Insights into the Difference Between British English and American English

肖鵬

【Abstract】Nowadays the English language has become a very rich and widely used language. It has become the International language for business， finance， and technology.

【Key words】British English； American English； cause of change；

【中圖分類號】G4 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2016）16-0001-01

Ⅰ Historical Background of British and American English

Language has played an important role in human interaction and communication for thousands of years. But people find themselves limited in communicating with people speaking different languages. The problem has traditionally been solved by finding a language to act as a "common language". As a global language， you would see English signs and advertisements wherever people go. Today there are two major forms of Standard English： British English and American English.

Ⅱ An Analysis of the differences between American English and British English

American English and British English belong to the same kind of language. Generally speaking， it is not difficult to carry out an oral or written communication between people in Britain and the United States. However， it existed some differences in the pronunciation， grammar， and vocabulary. In general， the grammar of British English and American English use the same system； it shows a little difference， different tense， different Prepositions， different pronouns，definite article in different usage. vocabulary differences， one word with different meanings in the two varieties. different synonymous words， spelling differences， pronunciation differences.

Ⅲ The differences between American English and British English in the practical applications

1、Differences in interpersonal communication

There will be some differences to communicate with each other between British English and American English. In international traveling， tourists and businessmen often use different words and create unnecessary misunderstandings and sometimes they create a joke.

Each industry will have its own general terms in order to facilitate the exchange. As the industry's practice is not the same， such as the type of equipment， different rules， methods， terminology， and so on， it is not the same terminology used in the two varieties. For example： “wire” including earth wire （BE）， ground （AE）； different shapes of plugs and sockets， sockets （BE）， outlets （AE）. If British and American people in the same industry do not understand the difference， they will have trouble communicating in their technical exchanges and inevitably have misunderstanding.

2. Difference Jargons

Each industry will have its own general terms in order to facilitate the exchange. As the industry's practice is not the same， such as the type of equipment， different rules， methods， terminology， and so on， it is not the same terminology used in the two varieties. For example： “wire” including earth wire （BE）， ground （AE）； different shapes of plugs and sockets， sockets （BE）， outlets （AE）. If British and American people in the same industry do not understand the difference， they will have trouble communicating in their technical exchanges and inevitably have misunderstanding.

Ⅳ English Present and Future

English is the most popular languages at present. The number of people speaking English is about the number of people speaking Mandarin. In the early 1970s， English， as a first language （mother tongue） was spoken by about 280，000，000 people in the world， plus 120，000，000 people speaking English as a second language. The total came to 400，000，000 people. This figure has dramatically increased ever since then. In addition， English as a Foreign Language to use in the world has been growing more and more. English as a second language means that English is spoken as the official language to deal with day-to-day administrative matters for government departments， and also to impart knowledge at school day by day. For example， India， Pakistan， Malaysia， Tanzania， and other third world countries have made English as their second language. The use of English as a foreign language means people carry out international exchanges such as political talks， trade， economic cooperation and science and technology exchanges， and culture， academic interactions.

At present， there are two popular types of English in the world： British English and American English. Although there are some differences in pronunciation， spelling， vocabulary， grammar structure， and so on， they do not make trouble in achieving mutual understanding between these two groups. These differences also exist in certain rules. Understanding and grasping the differences of the characteristics and rules between Britain and the American English will not only help us to learn the English language， but also help us to correctly use English for effective communication. This way we can avoid unnecessary misunderstanding or misinterpretation.