Лінгвокраїнознавство англійської мови

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. National identities, symbols,
languages.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, simply known as the United
Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the north-western coast of
the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It
includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of
the smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with
the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean,
the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United
Kingdom is 93,628 square miles (242,495 km ), with an estimated 2023 population of over 68
2

million people.
The term "United Kingdom" became official in 1801 when the parliaments of Great Britain
and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
National composition: English-81.5%, Scottish-9.6%, Irish-2.4%, Welsh-1.9%, people from the
West Indies, India, Pakistan, etc. – 2.8%. Languages: English, Welsh (spoken by about a quarter
of the population of Wales), Scottish dialect of Gaelic (about 60 thousand people in Scotland).
The state religion is Anglican (27 million people) in England and Wales (the head of the church
is the monarch), Presbyterian (means belonging or relating to a Protestant church) in Scotland
(headed by the General Assembly, which includes representatives of both clergy and laity),
Roman Catholic – 9 million people, Muslims – 1.6 million people.
The state currency is the pound sterling, Pound, British Pound (£). 1 pound sterling consists of
100 pence.
The national symbols of Great Britain are its flag, the Royal Coat of Arms, and the national
anthem.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The
upright red cross on a white background is the cross of the 1st George, the patron saint of
England. The white diagonal cross on a blue background is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron
saint of Scotland, The red diagonal cross on a white background is the cross of St. Patrick, the
patron saint of Ireland.
The Welsh flag, called the Welsh dragon, represents a red dragon on a white and green
background.
St. George's Day falls on 23 April and is regarded as England's national day. On this day some
patriotic Englishmen wear a rose pinned to their jackets'. A red rose is the national emblem of
England from the time of the Wars of the Roses (15th century).
St. Andrew's Day (the 30th of November) is regarded as Scotland's national day. On this day
some Scotsmen wear a thistle in their buttonhole. As a national emblem of Scotland, thistle
apparently first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Order of the Thistle is one
of the highest orders of knighthood. It was founded in 1687, and is mainly given to Scottish
noblemen (limited to 16 in number).
St. Patrick's Day (the 17th of March) is considered as a national day in Northern Ireland and an
official bank holiday there. The national emblem of Ireland is shamrock. According to legend,
it was the plant chosen by St. Patrick to illustrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish.
St. David's Day (the 1st of March) is the church festival of St. David, a 6th-century monk and
bishop, the patron saint of Wales. The day is regarded as the national holiday of Wales, although
it is not an official bank holiday. On this day, however, many Welshmen wear either a yellow
daffodil or a leek pinned to their jackets, as both plants are traditionally regarded as national
emblems of Wales.
Three lions symbolize England, a lion rampant — Scotland, and a harp — Ireland. The whole
is encircled and is supported by a lion and a unicorn. The lion has been used as a symbol of
national strength and of the British monarchy for many centuries. The unicorn, a mythical animal
that looks like a horse with a long straight horn, has appeared on the Scottish and British royal
coats of arms for many centuries, and is a symbol of purity
During the heyday of Great Britain as a colonial power, British cuisine was strongly influenced
by the cuisine of “overseas” countries, primarily India. For example, the Anglo-Indian chicken
dish — tikka masala – is considered a real British “national dish”.
The most popular sports in the U.K. are football, cricket, rugby, golf, track and field, badminton,
squash, and curling. In England and Scotland, football is considered a national sport.
Tea is a traditional British drink. So, the British drink 165 million cups of tea every day, while
the majority (98%) drink it with milk, and only 30% add sugar to tea. Tea is not only a
traditional drink, but one of the national symbols of Britain.
The National animal of United Kingdom is Lion.
The National flower of United Kingdom is Rose. Botanical name is Rosa.
The National bird of United Kingdom is Robin.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Its capital
and largest city is London (also the capital of England), a megacity which serves as one of
the world's two main financial centres. Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast are the national capitals
of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland respectively. Other major cities
include Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Liverpool. The UK consists of
three distinct legal jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This is due
to these areas retaining their existing legal systems even after joining the UK. Since 1998,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland also have their own devolved governments and
legislatures, each with varying powers.

