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1、EnglishLanguage:AmericanorBritishBeingthepaternallanguageoftheothernativeEnglishes(CanadianEnglish,AustralianEnglish,NewZealandEnglishandSouthAfricanEnglish),BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishtodayarethetwomainEnglishlanguagesoftheEnglish-speakingworld.Althoughtoomanyhasalreadybeensaidoverhowthescope,
2、thetypes,andthepossibleeffectsoftheinconsistencybetweenthetwokindswillbeinthefuture,thequarrelontheissuehasnotcometoanendatall.ThecoverofthejournalForumXXVII,No3,July1989,recallingthetopicandprovidesaresearchofevidenceofthedifferencebetweenthetwokindsofEnglishoverthecenturies.NoahWebster(inDissertat
3、ionsontheEnglishLanguage)claimedthatafurtherincompatibilityoftheAmericanlanguagefromtheEnglishnecessaryandinevitable.Healsopredictedthat“NorthAmericanEnglishwouldeventuallybeasdifferentfromBritishasDutch,DanishandSwedisharefromGermanorfromoneanother”.MarkTwain(inTheStolenWhiteElephant)thoughtAmerica
4、nandBritishEnglishtobedifferentlanguagesanddeclaredthattheformer,spoken“initsutmostpurity”,cannotbeunderstoodbyanEnglishpeopleatall.ThisattitudewaspreviouslyexpressedbyCaptainThomasHamilton(inMenandMannersinAmerica).Hesaidthat“inanothercentury,thedialectoftheAmericanswillbecomeutterlyunintelligiblet
5、oanEnglishman.”Authorsofthetwentiethcenturyholdentirelydifferentattitudetowardthoseofthepreviouscenturies,theytendtohaveamuchmoredistinctivefeelingofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglish.Thus,MitfordM.Mathews(fromBeginningsofAmericanEnglish)seesthetwokindstobe“sooverwhelminglyalike.”ForStephenLea
6、cock(fromHowtoWrite),“ThereisnotthefaintestchanceofthereeverbeinganAmericanlanguageasapartfromEnglish.”RandolphQuirk(inTheNewYorkTimesMagazine),believesthat,”eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanyabsoluteBritishandAmericandistinctions”;QuirkclaimedthatevenNoahWebster,afterfruitlessyear
7、sintryingtocreatea“linguisticgulf”,“cametorealizethatinallessentialsBritainsandAmericansspokethesamelanguage”.AlbertH.MarckwardtandRandolphQuirklatelyexpressedtheirconclusionthattheyconsiderBritishEnglishandAmericanasthesameintheirbookACommonLanguage:BritishandAmericanEnglish.ItsIntroductionwhichisa
8、nexcerptfromthebookreadsthat“ThetwovarietiesofEnglishhaveneverbeensodifferentaspeoplehaveimagined,andthedominanttendency,forseveraldecadesnow,hasbeenthatofconvergenceandevengreatersimilarities.”ThepresentbooksarguesthatthisgrowingviewofsamenessbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishgiveouttheriskofneglecti
9、ngtheexistenceofsomesignificantdifferenceswhoseimpactincertaindomainsoflifeshouldnotbeoverlooked.ButbeforelookingintotheproblemswhicharisefromthedifferencesbetweenthetwoEnglishes,IwillgiveabackgroundshowingthedevelopmentprocessofthestatusofAmericanEnglishintheworld,itsinfluenceandexpansionandanalyze
10、itscausesofgrowing.1.ThedevelopmentandpopularityofAmericanEnglishLongafteritsintroductionintotheNewWorld,AmericanEnglishwasstillconsiderednon-standardEnglish.Mr.Kahanepointedoutthataccordingtosomepeopleofthe1780sAmericanEnglishwasthe“underdog”orapeasantslanguagethata“gentleman”willnotspeak.Considere
