[CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

A. The Origin of American and British English

Based on Janicki Karol in his book “Elements of British and American

English” The origin of many modern languages that have been reduced to

writing can be traced back and their historical development may be described,

at least for a few hundred years. And in some cases for much longer.

In order to understand better the origin of the differences between

British English and American English and in particular the uniqueness of the

American variety we must have some notion of the historical development of

the nation and its speech.

Some people are prone to exaggerate the differences by stating that the

discrepancies are so numerous as to bring about a lack of intelligibility. This

is without question a far-fetched statement since American s can easily

communicate with the English people unless a speaker happens to select

vocabulary that makes a single sentence incomprehensible. Such a situation,

even though rare in normal communication, can be very easily handled simply

by the paraphrasing or restructuring of the sentence. Discrepancies in

pronunciation never cause real misunderstanding.

 The divergence of linguistics forms between the English spoken in

American Englishrica and that spoken in Britain, was initiated as a natural

result of the language being spoken by the two distant groups of people whose

language operated in different social conditions.

One of the facts recorded about the American variety of English is the

preservation of older linguistic forms that in Britain under the operation of

various laws were transformed to others.

British and American English probably reached their greatest

divergence just before the second world war and since that time have been

getting closer, or at least better understood by the other country

Another contribution to the remodeling of the English language in

American Englishrica was that caused by social, political, and economic

arrangements of the new society.

B. The Variety of English Language

Salama Nancy and Ghali Mary (1982) said that the English language

is composed of two major varieties, British English and American English.

They believe that teachers and students of English should be aware of and

tolerant of both varieties. Since the two varieties are melding into one

common language and are used together freely in international English,

foreign students should be alerted to both varieties.

 According to Algeo,John (2006) British is the form of English now

used in the country whence all other forms of English have ultimately derived.

But present-day British is not the origin of any other variety of any language.

While according to Indrawan Iwan Made (2010) The modern English

has grown since 1500 BC. The industrial and colonial improvement progress

has led to English as the language that was originally only used in the British

Isle into a language which spread to various parts of the world rapidly. This

situation causes a new variety of English Language.

A new variety of English has developed because English used long

enough as first language for daily language by most of people in those

countries such as American Englishrica, England and Australia. In Indonesia

and other countries , for instance Philippine, Japan, china, Russia, France,

Italy, German, Iraq, Israel , Malaysia, Singapore, south Africa, Egypt, New

Zealand , Scotland , Ireland, India, and Sri Lanka, English becAmerican

English their second language because it only learned in every school as one

of foreign language subject.

Among the developing English variety, American and British English

are two varieties that is considered as International Standard English

language. We need to understand the difference between American and

British to reduce hesitation and misinterpretation in using English.

C. The Difference Between British English and American English

 English is a global language that has variety of dialects. For instance

between British and American . They have different in dialect , grammar ,

spelling , pronunciation ,etc.

American and British English are called as English standard. English

standard is English language that learned through grammar books and taught

at schools and course places. Commonly, the difference between British and

American appear from the native speaker who use English as first language.

Algeo,John (2006) stated that there are many varieties of English other

than British and American . All of those varieties are intrinsically just as

worthy of study and use as British and American . But these two varieties are

the ones spoken by most native speakers of English and studied by most

foreign learners.

Modiano,Marko (1996) said that the differences between British

English and American English are most apparent in pronunciation. Students,

moreover, are often aware of differences in vocabulary, as well as spelling.

Some people consider these dissimilarities to be of minor concern.

Nevertheless, the differences between the two varieties are not always as

unimportant as we would like to believe. Quite often, using American or

British terminology in the wrong context can cause a great deal of

misinterpretation. Spelling differences can unfortunately cause some people to

assume that a word in incorrectly spelled, resulting in reaction which, with s

little checking, can be avoided. Differences in punctuation can also cause

misunderstanding.

