4.1 English Varieties in the USA外国文学名著导读.pdf

Chapter Four 4.1 English Varieties in the USA Learning Outcomes 1. Briefly outline the history and development of English in North America; 2. Compare the linguistic features of British and American English, in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. English in America American English is the American variety of English. American English, surpassing British English, is the most influential and powerful variety of English in the world today. Discussion: What are the reasons for the popularity of American English? History The first official English-speaking group to visit the Americas arrived in 1497. The best-known English-speaking immigrants to America were the English puritans who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. Three stages of American English (1) Colonial period: 90% British immigrants black slaves (2) Independent period: immigrants from Ireland and Germany (3) Modern era: 1864present immigrants from Scandinavian and other European countries Dialects of American English 1. New England Dialect 2. Southern Dialect 3. General American Pronunciation of Southern American English (1) Non-rhotic; E.g. car, park, bird (2) The final consonant is often deleted; E.g. last, kept, find las’, kep’, fin’ (3) The Southern Drawl /æ/ /æeε/ • bad /εə/ /ajæ/ • there Syntactic Features 有缘学习更多+谓ygd3076考证资料