2. Historical development of the political system in the UK. Political parties and elections.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The
country’s head of state is the reigning king or queen, and the head of government is the prime
minister, who is the leader of the majority political party in the House of Commons.
The British constitution is uncodified; it is only partly written and is flexible.
Its basic sources are parliamentary and European Union legislation, the European Convention on
Human Rights, and decisions by courts of law. Matters for which there is no formal law, such as
the resignation of office by a government, follow precedents (conventions) that are open to
development or modification. Works of authority, such as Albert Venn Dicey’s Lectures
Introductory to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885), are also considered part of the
constitution.
The main elements of the government are the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
There is some overlap between the branches, as there is no formal separation of powers or
system of checks and balances. For example, the lord chancellor traditionally was a member of
all three branches, serving as a member of the cabinet (executive branch), as the government’s
leader in the House of Lords (legislative branch), and as the head of the
country’s judiciary (judicial branch). However, constitutional reforms enacted in 2005 (and
entering into force in 2006) stripped the office of most of its legislative and judicial functions,
with those powers devolving to the lord speaker and the lord chief justice, respectively. That
reform also created the Supreme Court, which in October 2009 replaced the Appellate
Committee of the House of Lords as the venue of last resort in the British legal system.
Sovereignty resides in Parliament, which comprises the monarch, the mainly appointive House
of Lords, and the elected House of Commons. The sovereignty of Parliament is expressed in its
legislative enactments, which are binding on all, though individuals may contest in the courts the
legality of any action under a specific statute. In certain circumstances individuals may also seek
protection under European law. Until 1999 the House of Lords consisted mainly of
hereditary peers (or nobles). Since then it has comprised mainly appointed peers, selected by
successive prime ministers to serve for life. As of March 2016, of 815 lords, 701 were life peers,
88 were hereditary peers, and another 26 were archbishops and bishops. Each of the 650
members of the House of Commons (members of Parliament; MPs) represents an
individual constituency (district) by virtue of winning a plurality of votes in the constituency.
All political power rests with the prime minister and the cabinet, and the monarch must act on
their advice. The prime minister chooses the cabinet from MPs in his political party. Most
cabinet ministers are heads of government departments. The prime minister’s authority grew
during the 20th century, and, alone or with one or two colleagues, the prime minister
increasingly has made decisions previously made by the cabinet as a whole. Prime ministers
have nevertheless been overruled by the cabinet on many occasions and must generally have its
support to exercise their powers.
Sovereignty resides in Parliament, which comprises the monarch, the mainly appointive House
of Lords, and the elected House of Commons. The sovereignty of Parliament is expressed in its
legislative enactments, which are binding on all, though individuals may contest in the courts the
legality of any action under a specific statute. In certain circumstances individuals may also seek
protection under European law. Until 1999 the House of Lords consisted mainly of
hereditary peers (or nobles). Since then it has comprised mainly appointed peers, selected by
successive prime ministers to serve for life. As of March 2016, of 815 lords, 701 were life peers,
88 were hereditary peers, and another 26 were archbishops and bishops. Each of the 650
members of the House of Commons (members of Parliament; MPs) represents an
individual constituency (district) by virtue of winning a plurality of votes in the constituency.
All political power rests with the prime minister and the cabinet, and the monarch must act on
their advice. The prime minister chooses the cabinet from MPs in his political party. Most
cabinet ministers are heads of government departments. The prime minister’s authority grew
during the 20th century, and, alone or with one or two colleagues, the prime minister
increasingly has made decisions previously made by the cabinet as a whole. Prime ministers
have nevertheless been overruled by the cabinet on many occasions and must generally have its
support to exercise their powers.
There are hundreds of political parties registered in the UK. However, only a few stand for
election across several constituencies. Many of these only stand in specific regions, whilst others
stand in every constituency.
Their views differ on issues including the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and other
issues. The three main political parties in the UK are the Conservative Party, the Liberal
Democrats and the Labour Party.
The Conservative Party
Following in the footsteps of conservatism, the Conservative Party is one of the largest UK
political parties. Their policies include low taxation to increase competition in the market. They
support a meritocracy, a system in which those best suited to lead should lead.
As with conservatism, the Conservative Party believe that humans are flawed and can make bad
decisions. Therefore, they support law and order, and increased spending on the police and the
power of the justice system.
In recent years, the Conservatives have supported making a success of Brexit, opposed a second
Scottish independence referendum, supported the lowering of personal and business taxes, and
supported the construction of the HS2 rail line.
The Labour Party
Another of the biggest UK political parties, the Labour Party has historically aligned more with
socialism. It has historically supported policies in touch with the working class. Its current
leader, Keir Starmer, looks to find middle ground between social democracy and the Third Way.
In an article published in September 2021, Starmer said he would “build an effective partnership
of state and private sector to prioritise the things that we have seen really matter: health, living
conditions, working conditions and the environment.” This includes the creation of a national
energy company, a windfall tax on energy company’s huge profits, but the continuation of the
railways in private companies.
This is in stark contrast to policies supported at the last general election, which included
nationalised internet and railways, an increase to the minimum wage, scrapping university tuition
fees and reducing the voting age to 16.
The Liberal Democrats
The Social Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Party in 1988. The Liberal Democrats
experienced their first time in power in 2010 as part of the historic coalition. Their support has
since dwindled, however their policies still remain popular with many voters today.
Subscribing to the ideas of liberalism, their underlying principles are of individual freedom and
the power of the free market.
Their most notable policy in recent years was opposing Brexit, something they would cancel if
they won the 2019 general election. However, they only picked up 12 out of 650 seats. Other
policies included £130bn investment in infrastructure, replacing First Past the Post with a more
proportional system, and introducing a legal and regulated cannabis market.
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party are the most successful of the regional UK political parties, holding
48 out of 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. Their main policy is to hold a referendum
on Scottish independence. They merge the ideas of socialism and liberalism.
They also pledge to end austerity and give additional powers to the devolved Scottish
government. They have also criticised the Conservative government’s rollout of universal credit,
labelling it as ‘fundamentally flawed’. However, their leadership in recent months has been
marred by scandals regarding their finances.
Green Party
The Green Party are the UK’s largest ecologist party, developing from the Ecology Party in the
1980s. They have one MP in the House of Commons, but the Scottish branch is in government
with the SNP. Their main policy is for extensive legislation to tackle the climate crisis, and move
the UK to net-zero by 2030.
They have also supported the UK’s re-entry into the EU, increased taxes on the rich, and
investment in new technology to create green jobs for the future.
Reform UK
Reform UK are one of the newest of the UK political parties. Formerly called the Brexit Party, it
looks to reform large parts of the UK’s economic and social aspects. These include introducing
proportional representation to Westminster elections, reducing taxation and introducing ‘smart
regulation’. They also pledge to fight “woke nonsense”, instead focusing police resources on
fighting violent criminals.
ELECTIONS
Every British subject over 18 who is resident in Britain has a right to vote. (Members of the
Royal Family and lunatics are not allowed to vote). People vote for any one of the candidates in
the constituency in which they are registered. The candidate that obtains the most votes in that
constituency, irrespective of whether he or she has an overall majority, becomes its Member of
Parliament and the other votes are ‘wasted’.
Anyone over 21 who is entitled to vote (except for clergymen, civil servants, felons and
bankrupts) can stand a candidate. Candidates are normally selected by the local party
associations, but independent candidates can also stand. Each candidate has to pay a deposit
(currently L500), which is returned if a candidate obtains at least 5 % of the total number of
votes cast in that constituency.
General elections must be held at least every five years, but the Prime Minister has the right to
call elections before the five-year term has expired.
The electoral system in Britain is one-candidate or “first-past-the-post” (an allusion to
horse-racing). It means that a party can obtain a few MPs in the Commons, because these votes
are distributed evenly among the various constituencies. The system is much criticized by its
opponents and there is a possibility of it being replaced by another one, the system of
proportional representation.
The following example shows how ‘the-first-past-the-post’ system works.
At the 1997 election, there were 659 constituencies and 659 MPs were elected. It was called a
general election, and of course control of the government depended on it, but in formal terms it
was just 659 separate elections going on at the same time.
Here are the results from two constituencies in 1997.

Parties Constituencies
Chesterfield Totnes
Conservative 4,752 19,637
Liberal 20,330 18,760
Democrats
26,105 8,796
Labour

If we add the votes received for each party in these constituencies together, we find that the
Liberal Democrats got more votes than Conservative or Labour. And yet, these two parties each
won a seat while the Liberal democrats did not. This is because they were not first in either
constituency. It is coming first that matters.

