Welcome to the Langfocus channel and my name is Paul.

歡迎來到 Langfocus 頻道，我是保羅，

Today we'll be answering the question “How are British English and American English Different?”

今天我們要來談談英式英語和美式英語的差別，

- one of the most commonly asked questions by learners of English.

這是學英文的人最常問的問題之一，

And hopefully native speakers of English will learn a thing or two from this video as well.

也希望英文母語人士也能從這個影片學到一些東西，

The truth is that both British and American English have numerous varieties, in other

事實上，英式和美式英語各有許多變體─

words various accents and dialects, so in (the main part of) this video I will try to

也就是口音和方言，所以在影片中

focus on the most standard, non-regional variety of each one.

我主要會聚焦在標準的英式和美式英語。

Disclaimer: I'm not American, I'm Canadian.

先聲明：我不是美國人，我是加拿大人

But I'm confident that we will someday be Americans after the invasion.

但我有信心我們有一天都會變成美國人，在美國文化侵略之後

Standard Canadian English is very very close to General American English, so I will say

標準的加拿大英語跟一般的美式英語非常接近，

the American examples myself, unless there's some specific need to distinguish American pronunciation

所以我會自己提供美式英語的例子，除非需要分清楚

from Canadian.

美式和加拿大英語的發音時，才會有加拿大英語的例子

There are several ways in which Britain English and the American English different: vocabulary,

英式和美式英文的差異有多面向：單字、

accent, spelling, and grammar.

口音、拼法和文法。

Vocabulary

單字差異

In the US, people generally say “garbash” or “trash”, while in the UK they generally

美國人通常稱垃圾為 garbage 或 trash，而在英國，

say “rubbish”.

人們通常說 rubbish

Both literally and figuratively.

「這個遊戲很垃圾 (無聊)！」

“The game was rubbish!”

這個句子可以照字面意義或象徵意涵來理解。

Americans “go on vacation”, while Brits “go on holidays”.

美國人說 go on vacation，英國人則說 go on holidays

And this is also possible in American English.

不過美國人也有可能這樣講

In the US people rent “apartments”, while in the UK they rent “flats”.

美國人稱公寓為 apartment，英國人則是叫 flat

In the US, if your apartment is at street level, then you live on the first floor, and

在美國，如果你住公寓的一樓，你會說你住在第一層樓，

the person above you lives on the second floor.

樓上的人住在第二層樓；

In the UK, you live on the ground floor, and the person above you lives on the first floor.

而在英國，一樓叫做 ground floor，樓上的人是住在「第一層樓」

If that person above you is unable or just too lazy to take the stairs, in the US they'd

如果樓上的人沒辦法或是太懶惰不爬樓梯，

take the elevator.

在美國他們會搭 elevator (電梯)；

In the UK, they'd take the lift.

在英國他們則稱作 lift

When you're bored at home, in the US you might turn on the TV, while in the UK you would

當你在家裡很無聊，在美國你會打開電視，

turn on the telly.

而英國人則稱電視為 telly

When you step outside of your building to go for a walk, in the US you might walk on

當你出去散步，在美國你會說你走在 sidewalk (人行道)上面，

the sidewalk, while in the UK you walk on the pavement.

在英國則是說 pavement

And if you're tired of walking, in the US you might take the subway.

如果你不想走路了，你會去搭捷運，在美國搭捷運的英文是 take the subway

In the UK, you take the underground.

在英國則是 take the underground

In the US, it's perfectly to wear pants when you're riding the subway, but in the UK you'd

搭地鐵的時候穿長褲比較好，美國人稱長褲為 pants；

better wear some TROUSERS too because pants means underpants.

英國人則是 trousers，因為 pants 在英國的意思是內褲

And specifically women's underpants are sometimes called knickers in the UK.

女性內褲有時會特別被稱為 knickers

So when someone overreacts, in the US you might say “Don't get your panties in a bunch!”

因此當有人反應過度時，美國人可能會說 「別讓 panties (內褲) 變成一團 (不要反應過度)！」，

In the UK you'd say “Don't get your knickers in a twist!”.

