British English may have come first, but around the world, the American way of spelling is now far more popular.
或許先有英式英語的,但美式拼寫方法現在流行得多。
A recent examination of these two variants of the English language show that publications now largely use the American version, swapping words like 『centre』 for 『center』 after the 1880s.
最近一項研究審視了這兩大英語語言的變種,發現出版期刊如今大幅使用美式英語,自19世紀80年代後,就把centre這樣的詞語替換成center。
According to the data, this shift was further strengthened around the time of World War I – and as the language evolved, even the British have ditched the spelling of some words for their trans-Atlanticcounterparts.
從數據看,這一變化在一戰期間又進一步加劇,隨著語言的演變,甚至英國人自己也摒棄有些單詞的拼寫方式,換成大西洋彼岸的美式拼寫。
Among many words, including 『grey』 and 『flavour,』 British English can be seen dwindling around 1880, when American English began to cross into wider use.
眾多詞彙裡包括"grey"和「flavour」。大約在1890年間,英式英語開始衰退,而美式英語的運用卻越來越廣泛。
Since then, English-language publications have preferred 『gray』 and 『flavor,』 and despite fluctuations in use over the years, they』ve remained more popular than the preceding versions since overtaking them.
自此以後,英語出版物也開始偏向用"gray"和「flavor」。儘管多年來就如何拼寫有過反覆,自從美式英語趕超英式英語之後,"gray"和「flavor「比起之前的拼寫方式而言,還是更受歡迎。
During World War I, the world also began to favor 『defense』 over the British English version, 『defence.』
一戰期間,世界也開始喜歡用「defense」,而非英式版本的「defence」。
註:藍色為美式英語,紅色為英式英語。
For many years, British English maintained its hold on 『honour,』 grappling with the American version for years as the two flip-flopped in popularity around the world. In the 1970s, however, American English gained a clear lead as 『honor』 increasingly became the more spelling of choice.
多年來,英式英語保持著「honour」的拼法,和美式英語相持不下,隨著這兩種英語的地位互換,受歡迎程度也起了變化。然而,在20世紀70年代,美式英語取得領先,「honor」的拼法逐漸成為拼寫主流。
(編輯:何瑩瑩)