“Despite the heavy American influence which has been exerted on

BE in recent years, the two varieties of English show a considerable

number of differences. The English often use different words for the

sAmerican English common objects; they make frequent use of words

and phrases that are seldom or never heard in American Englishrica.

They use different sounds in their speech.”(Janicki Karol 1977)

Based on the definition above it can be concluded that the English

language has been an international language used in many countries as both

native language an as second language. That is the reason there are many

varieties of English. Commonly, the variety of English that most encounters is

British English and American English. It is not only difference in the

vocabulary but also some changes in grammatical rules, pronunciation,

spelling, punctuation etc.

1. Pronunciation

Modiano Marko stated that the differences between British English

and American English with respect to pronunciation are apparent to native

speakers, but not always so clearly differentiated in the ears of the second

language speaker.
 Whereas Algeo John (2006) said that the most obvious difference

between British and American is in the “tune” of the language, that is, the

intonation that accompanies sentences. When a Briton and American talks,

they identify themselves primarily by the tunes of their respective varieties. In

singing, the prose tune is overridden by the musical tune, making it much

harder to distinguish British and American singers.

According to Janicki Karol intonation may be defined as a variations

of melody consisting of different pitches and a terminal inflection. It should

be realized that the proper use of intonation variations, as opposed to stress,

requires so much effort and practice on the part of the learner that in fact it

constitutes the most difficult skill for the non-native speaker to acquire.

Listed below are some common words with the vowel a pronounced /Å:/ in

British English as opposed to the American English /æ/. As mentioned above,

British English dance and aunt are often referred to when discussing this

distinction. Other words which fall into this category are:

British English American English

bath ba:Ɵ bæƟ

branch brÅ:nt∫ brænt∫

 can’t2 kÅ:nt kænt

dance dÅ:ns dæns

fast fÅ:st fæst

France frÅ:ns fræns

2. Spelling

“….It is less important that a certain spelling is British or

American , than that the spelling is correct because one or the other,

or both, use it. The primary objective is to create more American

awareness of British spellings, and more British tolerance of American

spellings. In fact, in many cases the two columns representing

American and British spellings are not mutually exclusive…..the latter

is necessary so that the student will not be discriminated against

because his reader is not aware of American -British spelling

differences, since level of education is often judged on the basis of

ability to spell correctly.”( Salama Nancy and Ghaly Mary 1982)

The American spellings below are those preferred by The

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, while the british

spellings are those recommended by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

These are alternative ways of spelling some words.

Spelling Differences

US UK
 Abridgment abridgement

Acknowledgment acknowledgement

Aging ageing

Aluminum Aluminium

analyze analyse

Catalog catalogue

Center Centre

Check (bank) Cheque

Color Colour

Behavior behaviour

Judgment Judgement

Mustache moustache

Traveler traveller

Tire tyre

Favorite favourite

As the example above,between American and British English

clearly have some different.

3. Vocabulary

It must have been noticed that in the areas of

pronunciation, stress, intonation and spelling the number of

similiarities between the two varieties of English definetly

outweights the number of discrepancies. Likewise in the area of

vaocabulary the most often used words are the sAmerican English

in to varieties under consideration. It should be emphasized ,

however , that the differences pertaining to pronunciation , stress,

intonation and spelling are much more stable, i.e.., the language in

the components mentioned is not affected by the various processes

that affect the vocabulary and grammar of either variety.

Until the nineteen – twenties the number of vocabulary

differences had been increasing very [Link] year 1925 is often

associated wwith a sudden turn which initiated a conspicuous

infiltration of American isme into British English. This fact can

also be accounted for in terms of the natural result of the various

extra-linguistic processes in both the United States and Great

Britain.

Due to an extensive exchange of films and books as well as

the spread of radio and television, a number of originally American

words and expressions also began to be used in [Link]

accepted a considerable number of the “ new forms “ the British

people do not seem to realize that many lexical items they use in

everyday conversation are of American origin.

