M1U2 Using Language
使用语言
Reading
阅读
Standard English and Dialects
标准英语和方言
What is standard English?
什么是标准英语？
Is it spoken in Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand?
是在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、印度、新西兰所说的英语吗？
Believe it or not, there is no such thing as standard English.
信不信由你，（世界上）没有什么标准英语。
Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radio is standard English.
许多人认为，电视和收音机里所说的英语就是标准英语，
This is because in the early days of radio, those who reported the news were expected to speak excellent English.
这是因为在早期的电台节目里，人们期望新闻播音员所说的英语是最好的英语。
However, on TV and the radio, you will hear differences in the way people speak.
然而，在电视和收音机里，你也会听出人们在说话时的差异。
When people use words and expressions different from "standard language", it is called a dialect.
当人们使用不同于“标准语言”的词语和表达时，那就叫做方言。
American English has many dialects, especially the midwestern, southern, African American and Spanish dialects.
美国英语有许多方言，特别是中西部地区和南部地区的方言，以及美国黑人和西班牙人的方言。
Even in some parts of the USA, two people from neighbouring towns speak a little differently.
即使在美国有些地区，两个相邻城镇的人所说的方言也可能稍有不同。
American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world.
美国英语之所以有这么多的方言是因为美国人是来自世界各地的缘故。
Geography also plays a part in making dialects.
地理位置对方言的形成也有所影响。
Some people who live in the mountains of the eastern USA speak with an older kind of English dialect.
住在美国东部山区的一些人说着比较古老的英语方言。
When Americans moved from one place to another, they took their dialects with them.
当美国人从一个地方搬到另一个地方时，他们也就把他们的方言随着带去了。
So people from the mountains in the southeastern USA speak with almost the same dialect as people in the northwestern USA.
因此，美国东南部山区的人同美国西北部的人所说的方言就几乎相同。
The USA is a large country in which many different dialects are spoken.
美国是一个大国，有着许许多多彼此不同的方言。
Although many Americans move a lot, they still recognize and understand each other's dialects.
虽然许多美国人经常搬家，但是他们仍然能够辨别和理解彼此的方言。