英國人則說「別讓 knicker (內褲) 歪掉 (不要反應過度)！」

Paul how dare you be so crude.

保羅！你怎麼這麼沒教養？

Now I can't show this video to my 6 year old students!

現在我不能把這個影片給我六歲的學生看了！

Don't worry, they'll watch it on their phones during recess.

別擔心，他們會在下課休息時間用手機看

Going back to the word “pants” for a moment, it can also be used in British English as

回到 pants 這個字，它在英式英語

an adjective, meaning something is “crappy” or “it sucks”.

也可以是一個形容詞，意思是指某個東西很爛、很糟糕，

For example “That album is pants”.

例如「這個專輯很爛」，

In American English, you might say “That album sucks”.

在美式英語，人們會說「這個專輯很討厭」

Accent

口音差異

So I'll try to focus on General American English, and for the UK - Received Pronunciation.

我會聚焦在通用美式英語、和標準的英式英語

These are the accents you're likely to hear on CNN and the BBC, respectively.

這是在 CNN 和 BBC 你可能分別會聽到的口音

R-sounds

R 發音差異

American English is rhotic, meaning that “r” sounds are always clearly pronounced.

R 在美式英語是兒化音 (捲舌)，有清楚發音；

British English is non-rhotic, meaning that the “r” sound is not pronounced unless

在英式英語則是沒有捲舌，除非後面有母音

it is followed by a vowel sound.

不然不會發出來

Listen to the difference.

來聽聽兩者的差異

US: “My father's in the car”.

我父親在車裡

UK: “My father's in the car”.

我父親在車裡

Now let's focus on two words.

現在我們來聚焦在兩個字

US: father UK: father.

父親

US: car UK: car.

汽車

Notice that the final r sound is not pronounced in British English.

可以注意到最後的 R 在英式英語中不發音

“Father” ends in a simple schwa vowel /ˈfɑː.ðə/.

「父親」這個字的發音是以一個中央母音 /ə/ 結束

And in “car” the a vowel sound is lengthened in place of the “r” sound.

而「汽車」這個字的母音延長，取代 "r" 的發音

/kɑː/

汽車

Now, the thing about British non-rhotic dialects that I find pretty wild is something called

我覺得英式英語不捲舌很難駕馭的地方是

the intrusive r.

「嵌入r」

That means that people sometimes add an r-sound to a word that doesn't actually have one,

這是指如果後面的字是以母音為開頭，

if it's followed by a vowel in the next word.

人們有時會在沒有 R 發音的字加上這個音，

For example, in the sentence “I saw a film”.

例如在這個句子 I saw a film. (我看了一部電影)

In British English it sometimes sounds like this: “I saw'r a film”.

在英式英語這句聽起來會像是 I saw'r a film.

So you can hear that there's an “r” sound connecting “saw” and “a”.

可以聽到 saw 和 a 中間有 r 的音

I once had British on-the-job trainer, and she said “Hello my name is Paula and I'll

我曾經遇過一個英國的在職培訓員，她說「你好我叫寶拉，

be your trainer today”.

我會是你們今天的培訓員。」

I remember thinking “Pauler?

我記得我當時在想：「你說你叫寶樂？

What, you can't say your own name?”

什麼？你不講你自己的名字嗎？」

But, it wasn't just her.

但是那不是她的問題，

That was the “intrusive r”.

原因是嵌入的 r 發音

T-sounds

t 發音差異

In British English (and again, I must emphasize that I'm talking about the accent referred

在英式英語 (我必須再次強調我是參考標準的英式英語)

to as Received Pronunciation), t sounds are pronounced as hard Ts, in other words voiceless

T 是發成硬音 T，

/t/ sounds.

也就是聲帶不振動

In the US, they sometimes sound like /ɾ/ (an alveolar tap) instead of /t/ (an alveolar

在美式英語， T 有時聽起來像 /ɾ/ (齒齦閃音) 而不是 /t/

stop).

(齒齦塞音)

This normally occurs in an unstressed syllable, between 2 vowel sounds, or between a vowel

這常常發生在沒有重音的音節、在兩個母音之間、

and a rhotic sound (like an “r” sound).

或是在母音或兒化音之間 (例如 r 音)

So in the US people say butter.

所以美式英語「奶油」的發音是

[ˈbʌɾɚ].

(美式英語)

And in the UK, they say butter.

英國人會說

/ˈbʌ.tə/.

(英式英語)

In the US: Stop fighting! /stɑp ˈfʌɪɾɪŋ/.

美國人說：「不要打了！」 (美式英語)

In the UK: Stop fighting! /stɒp ˈfʌɪtɪŋ/.

英國人則是 (英式英語)

You may have also noticed the “o” sound in the word “stop” was a little different,

你可能注意到 stop 裡 o 的發音有一點不同

which brings me to...

所以我接下來就要講

O sounds

o 的發音差異

In the word “stop”, the American “o” sound is an unrounded vowel /ɑ/ while the

以在 stop 這個字來說，美式英語的 o 比較像母音 /ɑ/

British “o” sound is rounded /ɒ/.

英式英語的則比較像 /ɒ/

Another example: US hot /hɑt/ UK: /hɒt/.

另一個例子是 hot (熱的)

There is also the “o” diphthong in the word “know” US /noʊ/ (US).

在英語發音中也有雙母音，例如 know (知道)

In the UK: /nəʊ/ . In the UK the sound is a schwa followed by /ʊ/ as in “put”.

在英式英語母音的部分發音是中央母音加上 put 的母音發音 (/ʊ/)

US: show /ʃoʊ/ UK: show /ʃəʊ/

(美式英語) (英式英語)

A sounds.

a 發音差異

In other words, sounds represented by the letter “a”)

就是字母 A 所代表的發音

/ɑː/ in UK normally becomes an /æ/ sound in American English.

英式英語的/ɑː/ (啊) 在美式英語通常會變成 /æ/ (ㄝ)

For example, in the UK: half /hɑːf/.

例如 half (一半)

And in the US: half /hæf/.

(美式英語)

Words that are /æ/ in UK remain pretty similar in US.

而英式英語的 /æ/ 在美式英語也是類似這個音

For example, in the UK: cat /kæt/.

例如 cat (貓)

And in the US: /kæt/.

(美式英語)

An exception is a small set of words in which the “a” is followed by “rr”, in which

一個例外是有一小部分的字 a 後面接連續兩個 r

case the vowel is pronounced as /e/.

這樣的話母音 a 發音會變成 /e/ (ㄟ)

In the UK: marry /ˈmæɹɪ/ . In the US: marry /ˈmɛɹi/.

marry (結婚) 在英式英語發音是 /mæɹɪ/ ，在美式英語是 /mɛɹi/

Because of the difference, in the US “marry” and “Merry” sound the same.

因此美式英語的 marry 和 merry (歡樂的) 聽起來是一樣的

“Carry” and “Kerry” sound the same.

carry (攜帶) 和 kerry (黑色小乳牛) 聽起來也一樣

Spelling: American and British spellings are largely the same, but there are a few notable

拼字差異。美式和英式英語拼字大致相同，

differences.

但仍有一些明顯的差異

This is in large part because Noah Webster (whom the Webster dictionary is named after)

大部份的原因是因為諾亞‧韋伯 (韋氏字典是以這個人命名的)

made an effort to reform English spelling in the 1700s, in order to make the words spelled

在十八世紀初努力改革英文拼字，讓英文的拼字

the way they sounded.

能跟發音一樣

This resulted in some spelling changes in American English.

這使得美式英語有些字的拼法改變了

Most (but not all) words that end in ~re in the UK end in ~er in the US.

大部分(非全部)英式英語以 re 為結尾的的字在美式英語會變成 er

For example: centre/center, theatre/theater, metre/meter, sombre/somber.

例如 centre/center (中心), theatre/theater (劇院), metre/meter (公尺), sombre/somber (昏暗的)

Some words that end in ~nce in the UK are spelled with ~nse in the US.

有些英式英語以 nce 結束的字在美式英語會變成 nse

licence/license.

駕照

Defence/defense, offence/offense.

例如「防禦」、「冒犯」

Some words with “ou” in the UK are spelled with “o” in the US.

有些英式英語的 ou 拼法在美式英語會拼成 o

Colour/color, favour/favor, honour/honor, labour/labor, etc.

像是「顏色」、「好意」、「榮譽」、「勞動」等等

The ending ~ise became ~ize in the US.

ise 變成 ize

organise/organize.

例如「組織」、

apologise/apologize.

「道歉」

A similar change also occurs in other contexts where the “s” is voiced (in other words

類似的情況發生在 s 發音是有聲的單字裡

it makes a /z/ sound).

也就是發成 z 的音

Analyse/analyze.

例如「分析」、

Cosy/cozy.

「舒適的」

There are verbs ending with “l” that take a doubled “l” in British English when

有些有字母 l 的動詞過去式在英式英語拼法會變成兩個 l，

a suffix is added.

也就是在動詞後面加上一個詞綴時

In American English there is no double “l”.

在美式英語是沒有兩個 l 的

travelled/traveled, cancelled/canceled, marvellous / marvelous.

例如「旅行」、「取消」、「令人驚嘆的」

If you're wondering how the last one fits in with the others, remember that “marvel”

如果你不了解最後一個字為什麼也是這個類型，請記住 marvel (感到驚奇)

is a verb, and then an adjectival suffix is added to it).

是動詞，只是後面加上形容詞的詞綴

Grammar: There are only very minor differences in grammar between British English and American

文法差異。英式英語和美式英語的文法

English.

有細微的差異

Auxiliary verbs.

像是助動詞方面

Brits use “shall” for the future much more than Americans, as well as to ask for

英式英語比較常用 shall 表示未來式，或者是用來

advice or an opinion.

尋求別人的忠告或意見

Some difference in preposition use:

有些介係詞用法也有不同

In the US, people say “on the weekend”, but in the UK they say “at the weekend”.

如果要說「在周末時」，美國人說 on the weekend；英國人說 at the weekend

And in the US, people say “different from” or “different than”, but in the UK they

至於「跟‧‧‧不同」，美國人說 different from 或 different than

say “different from” or “different to”.

但是在英式英語是 different from 或 different to

There are some different past tense forms.

再來是動詞過去式的差異

For example, in American English the past tense of the world “learn” is “learned”,

例如 learn (學習) 在美式英語的過去式是 learned

while in British English it's more common to say “learnt”.

但是在英式英語比較常見的是 learnt

Actually, both forms are used in either country, but there is more of tendency towards one

其實兩種拼法都會在美國與英國使用，不過在美式與英式英語

form.

仍會傾向使用其中一種

This is true for other words like dreamed vs. dreamt, burned vs. burnt, leaned vs. leant.

「作夢」、「燃燒」、「學習」等等的字也是同樣道理

Another example.

另一個例子是

In the US, the past tense of dive is usually “dove”.

在美式英語， dive (潛水) 的過去式通常是 dove

In the UK it's “dived”.

但是在英式英語是 dived

Maybe the American form developed by analogy with “drive” and “drove”.

也許美式英語的拼法是從 drive (駕駛) 和 drove 類推而來

Anyways, differences like these are not consistent, but you'll notice some different past tense

無論如何，像這樣的差異並不是一致的，

forms here and there.

你會多多少少發現有一些過去式拼法的不同

Past participles: Sometimes past participles have a different form.

過去分詞差異。有時兩種英語的過去分詞拼法也會不一樣

The most well-known example is for the verb “get”.

最有名的例子是動詞 get (得到)

In the US, there's get / got / gotten.

在美式英語裡，這個字的變化是 get/ got/ gotten

But in the UK, it's get / got / got/.

在英式英語則是 get/ got/ got

** Both forms have existed since the Middle English period, but “gotten” has fallen

兩種變化在中世紀時期的英文就已經存在了，

out of use in the UK.

但是 gotten 在英國已經不被使用

“Got” can be used in American English in the form “have got”, but with the meaning

got 也可以在美式英語使用， 例如 have got

of “have”, not “has received/become”.

不過意思是「有」，而不是「已經得到、變成」

US: I haven't gotten the eviction notice yet.

我尚未拿到驅逐令

UK: I haven't got the eviction notice yet.

