Проектная работа ученицы 10 кл. на тему "Экология британского английского. Проблема выбора при изучении".

Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation

MBGS «Lyceum №3 »

Ecology of the British English.

The problem of choosing when studying

                                                     Pupil: Angelina Lapkayeva, year 10   

                                                        Teacher: Svetlana Petrovna Ruslanova

Vladivostok

2017

           Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………3-4

          2.  Basic part   ……………………………………………………5-14

2.1 History of English language in America

     1) Early Period…………………………………………………

     2) Later Period…………………………………………………

2.2 Differences between American and British English

1)    Differences in writing………………………………………

2)    Differences in Pronunciation ………………………………

3)    Differences in Derivation…………………………………..

4)    Differences in Grammar……………………………………

5)    Differences in Speech………………………………………

2.3 Practical Part…………….………………….…………………

3. Conclusion………………….…………………………………14-16

4. Bibliography………………………………………………….. 17

5. Application……………………………………………………………

                                                 Introduction

           Modern English belongs to the West German group of languages. It is native for 410 million people, not less than 1 billion people speak this language. It’s an official language of Great Britain, the USA, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland. It’s one of the official languages of India and 15 American states. It’s one of the official and working languages of the UK. There are multiple local variations of English in the countries like India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Nigeria and Uganda. Nowadays it’s much spoken about the purity of the national languages and British English as well.                                                                                   It’s interesting to know that in 1979 «The Plain English Company», independent group fighting for plain English in public communication, was founded. It focuses on fighting with pomposity, long and complicated words in the language. There are demands for the official reports to be written intelligibly. Even awards were introduced for the best example of pure English usage «Golden Bull» and the worst – « Foot in Mouth »                                So the issue of my research « Ecology of the British English. The problem of choosing when studying » is of present interest. It’s commonly known that there are two versions of English: British English and American English. While having much in common they are also different in many ways. So learners often come across the problem: which of them to master. I tried to find the answer to this quite actual issue.

    The purpose of my work is to define if American English is considered normal in modern British despite the number of differences I’m going to state

Does American English interfering prevent from purity of British English? That’s the problem to research. In this connection the following items will be observed:                                                                                                    

     -    English language history in America

-         Differences between  British English and American English

-         Practical part / students’ opinions, polls, reviews, graphs.                    To achieve the aim of the research work methods of comparisons and discursive analyses have been used.

         2.1 History of English language in America

I would start with learning the history of the differences between British and American English. The purpose of this chapter is that whether these two languages are different, or it is just a form of one.

English first entered North America in the early seventeenth century, so its history goes back three and a half centuries and is divided into two periods: early (from the beginning of the XVII century until late XVIII century) and late (end of XVIII century to the XX century).

1). Early period

At the beginning of the early period, the English language in America was up to the standards that were adopted in England in the seventeenth century. However, the English pronunciation of that time differed significantly from the modern pronunciation of the language. The changes were either not touched the English language in America, or reflected on it in much smaller degree, in contrast to the English language in Britain.

Let’s take archaisms (old word or turn of phrase, disused). Many of the words in B. E. eventually went out of use. However, they remained in A. E. and are widely used until now. For example, the verb to loan in the sense of to lend dates back to the XIII century. But by the end of the eighteenth century the word began to be considered an Americanism.

However, the greatest interest in the vocabulary represents the variance that is due to the replenishment of the English vocabulary in America. So neologisms – new words, linguistic innovation, were introduced in the language. In numerous neologisms of the XVII – XVIII centuries, the new conditions of the first English colonists’ life in America

 were reflected - words denoting natural conditions, flora and fauna of the American continent:

Moose – moose -американский лось

    Gap- mountain pass -горный проход

    Backwoods –лесная глушь

- vocabulary related to everyday life of the first settlers from England and new ways of farming:

Corndodger – corn tortilla- кукурузная лепешка

Lot – a parcel of land- участок земли

Coleslaw – slaw -шинкованная капуста

- words denoting different realities related to the everyday life of the native inhabitants of the continent - Indians:

          Moccasin – moccasin- мокасин

Medicine man- the shaman of an Indian tribe- шаман индейского племени

Warpath – campaign of the North American Indians. – поход североамериканских индейцев

The addition of the English in America took place in two ways:

a) due to the formation of new words:

most of the new words represented a compound word, formed by:

- "noun + noun": the bull-frog – a bull, the lowing of which resembles a frog croaking- бык, мычание которого напоминает лягушачье кваканье.

b) through rethinking of old words:

for example, the word lumber– junk stuff-рухлядь, хлам in B.E eventually acquired the meaning of timber-лесоматериалы in A. E.

c) method of borrowing from other languages, primarily languages of the Indian tribes:

sauash – zucchini- pumpkin- кабачок, тыква.

