With the development of the two countries—America and the U.K., the differences in some fields are clear and are also reflected in their languages. Even though there are many similarities in both variants, there are many differences in lexicology because of different regions, social backgrounds, the ways of people’s thinking, etc. This paper discusses the differences in lexicology between British English and American English and their tendency through the historical development of the two variants.
Key Words
American English; British English; the lexical difference
Abstract .........................................................................I
Key words .........................................................................
摘要 .............................................................................Ⅱ
关键词 ...........................................................................Ⅱ
Introduction .....................................................................1
Ⅰ.The History of British and American English................................... 2
A. The History of British English ................................................2
1. The Period of Old English ..................................................2
2. The Period of Middle English ...............................................3
3. The Period of Modern English............................................... 3
B. The Development of American English on the Basis of British English ...........4
Ⅱ.Reasons for the Development of American English............................... 5
A. Being in Different Regions ....................................................5
B. Borrowing Words from Other Countries 6 C. Revolting Politics and Ideology
in North America ................................................................8
Ⅲ.The Different Meaning in American English .....................................9
A. Creation of American Lexicon.................................................. 9
B. Different Meanings between American and British English....................... 10
C. Same Objects Expressed in Different Vocabularies............................ 10
D. The Simplification in American English Lexicology .............................11
E. Other Forms of American English Different from British English ..............12
Ⅳ. The Developing Tendency of American English and British English ..............13
A. The Influence of American English .............................................13
B. The Leading Position of American English ......................................13
Conclusion....................................................................... 16
Acknowledgements .................................................................17
Bibliography .....................................................................18