3. The British system of education.

 The National Education Act of 1944 provided 3 stages of education: primary, secondary
and further education.
Education in Great Britain is compulsory from 5 to 16 years of age. Most children
attend state schools, which are absolutely free (including all text books and exercise books).
There are also about 500 private schools providing secondary education. The most famous of
them are called ‘public schools’, the term, which now has become rather absurd, they are: Eton,
Harrow, Westminster School, St. Paul’s School etc. The tuition fee is rather high at such schools
and only well-to-do parents can afford to send their children there.
Almost all state secondary schools are now comprehensive providing all types of
secondary education..
There are no ‘specialized’ schools, pupils choose from the numerous subjects taught in
their particular school. According to the recently introduced National Curriculum ten subjects are
compulsory, including three core subjects:
1. English
2. Mathematics
3. Science;
and seven other foundation subjects:
4. Technology (including design)
5. History
6. Geography
7. Music
8. Art
9. Physical Education (PE)
10. a Modern Foreign Language.
Passage from one academic year to the next is automatic. At 16 years of age, most pupils
take their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) on the basis of course work and
written examination in individual subjects.
Pupils obtaining at least five passes at GCSE can then specialize for two years (from 16
to 18 years of age) in two or three subjects. It is commonly called ‘the sixth form’. They take the
General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (A-level) examination. This is used as an
entrance qualification for university and other types of higher education, as well as for many
forms of professional training.
Scotland, with a separate education tradition, has a slightly different system. Children
attend primary school until the age of twelve. They take the Scottish Certificate of Education
(SCE) usually at the age of sixteen, and instead of A-levels, take the Scottish Higher Certificate
which is more like continental European examinations, since it covers a wider area of study than
the highly specialized A-level courses. Scottish pupils who wish to continue their studies may
take the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS).
The system of comprehensive school was gradually introduced within the period from
1965 to 1980. Before almost all children when leaving primary school were to take the ‘11 plus’
examination. According to the results shown at this examination pupils were distributed to
‘secondary modern’ school or grammar school. If they passed this exam, they went to a grammar
school where they were taught academic subjects to prepare them for university, the professions,
managerial jobs or other highly-skilled jobs; if they failed, they went to a secondary modern
school, where they got education for manual skilled and clerical employment but they wouldn’t
go to Universities or some other form of higher education. The proportion was as follows: about
three quarters of pupils went to ‘secondary modern’ schools and the remaining quarter went to
grammar school.
 There was much criticism of this system, streaming - of - ability system as it was called.
It was recognized that it discouraged many children. Those who failed the ‘11 plus’ examination
might well develop academically later but were denied this opportunity. It seemed a great waste
of human potential.
The Labour government introduced a new type of school, ‘the comprehensive’, a
combination of ‘grammar’ and ‘secondary modern’ ones so that all the children could be given
appropriate teaching. Between 1965 and 1980 almost all the old ‘grammar’ and ‘secondary’
schools were replaced, mainly by ‘comprehensive’ ones. There was much argument because
many local authorities did not wish to lose the excellence of their grammar schools. Actually the
loss of grammar schools had a demoralizing effect on the comprehensive experiment, children
from all social backgrounds to excel academically at the same level as the pupils who attended
public schools. Now the quality of education became lower in general because of secondary form
of education. Such a situation led to a revival of public schools, which had been steadily losing
their popularity. They became much more popular than they used to be in the 1950s - 1960s.
Alongside the introduction of comprehensives there was a move away from traditional
teaching and discipline towards what was called ‘progressive’ education. It implied a change
from more formal teaching and factual learning to greater pupil participation and discussion. The
approach to education has changed. It is now widely accepted that it is not enough for children
simply to absorb and remember information. They should be taught to evaluate and criticize the
information they receive, and to find out things for themselves. The content of education should
be relevant to real life as much as possible. Language teaching should make use of typical
situations of tourists or business people. The rules of grammar and syntax are not emphasized at
the early stages. Children learn about the essential relations between figures rather than
mathematical procedures – and they should grow up with computing skills. They are encouraged
to undertake projects on their own account often in pairs or in groups.
Outside the academic curriculum there is great concern with the development of the
child’s personality. Pupils are encouraged for the joint pursuit of interests in nature, such as bird
watching, or music, dancing or drama. Each teacher usually meets an assigned group of twenty
or thirty pupils regularly to discuss problems of the world in general, and gives advice on choice
of courses and, if necessary, on personal problems.
Secondary teachers are comparatively low-paid and the prestige of the profession has
been steadily fallen for the past ten years. Not enough money is allocated by the Government for
education. When teachers compare their working conditions, pay and status in society with those
of their friends who have become accountants, they feel resentful. There is a serious lack of
teachers of mathematics, science and crafts for this reason.
Especially difficult is the situation in inner schools1. To improve it a initiative was
offered. It included: measures to attract good teachers with bonuses for high-performing staff
and subsidized loans to buy home computers; each comprehensive will get two extra teachers to
act as “mentors”.
Unruly pupils will be taught in ‘learning units’, avoiding exclusion if possible. Gifted
pupils will benefit from master classes, study support, extra teaching, summer schools, etc.
Reform also concerned super A-level exams (students are encouraged to take four or five
subjects for the first year in the sixth form, and three subjects in the final year).

Public Schools
Their popularity has increased recently. The quality of education there is much higher
than in ‘comprehensives’. They are main sources of supplying the elite of the country. Their
leavers enter prestigious Oxbridge universities and after graduation hold important posts in
government, law, civil service and in business.
 In this way public schools dominate public life. The most serious complaint against the
public school system is that it is socially divisive. It breeds an atmosphere of elitism, leaving
many outside the system feeling socially or intellectually inferior.
Apart from being socially divisive, public schools traditionally place greater value on the
professions, which have long been considered, as appropriate for gentlemen: law, medicine, the
church, the civil service. They deeply resistant to science and technology. So in many public
schools the education is rather one-sided, ignoring the demands of modern society.

