Main Comparative Peculiarities of American and British English Standards

2.3.2 An Indian English Grammar

Standard English in India is prized and found plentifully in educated circles and higher Indian writing in English. Middle and upper-class Indians, especially those with greater exposure to the West through books, electronic media (such as television or movies) and travel, tend to speak more grammatically-standard English. British English is an official language of central and state governments in India. What is characterized as Indian English is not considered "correct usage" by either government-related institutions (such as offices and schools) or educated Indians who prize 'proper' English. Indian schools still teach grammar from (frequently older) British textbooks like Wren & Martin or J. C. Nesfield (1898): the grammar of higher British English is considered the only correct one. Efforts by the Oxford University Press to publish a dictionary of Indian English were an abject failure since customers in India preferred the 'proper' British dictionary. Spoken and written English in India has not explicitly "forked" away from British English because the labeling of English as a "foreign language" is part of many people's political attitudes: its explicit indigenisation would devalue efforts to discontinue the widespread use of English in India.    However, in spite of the great stress on good English in higher circles, the layman's spoken variety, Indian English, is wide-spread and well-known for its many eccentricities. For this reason, "grammar of Indian English" must be taken with a grain of salt. Indian accents vary greatly from those leaning more towards a purist British to those leaning more towards a more 'vernacular' (Indian language)-tinted speech. The most ubiquitous instance of modified sounds is the morphing of alveolar English 'd', 't' and 'r' sounds to more retroflex variants. South Indians tend to curl the tongue more for 'l' and 'n' sounds, while Bengalis (from both India and Bangladesh)and Biharis often substitute 'j' for 'z' (as in 'jero' instead of 'zero'). Subcontinentals, especially those from the Sindh (of both India and Pakistan), have the habit of changing 'w' sounds to 'v' (as in 'ven' instead of 'when').   The distinct evolution of regional variations in contemporary usage has led to terms such as Hinglish (Hindi + English) and Tanglish (Tamil + English). These terminologies are often referred to in a humorous way, but at times they also have a derogatory connotation, with each region or stratum of society having fun at the expense of others. Hinglish, Tanglish, Benglish (Bengali + English) and other unnamed variations are particularly capitalized and made popular in the field of advertising. Here, the aim of reaching a large cross-section of society is fulfilled by such double-coding. There are thus many borrowed words from Indian languages that do find their way into popular writing, ads and newspapers, not to mention TV spots and shows.

Grammar, idiom and usage in Indian English

For those aware of the grammar of Indian tongues like Bengali, Hindi and Tamil, the logic behind quirks of Indian English is quite transparent and readily explicable. However, observation by the perspicacious, in spite of ignorance of Indian languages, will reveal much that is characterizable in 'rules' and 'tendencies.' One John M. Lawler of the University of Michigan observes the following anomalies in the grammar of Indian English:

Progressive tense in stative verbs

They might say: I am liking it very much. 
Instead of: I like it very much. [75]

Differences in noun number and determiners

They might say: She performs many charities.  
Instead of: She gives away a lot in charity. [75]

 

Prepositions

They might say: Let us discuss about this. 
Instead of: Let us discuss this. [75]

Incorrect Tag questions

They might say: They did it, no? / He is here, isn’t it?/ She closed the door, did she? 
Instead of: They did it, didn’t they? / He is here, isn’t he?/ She closed the door, didn’t she? [75]

Word order variations

They might say: My all closets are empty. 
Instead of: My closets are all empty.

They might say: He does this always. 
Instead of: He always does this. [75]

Answers to question content

A question “Didn’t you take Rita to school?”  
May be answered with: Yes, I didn’t. 
Instead of: No, I didn’t.  [75]

Inappropriate usage

They might say: Tom was not there but. 
Instead of: But Tom was not there.

