbooks hard to obtain, and unsatisfactory, so he compiled his own three-part Grammatical Institute of the English Language, including an elementary spelling book (in 1783), a grammar (in 1784) and a reader (in 1785). Part I became the fantastically successful The American Spelling Book, which went through edition after edition and sold 80 million copies in its first hundred years, 1783-1883. It was one of the most influential books ever published in America: from the time America became a nation, past the Civil War, and almost into the Gay 90s, generations of Americans learned to spell and pronounce from it, spelling and pronouncing each syllable in every word over and over again under stern teachers. It was known to millions as Webster's Speller, the Blue-Backed Spelling Book (1853) and the Blue-Backed Speller. [10. p.213 ]
Americans are more scrupulous about clearly articulating certain unaccented syllables, especially -ary, -ery, and -ory, and certain ds, gs, hs, Ps, rs (following vowels) and t's than the English. Thus the English say melanchy, monastery, necessary, preparatory, secretary, etc, when Americans fully articulate the final syllables. Also, except in parts of New England and the South, Americans articulate the first l in fulfill, the h in forehead, the r in lord and there, and the final t in trait, rather than pronounce them as the English do: fu'fill, for 'rid, laud, theh, and trai. [10. p.214]
The English are also more conservative in using fewer abbreviations and more capital letters and commas than Americans do. They capitalize such words as the Bar, the Church, the Government, the Press, and Society. By doing away with such capital letters, Americans are closer to the fashion of the 18th century, when the months, the days of the week, and the names of religions were often not capitalized. [10. p.215 ]
Written forms of American English are fairly well standardized across the United States. An unofficial standard for spoken American English has developed because of mass media and of geographic and social mobility. This standard is generally called a General American or Standard Midwestern accent and dialect, and it can typically be heard from network newscasters, although local newscasters tend toward more provincial forms of speech. Despite this unofficial standard, regional variations of American English have not only persisted, but have actually intensified, according to William Labov. [1 ]
Regional dialects in the United States typically reflect the elements of the language of the main immigrant groups in any particular region of the country, especially in terms of pronunciation and vernacular vocabulary. [5 ]
British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world. For instance, the English-speaking members of the Commonwealth often closely follow British English forms while many new American English forms quickly become familiar outside of the United States. [4 ]
Practical part.
Chapter II. Origin of American English words and their cultural background
2. 1. Glimpses of origin of American words
2.2. Animals
Foreigners are charmed with the vivid descriptive names Americans have given their native animals. American settlers combine descriptive words to give many vivid names for the mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and insects—and Americans have continued to name animals by descriptive combinations ever since. [9. p.180 ]
Examples:
bald eagle, 1688, because its white neck and head make it look bald.
This bird was considered our national symbol before its picture
was placed on the Great Seal of the United States in 1785; since
then it has also been called the American eagle, 1798, and the
United States eagle, 1 847. Baltimore oriole, 1771, originally called the Baltimore bird, 1669,because its black and orange colors were those on the coat of arms of Lord Baltimore.
bullfrog, 1698, because it makes a roaring noise like a bull. canvas back, 1782, from the color of its back. [9. p.181 ]
catbird, 1709, because its call resembles the mewing of a cat. Like many words on this list it was originally spelled with a hyphen, cat-bird.
catfish, 1612, the name first recorded by John Smith in Virginia, because of the fish's facial resemblance to a cat, especially its whiskers.
grizzly bear, 1791, because some of the animals have a grizzly or gray color; in fact it's sometimes called the white bear, silver-tipped bear, etc. Shortened to grizzly by the early 1800s.
lightning bug, 1778. The English had called this beetle a glow worm since the 16th century and a firefly since 1658. [9. p.182 ]
There some words denoting the famous American animal which enriches the American English very much. [9. p.66 ]
Buffalo (Portuguese and Spanish bufalo from Greek boufdos, “wild ox”) is, of course, a misnomer, a word Europeans had used for the smaller, weaker Indian and African ox. American buffalo is really the American bison (1796), but De Soto didn't know that when he first called it bufalo in 1544. The word appears in many American combinations, including: