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USA & Britain

British English    American English

Några skillnader:

Definition betydelsequite (BrE: not so much; AmE: very much). 

Grammar: American English & British English - 8 Grammar Differences

Pronounced differently in BrE & AmE: laboratory • privacy • 

Spelling: 

  • British English & American English:  1  2 
    consistency check (kollar om man har blandat BrE och AmE)

Vocabulary glosorBritish English vs. American English Vocabulary Words 4'

How to understand the differences between British and American English 1'

More: idioms • formatting of dates & numbers

History



George Washington
was the first president,
starting in the year 1789.

 Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg

    
Britain is much older.

←King Harold in the year 1066

In those days, the thirteen US states bordered gränsade till  the Atlantic Ocean. But during the following centuries many  Americans moved west västerut, some all the way to the Pacific Ocean Stilla havet. Today, the USA has 320 million inhabitants invånare  from California to New York, to the Gulf of Mexico.

Most American have European ancestors förfäder. 14% have ancestors in Africa, mostly due to the slave trade.

Hundreds of thousands of people move to the US every year, mostly from Mexico and Central America. 14% of Americans have ancestors there.

Many American businesses are world-leaders världsledande  and its economy is the same size as the total economy of the 28 countries in the EU.

For better or for worse för gott och på ont, the US has extended utvidgat  its financial, cultural, technological, political and military influence around the world.

       

During the 19th century 1800-talet, Britain ruled much of the world, and spread its language språk  and culture to the far corners of the earth alla jordens hörn.

Today, more than 60 million people live in the UK. Almost all speak English, but some people speak their own local languages språk  as well: Welsh (in Wales), Gaelic and Scots (in Scotland and Northern Ireland), Irish (in Northern Ireland), and Cornish (in Cornwall)

People have moved to the UK from all over the world, especially speciellt  from countries that Britain ruled styrde över  during the days of the British Empire.

Nowadays nuförtiden  many immigrants come from EU countries. The largest immigrant languages in Britain today are Polish and South Asian languages.

More info: How did English evolve? 5'
                 The Anglo-Saxons

1921: The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire ...går aldrig ner över det Brittiska imperiet
          källa

Largest Cities

Stockholmare längtar till New York SvD 10 mars 2014
"Var fjärde stockholmare skulle helst vilja bo i New York....
London är drömstaden för 12 procent. ...på tredje plats kommer
Stockholm där 9 procent av de tillfrågade helst vill leva.
"- New York är städernas stad på något sätt
"

       

London

File:Big.ben.closeup.london.arp.jpgklocktornet  Big Ben

 

Money




$1 shows Washington


 £50 shows Queen Elizabeth IIBank of England £50 obverse.jpg

Nature & Culture

 
Stonehenge in southern England, 2500 BC.

Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA

Place Names

Map of USA with state names 2.svg
The 50 States

A World of State Names

Look at a map of the USA and you will see place names in many languages. Early settlers nybyggarna  used words in their own languages språk  or words of Native American Indian origin urspung  to name states, towns, mountains, lakes, rivers, ponds, and creeks.

“Alaska” is the Russian version of the American Indian word alakshak, "land that is not an island." Arizona is the Spanish version of another Native American Indian word.

Some state names come from English, Spanish, or French, but most are from American Indian languages. Which are which? Hints ledtrådar:

  • The smallest state is named for the Greek island ö   of Rhodes
  • A state where the mountains are covered with green trees gets its name from the French words for “green-mountain.” (“mont” is French for mountain berg).
  • A state where the rocks in the mountains are red gets its name from the words for “color-red” in Spanish. (The word “color” is the same in Spanish).
  • A vacation state got its name from the Spanish word for flowers. (Extra hint: A florist sells flowers.)
  • Some of the states were named for people: one for the Duke hertig of York, another for the “Virgin Queen” Elizabeth of England, and a third for Louis, king of France.
  • If the word is very difficult to spell stava, it comes from a Native American language.
Circle the American Indian names.
Extra: Guess the origin ursprung  of other state names.

Colorado
Connecticut             
Indiana
Iowa
Louisiana
Massachusetts          
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Wyoming
    


The United Kingdom

England ≠ Britain UK

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of four countries länder:

  • England
  • Northern Ireland
  • Scotland
  • Wales

Place names are very different in each.


↑ Train station in Wales

The names of most places in Wales are in the Welsh language.

The names of most places in Northern Ireland are English versions of Irish names.

Scottland has place names from several flera  sources.

Vikings ruled northern and eastern England. Today those parts of England have Scandinavian place names.

 

Barack Obama standing in front of a wooden writing desk and two flagpoles.  Politics

 

Obama family portrait in the Green Room.jpg
The US has
a president.
           Britain has a queen Elizabeth in crown and robes next to her husband in military uniform 
   and a Prime Minister statsminister

Power makt

The USA is a super-power stormakt.

File:The British Empire.png Great Britain was a super-power.
(People said: "The sun never sets on the British Empire.")

Pronunciation uttal       = UK flag ?

President Obama speaks American English. Queen Elizabeth speaks British.

"American vs. British English" the tongue match

British English vs. American English: Pronunciation 4'30
    

Sports

 

   Americans play

   baseball and
   American football .

       

   Brits play cricket  
   and football..

Plane Visiting

   File:United States (orthographic projection).svg The USA is far away.
    (8 hours to New York City, 11 to Los Angeles)

      File:United Kingdom labelled map7.png Britain is close (2 hours to London).

More Differences

More info