Imee Rose D.

Mariano 08:30am 2A BS- Psychology

M/W 07:00Prof. Jr Soulbrudda

Critical Analysis Essay:Compare and Contrast of British English and American English as Por trayed in The Parent Trap English is such a dynamic language. Its fluidity crosses boundaries, culturally and teritorry wise. English variations are so many that it is a challenge to tell how many there is in the world. Ther e are Konglish, Singlish and Taglish, these are just few examples of English variations incorpora ted with some Asian languages and there are a whole lot more in the other continents. Undenia bly though, the two most widely known and recognized are the British and American English. British English as we seen in The Parent Trap is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom,while;American English is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States. Understanding these variations is not an easy task, one has to look the history and development of the English language throughout time. Culture and history plays a big role in understanding a language especially so when it comes to English language. It is therefore a must to discuss brief ly, although it is a challenge to do so, the history of the English language. English is a member of the Indo-European family of languages.The influence of the original Indo -European language can be seen today, even though no written record of it exists. The word for father, for example, is vater in German, pater in Latin, and pitr in Sanskrit. These words are all c ognates, similar words in different languages that share the same root. Of these branches of the Indo-European family, two are, as far as the study of the development of English is concerned, of paramount importance, the Germanic and the Romance (called that because the Romance languages derive from Latin, the language of ancient Rome). West Germ anic is the ancestor of modern German, Dutch, Flemish, Frisian, and English. English history has 5 sub-division depending on date. These are the Old English, The Norman Conquest and the Middle English, Early Modern, Late Modern and American English and other varieties. West Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark: the Angles (whose name is the s ource of the words England and English), Saxons, and Jutes, began to settle in the British Isles i n the fifth and sixth centuries AD. They spoke a mutually intelligible language, similar to modern Frisian - the language of the northeastern region of the Netherlands - that is called Old English. Four major dialects of Old English emerged, Northumbrian in the north of England, Mercian in th e Midlands, West Saxon in the south and west, and Kentish in the Southeast. These invaders pushed the original, Celtic-speaking inhabitants out of what is now England into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, leaving behind a few Celtic words. These Celtic langua ges survive today in the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland and in Welsh. Also influencin g English at this time were the Vikings. Norse invasions and settlement, beginning around 850, brought many North Germanic words into the language, particularly in the north of England. So me examples are dream, which had meant 'joy' until the Vikings imparted its current meaning on it from the Scandinavian cognate draumr, and skirt, which continues to live alongside its native English cognate shirt.

Prior to the Norman Conquest, Latin had been only a minor influence on the English language, mainly through vestiges of the Roman occupation and from the conversion of Britain to Christian ity in the seventh century (ecclesiastical terms such as priest, vicar, and mass came into the lan guage this way), but now there was a wholesale infusion of Romance (Anglo-Norman) words. The next wave of innovation in English came with the Renaissance. The revival of classical sch olarship brought many classical Latin and Greek words into the Language. These borrowings w ere deliberate and many bemoaned the adoption of these "inkhorn" terms, but many survive to t his day. Shakespeare's character Holofernes in Loves Labor Lost is a satire of an overenthusias tic schoolmaster who is too fond of Latinisms. The principal distinction between early- and late-modern English is vocabulary. Pronunciation, g rammar, and spelling are largely the same, but Late-Modern English has many more words. The se words are the result of two historical factors. The first is the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the technological society. This necessitated new words for things and ideas that had not previ ously existed. The second was the British Empire. At its height, Britain ruled one quarter of the e arth's surface, and English adopted many foreign words and made them its own. British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world. For instance the English-speaking members of the Commonwealth often closely follow British English forms while many new American English forms quickly become familiar outside of the United States Also significant beginning around 1600 AD was the English colonization of North America and th e subsequent creation of American English. Some pronunciations and usages "froze" when they reached the American shore. In certain respects, some varieties of American English are closer to the English of Shakespeare than modern Standard English ('English English' or as it is often i ncorrectly termed 'British English') is. Some "Americanisms" are actually originally English Engli sh expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost at home (e.g., fall as a synonym fo r autumn, trash for rubbish, and loan as a verb instead of lend). As mentioned in the above condensed history, English is the mother tongue of England and Irel and. American English is just one of the many varieties that emerge from the standard English. I t was only right after the colonization that this variety of English came into view. Inevitably then, British English (as it commonly termed incorrectly) has more "old" words compar ed to American English. Culturally speaking, British culture is also older and thus more conserva tive compared to American culture it was clearly depicted in theire respective Englishes. Having a background on the history of English language makes the viewers appreciate Lindsay Lohan's changeable accents in the movie The Parent Trap. This paper aims to tackle the differe nce between the Standard and American English by using the movie to show comparisons and t o site examples. The Parent Trap is a remake of the 1961 movie with the same title. It was based on Das Doppel te Lottchen, a novel by Erich Kastner, which had previously been filmed in German and British v ersions (real twins were cast in both); over thirty years after Parent Trap was theatrically release d, a short series of sequels were made for the Disney Channel cable service, with a grown-up H ayley Mills back in her original role(s), and two sets of second-generation twins.

