13. American e. (intonation, vocabulary, dictionary)
Intonation
Both in AE and BrE the falling intonation is used in so-called special ?s, exclamations and imperatives.
The rising tone is used in general questions and requests. The fall-rising tone for contrast and emphasis
The most characteristic difference b-n Am and Br pronunciation is the contrast in intonation. The commonest pattern of the rise in AE is a mid-rising tone instead of a rising glade from low to pitch in BrE
In the level rising tone the rise doesn’t spread over several syllables, but usually occurs on the last syll.,which is also lengthened. The fall-rising tone is usually pronounced with a medium pitch lvl.
Am.inton. sounds very monotonous to the Br.ear.
The intonation divergences b-n AE & BrE are most explicit in emotionally neutral speech.
Vocabulary
In the early part of the 17th century Eng.settlers began to bring their lang.to Am. The settlers borrowed words from Indian lang-s for trees such as the hickory and persimmon, for such unfamiliar animals as raccoons and opossum. Later they borrowed other words from settlers from other countries - for instance, portage and prairie from the French, stoop, sleigh and cookie from the Dutch.
Differences in Br and Am words: (1-AE, 2-BrE)
gas – petrol; lawyer – solicitor/barrister; fall – autumn; cookie - biscuit; sweets – candy; chips – crisps; downtown - centre (city/business); 1st floor – ground floor; yard – garden; pharmacy/drugstore - chemist’s shop; subway – tube; apartment – flat; store – shop; parking lot - car park; private school - public school; public school - state school; drapes – curtains; movie – film; check - bill (restaurant); reservation – booking; trunk (of car) – boot; stove – cooker; purse – handbag; baggage – luggage; vacation – holiday; mail – post; garbage/trash – rubbish; napkin – serviette; faucet – tap; pants – trousers; truck – lorry; line – queue; eraser – rubber; schedule - time-table; sofa – couch; elevator – lift
Dictionary
In 1820-1830 Am.linguist Noah Webster performed a reformative work in the field of orthography, aimed at simplifying American writing and were introduced in his An American Dictionary of the English Language of 1828. Many of his proposals were adopted in the AE. For example:
Am – advise (v), advice (n), Br – advice; Am – defense, Br – defence; Am – practise, Br – practice; Br- apologise, organise, AE - apologize, organize
Omission of “L” – traveling, woolen, marvelous, canceled
Fr-loan words:monologue-monolog; dialogue-dialog; cheque-check; programme-program; plough-plow;
BrE: -re (litre, centre, manoeuvre, theatre), AE :-er (liter, maneuver, theater) ; BrE : -our (colour, behaviour, humour, neighbour), AE : -or (color, behavior, humor, neighbor)
3. Australian English
Aust.has few speakers of European lang-s other than Eng.within its borders. There are still many aboriginal lang.,though they are spoken by a few hundred speakers. More than 80% of population is Br.
The 1st European settlers were 750 convicts, who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788. At that time Aus.was populated by natives.
In 1900 the Br. parliament adopted The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, according to which the Federal parliament gas to control defense, foreign policy, trade, banking, currency and immigration. Everything not specifically mentioned in the act was left to the local authorities.
Phonetics
Many observations lead to a conclusion that there are no local dialects in Aus. The vowel system of Broad Australian is very similar to Cockney. Educated Australian is close to RP. To peculiarities of Aus. pronunciation may be referred(the tendency for Australians to turn pure vowels into diphthongs):
- [i:] ->[ɛi] ex. See, feed
-[i:] -> [ai], esp.at the end of the words. ex: iodi[ai]ne, crinoli[ai]ne
- [i] -> [e] in unstressed position:
*In the initial position: economic, evaluation
*In plural: boxes, matches
*actress, basket, origin
- [e] -> [ei] ex: be[ei]gin, recover
- [ei] -> [ai] ex. day