After school education

Education after school is done apart from Universities in various technical and other
colleges, as well as polytechnics, which provide more work-orientated courses than universities.
Also the syllabus at universities is much wider than in colleges. Virtually all students on full time
courses unless their parents are run receive grants or loans from the government which cover
their tuition fees and every day expenses (accommodation, food, books, etc.) The students of
technical and other colleges prepare themselves for diplomas or certificates of proficiency in the
skill, which a modern society needs.
In addition to the polytechnics more than 100 other colleges provide some courses
leading to CNAA1 degrees of university standard.
Universities in Britain enjoy complete academic freedom, choosing their own staff, the syllabus,
deciding which students to admit, and which degrees to award.
There is no automatic admission to university. Candidates are accepted on the basis of
their A-level results. Virtually all degree courses are full-time and most last three years (medical
and veterinary courses last five or six years).
The main qualification is the ‘first’ degree of Bachelor (BA, BSc – Bachelor of Arts,
Science), which can be attained by students who pass their university examinations and write
dissertations. (Degrees are classified into first-class honour degrees, second-class, third class or
without honours.)
Some students continue to study for degrees (MA, MSc), which often need two more
years of study, with examination papers and substantial dissertations.
A minority goes on further, preparing theses, which must make original contributions to
knowledge, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Universities normally select students on the basis of A-level results and on an interview.
Finding a university place is not easy. Universities only take the better students. The ratio of
students to staff is low. Nearly all university students complete their studies in less than three
years. It is only for modern languages and certain vocational studies that students take more than
three years. In Scotland, four years is the norm for most subjects.
A large proportion of students live ‘on campus’ (or in Oxford and Cambridge, ‘in
college’).
Recently the student grant has been reduced and a system of ‘top-up’ loans encouraged.
As a result, many more students cannot afford to live away from home. A large number of
students is forced to ‘moonlight’ (i.e. secretly do a part-time job). A further result of increased
number of students without a corresponding increase in budgets is that the student/staff ratio has
been getting higher. All of these developments threaten to reduce the traditionally high quality of
British university education. They also threaten to reduce its availability to students from low-
income families.
Both universities and polytechnics find themselves under financial pressure, so they have
to reduce their staff and facilities and seek supplementary funding from private source.
TYPES OF UNIVERSITIES
There are various types of universities in the country:
Oxbridge: this name denotes the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, both founded in the
medieval period. They are federation of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own
staff, known as ‘fellows’. Fellows teach students either one-to-one or in very small groups.
The oldest Scottish Universities are Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews.
Durham University and London University were founded in the early 19th century.
In the second half of the 19th century various institutes of higher education, usually with a
technical bias sprang up in the new industrial cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
They are commonly known as ‘red-brick’ universities as they were made of brick.
The Campus universities. These are purpose-built institutions located in the countryside
but close to towns. Examples are East Anglia, Lancaster, Sussex and Warwick. They sprang up
mostly in the early 60s and have accommodation for most of their students on site. They tend to
emphasize ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social sciences.
The newer civic universities. These were originally technical colleges, which were later
upgraded to universities status. They are commonly known as ‘polytechnics’. They are all
private institutions receiving direct grants from central government.

4. The discovery of America: the pre-colonial and colonial periods; the War of Independence:
its causes and results.
Pre-Colonial North America (also known as Pre-Columbian, Prehistoric, and Precontact) is the
period between the migration of the Paleo-Indians to the region between 40,000-14,000 years
ago and contact between indigenous tribes and European colonists in the 16th century CE which
eradicated the Native American culture, replacing it with what became Canada and the United
States of America.
2 October 1492 marks an event which was to change life on both sides of the Atlantic forever;
this date represents the discovery of America. In 1492, the navigator Christopher Columbus,
funded by the Spanish Crown, sailed westward from Spain in hopes of finding a new sea route to
South and Southeast Asia. Despite initially believing he had reached Asia, Columbus soon
realised that he had happened upon a wholly new continent, the land we know now to be
America. Whilst this was not the aim of his voyage, this discovery served to bring far greater
benefits to not only Spain, but, in time, the rest of Europe and the wider world. However, as with
much of early modern history, where one prospers, another must suffer, and life for the
indigenous people of America drastically changed.
Before 1492, indigenous tribes ruled America, the largest being the Aztecs and the Incas. The
most extensive native community, in the area currently known as Mexico, was the Aztec Empire.
The capital was Tenochtitlan, a city in the middle of Lake Texcoco, and the Aztec ruler at the
time of the Spanish conquest was Montezuma. The Aztecs were the most powerful tribe in this
area and incorporated smaller tribes into their empire through war, including the Tlaxcalans and
the Mixtecs. These conquered communities had to pay tribute, a kind of tax, to the Aztecs, which
was often quite a burden for these smaller tribes.
The Incas operated in a comparable way. Their stronghold was the area currently known as Peru,
the capital being Cusco. They also incorporated less powerful tribes into their empire yet they
achieved this through negotiation and intimidation rather than war. The Incas also offered
concrete benefits to the tribes they amalgamated, including trading opportunities and desirable
commodities, in return for land and labour. Yet, life amongst these tribes was not free of
violence and war before the Spaniards arrived, rather, tribes were in constant conflict with each
other and some of the smaller tribes collaborated with the Spanish to bring down both the Aztec
and Inca empires.
Although the Spanish and native population appeared to cooperate in the early years of
exploration, the colonisation of America soon brought death and destruction to the communities
living there. European diseases devastated native communities, who were incredibly vulnerable
due to lack of exposure. Smallpox was particularly deadly. Indeed, the onslaught of European
disease killed far more natives than European swords. For those who survived, it became a life of
hard labour and virtual enslavement. Conditions did improve for indigenous people as the
sixteenth century wore on, as the enslavement of natives was prohibited in Spanish America and
a “protector des indios” was appointed to protect indigenous interests. Yet, the discovery of
America still represented a significant rupture in native life, a change from the old regime to the
new which wrought havoc for the indigenous inhabitants living there.
Whilst the discovery evidently brought disruption to the native populations, there were also
profound effects on the other side of the Atlantic. The discovery of new land meant the discovery
of new commodities, such as tobacco, coffee and cacao bean. An elaborate trading system coined
the ‘Columbian Exchange’ was developed, representing the trading of goods to and from
America. These new commodities greatly influenced European culture. As smoking tobacco
became a popular pastime, coffee houses emerged all over Europe. Furthermore, European diets
changed, with potatoes being particularly popular. The Americas also contained a very high
quantity of gold and silver, enriching Spain and Portugal, so much so that the English, French
and Dutch were inspired to explore America themselves, leading to the colonisation of North
America and the Caribbean. Additionally, due to the mass depopulation of native peoples and the
significant number of workers needed to tend new lands and supply new trading networks, the
Spanish cast their gaze away from America and began importing slaves from Africa, initiating
the birth of the slave trade.
The importance of the discovery of America is clear, the consequences of Columbus’ voyage in
1492 were to change the world forever. Whilst the ramifications of the exploration and
colonisation that followed are still debated today, no one can deny that the discovery drastically
changed lives on both sides of the Atlantic, both positively and negatively, and these changes are
still felt today.
American Revolution, also called United States War of Independence or American
Revolutionary War, (1775–83), insurrection by which 13 of Great Britain’s North
American colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of
America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British
crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by
British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after having long adhered to a
policy of salutary neglect. Until early in 1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British
Empire, but afterward it became an international war as France (in 1778) and Spain (in 1779)
joined the colonies against Britain. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, which provided both official
recognition of the United States and financial support for it, was engaged in its own war against
Britain. From the beginning, sea power was vital in determining the course of the war, lending to
British strategy a flexibility that helped compensate for the comparatively small numbers of
troops sent to America and ultimately enabling the French to help bring about the final
British surrender at Yorktown.
Preliminary articles of peace were signed on November 30, 1782, and the Peace of
Paris (September 3, 1783) ended the U.S. War of Independence. Great Britain recognized the
independence of the United States (with western boundaries to the Mississippi River) and
ceded Florida to Spain. Other provisions called for payment of U.S. private debts to British
citizens, American use of the Newfoundland fisheries, and fair treatment for American colonials
loyal to Britain.
In explaining the outcome of the war, scholars have pointed out that the British never contrived
an overall general strategy for winning it. Also, even if the war could have been terminated by
British power in the early stages, the generals during that period, notably Howe, declined to
make a prompt, vigorous, intelligent application of that power. They acted, to be sure, within the
conventions of their age, but in choosing to take minimal risks (for example, Carleton at
Ticonderoga and Howe at Brooklyn Heights and later in New Jersey and Pennsylvania) they lost
the opportunity to deal potentially mortal blows to the rebellion. There was also a grave lack of
understanding and cooperation at crucial moments (as with Burgoyne and Howe in 1777).
Finally, the British counted too strongly on loyalist support they did not receive.
But British mistakes alone could not account for the success of the United States. Feeble as their
war effort occasionally became, the Americans were able generally to take advantage of their
enemies’ mistakes. The Continental Army, moreover, was by no means an inept force even
before Steuben’s reforms. The militias, while usually unreliable, could perform admirably under
the leadership of men who understood them, like Arnold, Greene, and Morgan, and often
reinforced the Continentals in crises. Furthermore, Washington, a rock in adversity, learned
slowly but reasonably well the art of generalship. The supplies and funds furnished
by France from 1776 to 1778 were invaluable, while French military and naval support after
1778 was essential. The outcome, therefore, resulted from a combination of British blunders,
American efforts, and French assistance.