They might say: I only told her to do that. 
Instead of: I told her to do that. [75]

Use of “of”

They might say: She had so much of work to do that….. 
Instead of: She had so much work to do that…  [75]

Rhyming double-words

They might say: Let’s go out for some ice-cream-vice-cream. 
They mean: Let us go out for some ice-cream (ice-cream and stuff). [75]

Overuse of actually/obviously/generally/seriously etc

They might say: Seriously, she is a good person. 
Instead of: She is a good person. [75]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion to Chapter II

Everyone knows that Americans speak English differently than the British or Australians or even Canadians do, but most of the time we think of these differences in terms of the way we pronounce certain words (i.e., our accents). Most people also know that there are some differences that manifest themselves in written language as well as speech, including well-known lexical variations such as lorry/truck, pavement/sidewalk, tap/faucet, autumn/fall, etc. But beyond calling some things by different names, there are many other peculiarities of American English in its phrasing and syntax that set it apart from other brands of the English language. For example, phrases such as "omit to", "endure to", etc. are common in British usage but rarely occur in American English; and the bare infinitive after "insist", "demand", "require", etc. (e.g., "I insist he be here by noon.") is common in American English but rare in other brands of English. There are also considerable semantic differences between British and American English, for example: "tuition" is not used to cover tuition fees in British English; "surgery" in British English is "doctor's office" in American English; "school" does not include higher education in British English, etc. Usage not only differs but can be misleading, for example, British English uses "sick" for the American "nauseous", whereas "sick" in American English is comparable to "ill" in British English; British "braces" are U.S. "suspenders", while "suspenders" in British English refers to something else entirely. (For more information about differences between American and British English, see Fillmore, et al., An American National Corpus: A Proposal and John Algeo, "British and American Grammatical Differences", in The International Journal of Lexicography, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988.)

Of course, even within the U.S. there are considerable variations in not only terminology, but also phrasing and syntax, as you move from region to region across the nation. In fact, the characteristics of different "brands" of American English has been a topic of considerable interest for at least 100 years, and has led to the creation of a Dictionary of American Regional English, a multi-volume work-in-progress that documents regional variations in terminology and pronunciation across the U.S. Very recently, PBS aired a program entitled Do You Speak American?, based on a book by Robert MacNeil and William Cran, which examined in depth variations in American English and the sociological impact of language use in the U.S. (The PBS website for the show is an excellent source of a wide variety of information about American English, well worth checking out.) What we learn from all of these sources is that American English is a rich English "dialect" of its own, with possibly numerous sub-varieties (including ebonics, chicano, etc.) that manifest their own fascinating characteristics, many of them a result of influences from other languages and cultures that have played--and/or continue to play--a defining role in U.S. history. It also tells us that the language is constantly developing, and that new words and constructs arise every day in (especially) Americans' use of English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter III

3.1 Comparative peculiarities of British English and American English

 

Lexical difference

Lexical differences of American variant highly extensive on the strength of multiple borrowing from Spanish and Indian languages, what was not in British English.

American variant British variant

Subway   «метро»   underground

the movies   «кинотеатр» the cinema

shop     «магазин»  store

sidewalk   «тротуар»  pavement

line     «очередь»   queue

soccer   «футбол»   football

mailman   «почтальон» postman

vacation   «каникулы»  holiday

corn    «кукуруза»  maize

fall    «осень»  autumn   [81]

Also claim attention differences in writing some words in American and British variants of language.

For instance, following:

American variant    British variant

honor     honor

traveler    traveler

plow     plough

defense    defense

jail      goal

center     centre

apologize    apologies    [81]

 

Grammatical difference

Grammatical differences of American variant consist in following:

1. In that events, when Britannia’s use Present Perfect, in Staffs can be used and Present Perfect, and Past Simple.

2. Take a shower/a bath instead of have a shower/a bath.

3. Shall is not used. In all persons is used by will.

4. Needn't (do) usually is not used. Accustomed form -don't need to (do).

5. After demand, insist, require etc should usually is NOT used. I demanded that he apologize (instead of I demanded that he should apologies in British variant).

6. to/in THE hospital instead of to/in hospital in BE.

7. on the weekend/on weekend instead of at the weekend/at weekend.

8. on a street instead of in a street.

9. Different from or than instead of different to/from

10. Write is used with to or without the pretext.

11. Past participle of "got" is "gotten"

12. To burn, to spoil and other verbs, which can be regular or irregular in the British variant, in the American variant always regular.