2). Later period

Characteristic of the late period, covering the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is closely associated with the description of modern English in America, its changes in the vocabulary, the growth of Americanisms. Due to wide distribution of American literature, cinema and stage in England Americanisms are gradually infiltrating English edition. So interpreters have to take the difference of word usage into consideration in their practice.                                                                                            Education in the United States, specific political system, intensive growth of American industry, transport, agriculture – all this led to the creation of a new terminology. New terms were developed by private companies, and not any standards could be spoken of between the U.S. and Britain. Westward expansion and gold rush also left a noticeable trace in the vocabulary and phraseology of the English language in America. The large role was played by "slang", which brought a number of expressive words and idioms reflecting the dark sides of the "American lifestyle":

slush money – money to bribe officials, – деньги для подкупа должностных лиц,

 bum – бродяга.

For many years among the linguists there were debates about the meaning of preserving the "purity" of British English. But despite the opposition of the supporters of the "purity" of B. E. literary norms were reconsidered and the development of the corresponding American-style won new supporters.

However, along with the process of separation of the two variants of the English language, it should be noted that in the XIX century there is a tendency to approach two options. All this led to penetration of Americanisms in the British speech.

Linguists have come to belief that American English is more archaic than British.

By the end of the eighteenth century America did not have national literature, the American variant of the literary English language had not been established yet. American schoolchildren were taught according to the textbooks, made in England. Most of Americanisms were equated to errors and barbarism. Moreover, this view is shared not only by the British. But such a prominent figure of America as Benjamin Franklin advocated preservation of "purity" of the English language and fought against Americanisms.

In fact, all arguments in favor of recognizing American English as an independent language boiled down to the fact that between A.E. and B.E. there was no complete similarity. However, the lack of complete similarity can also characterize different dialects of the same language. Thus, A.E. could not be recognized as independent language.

2.2 Differences between American and British English

 I studied various strata of the English language. Analysis of different sources showed that AE and BE have a lot of differences. Despite close interaction of the British and American variants of the English language difference is obvious in pronunciation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions and even punctuation. The words that are typical of American speech are called Americanisms. For translation into Russian knowledge of Americanisms gets the greatest value.                               Here are main types of lexical-semantic differences:                                        1. Differences in writing.

There exist structural variations of the same word in writing (word-formation affixes differ, but are identical in their lexical meaning).

- Words ending in BE with -our-have been reduced by the Americans: labour - labor, color - colour.

 - British words apologise, paralyse in A.E. are written as apologize, paralyze.

- Some words of French origin ending with –re acquired ending  -er: center-centre, theater-theatre.

В.Е.	А.Е.	значение
acclimatize	acclimate	акклиматизировать
up to the time	on time	вовремя
pretence	pretense	притворство
anticlockwise	counterclockwise	Против часовой стрелки

However, there are some words with no equivalents in B.E, they are called non-equivalents.

В.Е.	А.Е.	значение
-	Junior high school	Неполная средняя школа (7, 8, 9 классы)
-	Drugstore	Магазин, где наряду с лекарствами продаются напитки и бутерброды
-	Chew the fat	Сплетничать
-	Drop the ball	Совершить глупую ошибку

A large number of phraseological units in American version of British show only partial differences.

В.Е.	А.Е.	значение
Enough to make a cat laugh	Enough to make a horse laugh	Умора, потеха
Cheese off	Tick off	Радость
In top gear	In high gear	На всей скорости

 It’s interesting to mention different use of words for the same meaning.

The use of many words is different in A.E and B.E. Ignoring this leads to errors in «reading» information. To prove that, the British words plain/casual mean unattractive in American. The examples of that can be seen from the table.