11、dinabilingualpointofview,BritishEnglishwasthedominantlanguagelinkedtoprestigeand(linguistic)purism.ThebeliefintheauthorityorsayinthesuperiorofBritishEnglish,hasmaintainedtothetwentiethcentury,especiallyintheformerBritishEmpireorinthefieldsofBritishinfluence.Thus,itisreportedthatinChina,teachersandsc
12、hooltextbooksrefertoandrecommendReceivedPronunciationasthemodel,aswellasstandardBritishsyntax,spellingandlexis.BritishEnglishisalsoencouragedandacceptedasthecriteriaofsomemajorofficialexaminations,forexample,CollegeEnglishTestandTestforEnglishMajorswhichareconductedbygovernment.Similarsituationscoul
13、dbefoundinothercountries,forexample,inAfrica,theWestAfricanExaminationCouncilandJointAdmissionandMatriculationBoardaccepttheBritishEnglishasthestandardEnglish.ReportcanalsobefoundthatinCairo,asrecentlyas1984,someuniversitystudentsreceivedlowergradesiftheyusedAmericanspellingsinsteadofBritish.Modiano
14、wrotethatinEurope,“wefindteachers,Britishpeopleaswellasnativesofthecountryinwhichtheywork,whofollowtheBritishEnglishstandard,andscorntheAmericanEnglish”.Howevertheaboveattitudesarenothingbutthelastinfluenceofalong-goneperiodofBritishsupremacy.AccordingtoCampbellandothers,thebeginningofadistinctleado
15、fAmericanEnglishcanbetracedtothedecadesafterWorldWarII.ThiscoincideswiththesimultaneousriseoftheUSasamilitaryandtechnologicalpowerandthedeclineoftheBritishEmpire,whichdrovemanytoAmericanEnglish.Andfromthenon,AmericanEnglishhascontinuouslysentitsinfluencetoeverycorneroftheplanet.BritainmadeEnglishani
16、nternationallanguageinthenineteenthcenturywithitsimperialismpower,butAmericanshavebeenthedrivingforcebehinditsglobalizationinthetwentiethcentury.AgreatdealofexamplesoftheinfluenceofAmericanEnglishcanbefoundinalargequantityofcurrentbooks,magazines,movies.AccordingtoFoster,thepopularityofAmericanismam
17、ongtheyounggenerationinBritainis“thehall-markofthetough-guyandthehe-man”.AfterreviewingthepresenceofAmericanEnglishfeaturesintheBritishvarietyofEnglishitself,AwonusigivesagreatdealofexamplesofAmericanizedEnglishinphonologyandlexisthathehasidentifiedco-exitinginhisownNigerianEnglish.Modianoreportstha
18、t,despitetheinfluenceofexpertEnglishteachersfromBritain,Europeans“aresubjectedtoamassiveamountofAmericanEnglish”,whichmanystudentsaremuchmoreinterestedin.CampbellsexamplesoftheinfluenceofAmericanEnglishincludethefactthatyoungpeopleinEuropeAccordingtoCampbellsestimate,70%oftheroughly350millionnativeE
19、nglishspeakersspeaktheAmericanversionofEnglish.Infact,thepopulationsofthetwoleadingmothertongueEnglishcountriesareevenmoresuggestive:TheUnitedStateshasapopulationofabout260millionwhilethereisonlyabout55millioninBritain.ThisseeminglygivestheAmericanEnglishmuchmoreadvantage.Thecausesoftheunprecedented
20、expansionofAmericanEnglishinclude,asstatedabove,thepost-WorldWarIImilitaryandtechnologicaladvancement.Theyarefordemographic,politicalreasons,orhavetodowiththecomputerandtheinternet,themassmedia,trade,thePeaceCorps,andimmigrationpolicies:Thelastfewdecadeshavewitnessedanever-increasingpoliticaldominat
21、ionofAmericaontheplanet.Thisstatuswasfurtherreinforcedinthelate1980sbythefallofcommunism,whichresultedintheUSpenetratingandconsolidatingitspositioninformerlysocialistterritories.TheleadoftheUSinthecomputerandInternetindustryhaslongbeenestablished.ThatBillGatesandothercomputergeniusesareAmericans,the
