让美国人费解的英式英语

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让美国人费解的英式英语

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来源：《时代英语·高二》2016年第01期

英式英语和美式英语一直被拿来做比较。很多英剧迷都很迷恋有气质的英式英语，但同是英语一家亲的美国人，却对一些英式英语感到很费解。

It can be as insignificant as the slide from “oops” to “whoops”. It can be as blunt as the shift from “restroom” to “toilet”. It can be no more than the adaptation from “good job” to “well done.” But whatever precisely it is， the adjustment is momentous. A new nation was born in 1776， and a new language was born with it.

Having become an American， a British man returned to England a few years back after an absence of 31 years. He expected to speak British English. But he was wrong. Somewhere in the interim the pronunciation of the letter H had become “haitch” from “aitch”， with the result that spelling out his family name （surname）was painful. “You” had somehow morphed into the ghastly reflexive “yourself”， as in，“And for yourself？”

从英语到美语的转变，有时是“哎哟”的说法从“oops”变成“whoops”一样不起眼，有时是把“厕所”从“restroom”变成“toilet”一样的天壤之别。它也可以像把“干得漂亮”的说法从“good job”