Preface
In over 20 years of teaching English in Taiwan, I’ve often been asked what the differences between American English and British English are, or I’ve heard, “I’ve learnt American English, not
British English”.
Taiwanese often call all western foreigners ‘Americans’. Similarly they believe that they are learning ‘American’, but there is no such language. In fact many Americans speak Spanish, not
English as their first language.
So, what exactly is the difference? The answer is often subtler than a simple grammar lesson or learning some more vocabulary. This book, written unashamedly from a British prospective, will
try to answer this question while also giving some insight into life in the UK.
In grammar, there are no real differences between British and American English. In vocabulary, there are a few with some words favoured in one country more than in the other, and there are
some minor spelling variations, but we understand each other perfectly well.
There are differences in accents, but even then there are greater differences in both the UK and the US between northern and southern accents than there are between the two countries. It’s
far more important that you don’t speak English with a Chinese accent than which type of English accent you have.
There are more differences in idioms, as these are more culturally based. In this book I haven’t just tried to show the differences in language, I have tried to explain the cultural reasons
behind them. To understand how people talk, you need to understand what they are talking about.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have helped in the writing of this book: My remarkable wife not only for her writing and translating but also for her
insight into the UK from a foreign perspective. My two sons for their constant opinions. My students, many of whom appear in the book. My editor without whom this book would not exist. And of
course you, the reader, for reading it at least this far.
Matthew Gunton
August 2015
作者序
在台灣教英語超過二十年，常有人問我英式英語(British English)與美式英語(American English)究竟有什麼不同，更聽過人說:「我學的是美語(American)，不是英語(English)。」
台灣人常泛指西方面孔的外國人是「美國人」。同樣地，也認為自己學習的外國語言叫做「美語」，不過並沒有「美語」這種語言，而是「英語」。事實上，許多美國人說西班牙語，英語並非他們的母語。
那麼，英式與美式英語之間究竟有哪些不同呢？其實英語文法或字彙的差異微妙地讓人難以察覺。在本書中，我以直白的英國人觀點來闡述英、美之間的不同，本書將讓你更了解英、美兩國之間的差異性，同時也能更深入了解英國的生活。
英式和美式英語之間並無真正的英語文法差異。然而在字彙上，英、美兩國則是有各自較偏好的字彙，在拼寫的方式上也有細微差異，但兩國之間完全相互了解這些差異性。
英、美兩國的英語口音不同，但是兩國之間口音的相異程度，還遠不及各自國內的南、北方口音。謹記一點，勿以中式口音（嘴型、發音、語調不正確）說英語，這遠比你擁有英、美哪個地區的英語口音都來得更重要。
俚語的差異性較大，因為俚語是由文化衍生。我並非只單純在書中指出兩國在英語用法上的差異性，也試圖闡明這些差異背後的文化因素。想了解英、美兩國的人如何以英語表達，就需要了解其話語中的涵義。
最後，我想藉由這個機會感謝所有協助我完成本書的人：我能力非凡的妻子，她不僅翻譯全書也協助撰稿，更以外國人的觀點提供我她對英國的精闢洞悉。我的兩個兒子，跟我分享他們源源不絕的看法。我的學生們，許多學生的名字也出現在書中。出版社和欣慧編輯與團隊，這本書才得以順利出版。當然，我也要感謝讀者，也就是已經讀到這個部份的你。
作者 Matthew Gunton
2015年8月