When an Englishman is asked the question : Do you use

this word ? one of the possible answers he may give is : Yes , we

do but definitely an American [Link] American in an analogical

situation might answer : Yes , we do but it is a Briticism. These

two possible reactions may help to conceive of the existence of

different forms and, moreover, with the proper handling of the

whole phenomenon

The selection of words and expressions presented below is

limited to those items which are used in everyday and colloquial

[Link] should be realized that the list indicated here includes

only a few randomly chosen professional terms. The real number

of technical vocabulary dissimilarities is somewhat longer. Setting

up a complete list of them would be a very difficult task and, in

fact , it would not fall within the scope of this handbook.

Thus, in order to meet the needs of the reader a list made up

of significant words and expressions referring to everday life

seems to be the most appropriate,

American Englishrica English British English

Absorbent cotton Cotton wool

Ad/advertisement/ailment, Advert, ad illness

sickness,illness
 Alumnus/a/, University /University/graduate

graduate

Ale,beer Bitter , beer, ale

Amusement, park Fun,Fair

Apartement Flat

All in all, vocabulary discrepancies between BE and AE are less

numerous, but those that remain, still contribute to the differences

between the two varieties of the language..

[Link]

In grammar and syntax, American and British English are

remarkably similar. Example of the main differences are listed

below. The influence of American English on British English ,

however is constantly growing-through films,television,pop

music,the internet, and so on-so that even such contrast as these are

likely, if not dissapper, at least to diminish in importance. It should

be noted that, in many of the following cases, two different forms

are possible in one of the forms is normal in other variety.

The writer try to discus some example of the differences between

American English and British below

[Link] verbs

A number of verbs can be either regular or irregular in the past

[Link] in the American English and in British the forms

most commonly used are not the sAmerican [Link] two

forms are given in the following [Link] first is more commonly

[Link] will be seen that in American English,the regular form is

usually preferred,and in British English the irregular.

American English British English

Burned,bunt Burnt,burned

Spelled Spelt,spelled

Woke,woked Woke

Spoiled,spoilt Spoilt,spoiled

DreAmerican Englishd,dreamt Dreamt,dreAmerican Englishd

In American English, the past particle of get is either gotten or

got,except in the structure have got,used as an alternative to

have,which is the sAmerican English as in British English

American English British English

His tennis has gotten much better His tennis got much better
Ive gotten to know him over this Ive got to know him over the
years years
Ive got a terrible headache Ive got a terrible headache
2. Use of past simple and present perfect tenses
 In American English these two tenses are often interchangeable in

conditions where only the present perfect can be used in British

[Link] instance, when an action in the past has a result now (as in

the first example below)the present perfect is normally

employed .Other tyipical cases are with words like just, already, and yet

and with ever and never when referring to a period of time that

continues until now

American English British English

I’ve lost my keys. Did you see I’ve lost my keys. Have you

them ? seen them

John isn’t here. He went to the John isn’t here. He’s gone to the

bank. bank

I’m not hungry. I just had I’m not hungry. I’ve just had

British Englishakfast. British Englishakfast

Some examples above are the writer try to explain the differences

between American and British English in grammar changes.

4. Punctuation

In punctuation, the differences between American English and

British English are usually of little importance to students.

Moreover, many scholars ignore the issue. In written texts,

 however, because they allow for more careful scrutiny, a random

mixing of spelling and punctuation may be perceived by some

instructors as a sign of carelessness.