22、ycreateeverythingbyAmericanism.AsaconsequenceoftheUSdominationofcomputerindustry,thefavoredlanguageofthisindustryisAmericanEnglish,whichforcepeoplewhouseAmericancomputerhardwareandsoftwaretoaccepttheAmericanEnglish,eitherconsciouslyorunconsciously.Americanradioandtelevisionnetworksarespreadalloverth
23、eworld.Campbellreportsthat,asrecentlyas1993,theUnitedStatescontrolled75%oftheworldstelevisionprogramming,“beamingSesameStreettoLagos,Nigeria,forexample”.TheVoiceofAmericaandCNNhavenocompetitorsallovertheworldover.TradewiththeUShassteadilyriseninvolumeoverthepastfewyears,eveninterritoriesformerlycont
24、rolledbyBritainandconsideredbymanypeopletobecountofboundstoAmerica.Forexample,theUSisoneofNigeriasmainpartnersinthecrudeoilbusiness.ThePeaceCorps,foundedbyPresidentJ.F.Kennedyin1962,hasbeenamajorcauseofemigrationofAmericanstovariouspartsoftheThirdWorld.ThePeaceCorpsvolunteershavebeenworkinginthemedi
25、calsector,inagriculture,andverysignificantlyinEnglishlanguageteaching,leavingconsiderableinfluenceofAmericanEnglishaftertheirreturningback.ThestrictimmigrationlawsofBritain,coupledwiththeallegedinhospitalityoftheBritish,haveoflatedivertedtoAmericastudentsandpeoplefromvariouspartsoftheworldseekingasu
26、bstituteplacetheUnitedStates.ThechainreactionofthisfactorhasresultedinmuchmoremigrationtotheUS.ForpeopleholdthesensethattheytendtofindhelpfromfriendsandrelativeslivingintheStates.Therecentpolicy,enactedbytheUS,ofthevisaprogramto“recruit”50,000newimmigrantstotheStateseachyearhasaddedtotheattempttomig
27、ranttotheUS.Thelong-termreactionofthelargemigrationtotheStatesontheAmericanizationofEnglishinnativeToldaboveisthestoryofthebabyversionofaEnglishlanguagethathasgrownandisthreateningtoshakethedominationofthemotherlanguage.Thisphenomenoncouldhardlybeenseenelsewhere.NeitherthecasewithCanadian,BelgianorS
28、wissFrenchinrelationtotheFrenchofFrance,norwithLatinAmericanSpanishorPortugueseinrelationtotheSpanishorPortugueseofSpainorPortugal,respectively.Thespeaker,andespeciallythelearner,ofEnglishisnowfacedwiththetaskofmanagingtheco-existenceofthetwocompetinglanguages.Theyare,however,notproblem-free. Thepro
29、blemsItisoversimplifiedtosay,likeM.Mathewsintheintroductionabove,thatAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishare“sooverwhelminglyalike”or,likeQuirkequallycitedabove,that“eveninmattersofpronunciation,itisdifficulttofindmanyBritishandAmericanabsolutedistinctions”.ItreallydependshereonwhatquantityQuirkconsider
30、stobemany.Already,thelistofpronunciationdifferencesthatheandMarckwardtthemselvesgiveaffectshundredsofwords,whichcanbeconsideredtobemajor,byanystandard.Qualitatively,too,thedifferencesareimportant.Learnersallovertheworldwillsurelyagreewithme,forexample,thatthefollowingdifferencesarequiteconfusing:Bri
31、tishEnglishanti,multi;semi;dosail,futail;lesure,fertail,leftenant,got,pottervsAmericanEnglishantai-,multai,semai;dosl,fertl;li:sure,lutenant,ga:t,pa:tter.Andtherearemanyothersuchcontrasts,Inlexisandgrammer,wecanalsofindmanydistinctcontrastswithanobviousincidenceoncommunication,aswillbeshownlater.Dif