5. The Constitution of the USA, the appearance of amendments.

In 1787 the Constitution was adopted be the constant convention in Philadelphia and ratified in
each state in 1789. The author and the father of the Constitution was James Madison. His work
united the states into a solid political unit. The men who wrote it with J. Madison acquired the
nickname of the Founding Fathers of the USA. They are:

1. James Madison
2. George Washington
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. Alexander Hamilton
5. Benjamin Franklin

The US Constitution is the shortest ever written constitution that has been in use up to the
present day. There are only 4 pages and the 5th one is an additional page with the amendments.
There are only 27 of them.

The US Constitution is the supreme law of the country that protects the rights of all people
living in the USA. It is based on 3 main principles:

• The 1st one guarantees freedom of speech and religion (the basic ones).

• The 2nd principle tells about government formed by the people and for the people.

• The 3rd is about the 3 branches of the government and they are: the legislative, the executive,
and judicial. These branches have different palms and each of them serves as a check on the
other two. That’s why the government of the USA has a nickname – the System of Checks
and Balances (consensus).
The guiding principle of the Constitution is to guarantee the liberties and the rights of and for
the American people. These rights and liberties are included in the amendments to the
Constitution.

The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights.

Amendments:
1. (1) Guarantees freedom of religion, speech and press, the right to peaceful gathering, the
right to petition to the government to correct wrongs
2. (2) Says that all American citizens have the right to bear arms
3. (4) against unreasonable searches and arrests without a warrant
4. (13) abolished slavery in the USA in 1865
5. (20) any person has the right to vote be it a man or a woman (suffragists)
6. (22) Restricted the presidency in the USA to only 2 terms. It was done after Franklin D.
Roosevelt was elected 4 times.
7. (24) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
8. (18) The Dry Law – the amendment that prohibited alcohol trade in the country and after the
adoption of this amendment a lot of night clubs appeared where the bootlegged alcohol was
sold. Bootlegging and bootleggers are a reality of the 20s of the 20th c. (after 10).

The US constitution consists of 3 parts:

1) The Preamble where the explanation why the American people decided to establish the
constitution is given
2) The main part contains 7 articles that describe the governmental structure of the country
3) The last part contains the Bill of Rights and other amendments