a. The Hyphen

The hyphen, or dash, is sometimes used in spelling, (for

example, British English cooperation, American English cooperation),

or, like parenthesis, to set off information within a sentence. Many

compound nouns, such as British English coal-face, oil-painting,

blood-pressure, are spelled with a dash in British English, but as two

separate words in American English. When carrying out writing

assignments, consult either an American English or British English

dictionary, and strive for consistency. Some writers, when coming to

the end of a line, prefer to divide the word into two parts (this custom

is not currently in favor). In British English the system for dividing

words at the end of a line is based on the morphological British

Englishaks in a word, (for example, struct-ure). The American English

system, on the other hand, is syllabic, (for example struc-ture). While

to some readers this fact may seem insignificant, it can actually prove

to be an important piece of information. Students who have carefully

prepared a manuscript using one word-division system may find that

they have to remove what has been done, and in some cases, reword
the text using the alternative system. When writing American English,

for example, with American English spelling and vocabulary, it would

seem odd, if not incorrect for many people in the US, if the word

division was based on the morphological system.

b. The Comma

The major difference in the use of the comma is with listings

where in British English there is no comma after the second to

the last item, In American English there is comma following

the secobd to the last item in a listing, In general, the British

version had more commas than the American one, as can be

seen in the table below

The British Version The American

Version
[Link] off, ceasing to compel [Link] off ceasing to
my compel my

attention attention

2. Days, under sun and rain [Link] under sun and rain

3. afternoon, and when 3. Afternoon and when

4. went toward the little office, 4. went toward the little

mingling immediately office mingling

c. Quotation
immediately
The most obvious punctuation difference between the two

versions in the way quotations are marked. The original

 American version uses quotation marks (“xx”), while the

British version employs inverted commas (‘x’).

American and British English also uses inverted

commas and quotation marks differently, respectively,

when marking a quotation within another quotation.

For example:

• U.S’’Oh, is that your suit?’’ I said. ‘This is the first I ever

heard about it’

• U.K’ Oh, is that your suit?’ I said. ‘This is the first I ever
heard about it’

D. The Influence Between British and American English to The Non-Native

Speakers

Quite often, teachers advise students to keep the two major varieties

of the English language separate, that is to say, to speak and write either

American English or British English (referred to in the text as American

English or British English). Recent findings suggest, however, that an

increasing number of native speakers are mixing features of American

English and British English, and furthermore, many, if not most sec ond

language speakers in Europe and elsewhere have begun to speak a mix ture,

sometimes called Mid-Atlantic English. Regardless of how one feels about

this development, a good understanding of the differences between American

English and British English will help students to communicate more

effectively. This is true for the spoken as well as the written language. Please

note that this book is written in American English.

The differences between American English and British English are

most apparent in pronunciation. Students, moreover, are often aware of

differences in vocabulary, as well as spelling. Some people consider these

dissimilarities to be of minor concern. Nevertheless, the differences between

the two varieties are not always as unimportant as we would like to believe.

Quite often, using American or British terminology in the wrong context

can cause a great deal of misinterpretation. Confusion over weights and

measures can have disasters effects. Spelling differences can unfortunately

cause some people to assume that a word is incorrectly spelled, resulting in

reactions which, with a little checking, can be avoided. Differences in

punctuation can also cause misunderstanding.

It should be kept in mind that the English language is changing

rapidly, and as a result, dictionaries and other reference material cannot be

completely up to date.

Advanced students especially will become aware of major differences

between the two varieties, and it is therefore preferable for them to have the

two varieties clearly distinguished in their [Link], consistency,that

is the use of one variety exclusively, is only necessary within one single piece

of written work , or when functioning in a context where one or the other

variety is [Link] any other context it is hardly necessary.

E. The Usage of British English and American English

British English and American English have some differences eventhough,

those differences is not important, but for some condition its cause

[Link] some example of the usage of British And American

English based on Davis Crhistopher on his book “Divided By a Common

Languange “.

At the Air Port

Briton visiting the U.S or American visiting the U.K will encounter different terms as

soon as they step off the air plane (or aeroplane as the British say).

American British

Skycap Airport Porter

Baggage cart Trolley

Rents Hires

At The Hotel

In the U.S, the floor of a building level with the ground is known as the first

floor ;In Britain it is called the ground floor. Some British terms can cause

confusion for American :

American British

Reception Front desk

A receptionist A desk clerk

A flannel A washcloth

Tariff Rate