There are two main differences between American English and English in word spelling: one is the change of words, which makes individual letters different, and the other is the simplification of American words. The first letters of the former are different, such as inquire (English) and inquire (America). But before the commodity transaction, one party inquires about the price, quantity, delivery time and payment terms of the commodity; The English word "tire" is Tyre in Britain and Tyre in America. Pajamas in British English are pajamas, pajamas; In American English. License is used in British English and in American English. These words differ only by one letter, some have the same pronunciation and some are similar.
American words are generally simpler than English words. In recent years, American English has become more and more simplified, which fully embodies the modern characteristics of American life and work. Most of these simplified words come from English, and a large number of words remain unchanged in English. After entering American English, these words gradually become simpler and more convenient to use. For example, the more common word colour is spelled color in American English, and a "U" letter is missing; Refrigerator is a refrigerator in American English, which is much simpler than the original word. The simplification of American words is the main manifestation of spelling differences between American English and English.
2. Differences between American English and English in the expression of dates and numbers.
In terms of dates, Britain and the United States have different expressions. Take the sun first, then the moon, which is British; On the other hand, the American style records the month first and then the date. As1March 2, 996 wrote:
March 2, 1996 (UK)
March 2, 1996 (USA)
In American writing, 1ST, 2nd and 3rd are not used. Because the written expression of the date is different, the pronunciation is different. For example, April 20 1987, written in Britain as 20 April 20, 1987, pronounced as April 20, 1987; The American expression is1April 20th, 987, and the pronunciation is1April 20th, 987. Similarly, when all dates are expressed in numbers, there are differences between Britain and the United States. 1May 6, 998 should be written as 6/5/98 for English and 5/6/98 for American; 0 1.08. 1998 is British 1998 August 1, but according to American expression, it is 1998 June 5438+0, American1998 August/kloc-.
There are also differences in digital oral expression between the two countries. $ 175 (US$ 175) is pronounced as a (1) married seven or five dollars in English and as a (1) married seven or five dollars in the United States, often omitting and; When using the same number to represent numbers continuously, English is used to using double or triple, but Americans generally don't. For example, the telephone number 320 1 12 is pronounced as three two zero, double one two, and American is pronounced as three one two two. 999 234 is pronounced as triple nine two three four in English and nine nine nine two three four in America, but Americans also pronounce three consecutive identical numbers as three plus this number, for example, 999 is pronounced as three nines.
3. Differences in letters between American English and English.
Business or business English letters refer to communications used in transactions. In America, business writing is often used, including letters, telegrams, telephones, telex, reports, postcards and so on.
There are some differences in letter styles between Britain and the United States, such as letterhead and address, letter format, wording and closing etiquette. Generally speaking, English letters are conservative. Many British people like to use old-fashioned letters with formal and rigid words, while American letters are very lively, energetic and simple in format. Therefore, when we write to Britain or its old colonial countries, we should use standard English. If this letter is addressed to the United States or its areas of influence, we should use American English. Of course, the English language and culture have also changed in recent years, but on the whole, the differences between them are obvious.
Business English letters are generally required to be printed neatly by typewriter or computer, and the lines on the left are vertical at the beginning, which is called vertical or square, which is commonly used in the United States. The indentation of the first word in each paragraph is called indentation or indentation. This format is very common in Britain. The vertical position and signature are in the left column. This form has been widely adopted by American companies that attach great importance to work efficiency.
In a formal business English letter, the name and address of the receiving company or the full name, position and address of the recipient should be written above the address, which is called the internal address. There are also vertical and indented ways to write addresses in letters. Vertical and American lines are juxtaposed, while indentation or British style takes them back in turn. However, the author has noticed that the addresses in British business letters have not been indented in turn recently, which seems to be the same as those in the United States. In addition, it is also popular in the United States to write the address of ordinary recipients, that is, in the inner address of letters, the house number and street name are omitted.
Use honorifics in English letters. The most common honorifics are Mr, Mrs and Miss (for unmarried women). English people often use esq. (short for esquire) after men's names, but in business, for more than two women, they are gradually changing into Mr. MMEs (plural form of madam). Messrs (plural form of Mr) is used for more than two people, or for companies or groups composed of more than two people. In British English letters, Mr., Mrs. and Mr. don't need to abbreviate periods. On the contrary, American English, which tends to be progressive and free, uses abbreviations such as Mr, Mrs and Messrs
4. In terms of address, there are two common forms of address in business: Gentleman (American) and Dear Sirs (British), which are equivalent to "sincere respect" or "sincere respect" in China. If this letter is addressed to every department of the company, rather than a specific person, it should be "gentleman" in American English and "dear gentlemen" in English. If there is only one person in the other company, you must use Sir/ Dear Sir. Punctuation marks are generally used after salutation, with colons in Britain and semicolons in America.
There are many polite closures at the end of letters, which are equivalent to "salute", "salute" and "Shun 'an" used at the end of letters in China. The most typical American writing style is sincere and best greeting, and the typical English expressions are Yours sincerely (an acquaintance or someone who knows his name), best wishes, cordial greetings and yours faithfully (whose name is unknown). In addition, British polite expressions have special polite formats, but they are no longer used except in special circumstances.
5. Differences between American English and English idioms.
American English and English also have obvious differences in idioms. For example, British English often adds should to virtual forms, while American English mostly doesn't. In English, have/have not got and in America, have/not have are used to express the meaning of "yes" or "no". What "have to" and "have to" do, in English, is to do something, while in America, it just means to do something; ; Holiday jobs is used for English and summer/temporary jobs; Used in American English. The English expression of "renting a computer" is computer hire, and the American expression is ComputerRental. "Graduated from a certain school" has different expressions in Britain and America. In the United States, the word "graduate" can be used in any kind of school, such as university/school graduation, while in English, graduate is limited to university graduation and leaving; It's for high school graduation. When talking about the low salary of a company, the usual expression in English is that its salary is very low, while the expression in the United States is that its salary is not very high; ; The English expression "I get along well with my boss" means that I get along well with my boss, but American English uses got have instead of got on. "raise prices" in English means put up prices and raise prices in the United States; The English expression of "taking a computer course" means taking a computer course, while the American expression means taking a computer course.
6. When talking on the phone, Britain and America also have different expressions. If you are a clerk such as an office secretary or an operator, and you are not the person the other party is looking for, we often say "please wait a moment". The idiom in English is please don't hang up, and American English usually uses hold on；; If you ask the other party (such as the operator) to transfer it to the manager, the English expression is, can you put me through to the manager? In American English, the preposition "to" is often used instead of "with" in sentences.
Of course, there are other differences between American English and English, but American English developed from English after all. At present, British English is still widely used in primary school textbooks, after all, it is more orthodox for learning! American English is more fashionable in spoken English. After all, America is still the largest country in the world!