В.Е.	А.Е.	значение
accumulator	battery	Аккумулятор
clever	smart	Умный
coach	bus	Автобус
Company	corporation	компания
pavement	sidewalk	тротуар
lift	elevator	лифт
frosting	icing	обледенение
shorts	trucks	шорты

2.  Differences in pronunciation

The greatest differences in A.E. and B.E. pronunciation of certain words should be also taken into consideration.

American pronunciation with some emphasis on the spoken language can be heard on American television and radio. It is spoken by the majority of educated Americans and Canadians. American pronunciation - the so-called rhotic pronunciation, i.e. the letter «r» is always pronounced.

The fact is that British accent is taught and spoken in the British language schools. The classic version of the British English language is presented in the Oxford dictionary publishers. In the British Isles a very small percentage of the population speaks classic BE, mostly residents of large cities. In addition, the representatives of the working class speak the dialect of the London Cockney. British English pronunciation is called non-rhotic pronunciation, that is, the letter «r» is not pronounced, except when followed by a vowel.

             3.  Differences in word formation

The suffix ward (s-) is used in the UK as a dialect –wards , and in the American ward. These are the words forward, towards, backward, seawards, skywards, windward, outwards, eastwards etc.

However, the word forward is widely used in the UK, and the words afterwards, towards are common in American dialect.

            4. Differences in grammar.

In A.E. nouns denoting a group of people (army, government, team) usually have a unique number. British could use these words in the singular or plural, depending on whether they want to emphasize a lot of people or unity. If the name of the team is plural, in any case, you should use the plural: The Beatles are a well-known band.                                The USA is one of the largest countries in the world.                          There is also difference in the use of irregular verbs in the UK and the USA. Since verbs spell, dream, smell, burn and others in the British version can be regular and irregular , with the ending -ed / t respectively. In AE irregular forms are used less frequently. Past participle of the word saw in the British variant sounds like sawn, in the USA - sawed (got-gotten; prove - proven).

          5. Differences in tenses.

The British often use Present Perfect tense (I have just arrived home), while Americans prefer Past Simple tense (I just arrived home), especially in the phrases with words already, just, yet.                                                               In the British version frequently used form "I have got" (possession), "I have got to" (need) in speech and expression "I have" and "I have to" sound more formal. In America, the most commonly used "I have" and "I have to", and in casual conversation can be used "I got" and "I got to", respectively. Recently "I gotta" have been used frequently.                                               The auxiliary verb shall in the United States almost never used.                     In fact, Americans don’t change the fundament of grammatical structure and basic vocabulary.

To be considered in the interests of accuracy and correctness of the translation Americanisms are evident in the following:

1)    Use of  Past Simple in A.E. instead of  Present and Past Perfect

 (B.E.)He’s never thought about it –он никогда не думал об этом

(A.E.) He never thought about it-он так и не подумал об этом

(B.E.) I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

(A.E.) I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

              2) In the American version there is a clear tendency of non-compliance with the rules of Sequence of Tenses:

She thought it is Monday today

My trainer praised me I’m at the top

               3) In the structure of A.E. sentences there is another word order, for example, the adverb often comes before the verb:

   He then asked for another appointment.

I sometimes have given my dog a bone.

              4) «Saving» words, omission of passive infinitive or «should» in Subordinate clause is also typical of A.E.  Grammar:

It’s important that we do it regularly- Важно, что мы делаем это регулярно/Важно, чтобы мы делали это регулярно.

  5) The word «that» is omitted in the conjunction «so that» and leads to different interpretations:

We invited him so [that] he could see it for himself.-Мы пригласили его, чтобы он сам мог увидеть это. /Мы пригласили его, поэтому он сам мог увидеть это.

2.3    Practical Part

Doing the practical part of the research I tried to find out: 

·        what language the children understand better: BE or AE

·        if they should learn English                                                                      

·        what language should be selected in the study – B.E. or A.E.

