55 What classification of phraseological units was given by I.V.Arnold?

Phraseological units can be classified as parts of speech. This classification was suggested by I.V. Arnold. Here we have the following groups:

a) noun-phraseologisms denoting an object, a person, a living being, e.g., a dog’s life, a big shot, redbrick university, Green Beret;

b) verb-phraseologisms denoting an action, a state, a feeling, e.g. to break the log-jam, to rain cats and dogs, to be on the beam, to nose out , to make headlines;

c) adjective-phraseologisms denoting a quality, e.g. loose as a goose, safe and sound, as thin as a rail, high and mighty;

d) adverb phraseological units, such as: with a bump, in the soup, like a dream, like a dog with two tails;

e) preposition phraseological units, e.g. in the course of, on the stroke of;

f) interjection phraseological units, e.g. Catch me!, Well, I never! Take it easy, etc.

In I.V.Arnold’s classification there are also sentence equivalents, proverbs, sayings and quotations, e.g. The sky is the limit, What makes him tick, I am easy.

The classification system of phraseological units suggested by professor A.V. Koonin is the latest outstanding achievement in the Russian theory of phraseology. This classification is based on the combined structural-semantic principle and subdivided into four classes.

• Nominative phraseological units are represented by word-groups, including the

ones with one meaningful word: wear and tear, well and good.

• Nominative-communicative phraseological units include word-groups of the

type: to break the ice – the ice is broken, that is, verbal word-groups are transformed into a sentence when the verb is used in the Passive Voice.

• Phraseological units include interjectional word-groups.

• Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings.

These four classes are divided into sub-groups according to the type of structure of the phraseological units.

The classification system includes a considerable number of subtypes and gradations and objectively reflects the wealth of types of phraseological units existing in the language. It is based on scientific and modern criteria and represents an earnest attempt to take into account all the relevant aspects of phraseological units and combine them within the borders of one classification system.

56. What are the differences between American and British English?

History of British vs American English

The English language was introduced to the Americans through British colonization in the early 17th century and it spread to many parts of the world because of the strength of the British empire. Over the years, English spoken in the United States and in Britain started diverging from each other in various aspects. This led to two dialects in the form of the American English and the British English.

American vs British accent

Prior to the Revolutionary War and American independence from the British in 1776, American and British accents were similar. Both were rhotic i.e. speakers pronounced the letter R in hard. Since 1776, the accents diverged but English accent in America has changed less drastically than accents in Britain.

Towards the end of the 18th century, non-rhotic speech took off in southern England, especially among the upper class; this "prestige" non-rhotic speech was standardized, and has been spreading in Britain ever since.

Most American accents, however, remained rhotic.

There are a few fascinating exceptions: New York and New England accents became non-rhotic, perhaps because of the region's British connections. Irish and Scottish accents, however, remained rhotic.

To be fair, both American and British English have several types of accents and there is no one true American or British accent.

Differences in use of tenses

In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I've misplaced my pen. Can you help me find it? In American English, the use of the past tense is also permissible:I misplaced my pen. Can you help me find it? In British English, however, using the past tense in this example would be considered incorrect.

Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include the words already, just and yet.

British English: I've just had food. Have you finished your homework yet? American English: I just had food. OR I've just had food. I've already seen that film. OR I already saw that film.

Differences in Vocabulary

While some words may mean something in British English, the same word might be something else in American english and vice versa. For example, Athlete in British English is one who participates in track and field events whereas Athlete in American English is one who participates in sports in general.

Rubber in British English: tool to erase pencil markings.  Rubber in American English: condom.

There are also some words like AC, Airplane, bro, catsup, cell phone etc. which are common in American English and not used very often in British English. Some words widely used in British English and seldom in American English are advert, anti clockwise, barrister, cat's eye.

Differences in Spelling

There are many words that are spelt differently in both forms of English. Some examples are:

American English spelling	British English spelling
Color	Colour
Fulfill	Fulfil
Center	Centre
Analyze	Analyse
Aging	Ageing
Dialog	Dialogue
anesthesia,	Anaesthesia

A majority of the spelling differences between American and British English fall into the following categories:

• Latin-derived spellings

  • -our (British) and -or (American). e.g. colour vs color

  • -re (British) and -er (American). e.g. centre vs center

  • -ce (British) and -se (American). e.g. defence vs defense

• Greek-derived spellings

  • -ise (British) and -ize (American). e.g. centralise vs centralize

  • -yse (British) and -yze (American). e.g. analyse vs analyze

  • -ogue (British) and -og (American). e.g. dialogue vs dialog

  • Simplification of ae and oe in American English. e.g. gynaecology vs gynecology

Differences in the use of Prepositions

There are also a few differences between British and American English in the use of prepositions. For example: While the British would play in a team, Americans would play on a team. Another example: While the British would go out at the weekend, Americans would go out on the weekend.

Differences in Verb usage

American and British English may also use a base verb in different manners. For example: For the verb " to dream", Americans would use the past tense dreamed while the British would use dreamt in past tense. The same applies to "learned" and "learnt". Another example of differing past tense spellings for verbs in American and British English is "forecast". Americans use forecast while the British would say forecasted in simple past tense.

Differences in Pronunciation

Some words that are pronounced differently in American vs British English are controversy, leisure, schedule etc. There are also some words like Ax (Axe in British) and Defense (Defence in British) which have the same pronunciation but different spellings in both languages.