Lexical Differences Between American English and British English

Jia+Zhong-qi

【Abstract】With the development of society， American English and British English have significant difference.By retrospective analysis of British English and American English and the historical evolution of the development process， discusses American English and British English exist in the vocabulary of the main differences through understanding both English vocabulary differences exist， so that English learners to more easily have a certain kind of English， as well as the right to express English contains a wealth of knowledge.This paper also pointed out that the United States has its unique features English and language arts charm has been a topic of concern to the development trend of English.

【Key words】British English； American English； vocabulary； difference

1.The background and development

English language of the Indo-European family of ethnic Germans under the West Germanic languages， from ancient immigrants from the European continent the Anglo-British Isles， and Saxon Germanic tribes who said the language evolved from， and through British colonial activities spread to the rest of the world.According to the number of English as a mother tongue， English may be the world's third or fourth largest major languages （1999 statistics for the 322 million people）， but it is the world's most extensive second language.The two-century England and the United States in the cultural， economic， military， political and scientific leadership makes English as an international language.English is one of the working languages of the United Nations.

2.The origin and characteristics of American English

Elizabeth English from the United States during the English， its history and the history of the United States immigrants have very close ties， the United States can be traced to the history of migration more than 300 years ago.Shortly afterward， in 1620， from the British East Norfolk Saluki county to county and by the puritanical May Flower vessel arrived， Massachusetts southeast of Plymouth， established colony.At that time， the British are in Elizabeth I's， from the history of the development of English， the English are at the early beginning of the modern stage.Moved at the earliest Puritan New England， with more than 100 still in the University of Oxford and Cambridge graduates， they will be Elizabeth to the English period of the New World， North America and become the starting point of American English.From that time on， the two countries said that the era of Elizabeth English.Therefore， in a very long time， the United States between English and British English and not significantly different.

3.Lexical differences between American English and British English

At present， many countries are using English as a first language， such as the United Kingdom， the United States， Canada， New Zealand and South Africa， as these countries of the historical conditions and cultural background， such as customs of different ethnic and geographical differences and the English Language these countries will naturally have differences in the use of English to a greater or lesser extent are different.Britain and the United States in history are closely linked， but with the development of history and geographical isolation， their language and culture are in constant evolution.Therefore， British English and American English have different spelling， pronunciation， usage and so on.

3.1 Different words express same thing.British English and American English used by the majority of the meaning of the terms is the same， but there are some words in there is a larger meaning the difference.For example， the same things in British English and American English on different words to express.

3.2 Same word with different meanings.After the history of evolution and development of English vocabulary has become the world's most abundant， the ability to express one of the strongest languages.English words have their own characteristics； we should be aroused in the translation of sufficient importance.The main features of English vocabularies are same word with different meanings.The term means more than just a word has different meanings， and the use of the word is a word that has different part of speech， the sentence can be different components.

3.3 Same word with different spelling.Many words in the spelling of British English and American English have a greater difference in performance.If our British English vocabulary in the United States has turned out suffix； English in the United Kingdom - ise at the end of the term in English in the United States has become a - ize end.British English for the suffix - logue， but in English in the United States has become simplified - log.British English - re suffix， in the United States in English becomes - er suffix.By contrast these spelling found that the spelling of American English than British English is relatively simple.

3.4 Some preposition with different use.Preposition usages have more changes， more flexible， and the terms， such as with the use of pronouns generated many different meanings.In British English and American English， the same term is often used with different prepositions to express the same meaning.