·        -what caused this choice

So, I got the following results:                                                                            The pupils of the 9th and 7th classes practically coped with the lexical and grammatical tasks. The 9th grade students coped with the tasks at AE better, perhaps, due to communicating with American fellows, having language practice in social network and visiting English-speaking countries.           Pupils of the 7th class showed the same practical knowledge in both language variants. All of them suggested that basic knowledge of BE contribute to the successful understanding of AE without causing any difficulty.                When answering the question about whether to learn English or not, 85% of the 9th graders and 78% of the 7th-graders responded positively.                15% of the 9th grade pupils do not consider it’s necessary to learn the language.                                                                                                       22% of the 7th-graders still do not know whether to do it or not.                             54% of the 9th-graders and 44% of the 7th-graders prefer learning the language for themselves.                                                                                15% of the 9th-graders and 56% of the 7th-graders dream of connecting their future profession with language.                                                                      By questioning, the 7th-graders still do not communicate with English-speaking peers.                                                                                               15% of the 9th-graders are going to live in the English-speaking countries. All these figures show that most children are aware of the need to learn the language; everyone understands that English - is an integral part of our lives.                                                                                                             With regards to the question of which language should be preferred, most of the guys chose BE, however, it should be noted that the 9th-graders gave 38% of their votes for AE. It proves that the guys have some practice of communication and the majority decided on the choice of profession and place of purchase, place of residence.

3. Conclusion

In my work I studied the differences between American and British English in different sources. Then I analyzed the study of literature, which allowed to trace the development of American English. Thus, in my work I have proved the following:

- American English is only a local version, and not an independent language, so it does not have its own vocabulary and grammatical structure.

- American English is characterized by simplified spelling, eliminating exceptions. But all this is based on British English;

- There is a mutual penetration of American and British English. The role of small differences, as a variant of English spoken in the United States is not significant. So English version spoken in the USA is quiet understandable for British English speakers. This has been proved by the practical part of the work.

Project product has helped to achieve the project objectives, as the memo could be a textbook for high school students, minimizing possible errors; expand the knowledge required to communicate with native speakers of both forms of the language.

The statistical survey found that the majority of children prefer learning British English, as basic, with the help of which you can master the American version. It should be noted that the necessity of learning English was noted by all respondents. The main reason for this was the choice of future profession and the prospect of work or an internship abroad.

In order to determine the choice of whether to study AE or BE, it is necessary to answer two questions:

1. Which option will be useful in life?

2. Which option is easier to study for you personally?

Answering the first question, it should be stressed that no matter what option you choose, you can be easily understandable in any English-speaking country. Thus, both language variants are equally useful. The choice should depend on the representatives of the versions you want to communicate. The answer to the second question depends on the individual and his or her preferences.                                                     in Which of the versions are more prevailing in the world? Everything that is connected with the Internet and computers is created in American English. The American media industry produces a huge amount of information, such as films, broadcasts, TV shows and computer games.  In the world there are 10 times more speakers of American English than British. However, the best dictionaries are published in British English. The most popular books are published in Britain. The British feel comfortable with the American accent, while in America people speaking British English receive special attention. Such people are seen as well-educated and intelligent. In any case, the choice depends on you.

Библиография

Теоретические источники:

   1) Антрушина Г. Б. Лексикология английского языка: Учебное пособие. – М.:       Высшая школа, 1985.

   2) Аракин В. Д. История английского языка: Учебное пособие. – М., 1985

   3) Заботкина В. И. Новая лексика современного английского языка:  Учебное пособие. – М.: Высшая школа, 1989, - 124 с.

   4) Нестерчук Г. В. США и Американцы. – М.: Высшая школа, 1997, - 238 с.

   5) Швейцер А. Д. Литературный английский язык  в  США  и  Англии.  –  М.: Высшая школа, 1971, - 200 с.

  6) Швейцер А. Д. Очерк современного английского языка в США. – М.: Высшая школа, 1963, - 215 с.7. Интернет: Википедия  

Приложение 1. «Анкета»

Анкетирование

	перевод
- How are you?
- Well.
- We shall go to the party.
- He has written the letter already.
Up to the time
acclimatize
Accumulator
Clever
Coach
company

1. Which language would you choose to study: a) Britan. Eng. b) American. Eng.

2. What is the reason of your choice: a) for yourself b) transfer to an English-speaking country in the) future profession g) to communicate with foreign peers

3. Should I learn English: a) Yes b) No c) I do not know

Приложение 2. Проектный продукт