时间：2022-06-06 07:47:14
Abstract： As an official language in almost 60 sovereign states， English is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom， the United States， Canada， Australia， Ireland， New Zealand as well as some districts of the Caribbean， Africa and South Asia. With the speeding up in the process of globalization， English plays an increasingly essential role in Economics and Politics. As a consequence， the occupation of interpreting and translating springs up in the modern society， especially in those non-English-speaking countries. It is critical for both interpreters and translators to accurately distinguish differences between British and American English to avoid hybrid English which may lead to unnecessary misunderstanding. This paper attempts to analyze differences in two aspects： pronunciations and vocabulary that interpreters are supposed to focus while they are converting source language into target one.
Key word： British English， American English， lexical and phonic differences.
中图分类号：G633.41文献标识码：B文章编号：1672-1578（2016）10-0190-01
Introduction： American English originates from English of Elizabeth time with its history closely linked with American migrant history. Settlers who speak English firstly arrived in North America in the period of 17th century. Gradually， American English has been integrated with the languages of West Africa， the Native American population， German， Dutch， Irish， Spanish and the other languages belonging to immigrants in America. Since then American English forms its own characteristics which can be vividly distinguished from British English both in vocabulary and pronunciations. At present， integration of culture， economy and politics saturate the world， bringing English to the international platform. In this way， English interpreters and translators shoulder more obligations to transform the language accurately when confronted with different target audience in different countries， avoiding ambiguity as well as hybrid English.
1.Differences in Meaning
1.1Homonyms.When two words are identical in both sound and spelling， they are complete homonyms. It is common between American English and British English being endowed with different meanings in one word.
Taking the phrase 'public school' for instance， it stands for the school founded by governments in America. Whereas， in Britain， individuals view it as a private school sponsored by entrepreneurs， private organizations etc. It is crucial for interpreters to search more background information of the speaker or the writer. After identifying， interpreter is supposed to distinguish accurately between
American and British English. Otherwise， interpretation would become devastating. Yet another， the phrase 'wash up' means washing some tableware like plates， forks， bowls and so on in Britain. By contrast， Americans always use this phrase with the meaning of taking a shower. In this way， it would be awkward if the interpreter translates this phrase as washing one's body while doing the interpreting for a British individual.
In American and British English， many words and phrases can be understood in the same way. While， they still have some additional meanings in the same word apart from the common explanation. It is widely acknowledged in America and the UK that the word 'ship' represents a vessel that carries passengers or freight， hiring for work on a ship. Apart from these meanings， it can stand for sea transportation in Britain instead of transportation in any forms in the US.
1.2Synonymy.Synonymy refers to different words in American and British English being used to designate the same meaning. Interpreters should enlarge their vocabulary to store more words with the same meaning used in different countries. For instance， in the UK 'taxi' is widely used to describe one sort of public transport， a car driven by a person whose job is to take people where they want to go in return for money； whereas， in the US 'cab' is used for the same meaning. As to the major road， 'motorway' is used in Britain； however American prefer to use 'expressway' and 'freeway' while describing the major road. Here are some more examples in this table below.
MeaningAmerican EnglishBritish English
a person who has received a degree from a school alumnusgraduate
a loose of piece of clothing made of the same material as towels bathrobedressing gown
a mark indicating that something has been noted or completedchecktick
a very small room for storing thingsclosetcupboard
a tall plant which produces long vegetables covered with yellow seedscornmaize
A dish served as the last course of a mealdessertsweet
The main meal of a day， usually served in the early part of the eveningdinnertea
A method of buying an article by making regular payments for it over several months or yearsInstallment planHire purchase
The street where most of stores are Main streetHigh street
Transportation of people by means of buses， trains， or other vehicles running on fixed routesMass transitPublic transport
2.Differences in spelling
Simplification in spelling is one of the characteristics of American English， which can reflect Americans' modernized lifestyle and ways of work with great convenience and efficiency. While， as to the spelling in British English， it would be more complicated. Translators should pay more attention to the spelling differences targeting to readers with different nationalities. In America， individuals normally use 'catalog' instead of 'catalogue'. This shows that the last two letters 'u' and 'e' are emitted in American English. In British English， words ended up with '-ogue' is normally transformed into 'og' in American English. A large number of words with double letters 'l' or double 't' in British English can be found in American English with one letter emitted， such as， wollen and woolen， jewellery and jewelery， omelette and omelet， cigarette and cigarete， toilette and toilete etc. Nevertheless， the word installation is the exception， instalment is common in the UK； whereas installment is used in America. Words ended up with 'our' in Britain occur to be 'or' in the end in America， such as， colour and color， labour and labor， flavour and flavor etc.
Another differences in spelling can be seen in several letters differences in one word， for example some words end up with 'er' in Britain； whereas they end up with 're' in America， like， centre and center， metre and meter， theatre and theater. Those words start with 'en' occur to have 'in' at the beginning in American English， such as， enquire and inquire， endorse and indorse， enclose and inclose. Some words normally end up with 'xion' in the UK； whereas， 'ction' can be found in America， such as complexion and complection， reflexion and reflection etc.
3.Differences in pronunciation
It is critical for interpreters to differentiate the phonic differences between American English and British English to avoid any incomprehensible mistakes while interpreting for a speaker with accent. Compared with British English， American English sounds more mellow and clearer for the reason that some ellipses can be heard in British English； whereas Americans pronounce every syllable clearly. For example， the word 'dictionary' has the vowel 'd'， British usually weaken the sound of this vowel. By contrast， Americans prefer to pronounce it clearly. As to the letter 'r'， it is pronounced by Americans rather than in Britain， such as 'car'， 'girl'， 'flower'， 'floor' etc. British only pronounce 'r' when it is used as a vowel.
In America， the letters 't' and 'd' will be pronounced as the voiced consonant [d] if either of the two is between vowels. Thus， 'writer' pronounced as [raider] sounds the same as 'rider'[raider]. In contrast， British always pronounce 'write' as [rait]. Under this circumstance， interpreters should pay more attention to these phonic ambiguities within the context to ensure the quality of interpretation.
Conclusion： Mark Twain once said， 'English and American are separate languages， … when I speak my native tongue in its utmost purity an Englishman can't understand me at all.' Although American English shares the same root with British English， differences in meaning， spelling， as well as pronunciation exist between the two language. Interpreters， as the bridge between different languages， play a significant role in transmitting culture and thoughts. So， it is beneficial for interpreters enhancing their basic knowledge to differentiate American and English accurately in all aspects. With the evolvement of the global community， more differences will occur between the two languages， which motivates all English learners especially English translators and interpreters to explore more in the unknown field in the future.
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