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イギリス英語 vs アメリカ英語 ①

日本人の生徒さんたちから、英会話力を向上するため、イギリス英語とアメリカ英語の重要な違いを教えて欲しい、という声をよく聞きます。

このシリーズでは、発音と語彙において、イギリス英語とアメリカ英語の違いに焦点を当ててみようと思います。

American English vs British English

※このトピックについて以下の2点について心に留めておいてください。

1. 地域的なバリエーション
Using the phrases “British English” and “American English” does not necessarily mean that they are entirely clean categories. There is huge geographical variation within each and furthermore, language evolves over time.
Example of geographical variation: a personal growing up in Glasgow will typically have a very distinct accent different from someone growing up in London. Example of language evolution:  the BBC voiceovers of the 1980s sound different to the ones used now.

2. 文化的影響
Due to the dominance of modern US culture, primarily through movies and TV, a lot of American influence can be seen in the way British speakers’ English often readily adopt Americanisms.

まずはイギリス英語とアメリカ英語でよく使われる色々な『挨拶 Greetings』についてみてみましょう！

Greetings – differences 相違点

  • Hi y’all

Y’all is – predominately but not exclusively – a marker of a plural “you”. This is an Americanism, especially in the southern states, which has NOT been adopted by British speakers.

  • Hey, what’s up?!

Hey – is an informal greeting that is typical of American English, but due to cultural influence, can also be heard in British English.


What’s up? or wassup – is a common extension of the greeting in American English, equivalent in meaning to “How are you?”.

This use can be heard in British English, especially among young speakers, however, “What’s up?” in British English has a primary meaning of “What’s the matter?” – as in noticing that someone is not their usual self. Americans will judge which meaning is being used more readily based on context.

  • Howdy

Howdy. This is primarily an Americanism – an informal version of “Hello, how are you?” – used especially in southern states.
If used by a British speaker, it would almost always denote a humorous intent.

Howdy!

Greetings – similarities 類似点

The following greetings are commonly heard in both American and British English, in ascending order of familiarity.

  • Good morning! / Good afternoon! / Good evening!
  • Morning! / Afternoon! /Evening!
  • Hello!
  • Hi!
  • Hi there!
  • Hiya!
  • Yo!

PS Englishでは、ロンドン・イギリスだけでなく、オンラインで世界中に拠点を置く日本人の皆様を対象に、英会話教育を行っています。より自然な英語を話せるように、ネイティブスピーカーの講師がマンツーマンでレッスンを行います。イギリス英語を学びたい！という方は是非こちらから無料コンサルテーションをお申込みください。

一般英語だけでなく、ビジネス英語、IELTS対策、お子様向けレッスンも可能です。

2021年11月04日

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