In Unit 2 you studied a little bit about British, Australian and American pronunciation. Have you studied about this before? Do you think it was interesting? Did you find it difficult or easy? Do you often listen to British, Australian and American speakers? You don’t have to answer these questions; they are here to help you in your reflection.
Your online activity this week is to write a paragraph about your reflections on studying pronunciation. If you need the text as a reference, here it is.
Post your reflections here. This activity is due June 10, 2013.
Have a great week and write me if you have any doubts.
Camila :)
The Differences between American, British, and Australian English
By Amy Nutt
Australia,
Great Britain, and America all speak the same language, but you simply have to
visit each country to realize that, while they all speak English, it is far
from a universal language. The English spoken in Great Britain, America, and
Australia has many similarities, but a surprising number of differences as
well. The main reason for this is the vast distance between each country. Here
are some of the common differences you will find between these three versions
of English.
Pronunciation
Differences
Pronunciation
between the three types of English is very dissimilar. In American English the
"r" at the end of the word almost always affects its pronunciation,
whereas in Australian and British English the "r" is often silent.
Also, the emphasis placed on the syllables of the word varies from British,
Australian, and American English. In Britain, the world adult has the emphasis
on the first syllable, whereas in America it is placed on the second half of
the word. Australian English is unique in the fact that many words have sounds
that are eliminated. Instead of saying good day, the Australian speaker says
g'day. The main pronunciation difference between the three, however, is the
pronunciation of the vowel sounds.
Differences
in Spelling
Not only do the three types of English sound different, but they are
also spelled differently. In some ways, the spelling reflects the difference in
pronunciation. For instance, Americans use the world airplane to refer to a
flying mode of transportation. In Great Britain, the word is aeroplane, and it
is pronounced with an audible "o" sound. Another common difference in
spelling is aluminium, which is the UK spelling, and aluminum, the US spelling.
Again, the difference shows the difference in pronunciation of the two words.
In this instance the Australian spelling is the same as the UK spelling.
Another common spelling difference between UK English and American
English is the use of -our verses -or at the end of the word. For instance, in
the UK, colour, flavour, honour, and similar words all end in -our, whereas in
America they are spelled with the -or ending (color, flavor, honor). In
Australia, the -our spelling is almost universal.
Similarly, the endings -re and -re are different between the different
English dialects. In America you will go to the theater or fitness center,
whereas in Britain you will visit the theatre or fitness centre. Again,
Australian English follows the British pattern.
There are other common spelling differences as well. For instance, in
American English, words that sound as though they end with an -ize will always
end in an -ize. However, in UK English, they typically end in ise (i.e.
realize, realise). Also, British English often doubles consonants when adding a
suffix when American English does not, such as in the world traveller.
Interestingly, the three languages also have distinct vocabularies. For
instance, the "hood" of a car is called the "bonnet" in
Australia and Britain. Australia has several terms that are not used in either
of the other countries, such as "bloke" (man) and "arvo"
(afternoon). Also, Australians use some phrases that are combinations of
British and American terms, such as "rubbish truck." Rubbish is
commonly used in the UK, and truck is commonly used in America.
Grammar
Distinctions
Besides
spelling and pronunciation differences, British, American, and Australian English
all have some subtle grammar differences as well. For instance, in Great
Britain, it is perfectly acceptable to use a collective noun (such as army) as
a plural word ("the army are coming"), whereas in America collective
nouns are almost always singular ("the army is coming"). British
English also uses the irregular form of the past participle of several verbs
(learnt rather than learned). Also, British English tends to drop the definite
article in some situations. For instance, British English speakers may refer to
being "in hospital" instead of "in the hospital."
Australian English grammar
tends to follow British rules.
Hello Camila,
ResponderExcluirIn my opinion the British pronunciation is harder than others, principally the letter "R" have a different song and its accent remember me a "person talking with potato inside mouth". The Autralian's accent is most difficult than the American, maybe we are most conversant because we have the proximity and the usually culture near with us.
Hello, teacher Camila,
ResponderExcluirIt’s very interesting how the english language is pronounced in different countries. Like portuguese, the distance of the places that speaks the same language makes the pronunciation unique. I had more contact with the differences in the portuguese accent, since I live Brazil. But I never had studied about that. In tv series I heard some characters from USA, Great Britain (like Sherlock Holmes, from “Elementary”) and even from Australia (like Dr. Chase, from “House”). It’s easy to identify the differences, but is difficult to understand. The Australian accent is the hardest by far. Some words are pronounced in a different way that we are used to (like in ‘be’, where the ‘e’ is pronounced as a ‘a’, with the same sound of the end of ‘obey’). The British accent seems to be the charming one. It seems to be more formal. The ‘a’ is sometimes pronounced like in portuguese (like in ‘ask’). The ‘r’ vanishes in the final of some words. It’s a little easier to understand than the Australian accent. The North-American accent is the easier and I think it’s because we are more used to than to the others. Obviously I’m not talking about the american english we hear in some musics like rap, or the “street’s accent”. This one is as difficult as the Australian to understand. Despite of all this things, the biggest problem for me is when someone speaks too fast. In this case, such person can be from anywhere that I won’t understand, unfortunately.
Anderson.
The language will always be influenced by local culture. American English, Australian, British, American, Canadian, etc... linguistic patterns are different, but not better or worse. We even like one or the other accent, but label as right or wrong is a matter of serious prejudice. So, It's important to undertand and to be undertood, so that we should communicate well. Thus we need to understand the anglish language peculiarities such as: some dialets, the different way to pronunciate the same word and the diffenrences in spelling and grammar. For example the word "travelling" in Britain english is with 2 l, in American english travelling is with 1 l, and we can write, traveling.
ResponderExcluir