美式英語與英式英語到底有什么區(qū)別？

張明明

While there are certainly many more varieties of English，American English and British English are the two? varieties? that? are? taught? in? most? ESL/EFL? pro-grams. Generally，it is agreed that no one version is “correct”， but there? are? certainly preferences in use. The? three? major? differences? between American? and British English are：

英語種類有很多，但美式英語和英式英語是在大多數(shù)ESL/EFL課程中教授的兩個(gè)種類。一般來說，大家都認(rèn)為沒有一個(gè)版本是“絕對正確的”，但在使用中肯定有一些偏好。美式英語和英式英語的三個(gè)主要區(qū)別是：

Pronunciation —? differences? in? both? vowel? and consonants，as well as stress and intonation

發(fā)音——元音和輔音的差異，以及重音和語調(diào)

Vocabulary — differences in nouns and verbs，es- pecially phrasal verb usage and the names of specific tools or items

詞匯——名詞和動(dòng)詞的區(qū)別，特別是短語動(dòng)詞的用法和特定工具或項(xiàng)目的名稱

Spelling — differences are generally found in cer- tain prefix and suffix forms

拼寫——在某些前綴和后綴形式中通常會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)差異The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you decide that you want to use American English，then be consistent in your spell- ing （i.e.“The color of the orange is also its flavour”— color is American? spelling and flavour is British）. Of course，this is not always easy or possible. The follow- ing guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English.

最重要的經(jīng)驗(yàn)法則是在使用中保持一致。如果你決定使用美式英語，那么你的拼寫要一致（即“橙子的顏色也是它的味道”——color是美式拼寫，flavour卻是英式）。當(dāng)然，這并不總是容易或可能的。下面的指南旨在指出這兩種英語的主要區(qū)別。

※Minor Grammar Differences

語法上的細(xì)小差異

There are very few grammar differences between American and British English. Certainly，the words we choose might be different at times. However，generally speaking，we follow the same grammar rules. With that said，there are a few differences.

美式英語和英式英語幾乎沒有語法差異。當(dāng)然，我們選擇的詞有時(shí)可能會(huì)有所不同。但是，一般來說，我們遵循相同的語法規(guī)則。盡管如此，還是有一些不同之處。

Use of the Present Perfect

現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)的用法

In British English，the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past thathas an effect on the present moment. For example：

在英式英語中，現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)是用來表達(dá)最近發(fā)生的、對現(xiàn)在產(chǎn)生影響的動(dòng)作。例如：

I’ve lost my key. Can you help me look for it？

我的鑰匙丟了。你能幫我找一下嗎？

In American English，the following is also possible：

在美式英語中，也可能出現(xiàn)以下情況：

I lost my key. Can you help me look for it？

我把鑰匙丟了。你能幫我找一下嗎？

In British English，the above would be consideredincorrect. However，both forms are generally acceptedin standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English andsimple past in American English include already，justand yet.

在英國英語中，上述內(nèi)容被認(rèn)為是錯(cuò)誤的。然而，這兩種形式都是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)美式英語。在英式英語中使用現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)和在美國英語中使用簡單過去時(shí)的其他差異包括“已經(jīng)”、“剛剛”和“尚未”。

British English：

英式英語

I’ve just had lunch.

我剛吃過午飯。 I’ve already seen that film.

我已經(jīng)看過那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet？

你做完作業(yè)了嗎？

American English：

美式英語：

I just had lunch / I’ve just had lunch.

我剛吃過午飯或剛剛吃過午飯。 I’ve already seen that film / I already saw that film.

我已經(jīng)看過那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet？ / Did youfinish your homework yet？

你做完作業(yè)了嗎？

Two Forms to Express Possession

兩種表示占有的形式

There are two forms to express possession in Eng- lish：have or have got.

用英語表達(dá)占有有兩種形式：有或有。

Do you have a car？

你有車嗎？

Have you got a car？

你有車嗎？

He hasn’tgot any friends.他沒有朋友。

He doesn’thave any friends.他沒有朋友。

She has a beautiful new home.她有一個(gè)漂亮的新家。

She’s got a beautiful new home.她有一個(gè)漂亮的新家。

While both forms are correct （and accepted in both? British and American English），have got （have you got， he hasn’t got，etc.） is generally the preferred form in? British English，while most speakers of American English? employ the have （do you have，he doesn’thave etc.）

雖然這兩種形式都是正確的（在英國和美國英語中都被接受），但是 got（你有，他沒有，等等）通常是英國英語中的首選形式，而大多數(shù)說美國英語的人都使用have（你有，他沒有，等等）。

The Verb Get

關(guān)于動(dòng)詞get

The? past? participle? of the? verb? get? is? gotten? in American English.

動(dòng)詞 get的過去分詞在美式英語中是用“gotten”來表示的。

American? English：He’s? gotten? much? better? at playing tennis.

美式英語：他網(wǎng)球打得好多了。

British English：He’s got much better at playingtennis.

英式英語：他網(wǎng)球打得好多了。

“Have got”is used predominately in British Eng- lish? to? indicate “have”in? the? sense? of? possession. Strangely，this form is also used in the United States? with the British participle“got”， rather than“gotten”. Americans will also use“have got to”in the sense of “have to”for responsibilities.

“have got”在英國英語中主要用于表示“have”的占有意義。奇怪的是，這種形式在美國也是用英國分詞“got”而不是“gotten”來表示的，美國人也會(huì)用“have got to”來表示“必須”的責(zé)任。

I’ve got to work tomorrow.

我明天得工作。

I’ve got three friends in Dallas.

我在達(dá)拉斯有三個(gè)朋友。

※Vocabulary

詞匯

The largest differences between British and Ameri- can English lie in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties，for example：

英式英語和美式英語最大的區(qū)別在于詞匯的選擇。有些詞在這兩個(gè)變體中的含義不同，例如：

Mean：American English — angry，bad humored， British English — not generous，tight-fisted.

mean的含義：美式英語——憤怒，不幽默，英式英語——不慷慨，握緊拳頭。

American English：Don’t be so mean to your sis- ter！

美式英語：別對你姐姐那么刻?。?/p>

British English：She’s so mean she won’t even pay for a cup of tea.

英式英語：她太吝嗇了，連一杯茶都不付錢。

There are many more examples （too many for me to list here）. If there is a difference in usage，your dic- tionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other. One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles.

還有更多的例子（例子太多了我就不在這兒列舉了）。如果在用法上有差異，你的詞典將在其術(shù)語定義中注明不同的含義。許多詞匯項(xiàng)也以一種形式使用，而不是以另一種形式使用。其中一個(gè)最好的例子就是汽車術(shù)語。

American? English —? hood / British? English — bonnet

美式英語——引擎蓋hood/英式英語——引擎蓋 bonnet

American English — trunk / British English — boot

美式英語——后備箱trunk/英式英語——后備箱 boot

American English — truck / British English — lorry 美式英語——卡車truck/英式英語——卡車lorry

※Spelling

拼寫

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings：

以下是英式拼寫和美式拼寫之間的一些一般差異：

American English：color，humour，flavour

British English：color，humour，flavour

American English：recognize，patronise

British English：recognize，patronise

The best way to make sure that you are being con- sistent in your spelling is to utilize the spell check tool associated with your word processor and select the type of English （American or British） you’d like to use.

確保拼寫一致的最佳方法是使用與文字處理程序相關(guān)聯(lián)的拼寫檢查工具，并選擇要使用的英語類型（美國或英國）。