6. The Abolitionist movement and the Civil War.

Between 1642 and 1651, armies loyal to King Charles I and Parliament faced off in three civil
wars over longstanding disputes about religious freedom and how the “three kingdoms” of
England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. The English Civil War was a conflict
between the Parliament and Charles I. The causes of the war started when the king began
ignoring the Parliament when making laws and thus angering the people. Eventually the
disagreements escalated and in 1642 both the King and the Parliament declared they had control
of the military. The members of the armed forces choose sides and in 1649 the conflict ended
with the execution of Charles I. This was a major turning point in what was believed to give the
ruling party their power. The belief moved away from the divine right of kings to the people
that now gave the government its power.
The Causes of the English Civil War
The English civil war has many causes but the personality of Charles I must be counted as one
of the major reasons. Few people could have predicted that the civil war that started in 1642,
would have ended with the execution of Charles. His most famous opponent in this war was
Oliver Cromwell - one of the men who signed the death warrant of Charles. No king had ever
been executed in England and the execution of Charles was not greeted with joy. How did the
civil war break out? with many wars, there are long and short term causes.
Long term causes:
The status of the monarchy had started to decline under the reign of James I. He was known as
the "wisest fool in Christendom". James was a firm believer in the "divine right of kings".
This was a belief that God had made someone a king and as God could not be wrong, neither
could anyone appointed by him to rule a nation. James expected Parliament to do as he wanted;
he did not expect it to argue with any of his decisions. However, Parliament had one major
advantage over James - they had money and he was continually short of it. Parliament and
James clashed over custom duties. This was one source of James income but Parliament told him
that he could not collect it without their permission. In 1611, James suspended Parliament and it
did not meet for another 10 years.
James used his friends to run the country and they were rewarded with titles. This caused great
offence to those Members of Parliament who believed that they had the right to run the country.
In 1621, James I re-called Parliament to discuss the future marriage of his son, Charles, to a
Spanish princess. Parliament was outraged. If such a marriage occurred, would the children
from it be brought up as Catholics?
Spain was still not considered a friendly nation to England and many still remembered 1588 and
the Spanish Armada.
The marriage never took place but the damaged relationship between king and Parliament was
never mended by the time James died in 1625.
Short term causes:
From 1625 to 1629, Charles argued with parliament over most issues, but money and religion
were the most common causes of arguments. In 1629, Charles copied his father. He refused to
let Parliament meet. Members of Parliament arrived at Westminster to find that the doors had
been locked with large chains and padlocks. They were locked out for eleven years - a period
they called the Eleven Years Tyranny.Charles ruled by using the Court of Star Chamber. To
raise money for the king, the Court heavily fined those brought before it. Rich men were
persuaded to buy titles. If they refused to do so, they were fined the same sum of money it
would have cost for a title anyway!
In 1635 Charles ordered that everyone in the country should pay Ship Money. Charles decided
that everyone in the kingdom benefited from the navy's protection and that everyone should
pay. In one sense, Charles was correct, but such was the relationship between him and the
powerful men of the kingdom, that this issue caused a huge argument between both sides. One
of the most powerful men in the nation was John Hampden. He had been a Member of
Parliament and he refused to pay the new tax as Parliament had not agreed to it. At this time
Parliament was also not sitting as Charles had locked the MP's out. Hampden was put on trial
and found guilty. However, he had become a hero for standing up to the king.
Charles also clashed with the Scots. He ordered that they should use a new prayer book for their
church services. This angered the Scots so much that they invaded England in 1639. As Charles
was short of money to fight the Scots, he had to recall Parliament in 1640 as they were the only
ones who had the necessary money needed to fight a war and the required authority to collect
extra money. In return for the money and as a display of their power, Parliament called for the
execution of "Black Tom Tyrant" - the Earl of Strafford, one of the top advisors of Charles.
After a trial, Strafford was executed in 1641. Parliament also demanded that Charles get rid of
the Court of Star Chamber. By 1642, relations between Parliament and Charles had become
very bad. Charles had to do as Parliament wished as they had the ability to raise the money that
Charles needed.
However, as a firm believer in the "divine right of kings", such a relationship was unacceptable
for Charles.
In 1642, he went to Parliament with 300 soldiers to arrest his five biggest critics. Someone close
to the king had already tipped off Parliament that these men were about to be arrested and they
had already fled to the safety of the city of London where they could easily hide from the king.
There were also many religious causes of the war. One of them was that for many years, a
radical group within the Church of England, the Puritans, sought to do away
with bishops and revise the Prayer book. Charles fought against them, working with a
reactionary group of churchmen led by William Laud.
First English Civil War (1642-46)
When civil war broke out in earnest in August 1642, Royalist forces (known as Cavaliers)
controlled northern and western England, while Parliamentarians (or Roundheads) dominated in
the southern and eastern regions of the country. The king’s forces appeared to be gaining the
upper hand by early 1643, especially after concluding an alliance with Irish Catholics to end the
Irish Rebellion. But a key alliance between the Parliamentarians and Scotland that year led to a
large Scottish army joining the fray on Parliament’s side in January 1644.
On July 2, 1644, Royalist and Parliamentarian forces met at Marston Moor, west of York, in the
largest battle of the First English Civil War. A Parliamentarian force of 28,000 routed the
smaller Royalist army of 18,000, ending the king’s control of northern England. In 1645,
Parliament created a permanent, professional, trained army of 22,000 men. This New Model
Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, scored a decisive victory in
June 1645 in the Battle of Naseby, effectively dooming the Royalist cause.
Second English Civil War (1648-49) and execution of King Charles I Even in defeat, Charles
refused to give in, but sought to capitalize on the religious and political divisions among his
enemies. While on the Isle of Wight in 1647-48, the king managed to conclude a peace treaty
with the Scots and marshal Royalist sentiment and discontent with Parliament into a series of
armed uprisings across England in the spring and summer of 1648.
After Fairfax, Cromwell and the New Model Army easily crushed the Royalist uprisings, hard-
line opponents of the king took charge of a smaller Parliament. Concluding that peace could not
be reached while Charles was still alive, they set up a high court and put the king on trial for
treason. Charles was found guilty and executed by beheading on January 30, 1649 at Whitehall.
Third English Civil War (1649-51)
With Charles dead, a republican regime was established in England, backed by the military
might of the New Model Army. Beginning late in 1649, Cromwell led his army in a successful
reconquest of Ireland, including the notorious massacre of thousands of Irish and Royalist
troops and civilians at Drogheda. Meanwhile, Scotland came to an agreement with the executed
king’s eldest son, also named Charles, who was crowned King Charles II of Scotland in early
1651.
Even before he was officially crowned, Charles II had formed an army of English and Scottish
Royalists, prompting Cromwell to invade Scotland in 1650. After losing the Battle of Dunbar to
Cromwell’s forces in September 1650, Charles led an invasion of England the following year,
only to suffer another defeat against a huge Parliamentarian army at Worcester. The young king
narrowly escaped capture, but the decisive victory ended the Third English Civil War, along
with the larger War of the Three Kingdoms (England, Scotland and Ireland).
Impact of the Civil Wars
An estimated 200,000 English soldiers and civilians were killed during the three civil wars, by
fighting and the disease spread by armies; the loss was proportionate, population-wise, to that of
World War I.
In 1653, Oliver Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England,
Scotland and Ireland, and tried (largely unsuccessfully) to consolidate broad support behind the
new republican regime amid the continued growth of radical religious sects and widespread
uneasiness about the new standing army.
After Cromwell’s death in 1658, he was succeeded as protector by his son Richard, who
abdicated just eight months later. With the continued disintegration of the republic, the larger
Parliament was reassembled, and began negotiations with Charles II to resume the throne. The
triumphant king arrived in London in May 1660, beginning the English Restoration.
Effects of the Revolution
After Charles’s execution, England became a republic called the Commonwealth of England
which was the main political effect. A committee of Parliament ruled the country.
Cromwell ended the Commonwealth of England in 1653 by dismissing the Long Parliament.
Cromwell then ruled under the Instrument of Government, a document prepared by his military
officers.
The document made England a Protectorate, with Cromwell as lord protector. Oliver Cromwell
died in 1658, and his son, Richard, was named lord protector. But Richard could not handle the
affairs of government. In addition, the people were dissatisfied with the Protectorate and wanted
a monarchy again. George Munk, a general who had served under Cromwell, overthrew the
government in 1660. A new Parliament, elected in 1660, restored the monarchy under Charles
II, the son of Charles I.
The Puritans under Cromwell’s time closed Theatres, banned dancing and other pastimes which
were the main social or religious effect. Strictest religious observances were demanded of the
entire population, especially on Sundays. All graven images which could possibly be associated
with Catholicism were destroyed. The loving craftsmanship of centuries was battered to
fragments. Not an echo of music lingered in the bleak churches. Yet Cromwell had a vision of a
better world. He preached, and put into practice, religious toleration – save for Catholics. The
dictatorship in England under Cromwell’s time didn’t work very well with the English tradition.
Even though Richard took the power after Cromwell’s death in 1658, he had to leave as a lord
protector the following year. England again became a monarchy and the Stuart House regained
the throne in 1660. Parliament’s right of participation in decision-making was established.

