ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE American English The

ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE

American English

The first step in the progress of English as a world language took place in the last decades of the 16 th century. The first expedition from England to the New World was carried out by Walter Raleigh [ reili] in 1584, and was a failure. A group of explorers landed near Roanoke Island [ʹrəʋənəʋk], in what is today North Carolina, and established a small settlement. The first permanent English settlement dates back to 1607. The colonists called their settlement Jamestown (after James I) and the area – Virginia (after the 'Virgin Queen', Elizabeth). Further settlements quickly followed along the coast, and also on the nearby islands, such as Bermuda. Then, in November 1620, the group of 35 Puritans and 67 other settlers arrived on the ship named Mayflower. They established a settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The group was extremely mixed. They were later called the 'Pilgrim Fathers'. It was a successful settlement, and by 1640 about 25, 000 immigrants came to the area.

American spelling includes the usage of: -or instead of -our in words like color and flavor; -er instead of -re in words like center; some variants include -x- for -ct- (connexion); -l- is used instead of –ll- (traveler); using -z- instead of -s- in words like realize; writing the past tense of some verbs with -ed instead of -t, e. g. learned, dreamed.

American pronunciation is characterized by the following peculiarities: any 'r' is usually pronounced, e. g. card, dinner; ‘t’ between vowels may be pronounced like a 'd', so that latter sounds like ladder; the vowel [æ] rather than [a: ] is used in words like path, dance; tune is pronounced [tu: n] not [tju: n]; stress patterns and syllable length are often also different, as in missile (реактивный снаряд) (Am. E ['misl], Br. E ['misail]); Am E tends to be more rhythmic.

English in Canada

The first English-language contact with Canada was in 1497, when John Cabot reached Newfoundland. During the 1750 s thousands of French settlers were deported from Canada. Later, in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was issued, many loyal supporters of Britain came to Canada from the USA.

Canadian spelling combines British and American rules: in Canada French-derived words that in American English end with -or and –er (color or center) usually retain British spellings i. e. colour and centre Canadian and American spelling differs from British spelling in words such as realize and recognize, which in British English are spelled realise and recognise; i. e. usually spelled with ize rather than -ise.

Canadian spelling rules can be partly explained by Canada's trade history: the British spelling of the word cheque probably relates to Canada's once-important ties to British financial institutions (American spelling: check); Canada's automobile industry has been dominated by American firms, which explains why Canadians use the American spelling of tire (British spelling: tyre), and American terminology for the parts of automobiles, e. g. the hood of a car as opposed to the bonnet (капот).

There are some words and expressions in Canadian English that are unique: washroom – the word used by most Canadians, whereas Americans more commonly use the word bathroom, and the British use the word toilet; a double-double which is a cup of coffee with two creams and two sugars; hydro which is a common synonym for electrical service e. g. the hydro bill – рахунок за електроенергію; this is explained by the fact that many Canadian provincial electric companies generate power from hydroelectricity, by damming rivers (перегороджених греблею річок) and tapping the power of water falls such as Niagara Falls.

English in Australia

Australia was visited by James Cook in 1770, and within 20 years Britain had established its first penal colony (колонію) at Sydney, as prisons in England were overcrowded. About 130, 000 prisoners were trans ported during the next 50 years. By 1850 the population of Australia was about 400, 000, and by 1900 nearly 4 million. Today, it is over 17 million.

The British Isles provided the main source of settlers, and thus the main influence on the language. On one hand, many of the convicts came from London and Ireland, and features of Cockney (діалект робітничих прошарків Лондона) and Irish English can be heard in the speech of Australians today. On the other hand, the variety contains many expressions which have originated in Australia (including a number from Aboriginal lan guages), and in recent years the influence of American English has been noticeable, so that the country now has a very mixed lexical character.

