Канадський варіант англійської мови.
Особливістю мови канадців є дуже м’яка вимова. Через звичку закінчувати висловлення питанням “так?” здається, що вони постійно запитують: “Чи погоджуєтесь ви зі мною?” Написання в Канаді відповідає нормам Великобританії: theatre, centre, harbour, neighbourhood, realise. Проте деякі предмети канадці називають не так, як англійці: диван – давнім англійським словом chesterfield, серветка стала французькою serviette, собака не загубився, а зник, і корінні жителі – не індіанці й не корінні американці, а перші народи. Торонто розташоване в провінції, а не в штаті Онтаріо; слово “штати” має значення Сполучені Штати. Канадський варіант англійської мови відрізняється від британського й американського, але не турбуйтеся – вас там зрозуміють!
BLOCK III
Read the text and do the tasks given after it.
How the Americans Speak English
Although the USA is by far the most powerful of the English-speaking countries, the English that is taught in most parts of the world is British English. Besides, British English is the “mother language” upon which аll English, written or spoken, is based, including American English. Many Americans regard Britain culturally as the Mother Country. Americans read English literature without any difficulty at all, and British readers of the early 20th century have no problems either. But for the last 60 years the Americans have been inventing а whole bunch of new words and phrases, many of which have already reached the UK and the whole English -speaking world. In fact, the Americans have exported а large number of their words and phrases to Britain – through literature, the movies, TV and tourists.
The following words and phrases, among countless others, are of American origin: teenager, boyfriend, radio, commuter, (football) fan, aisle (way down the middle of а church, train or theatre), hold-up (robbery), right away (at once), slip up (make а mistake), beat up (give somebody а beating), let’s face it (let’s admit), be in the red (in debt to your bank).
Of course, there are some American words that are peculiar to the USA and are quite different from their equivalents in the rest of the English-speaking world. Here is а list of some of the most important:
Am. English Br. English
fall autumn
elevator lift
schedule (розклад) timetable
drugstore (аптека) chemist’s shop
apartment flat
drapes (штори) curtains
to line up (стояти в черзі) to queue
candy sweets
Inc. (Incorporation) Co. (Company)
subway (метро) underground (tube)
fill up (заповнювати бланк) fill in
restroom (toilet) lavatory, loo, w.c., (toilet)
gas(oline) petrol
physician (лікар) doctor
car (вагон) carriage
baggage luggage
railroad railway
napkin serviette
cookie biscuit
oatmeal porridge
rent (орендувати) hire
one-way ticket single ticket (квиток в один напрямок)
round-trip ticket return ticket (квиток в обидва напрямки)
There are complications, too, with the time, the date and with numbers.
Am. English Br. English
What time is it? What’s the time?
a quarter after four (4.15) a quarter past four (4.15)
a quarter of five (4.45) a quarter to five (4.45)
Monday through Friday (from) Monday to Friday
April 12, 2006 would appear in a hotel register, on a birth certificate, at the top of the letter, as:
4/12/2006 (month first) in US 12/4/2006 (day first) in UK
Americans and British use different greeting. In the USA the commonest greeting is “Hi!”. In Britain it is “Hallo!” or “How do you do?”. “Hi!” is creeping into British English too. When introducing to someone, the Americans say, “Glad to know you”. The British say, “How do you do?” or “Pleased to meet you”.
The British constantly use “got” in the sense of “have”. The Americans hardly ever do.
Am. English: Do you have a car (room, etc.)? Yes, I do.
Brit. English:Have you got a car (room, etc.)? Yes. I have.
Pronunciation can often cause misunderstandings.
Informal contractions (short forms of other words that people use when speaking casually) are common in American English. For example, “gonna” is a short form of “going to” (What are you gonna do?). Other examples: ain’t = am not / are not / is not (I ain’t sure); gimme = give me (Can you gimme a hand?); gotta = (have) got to (I gotta go now); kinda = kind of (She’s kinda cute); lemme = let me (Lemme go!); wanna = want to (I wanna go home.).