7. The system of education in the USA

The US education system consists of 12 years of elementary and secondary education before
students can advance to post-secondary education.
In the US, the school calendar begins in August or September and continues through to May or
June. The majority of students begin school in autumn. The academic year is composed of
three terms also known as semesters. The first semester is from September to December
followed by a short holiday break between semesters. The second semester is from January to
May. The last semester is a summer holiday break. Post-secondary students can be on summer
break from June to August.
In the USA, children start school when they are five or six years old. Depending on the state,
schooling is compulsory until the age of 16 or 18. Children younger than five can go to a
nursery school or preschool.
At the age of five or six, the children attend elementary school (also known as grade school or
grammar school), which last six years. The fist year at elementary school is called
kindergarten.
After elementary school, students attend middle school (also known as junior high school) for
three years. Then they continue at high school. In some states, students have to stay in
school until they are 18 years old. In other states they may leave school at 16 or 17 with
parental permission.
Age School
< 5 nursery school / preschool
5-11 elementary school
11-14 middle school / junior high school
14-18 high school / senior high school

When students in the USA say what year they are in, they usually use ordinal numbers, e. g.
‘tenth grade’. (In the UK students would use cardinal numbers, e. g. ‘year ten’.)
Category School Grade Level Ages

Preschool Pre-kindergarten 3-5

 Compulsory education

Kindergarten 5-6

Elementary school 1st grade 6-7

2nd grade 7-8

3rd grade 8-9

4th grade 9-10

Intermediate school 5th grade 10-11

Middle school 6th grade 11-12

Junior high school 7th grade 12-13

8th grade 13-14

High school 9th grade / Freshman 14-15

Senior high 10th grade / 15-16

school Sophomore

11th grade / Junior 16-17

12th grade / Senior 17-18

Higher education

College Undergraduate First year: "freshman year" 18-19

(University) school

Second year: "sophomore year" 19-20

Third year: "junior year" 20-21

Fourth year: "senior year" 21-22

Graduate school 22 and up

(with various degrees and curricular partitions thereof)

Continuing education

Vocational education 16 and up

Adult education 18 and up

Post-Secondary Education
The US has more than 4,500 post-secondary institutions. The US is unique as their institutions
are not centrally organized but are accredited on a national or regional level. There are many
different types of post-secondary education systems within the US. They include:
• State College or University
• Private College or University
• Community College
• Institute of Technology
Each type of institution provides students with a unique schooling experience, giving students
the flexibility to choose the path that works best for them and their career.

Classes
At elementary school pupils primarily learn how to read, write and count. There are about 20
to 30 pupils in one class.
At junior and senior high school, mandatory subjects are English, maths, biology, chemistry,
physics, physical education and history. Schools also offer optional courses from which the
students can choose, e. g. art, modern languages, computers. Physical education is a very
important subject in the United States – many students participate in sports programs.
Gifted and talented students can take advanced courses in their schools or attend additional
courses at community colleges in the afternoons or during the holidays. Often such courses
are later acknowledged by universities, and can facilitate early graduation.
Grading Scale
In the USA (as in other English speaking countries) letter grades are used in reports.
■ A > 90 % (excellent)
■ B > 80 % (very good)
■ C > 70 % (improvement needed)
■ D > 60 % (close fail)
■ E > 50 % (fail)
■ F < 50 % (fail)
In general, only grades A to C are a 'pass' – a plus (+) or minus (-) might be added (e. g. A-,
B+).
Different Kinds of Schools
Most students in the USA are enrolled in public schools. These are financed through taxes, so
parents do not have to pay for their children's education. About 10 % of US students attend
private schools, where parents have to pay a yearly fee.
Another option is homeschooling: approximately 1-2 % of parents in the USA educate their
children at home. Some reasons for homeschooling are religious views, special needs (e. g.
handicapped children), or problems in traditional schools (bullying, drugs etc.). However, there
is also opposition to homeschooling claiming that the students have difficulties socializing with
others, that homeschooling (often carried out by the parents) is of a poor academic quality and
that (especially concerning religion) extremist views might be encouraged.
School Uniforms
It is not common for students in the USA to wear school uniforms, but many schools have dress
codes telling students what kind of clothing is or is not allowed in school. Some schools
(especially private schools) have started to require their students to wear school uniforms in
order to improve school discipline and avoid 'fashion cliques'.

8. Peculiarities of American English: pronunciation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary.

a) spelling
British English words ending in ‘our’ usually end in ‘or’ in American English:
 BRITISH US

colour color

flavour flavor

humour humor

labour labor

neighbou neighbo r
r

Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either ‘ize’ or ‘ise’ at the end are always
spelled with ‘ize’ at the end in American English:
BRITISH US

apologize Apologize
or
apologise

organize or organise Organize

recognize or Recogniz e
recognise

Verbs in British English that end in ‘yse’ are always spelled ‘yze’ in American
English:
BRITISH US

analyse analyze

breathalys e breathalyz e

paralyse paralyze

In British spelling ‘L’ is doubled in verbs ending in a vowel plus ‘L’. In American English,
the ‘L’ is not doubled:
BRITIS H US

travel Travel

travelle d Travele d

travellin g Travelin g

traveller Traveler
British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe tend to be just spelled
with an e in American English: Although there are exceptions to the rule. For example
archaeology is spelt in the same way as British English but archeology would be acceptable in
America but is incorrect in the UK.
BRITISH US

leukaemia leukemia

manoeuvr e maneuve r

oestrogen estrogen

paediatric pediatric

Some nouns that end with ‘ence’ in British English are spelled ‘ense in American
English:’
BRITIS H US

defence defense

licence license

offence offense

pretenc e pretens e

Some nouns that end with ‘ogue’ in British English end with either ‘og’ or ‘ogue in
American English:
BRITISH US

Analogu e analog or
analogue

catalogu e catalog or
catalogue

Dialogue dialog or dialogue

b) pronunciation (vowels, consonants, intonation)

DIFFERENCES IN STRESS IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH adult
ballet
brochure
garage
vaccine
advertisement
hospitable
SOME WORDS ENDING IN -ILE ARE DIFFERENT IN BRITISH AND
AMERICAN ENGLISH
agile
fertile
hostile
mobile
versatile
IN SOME WORDS, THE LETTER “A” IS PRONOUNCED DIFFERENTLY IN
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
bath
laugh
class
chance
ask
after
can’t
example
THE SOUND OF “R” IS STRONGER IN AMERICAN ENGLISH hard
were
ear
pure
more
chair
bar
THE -IZATION ENDING IS DIFFERENT IN BRITISH AND AMERICAN
ENGLISH
civilization
organization
authorization
globalization
The verb form, globalize, is pronounced the same in both British and American English.
But British English maintains this same pronunciation in the noun form – globalization –
while American English changes the sound of the letter “i.”

