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American English and British English differences.

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American English and British English differences. 1. Introduction 2.American English and British English differences. 2.1.Spelling 2.2.Pronunciation 2.3.Vocabulary 2 ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: American English and British English differences.


1
American English and British English differences.
2
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2.American English and British English
    differences.
  • 2.1.Spelling
  • 2.2.Pronunciation
  • 2.3.Vocabulary
  • 2.4.Grammar
  • 2.5.Conclusion
  • 3.The differences in business cultures
  • 4.Conclusion

3
Spelling
  • British English

  • Centre
  • Theatre
  • Realise
  • Catalogue
  • Programme
  • Travelled
  • Neighbour
  • Grey
  • Plough
  • To practise
  • Practise
  • cheque
  • American English
  • Center
  • Theater
  • Realize
  • Catalog
  • Program
  • Traveled
  • Neighbor
  • Gray
  • Plow
  • To practice
  • Practice
  • Check

4
Pronunciation
  • British English
  • advErtisement
  • dEtalis
  • American English
  • Advertisement
  • detAIls

5
Vocabulary
  • British English
  • Lift
  • Boot
  • Autumm
  • Litter
  • Crossroad
  • Trousers
  • American English
  • Elevator
  • Trunk
  • Fall
  • Garbage
  • Crossing
  • Pants

6
Grammar
  • The differences in American and British grammar
    are as small and few as holds true for both
    versions of their lexicon. Still, here are some
    of them

7
Grammar
  • Use of the Present PerfectIn
    British English the present perfect is used to
    express an action that has occurred in the recent
    past that has an effect on the present moment.
  • In British English the above would be considered
    incorrect. However, both forms are generally
    accepted in standard American English. Other
    differences involving the use of the present
    perfect in British English and simple past in
    American English include "already", "just" and
    "yet".

8
Grammar.Possession
  • There are two forms to express possession in
    English. -- "have" or "have got
  • "Do you have a computer?" "Have you got a
    computer?" "She hasnt got any hobbies." "She
    doesnt have any hobbies." "She has an
    interesting new book." "Shes got an interesting
    new book.
  • While both forms are correct (and accepted in
    both British and American English), "have got"
    ("have you got", "he hasnt got", etc.) is
    generally the preferred form in British English
    while most speakers of American English use the
    "have" ("do you have", "he doesnt have" etc.)

9
Present Progressive (also known as Present
Continuous)There are some verbs in British
English that cannot be used in the Present
Progressive while in American English they can.
Here are two examples
  • British English
  • "I like this conversation more and more.
  • "I remember this quite clearly."
  • American English
  • "Im liking this conversation more and more.
  • "Im remembering this quite clearly."

10
AdverbsAmericans tend to use
adjectives instead of adverbs. Instead of "Thats
really good" you might hear them say "Thats real
good" or instead of "Im doing very well" they
say "Im doing pretty good".
  • British English
  • He did that really quickly.
  • Lets take things slowly.
  • Her car drives more quickly.
  • American English
  • He did that real quick.
  • Lets take things slow.
  • Her car drives quicker.

11

Plurals
  • British English
  • types of accommodation
  • types of food
  • a lot of fruit
  • strands of hair
  • American English
  • Accommodation
  • Foods
  • many foods
  • hairs

12
Conclusion
  • British and American English are more similar
    than they are different.
  • In the past people learning a new language didn't
    pay much attention to the cultural aspects of the
    country in question. Nowadays, however, it is
    much more common for language courses to
    specifically look at the cultural aspects of a
    given country when teaching the language.
  • This is especially important when it comes to
    communicating in business terms and it can also
    make it far easier when visiting a foreign
    country. The fact is that it is no longer good
    enough to learn a language and then to simply
    translate what needs to be said directly from
    English -- it's also important to understand the
    cultural aspects of a language before it can be
    used correctly.

13
The differences in business cultures
  • Business people working in foreign countries will
    find it far easier to do business successfully if
    they take the time to learn appropriate
    languages. Fluency is good to have but is not
    vital -- the majority of foreigners will simply
    appreciate the courtesy and effort that has gone
    into beginning to learn the language. It is,
    after all, a lot easier when a foreign
    businessman takes some time to learn business
    English.Learning a foreign language helps
    people understand how other cultures work. For
    example, dealing with certain nationalities can
    be a lot different than dealing with your own.
    The Chinese, for example, like to build up
    long-term relationships, don't like to lose
    'face' and find it hard to actually say no. So,
    taking the time to learn the language here makes
    it far easier to negotiate the 'maybe', 'perhaps'
    and 'we'll see' culture and to understand what
    the answers given will actually mean.

14
Conclusion
  • English is a very compact language. The average
    English word for example is shorter than its
    German equivalent. That's because English verbs,
    nouns and adjectives don't have endings. But
    don't forget the Present Tense that has the
    letter "s" for the third person as in "he
    speaks". Also, there are many more English words
    containing only 3 or 4 letters than in the German
    language for example.
  • There is almost no declension and no
    conjugation in the English language which makes
    it much easier for someone who is learning the
    language to form simple sentences that are
    grammatically correct.

15
  • There are 19 German equivalents to the possessive
    adjective "your".
  • There is only one definite article in the
    English language whereas in German there are
    three.
  • Most words in English have several meanings. This
    can be an advantage for learners as you can
    convey different meanings using the same word in
    a different context. On the other hand this might
    cause confusion especially for beginners.
  • The English language contains a lot of
    homophones. These are words that have the same
    pronunciation but are spelled differently. Of
    course they have different meanings.

16
In English all nouns are spelled with small
letters. Exceptions are
  • proper names
  • the days of the week
  • the personal pronoun "I"
  • the names of the months
  • titles, positions and greetings such as Mr, Mrs,
    Dr, Director of Marketing, CEO, etc.

17
Thank you.
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