There are two main differences between American English and English in word spelling: one is that words have changed, which makes individual letters different; The other is that American words have been simplified. The former, such as inquire (English) and inquire (America), have different initials. However, 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 are pajamas and pajamas in British English; In American English. License is used in British English and license is used in American English. These words differ only by one letter. Some words have the same pronunciation, while others are similar.
American words are usually 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 lacks a "u" letter; Refrigerator is a refrigerator in American English, which is much simpler than the original word. 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.
As far as dates are concerned, British and American expressions are different. 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. As written in12 March 996:
March 2, 1996 (UK)
March 2 1996 (USA)
In American writing, ST, ND and RD+0st, 2nd and 3rd of 65438 are not used. Because the written expression of the date is different, the pronunciation is also different. For example, on April 20th, 1987, written in Britain is 20 April, 1987, pronounced as 20 of April, 987; The American expression is 1987, which is pronounced as April 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 in English and 5/6/98 in 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. In English, $ 175(US $ 175) is pronounced as A(one) married and seven five dollars, while in the United States it is pronounced as one married and seven five dollars, usually omitting and; When the same numbers are used continuously, English is used to using double or triple, which is generally not used in the United States. For example, the telephone number is 320 1 12, and its pronunciation is 320, double one two, and the pronunciation in the United States is 3212. 999 234 is pronounced triple nine 234 in English and 999 234 in the United States, but Americans also pronounce three consecutive identical numbers as three plus this number, for example, 999 is pronounced 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, which includes letters, telegrams, telephones, telex, reports, postcards and so on.
There are some differences between English and Americans in letter style, such as the 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 QueensEnglish. If this letter is addressed to the United States or areas within its sphere of influence, we should use American English. Of course, British 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. This font is called vertical or printed, which is commonly used in the United States. The first word of each paragraph is indented, which is called indentation or indentation. This format is very common in Britain. The vertical position and signature are on the left column. This format has been widely used in American companies that attach great importance to work efficiency.
A formal business English letter should write the name and address of the recipient company or the full name, position and address of the recipient above the address, which is called internal address. There are also vertical and indented ways to write addresses in letters. Vertical and American styles juxtapose lines, while indentation or British style retracts lines in turn. However, the author noticed that the addresses in recent British business letters were not indented in turn, which seemed 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 the ordinary recipient, that is, in the internal address of the letter, 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, they are slowly changing to mr.mmes. (plural form of madam) for more than two women. 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 abbreviate periods. On the contrary, American English, which tends to be progressive and free, uses abbreviated forms, such as Mr, Mrs and Messrs
4. As far as addressing is concerned, there are two common forms of addressing in business: gentlemen (American) and dear gentlemen (British), which are equivalent to China's "sincere respect" or "sincere respect". 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 kinds of courtesy approaches at the end of letters, which are equivalent to "Salute", "Salute" and "Shun 'an" used at the end of China's letters. The most typical American writing method is sincere and best greetings, and the typical English expressions are your sincerity (an acquaintance or knowing the name of the other person), best wishes, cordial greetings and your loyalty (unknown name). 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.
There are also obvious differences in idioms between American English and English. For example, British English often adds should to virtual forms, while American English mostly doesn't. Have/have not got get English and have/don‘t have in America are used to express the concept of "have" or "have". What "have to" and "have to" do, in English, means having to do something, while in America, it just means having 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 school" has different expressions in Britain and America. In the United States, the word "graduate" can be used in any school, such as graduating from a university/school, while in English, graduate is limited to graduating from a university 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 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 come instead of got on. "raise prices" in English means put up prices and raise prices in the United States; The English expression of "take a computer course" is go on a computer course, while the American expression is take a computer course.
6. When talking on the phone, Britain and America also have different expressions. If you are an office secretary or 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, while 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? American English usually uses the preposition "to" instead of the preposition "with" in sentences.
Of course, there are other differences between American English and English, but American English is 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 popular in spoken English. After all, America is still the largest country in the world!