Finally, there is а number of differences between American and British English in the spelling of words, e.g. check (US) / cheque (UK); centre (US) / centre (UK). Many American English words ending in “–or” like honor, vigor, labor are spelt in British English with an “–our”: honour, vigour, labour. Many verbs in American English with “-ize” or “-izing” forms like organize, realizing, are spelt in British English “-ise”, “-ising”, - organise, realising. In American English, “practice” is used both for the verb and noun. In British English, the verb is spelt “practise” and the noun “practice”. In the main, American English avoids the doubling up of consonants in nouns and verbs while British English does not. In American English, for example, one writes “travel, traveled, traveling, traveler”, while in British English, one writes “travel, travelled, travelling, traveller”.
a) Answer the following questions.
Why more British English is taught in the world than American English?
What has caused so many American words and phrases to become part of the British English dictionary?
How would you characterize general tendency in characteristics of American English: simplification or complication?
Why might it upset you if your American bank manager told you that you were badly “in the red”?
What dо you mean when you say “it was а misunderstanding”?
It was once predicted that British and American English would draw so far apart that eventually they would become separate languages. What is your attitude towards this statement?
b) Try to define who these sentences belong to: аn American or а Briton.
1. The subway will take you to the railroad station.
2. These things are found in drugstores. There’s one close to the gas station.
3. Ask the receptionist. She will direct you to the centre of the city and tell you which tube station is the nearest.
4. You should have bought а return ticket, there would be no need to queue for the ticket office.
5. Mr. Smith would like to hire а car but he wonders where he саn change money.
6. The coach stop is quite near the filling station, and if you read the timetable you'll see if we have time for the pub.
7. I want to get downtown. Will the streetcar take mе there?
8. I'm sorry, your number is engaged. Shall I try and put you through later?
9. The toilet’s on the ground floor. Go past the chemist’s and there you’ll see it.
10. There’s no need for you to queue up with your telegramme.
11. He’s going to stay with us Saturday through Wednesday.
c) Without consulting the text, give the American English for the following British English words and phrases.
biscuit; curtain; to fill in а form; from Monday to Friday; to queue; What's the time, please?; twenty-five past six; petrol; chemist’s; How dо you dо?; at the moment; autumn; luggage; honour; Have you got a flat?
d) Read the dialogue between Peter and Brian on difference between British and American English. Fill in the gaps with the corresponding American equivalents of the English words.
P: Brian, I feel confused sometimes. Which is British and which is American?
B:Don’t worry. It doesn't really matter very much.
P: But sometimes people don’t understand mе. And yesterday I had а problem. I got the wrong floor.
B:Did you really?
P: Yes, I got into the elevator...
B:Into the _____ _____.
P: Yes, into the ______ _____. And I pressed the button to the fifth floor.
B:And you got out on the American _____ ______?
P: Right. Then I remembered that I was not in America.
B: You should remember that there is also а ground floor in Britain.
P: And I also made а mistake when I _____ _____ the form.
B:Filled in you mean.
P: Oh, thanks, filled in. I wrote mу date of birth the American way.
B:The ________ you were born in first?
P: Exactly. It's so difficult to keep every small difference in mind.
B: I think you really needn't. If somebody doesn't understand you, he'll ask you about it.
P: Thank you, Brian. You've helped mе а lot. I wonder if you would like to come to Chicago for your vacation. When are you going to have your holidays? In the ________?
B:In autumn. _______ is American again.
P:Well, if you come to Chicago I’ll learn more British English from you.
e) Work in pairs. You are on your holidays in Great Britain (the USA). Using the specific vocabulary given before, make up a short dialogue in the situations:
of buying a ticket;
in a train;
eating out;
informal conversation between friends;
asking about the time;
inquiring about a new dwelling.
BLOCK IV
Topics for discussion and essays.
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1. Comment on the thought: ‘No language, no country’. 2. What languages apart from English can be called ‘lingua franca’? 3. English-speaking countries – things in common. 4. Do you happen to know the history of your own language? 5. Name the ways of the development of English. 6. Is American English a separate language or a variant of English? Why? 7. What point is more useful in learning English – fluency or accuracy? 8. Describe the personality of an excellent language learner, his (her) traits and abilities. |
LESSON 21
Money
Good name is better than riches.
Money makes the world go round.
I rob banks because that’s where the money is.
One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.
If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have
that money can’t buy.
The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.