Annie James and Hallie Parker both played by Lindsay Lohan, is a twin who grew up world apar ts, one in London and one in California. The twins are physically identical but there are no two p ersons that can be so different. Annie portrays the prim and proper English girl. She seems to b e formally educated. She knows French and is unbelievably polite for a 11 year old girl. In contr ast, Hallie is the more laid-back, brash, I-will-say-want-I-want-to-say, typical American girl. Her e xpressions are more informal and direct to the point. British boast on their long history and unpa ralleled culture. They have the class and they seem to be more dignified and more educated co mpared to Americans. This characteristics are reflected on their language too. This paper will show quotations from the movie to show the difference between the two not only in the accents but as well as with the other aspects of the language. It should always be remembered though that although British English is the Standard English, it is agreed that no one version is "correct" although some preferences cannot be avoided. Here are some of the obvious differences between the two Englishes as seen in the characters' lines. First is the use of Present Perfect, in British English, the present perfect is used to show that an action that has occured in the recent past has an effect on the present situation while American English favored the simple past tense. British English (from the movie) Hallie as Annie: [crying, seeing her mother for the first time] I'm sorry, it's just I've missed you so much. Elizabeth James: I know, it seems like it's been forever. Hallie as Annie: You have no idea. American English counterpart Hallie as Annie: [crying, seeing her mother for the first time] I'm sorry, it's just I missed you so m uch. Elizabeth James: I know, it seems like it's forever. Hallie as Annie: You have no idea. Expressing ownership is also different between American and British English. British English us es HAVE more while American English favors emphatic verb do, also Americans have these ha bit of using a sentence, then empoying a rising intonation to express it as a question. A good re presentative example will be the conversation between Annie and Hallie below. American English Annie: This is Martin, our butler Hallie: [in shock] We have a butler? British Enlish Annie: This is Martin, our butler Hallie: [in shock] Have we got a butler? Probably the major differences between British and American English is the word choice or voca bulary. As already discussed, British has a longer line of history compared to American. A few li nes from the movie are quoted to clearly shown these differences.

British English Conversation Martin, the James' Butler: Shall we review your mother's list? Annie: Mm-hmm. Martin, the James' Butler: Now, let's see. Vitamins? Annie: Check. Martin, the James' Butler: Minerals? Annie: Check. Martin, the James' Butler: List of daily fruits and vegetables? Annie: Check, check. [Martin glances at Annie] Annie: Check for fruits, check for vegetables. Go on. Martin, the James' Butler: Sunblock, lip balm, insect repellent, stationery, stamps, photographs of your mother, grandfather, and of course, your trusty butler, me. Annie: Got it all, I think. Martin, the James' Butler: Oh, and here's a little something from your grandfather. [Holds up a deck of cards] Martin, the James' Butler: Spanking new deck of cards. Maybe you'll actually find someone on t his continent who can whip your tush at poker. Annie: Well, I doubt it, but thanks, Martin. American English Informal Conversation Nick Parker: What's going on? Meredith Blake: Here's what's going on, buddy: the day we get married is the day I ship those br ats off to Switzerland, get the picture? It's me, or them. Take your pick. Nick Parker: Them. [Hallie and Annie stare at each other excitedly] Meredith Blake: Excuse me? Nick Parker: T-H-E-M. Them. [staring into Meredith's face] Nick Parker: Get the picture? Share this quote Another brash example of American English Meredith Blake: First change I make is to send that two-faced little brat off to boarding school in Timbuktu. Richard, Meredith's Assistant: Oof, Ice Woman! Meredith Blake: Proud of it, babe! Share this quote It's no wonder that English, generally perceives American as "lacking" when it comes to social g races and education. There are other differences between these two varieties which we cannot directly see on the mo vie,like the spelling differences, for one. But at the end of it, we can deduce that English will continue to live as a dynamic language for no-one-can-tell how lon g, as long as it continues to adopt and incorporate other languages into its vocabulary and as lo

ng as it continues to cope with the changes through time. True, it will change but it will, no doub t, remain.