13. Past Perfect, as a rule, is not used completely. [5]

The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to use the spell check on your word processor (if you are using the computer of course) and choose which variety of English you would like. As you can see, there are really very few differences between standard British English and standard American English. However, the largest difference is probably that of the choice of vocabulary and pronunciation. For further information concerning these areas please refer to the following links below.

American English has grown steadily in international significance since World War II, parallel to the growth of U.S. political, economic, technological and cultural influence worldwide. American English is currently the dominant influence on "world English" (cf. British English) largely due to the following:

1. Wealth of the U.S. economy vs. the U.K., & influences

2. Magnitude of higher education in America vs the U.K.

3. Magnitude of the publishing industry in America

4. Magnitude of global mass media and media technology influence

5. Appeal of American popular culture on language and habits

6. International political and economic position of the U.S. (cf. Kennedy)

American and British English are both variants of World English. As such, they are more similar than different, especially with "educated" or "scientific" English. Most divergence can be ascribed to differing national histories and cultural development (cf. Are Americans Ruining English? [PBS]), and the way in which the two national variants have changed correspondingly.

The following general categories of difference between standard American English (SAE) and standard British English (SBE) each have their own socialistic value:

 

Punctuation

• Date writing, number/word order (never use only numbers!)

• Use of commas and periods inside quotation marks

• Business letter salutations, colons vs. commas

Grammar

• His daughter was a thespian who matriculated at the state college. She came to the party with a homo sapiens! The dean said he was an extrovert. He masticated throughout the meal.

The R is a consonant, but it acts more like a vowel, because the tip of the tongue doesn't touch anywhere in the mouth. The middle T is what makes a word like meeting sound like meeting. As the most commonly used word in English is the word that is very important. Here are some very high-frequency. The words: the, these, those, they, them, there, they're, their, this, that and then. If these and those are pronounced with a D instead of a TH, it sounds like dese and dose, which is considered lower class in America.

 

 

3.2 Sound system

Voiced and unvoiced consonants

If you want to master English pronunciation you have to able to distinguish between these two types of consonants. This is necessary for you to learn the proper pronunciation when you learn new vocabulary. And more importantly you need to know the difference between voiced and unvoiced consonants to be able to pronounce the words of English correctly. What makes one consonant be voiced and another not?

A consonant is voiced when it makes the vocal cords vibrate. It is voiceless when it is pronounced without vibrating the vocal cords.

The sound of the letters "p" and "b"

For example, the sounds indicated by the letters "b" and "p" differ only in their vocalization (voicing). There are both "bilabials", that is, they are produced by closing both lips. But the "b" is voiced and the "p" is unvoiced. In this article, we will follow common practice and indicate the letters of the alphabet with quotes ("b" and "p") and the sounds with slashes (/b/ and /p/)

You can appreciate the difference by lightly touching with the tips of your fingers your "Adam's Apple" (the voice box that you can see in the front of your throat) as you pronounce the word bowl . You can feel the vibration with the tips of our fingers. Concentrate on the first sound, the consonant /b/ before passing to the vowel represented by the "o". Notice that you can lengthen the sound (something is heard!) without the "o". This is because /b/ is a voiced consonant. Now pronounce the word pole. Do you feel the vibration in the vocal cords? No.

The reason is that /p/ is an unvoiced consonant. Notice that you can't lengthen the sound or hear anything.

When you pronounce these sounds, don't forget the advice we already gave you in other articles: exaggerate the value of the vowel "o" with a strong English accent!

Listen to the following exercise until you can distinguish between the two sounds and produce them yourself.

You should be able to tell the difference between the /p/ and the /b/ in the sentence The doctor said: "Bill, take your pill!

Try it now! [74]

The sounds of the English letters /k/ (sometimes "c") and /g/

It is not only the sounds /p/ and /b/ that are voiced or unvoiced. The same distinction holds for the sounds represented by the letters "k" y "g" in the International Phonetic Alphabet. By the way, do you see that it will not be hard for you to learn the symbols of the IPA? Many of the symbols, like the k and the g are already familiar to you. They are the normal letters of the alphabet.