我還沒有驅逐令

Sentences – Alright, let's check a couple of sentences and see what we find.

句子差異。好啦，我們來看看一些句子，找出有哪些不同

In the US: I think we need a lawyer.

美式英語：我想我們需要一個律師

In the UK: I reckon we need a solicitor.

英式英語：我認為我們需要一個律師

You'll notice that a couple of words are different.

你會注意到有些字不同

British people often use the word “reckon” which means “think” or “suppose”.

英國人通常用 reckon 代表「覺得」、「認為」

Americans know this word, but rarely use it.

美國人知道這個字的意思，但幾乎不太用

And while Americans would typically refer to a professional legal consultant as a lawyer,

美國人普遍把專業的法律諮詢者稱為「律師」

in the UK they often say “solicitor” which is a type of lawyer that does consultation.

英國人則說 solicitor ，代表從事法律諮詢的律師

The type of lawyer who represents you in court in the UK in usually a barrister, while in

代表你出席法院審判的律師在英國通常被稱為 barrister (出庭律師)

the US they are usually referred to as attorneys.

而在美國通常叫做 attorney

Another sentence.

另一個句子是

In the US: I'm going for a beer with my friends.

「我要去跟我的朋友喝啤酒」

In the UK: I'm going for a pint with my mates.

在英國的說法是：「我要去跟我的夥伴喝點啤酒」

Notice that British people often “pint” where Americans would say “beer”.

可以注意到英國人通常用 pint 指稱美國人說的「啤酒」

Brits also say beer as a countable noun like this, but pint is used frequently.

英國人也會用 beer 這個可屬名詞，但 pint 比較常見

And notice that Brits often say “mate” where Americans would say “friend”.

而且英國人把朋友稱為 mate ，美國人則說 friend

The differences between British English and American English might seem surprising or

英式英語以及美式英語的不同可能會讓人感到驚訝或有趣

amusing, but remember: in this video I'm zooming in on the differences and focusing on them.

但是請記住：在這個影片我聚焦在它們的差異

For the most part they are actually the same.

這兩種英語絕大部分是相同的

There are some minor differences in vocabulary, in pronunciation, in grammar, and in spelling,

只是在字彙、發音、文法和拼音有小小的不同

but any native speaker with a little bit of exposure to the other will quickly adapt to

美式或英式英語的母語人士只要在另一種英語的環境待久了

these differences and be able to understand the other variety without any problem.

就能快速適應兩者的差異，不太會遇到困難

The differences are sometimes greater if we focus on regional dialects and sociolects

英式和美式英語與地方和社會方言的差異

of British English and American English.

可能還更大

While most Americans probably have no trouble understanding Received Pronunciation, they

例如美國人通常可以聽懂和看懂標準英式英語

mayhave some trouble understanding Cockney English, or the Georgie English of Northeastern

但他們可能無法理解考克尼英語 (倫敦工人階級所用的方言) 、英國東北方的喬治方言

England, or other varieties.

與其他的方言變體

But as far as standard, non-regional speech goes, I'd say that the differences are minimal.

但以標準、非地方的英語來說，兩者之間差異還是很小的

However, learners of English who focus on one of the two varieties, will likely have

不過英語學習者如果只學習其中一種英語，

a bit of trouble understanding the other until they gain significant more exposure to it.

可能會有點難理解另一種英語，除非在該語言的環境中待得夠久

The QOD: What other differences between American and British English are you aware of?

今日問題：你知道哪些美式和英式英語的不同？

In this video I was only able to give a limited number of examples, so add yours in the comments!

在影片裡我只能提供一部份的例子，所以寫下你的看法吧！

Be sure to follow Langfocus on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

並且記得要在臉書、推特或 IG 追蹤 Langfocus

And once again, thank you to all of my wonderful Patreon supporters.

另外我要再一次感謝所有在 Patreon 的支持者

And these ones right here on the screen are my top tier Patreon supporters, so many extra

這些人是在 Patreon 上最支持我的人，

special thanks to them.

非常感謝他們

And to everyone out there, thank you for watching and have a nice day.

也祝福螢幕前的各位有個美好的一天