THE LETTER “T” IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORD CAN BE PRONOUNCED LIKE A

FAST “D” IN AMERICAN ENGLISH

better
water
hated
writing
bottom
native
artificial
notice

c) grammar

1. Present perfect and past simple

In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they
consider relevant to the present.

The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, but people often use
the past simple when they consider the action finished. This is especially common with the
adverbs already, just and yet.

British English American English

He isn't hungry. He has already had lunch.
- Have you done your homework yet?
- Yes, I've just finished it.

He isn't hungry. He already had lunch.

- Did you do your homework yet?
- Yes, I just finished it.

2. got and gotten

In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.

In American English, people say gotten.

** Note that have got is commonly used in both British and American English to speak
about possession or necessity. have gotten is not correct here.

British English American English

You could have got hurt!
He's got very thin.
She has got serious about her career.

BUT:
Have you got any money?
We've got to go now.

You could have gotten hurt!

He's gotten very thin.
She has gotten serious about her career.

BUT:
Have you got any money? (NOT Have you gotten ...)
We've got to go now. (NOT We've gotten to ...)

3. Verb forms with collective nouns

In British English, a singular or plural verb can be used with a noun that refers to a group of
people or things (a collective noun). We use a plural verb when we think of the group as
individuals or a singular verb when we think of the group as a single unit.

In American English, a singular verb is used with collective nouns. **

Note that police is always followed by a plural verb.

British English American English
My family is/are visiting from Pakistan.
My team is/are winning the match.
The crew is/are on the way to the airport.

BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.

My family is visiting from Pakistan.

My team is winning the match.
The crew is on the way to the airport.
BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.

4. have and take

In British English, the verbs have and take are commonly used with nouns like bath, shower,
wash to speak about washing and with nouns like break, holiday, rest to speak about resting.

In American English, only the verb take (and not the verb have) is used this way.

British English American English

I'm going to have/take a shower.
Let's have/take a break.

I'm going to take a shower.

Let's take a break.

5. shall

In British English, people often use Shall I ...? to offer to do something and/or Shall we ...? to
make a suggestion.

It is very unusual for speakers of American English to use shall. They normally use an
alternative like Should/Can I ...? or Do you want/Would you like ...? or How about ...? instead.

British English American English

It's hot in here. Shall I open the window?
Shall we meet in the café at 5?
Shall we try that again?

It's hot in here. Can I open the window?

Do you want to meet in the café at 5?
How about we try that again?
‘Needn’t’, which is commonly used in British English, is rarely, if at all used in
American English. In its place is ‘don’t need to’.

6. Use of prepositions

In British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.

at Christmas/five 'o' clock
at the weekend

In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.

Will they still be there on the weekend?

She'll be coming home on weekends.

In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other

institutions, e.g.

She studied chemistry at university.

In American English, in is often used, e.g.

She studied French in high school.

In British English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.

This place is different from/to anything I've seen before.

In American English from and than are used with different, e.g.

This place is different from/than anything I've seen before.

In British English, to is always used after the verb write, e.g.

I promised to write to her every day.

In American English, to can be omitted after write, i.e.

I promised to write her every day.

7. Use of auxiliaries and modals

In British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying
to a question, e.g.

A: Are you coming with us?

B: I might do.
In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.

A: Are you coming with us?

B: I might.
In British English, needn't is often used instead of don't need to, e.g.

They needn't come to school today.

They don't need to come to school today.
In American English, needn't is very unusual and the usual form is don't need to, e.g.
They don't need to come to school today.
In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future,
e.g.
I shall/will be there later.
In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used. In British English,

shall I/we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.

Shall we ask him to come with us?

In American English, should is often used instead of shall, e.g.

d) vocabulary.
British English American English

trousers pants

flat apartment

bonnet (the front of the car) hood

boot (the back of the trunk

car)

lorry truck

university college

holiday vacation

jumper sweater

crisps chips

chips French fries

trainers sneakers

fizzy drink soda

postbox mailbox

biscuit cookie

chemist drugstore

shop store

football soccer

American has Standard American, beg. 17 c, North Am.

History:
1. The Colonial Period, 1607-1776

2. The National Period, 1776-1898

3. The International Period, 1898-now

1st Period:

First colonies were the contemporaries of Shakespeare and Milton. Word that lost its meaning
in En., but remained in Colonies.

e.g. to get, i get = to think, считать, предполагать

Great influence on Eng was made by languages of different tribes

e.g. shoe: moccasins, canoe, chipmunk, anorak, squash, Michigan, Arkansas,

tobacco, racoon, chicory

French:

depot (a large shop, fr: склад), pumpkin

Spanish:

tomato, bbq, savannah, avocado, alligator

coyote, tequila, jerk, cockroach

Dutch:

boss, Santa, pit, dope, sleigh

2nd Period:

Italian and German immigrants

Italian:

pasta, spaghetti, burger, θ

German:

Delikatessen, Sauerkraut, Nudel

Noah Webster, famous American lexicographer, “The American Dictionary of the English
language”. He proposed several reforms to the language, simplifications:

to simplify the sound of letters that are not pronounced:

e.g. u : honour, humour, favour, colour -> favor, etc

delete 2nd consonant: traveller -> treveler, waggon -> wagon

er in French: theatre in Br -> theater in Am.
unpronounced endings in Romanic origin: catalogue -> catalog, dialogue etc ce -> se
in Romanic origin : N defence -> N&V defense
to delete unpr. endings ough: through, though

s -> z: socialise -> socialize

Judgement Br -> Judgment Am

Cheque -> Check

omelette -> omelet

gaol -> jail dʒeɪl

goodbye -> good by ?

President, vice-president, constitution, etc. Were not used in Am. before

Industrial development: skyscraper

3rd Period:

Borrowing from Europe because of WWII.

Russian:

sputnik, communism, vodka

Italian mafia:

gangster, clans

Pronunciation:

2 stresses in Am, 1 Br: extraordinary, Renaissance, advertisement stress

on 1 s.: already, address, research
intonation: more monotonous, no Low Falls