32、ferencesbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishdonotmatterwhenthespeakerorwriterisfamiliarwiththetwocodesandcaneasilyfindinhis/herownvarietycorrespondencestofeaturesfromtheothervariety.Butconfusion,embarrassmentorsheerincomprehensionwillariseinmanydaily-lifesituationswhenthelistenerorreaderwhoisnotfamiliar
33、withtheothervariety.GoodillustrationscomefromyourPCinthiscomputerage:whereyourspellingchecker,basedonAmericanEnglish,identifiesclour,centre,dialogue,civilise,towards,defence,enclose,travelledfromyourtextasincorrectlyspelt,youneedtobefamiliarwiththetwovarietiestoknowthatyourspellingcheckerexpectsAmer
34、icanspellingswhicharecolor,center,dialog,civilize,toward,defense,inclose,traveled.(IfyourtextisinBritishEnglishyouwillsimplyclick“ignore”andmoveon.)KnowledgeofthetwovarietiesisequallyimportantintheclassroomforthestudentsandteachersHe/shewillbeallthemorepenalizedassomefeaturesinonevarietymayclearlyvi
35、olatethegrammaroftheothervariety.ManyAmericanchangesofcategoriesobservedinsomecasesareinoutrightviolationofBritishEnglishgrammar.Forexample,accommodationbecomescountable(e.g.Goodaccommodationsarerare);someirregularverbsbecomeregular(e.g.broadcasted,shined);someregularverbsbecomeirregular(snuckoutfor
36、BritishEnglishsneakedout);someintransitiveverbsbecometransitive(e.g.TheplanedepartedNewYork;Weprotestedthesalarycuts);sometransitiveverbsbecomeintransitive(e.g.IvisitedwithmyfriendsforBritishEnglishIvisitedmyfriends):someadjectivesmaybeusedasadverbs(e.g.Itsrealnice).OthermajorviolationsofBritishEngl
37、ishsyntaxareseeninusagessuchas:AisdifferentthanB,wherethanisusedwithoutthecorrespondinger/moreorlessrequiredforcomparatives;inSusanwantsout,whereawholeverbanditsprecedingparticle(togo)areomitted;inlikeIsaidwherelike,insteadofBritishEnglishas,introducesaclause;inIwantforyoutogo,wherethereisamajorintr
38、usionofapreposition;inHelookedoutthewindow,wherethereisamajordeletionofapreposition;inHejustleft,where,despitetheclearfactthatapastactionhassomerelevancetothepresent,thepresentperfectisnotused.Andsoon.AninformalsurveyrecentlycarriedoutamongteachersofEnglishwhohadbeenworkingforlong,showedthat,althoug
39、htheydeclaredthattheyreadilyacceptedAmericanEnglish,theywouldconsidertheaboveAmericanEnglishusages,andmanymoreasincorrect.AlltheyknowofAmericanEnglishisorforour(e.g.color),-izeforise,centerforcentreandsimilarminorandcommondifferences.Theproblemofmultiplestandardsisaggravatedincountrieslikethoseofthe
40、formerBritishEmpirewhereindigenizedvarietiesofEnglishhavealreadyestablishedthemselvesathoritivelyaslocalstandards.There,theintrusionofAmericanEnglishaddstothealreadyexistingconflictandcompetitionbetweenBritishEnglishandthelocalforms.Awonusi(1994)aptlydescribesthisphenomenoninNigeria.Whatsmore,otherc
41、ountries,likeChina,faceasimilarsituation.InChinaEnglishforexample,themostinterestingmanifestationofthistriplescaleiswhenalocalEnglishformestablishesitself,anddiffersfromboththeestablishedBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishforms.Forexample,yourelaxinasittingroominBritain,alivingroominAmericaandaparlourinChina;youfillinforminBritain,filloutaformintheUSandfillaforminChina.Phonologyoffersmanymoreofsuchsystematiccontrasts.Inadditiontoproblemsofcorrectnessdiscussedabove,thedivergencesbetweenAmericanandBritishEnglishraisedproblemsofintelligibil