词汇学-chapter-6

ChapterSixRegionalDifferencesofEnglishWordsChaptersixRegionalDifferences1.AmericanEnglish2.CanadianEnglish3.AustralianEnglish4.BlackEnglish1.AmericanEnglish1.1GrowthofAmericanEnglish1.2CharacteristicsofAmericanEnglish1.3DifferencesbetweenAmE&BrE1.1GrowthofAmericanEnglishA.BeforeIndependenceB.FromindependencetotheEarly19thCenturyC.FromtheEarly19thCenturytothePresentTime.A.AmericanEnglishbeforeIndependence1.Theestablishmentin1607ofthesettlementwhichtheexplorerscalledJamestownmarkedthebeginningofBritishcolonizationinAmerica.2.By1733theoriginal13Englishcolonieshadbeensetup.3.ThelanguagetheybroughtwiththemwasElizabethanEnglish,thelanguagespokenbyShakespeare,MiltonandBunyan,whichbelongedtotheearlystageofModernEnglish.4.Itwasinthemainsimilartopresent-dayEnglish,buthadsomedifferencesinspelling,pronunciation,grammarandvocabulary.eg.Inspelling:cleare(clear)dutei(duty)goodnes(goodness)Inpronunciation:tea[te:]not[ti:]Newlycreated&borrowedwords(tonamenewthings):bullfrog,racoon,backwoods,ash-canportage,scow,hook.B.AmericanEnglishFromindependencetotheEarly19thCenturyBackground:1.Thecommonstrifeofbravingthehardshipsoflife,fightingagainstBritishtariffsandultimatelypoliticalcontrolledtotheemergenceasenseofnationality.2.Inthefieldoflanguage,thispatrioticfeelingwasmanifestedbytheargumentfortherecognitionoftheAmericanvarietyorstandardofEnglish.Reasons:1.InthedrivewestwardAmericanskeptpenetratingtothe“ever-moving”frontierandcontinuedtocomeacrossnewobjects;2.BehindthefrontierAmericaninstitutionsandwaysoflifebegantotakeshape.Ways:formingwordsandphraseswiththeirownlinguisticmaterialsandadoptingwordsfromindigenousinhabitantsandfromimmigrantsfromotherEuropeancountries.Result:AVocabulary,orCollectionofWordsandPhrases,byJohnPickeringwaspublishedin1816..C.AmericanEnglishFromtheEarly19thCenturytothePresenttimeBackgroundEvents:GoldRush;AgricultureandMininginGreatPlains;TheCivilWar;TheGrowthofIndustry;TheFirstWorldWar;TheSecondWorldWarRapidChangesinSocialLife:ThousandsofScientificandTechnicalInventionscameabout;TheAmericanWayofLivingsymbolizedbyMotorCars,Movies,PopSongs,Radios;SocialProblemskeptcroppingup.---Allthesecausedthousandsofnewexpressions.ExampleWords&Expressions:air-conditioned,immunology,pain-killer,fillingstation,freighttrain,stationwagon,braintrust,chainstore,supermarket,moon-shot,earth-rise,cashomat,sick-out,drive-upwindow,blackpower1.2CharacteristicsofAmEA.CreativenessinEnrichingtheLanguageB.ConservativenessorRetentionofArchaicFeaturesC.HeterogeneityD.RelativeUniformityinSpeechE.PopularityofSlangF.UseofBigWordG.VerboseandPlainStyleinWritingA.1.CreativenessinEnrichingtheLanguageFormexpressivecompounds:skyscraper,cloudburst…Useconversion:tolumber(tocuttimber),toholiday(tospendholidays)Preferredaffixes:super-,de-,-teria,-nik:debug,superstar,no-good-nikBlends,backformation,clipping&acronymsarefrequentlyused:enthuse,deli(delicatessen),NASANewmeaningsforexistingwords:squeeze(boyorgirlfriend),tofireVividphrasesoriginatinginAmerica:haveanaxtogrind,barkupthewrongtree,inthedoghouseAmericanEnglishbeganwiththeEnglishoftheElizabethanperiod,anagecharacterizedbythereligioustolerancewhichstimulatedthecomparativefreedomofmind,andthesuccessofoverseasexplorationsandtradebroadenedthepeople’soutlookandheightenedtheircreativeimpulse.InfacttheElizabethantraditionandfrontierspiritcombinedtoformanessentialpartofAmericanEnglish---creativeness.It’senrichmentcanbeshownasfollow:A.2.CreativenessinEnrichingtheLanguageNOTES:I.AconsiderablenumberofAmericanexpressionsarepungentandforceful,asillustratedbythecompoundsandphrasesgivenabove.II.Americansliketouseshotwordssuchasclippingsandacronyms:ban(prohibit),cut(reduce),probe(investigate)TothesewemayaddtheshortwordsfirstusedbyAmericanjournalistsandthenadoptedbyBritish“pressmen”.III.ComparedwiththeirBritishcounterparts,Americanwordsaremoreselfexplanatory:longdistancecall,sidewalk,subwayasagainsttrunkcall,pavement,tubeB.ConservativenessorRetentionofArchaicFeaturesAmEwordsarchaicinEngland:1.Iguess(IthinkorIsuppose)usedbyChaucer2.mad(angry):usedbyShakespeare3.druggist(chemist):BrEapothecaryOtherexamples:jeans,molasses,greenhorn,loophole,whittle,wilt,loan,deft,ornateAmericanPronunciationswhichhavebecomearchaicinBritishEnglish:1.vowelsound[æ]inmast,halfasagainst[a:]inBrE2.keeping[r]inwordssuchas:car,ford3.Retainingthesecondarystressin:dictionary,directory,schedule[skedjul]Ingrammar:gottenasapastparticipleforgetItisasurprisingbutunquestionablefactthatmanycurrentAmEexpressionshavebecomearchaicinBrE.C.HeterogeneityofAmEWordsAmericanIndian:skunk,hickoryFrench:portage,prairie,shantySpanish:ranch,desperado,lassoDutch:SantaClaus,boss,cookyGerman:hamburger,pinochleItalian:pizza,pizzeriaAfricanelements:jazz,banjo,hoodoo(不祥之物,遭厄运）Yiddish:(依地语themiddleHighGermanspokenbyJewsinGermany)nebbish无足轻重的人，无能的人，百依百顺的人TheUnitedStatesisknownasa“meltingpot”,itistrueinregardtolanguage.AmericanEnglishhasinthecourseofitsdevelopmentincorporatednumerousofexpressionsfromnumeroustonguesandhasbecomeheterogeneousinnatu