How Are British English and American English Different? · Langfocus
本视频讲解英式英语和美式英语在词汇、发音、拼写和语法上的差异，适合英语学习者练习听力和词汇辨析。
Hello everyone.
大家好！
Welcome to the Langfocus channel and my name is Paul.
欢迎来到 Langfocus 频道，我的名字是 Paul。
Today we'll be answering the question “How are British English and American English Different?”
今天我们将回答这个问题：“英式英语和美式英语有什么不同？
- one of the most commonly asked questions by learners of English.
这是英语学习者最常提出的问题之一。
And hopefully native speakers of English will learn a thing or two from this video as well.
希望英语的母语者也能从这个视频中学到一些东西。
The truth is that both British and American English have numerous varieties, in other words various accents and dialects,
事实上，英式英语和美式英语都存在许多不同的变体，换句话说，就是有多种口音和方言。
so in (the main part of) this video I will try to focus on the most standard, non-regional variety of each one.
因此，在这个视频的（主要部分）中，我会尝试重点介绍每种语言中最常见、最具普遍性的（非地区性）变体。
Disclaimer: I'm not American, I'm Canadian.
免责声明：我不是美国人，我是加拿大人。
But I'm confident that we will someday be Americans after the invasion.
但我相信，在入侵结束后，总有一天我们会成为美国人。
Standard Canadian English is very very close to General American English, so I will say the American examples myself,
标准的加拿大英语与美式英语非常相似，因此我会亲自用美式英语的例子来进行说明。
unless there's a need to distinguish American pronunciation from Canadian.
除非有必要区分美式发音和加拿大式发音。
There are several ways in which Britain English and the American English different: vocabulary, accent, spelling, and grammar.
英式英语和美式英语之间存在多种差异，包括词汇、口音、拼写和语法等方面。
Vocabulary In the US, people generally say “garbash” or “trash”, while in the UK they generally say “rubbish”.
词汇：在美国，人们通常使用“garbash”或“trash”来表示垃圾；而在英国，则常用“rubbish”这个词。
Both literally and figuratively.
无论是从字面意义还是比喻意义来看，都是如此。
“The game was rubbish!”
这游戏简直糟透了！
Americans “go on vacation”, while Brits “go on holidays”.
美国人说“go on vacation”（去度假），而英国人说“go on holidays”（也去度假，但表达方式略有不同）。
And this is also possible in American English.
在美国英语中，这也是完全可行的。
In the US people rent “apartments”, while in the UK they rent “flats”.
在美国，人们租住的是“公寓”（apartments）；而在英国，人们租住的是“flat”（公寓）。
In the US, if your apartment is
在美国，如果你的公寓……
at street level, then you live on the first floor, and the person above you lives on the second floor.
在普通住宅楼中，你住在一楼，而你上面的那个人住在二楼。
In the UK, you live on the ground floor, and the person above you lives on the first floor.
在英国，你住在底层，而你上面的那个人住在一楼。
If that person above you is unable or just too lazy to take the stairs, in the US they'd take the elevator.
如果在你上面的那个人无法走楼梯，或者只是太懒而不愿意走楼梯，在美国的话，他们会选择乘坐电梯。
In the UK, they'd take the lift.
在英国，人们会乘坐电梯。
When you're bored at home, in the US you might turn on the TV, while in the UK you would turn on the telly.
当你在家里感到无聊时，在美国你可能会打开电视；而在英国，你会说“turn on the telly”。
When you step outside of your building to go for a walk, in the US you might walk on the sidewalk,
当你走出建筑物去散步时，在美国，你可能会走在人行道上。
while in the UK you walk on the pavement.
在英国时，你应该走在人行道上。
And if you're tired of walking, in the US you might take the subway.
如果你走累了，在美国你可以选择乘坐地铁。
In the UK, you take the underground.
在英国，人们通常乘坐地铁出行。
In the US, it's perfectly to wear
在美国，穿着这样的衣服是完全合适的。
pants when you're riding the subway, but in the UK you'd better wear some TROUSERS too because pants means underpants.
在地铁上你可以只穿内裤（即“pants”），但在英国你最好还是穿条裤子，因为“pants”在这里指的是内裤（underpants）。
And specifically women's underpants are sometimes called knickers in the UK.
在英国，女性内裤有时被称为“knickers”。
So when someone overreacts, in the US you might say “Don't get your panties in a bunch!”
因此，当有人反应过度时，在美国你可能会说：“别这么紧张、别这么慌张！
In the UK you'd say “Don't get your knickers in a twist!”.
在英国，你会说：“别激动得不行！
Paul how dare you be so crude.
保罗，你竟敢如此粗鲁无礼！
Now I can't show this video to my 6 year old students!
现在我没法把这个视频给我的6岁学生看了……
Don't worry, they'll watch it on their phones during recess.
别担心，他们会在课间休息时用手机看这个。
Going back to the word “pants” for a moment, it can also be used in British English as an adjective,
再回到“pants”这个词。在英式英语中，它也可以用作形容词。
meaning something is “crappy” or “it sucks”.
意思是某件事很糟糕，或者非常差劲。
For example “That album is pants”.
例如：“那张专辑简直太棒了！
In American English, you might say “That album sucks”.
在美国英语中，你可以说：“那张专辑太烂了。