Australian pronunciation was formed under the influence of the following factors: Australian English in its origin is the socalled "urban" language because the first settlers were mostly from the cities; Рrimarily it was the language of the working class, uneducated and poor people; Australian English includes language features of many parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Australian pronunciation is characterized by the following traits: Australian accent is non-rhotic (the written letter "r" is not pronounced unless it is followed by a vowel): star [stɑ: ]. The long [i: ] sound in words like see is heard as the diphthong [eə]. The long [u: ] sound is heard as [o] or even [ou], so that soup turns into soap. The diphthong [ei] (as in play) tends to sound like [ai], so that may turns into my. The diphthong [eə] (as in care) becomes monophthong [e] (as in pen), but long. The first element of the diphthong [ai] (as in lie) is pronounced as a long [a: ] sound (as in heart). The diphthong [au] (as in now) is produced as [æu]. The diphthong [iə] (as in here) sounds as pure [i: ] (as in see), so that here turns into he.

Australian English is characterized by some lexical differences which differentiate it from the British and American variants: Australian English bathers bloke crook daks (dacks) footpath garbologist lolly mate port postie servo tuckshop unit American English bathing-suit guy sick pants sidewalk garbage man candy buddy baggage mailman gas station cafeteria apartment British English swimming-costume chap ill trousers pavement dustman sweet fellow luggage postman petrol station canteen flat

English in New Zealand

Captain Cook charted (нанес на карту) the islands in 1769 -70, and Europeans began to settle there in the 1790 s. Christian missionary work began among the Maori [ mauri] from 1814. Еhe official colony was not established until 1840, following the Treaty of Waitangi between Maori chiefs and the British Crown. As the rights of the Maori people (12 per cent of the population) are taken into account the number of Maori words is increasing in New Zealand English.

Captain James Cook spent a total of 328 days exploring the New Zealand coastline during his three voyages. The initial purpose of Cook’s voyages was to observe the Transit of Venus in Tahiti and then search for a great southern continent which was believed to exist – Terra Australis. Cook was to return to Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound, on five separate occasions. He spent over 100 days there, as it provided safe anchorage, food and fresh water and timber for repairs to his ship.

Some traits of kiwi pronunciation: [ou] can sometimes sound as [oi], e. g. "hello" can sound more like "helloi" and "I know" can sound like "I noi"; [e] is usually pronounced like [i: ], e. g. "yes" can sound like "yeees", and "again" can sound like "ageen"; [i] can be pronounced like the [˄], e. g. "fish and chips" as "fush and chups".

Kiwi English is characterized by some lexical differences which differentiate it from the British and American variants: corker: very good sausage cuppa: cup of tea (or other beaut: great hot drink) bloke: man brassed off: disappointed, dunny : toilet, bathroom, lavatory annoyed brekkie: short for 'breakfast' heaps: a lot hokey pokey: honeycomb capsicum: pepper Kiwi: New Zealander choice: very good smoko: break chook: chicken Chrissy: Christmas banger:

ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE

The present-day world status of English is primarily the result of two factors: the expansion of British colonial power, which peaked towards the end of the 19 th century; the emergence of the United States as the leading economic power of the 20 th century. English is a global language; its popularity all over the world is determined nowadays by the following reasons: 1. It’s already the most commonly spoken language in the world. 2. It’s the language of international business. 3. Most movies are in English, due to Hollywood. 4. English is the language of the Internet. 5. English changes all the time, generating words to name all new ideas.

Compare different language features given in the table: Language Feature American/US English British/UK English Canadian English Australian English Standard time format 12 -hour (6: 00 a. m. , 6: 00 p. m. ) Day/month/year 24 -hour (6: 00, 18: 00) 12 -hour (6: 00 a. m. , 6: 00 p. m. ) Month/day/year and Day/month/year 24 -hour (6: 00, 18: 00) Common past participles Burned, dreamed, gotten, leaned, learned, proven, sawed, smelled, spelled, spilled Burnt, dreamt, got, leant, learnt, proved, sawn, smelt, spilt, spoilt Usually burnt, dreamed, gotten, leaned, learned, proved, sawn, smelled, spelled, spilled Usually burnt, dreamt, got, leant, learnt, proved, sawn, smelt, spelt, spilt Collective nouns singular ("the team is") vs. plural ("the team are") Singular or plural, depending on emphasis -se vs. -ce (license/licence, practise/practice) -se -ce -ce -or vs. -our (color/colour, neighbor/neighbour) -or -our, sometimes -or -ise vs. -ize (realise/realize, -ise organise/organize) -ize Standard date order Month/day/year