Мирэя

04.04.2020 17:35 •  Английский язык

I. Прочитайте текст. Определите, верны (True) или не верны (False) следующие утверждения. 1. There are a lot of important differences between British and American grammar.

2. Some Americans can’t understand British films.

3. Standard English doesn't show any regional or other variations.

4. Middle-class speakers of English use Standard English.

5. There is only one British accent.

6. For many students it doesn’t matter which variant of English to learn.

7. Many different nationalities use English to communicate.

8. English as an International Language is a kind of American English.

II. Выполните письменный перевод абзаца 2.

English as an International Language – No Problem, OK?

1. The British and the Americans like to talk about the differences between British and American English. There are a few small differences in the grammar and there are a few words that are different on either side of the Atlantic, but the big difference is the accent. Some British films have subtitles in America because people can’t understand what the actors are saying, and some American TV series are difficult for the British to understand.

2. However, if you listen to Standard English (the language that TV newsreaders use, for example) in Britain or the US, there are no problems of understanding at all. The problems are with the different kinds of dialects and accents that depend on people’s social class and the geographical area where they live. It is possible, for example, that a middle-class speaker from the south of England will find it difficult to understand a working-class speaker from the north. In the same way, a wealthy Californian may not understand a working-class New Yorker. All of these people have accents, but the middle-class accents are usually closer to Standard English.

3. What sort of English should English students learn? Is American English better than British English, or the other way round? For many students, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they understand and are understood.

4. The world is changing and English is no longer the property of the British, Americans or Australians. Most English that you hear and see around the world is spoken or written by non-native speakers – between, for example, a Greеk and a German, or between a Russian and an Italian. English is the main language of business, academic conferences and tourism, of popular music, home computers and video games.

5. Because of this, the question of American or British English is becoming less and less important. More and more people now talk about English as an International Language – a language that is not American or British. It has hundreds of accents, but if people can understand what you are saying, no problem. OK?