The IPA symbol k interests us now. It is the "hard" sound of the letter "c", the sound that the letter "c" usually takes before the letters "a", "o", and "u", for example in the words car, coat, cube.

Now can you see how the IPA system makes it easy for you to learn the pronunciation of new words? Now, we don't have to worry that sometimes the letter "c" has the sound of the IPA symbol k (as in the word cold) or that sometimes the same letter "c" of the English alphabet is pronounced as the IPA s (as in the words cell ).

Now try to feel in your voice box the vibration in the word coal! You can't because it is the unvoiced partner in the pair. If you touch your voice box while you pronounce the word goal, you do feel the vibration because the sound g is voiced.

Practice the two words coal and goal. But keep on pronouncing the English vowel with its lengthening. Exaggerate the English language character of the vowel. Don't pronounce it as if it were col or gol in your language. And also remember the explosive nature of the consonant represented by the "c" in English when it is pronounced as the IPA k. Blow out the candle when you say coal.

Pero... ¡Qué no suene como si hablaras de repollo (la col en el Perú) o del fútbol (el gol)! Cuidado con tu acento hispano! [74]

Did you notice that we review various important things about the English sounds as we move along in this book. From now on, in your listening and in your practice, you must remember the explosive consonants, the special English vowels, and the voiced or unvoiced consonants.

The sound of the letters "t" and "d"

Consider the pair of words tear and dear. Do the same with these words as you did above with the pairs of words coal and goal, and pole and bowl. Can you distinguish which of the initial sounds is voiced and which is unvoiced? Both are pronounced in almost the same place in the mouth but the initial sound of these two words is different in that the letter "t" is usually voiceless and the "d" is usually voiced. However, do not think that the letter "d" in English is always voiced. You will see that sometimes this letter "d" represents a voiceless sound. This is a very important lesson in the pronunciation of English and when you learn how and when the "d" is unvoiced it will be a valuable tool for you in your mastery of English. [52]

This difference between the letters "d" and "t" in English is very important in the matter of the past tense of verbs. We will treat this elsewhere.

Also there is another pair of voiced and unvoiced consonants, the sounds represented in English by the letters "s" and "z". We will study them in their most important contexts, that of the third person singular of the present of verbs, and that of the plural of nouns.

But for now, concentrate on the consonants we just looked at.

Now listen and practice! Listen wherever you can (or listen in our book) to the different pairs of voiced and unvoiced consonants. Then make them yourself.

P and B

K and G

T and D [74]

 

The American R

The American R is like a vowel because it does not touch anywhere in the mouth. In Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Greek and many other languages, the R is a consonant because it touches behind the teeth. The American R is produced deep in the throat. Like the French R and the German R, the American R is in the throat, but unlike those two consonant sounds, it doesn't touch. Let's contrast two similar sounds: [ä] and [r]. Hold your hand out in front of you, with your palm up, like you are holding a tray on it. Slightly drop your hand down, and say ah, like you want the doctor to see your throat. Now, curl your fingers up slightly, and say [r]. Your tongue should feel in about the same position as your hand.

 

æ

Let's start with the [æ] sound. Although it's not a common sound, [æ] is very distinctive to the ear, and is typically American. In the practice paragraph vowel chart, this sound occurs 5 times. As its phonetic symbol indicates, [æ] is a combination of [ä] + [e]. To pronounce it, drop your jaw down as if you were going to say [ä]; then from that position, try to say eh. The final sound is not two separate vowels, but rather the end result of the combination. It is very close to the sound that a goat makes: ma-a-a-ah!

If you find yourself getting too nasal with [æ], pinch your nose as you say it. Go to the practice paragraph and find the 5 [æ] sounds, including [æu] as in down or out.

ä

The [ä] sound is a more common sound than [æ]; you will find 10 such sounds in the practice paragraph. To pronounce [ä], relax your tongue and drop your jaw as far down as it will go. As a matter of fact, put your hand under your chin and say [mä], [pä], [tä], [sä]. Your hand should be pushed down by your jaw as it opens. Remember, it's the sound that you make when the doctor wants to see your throat.