难度：初级
你有听说过“lingua franca”这个词吗？这是个拉丁词，但可以在英语中使用。它来自拉丁语，字面意思是“法语”，现指不同语种的人之间所使用的通用语。在18世纪，法语是国际外交通用语：这就是这个词的由来。
如今英语是国际通用语。让英文独特的是：世界上非英文母语的人比英文母语的人还要多。出人意料的是英语竟成为了一种“字面意思是法语”的语言！虽然英文是世界通用语，但是仍留存英文的地域性变体，这些大家应该知道。
美式英语和英式英语是英语书面语及口语中两种最常见的英语体系。美式英语主要是美国使用的英语，而英式英语是英国使用的英语。一些英联邦国家（加拿大，澳大利亚，新西兰等）最初青睐英式英语，但现在英式英语已分化，形成了具有特定国家拼写特点和风格的英文变体。澳洲英语与英式英语非常相似，但有时个别词也使用美式拼写。（例如：“inquire”问不是“enquire”）。加拿大英语中一些词保留了英式拼写，但由于加美两国地理位置靠近，美式拼写也很常见。
例1（美式英语）：We inquired whether participants were taking estrogen supplementation.
(我们询问参与者是否服用雌激素补充剂。)
例2（英式英语）：We enquired whether participants were taking oestrogen supplementation.
例3（澳洲英语）：We inquired whether participants were taking oestrogen supplementation.
例4（加拿大英语）：We enquired whether participants were taking estrogen supplementation.
在书面英语中最明显的变体是标点和拼写。学术期刊的一个常见要求是作者需使用“英式英语或美式英语，但不能混合使用”。 “学术英语” 越来越普遍，基本上，作者应选择自己喜欢的英文体系。因期刊的要求不同，在编辑并提交您的稿件之前，检查期刊的作者指南确定一个适当的英文体系是必不可少的。
例1：（Nature期刊）Oxford UK English spelling
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/authors/submit.html
例2：（IEEE期刊）Change all British spellings to American spellings where applicable.
http://www.ieee.org/about/webteam/styleguide/mainsite_content.html
例3：（例如Journal of Endocrinology）Manuscripts can be written in either UK or US English.
http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/site/misc/For-Authors.xhtml
对大多数国际出版物而言，使用美式拼写及语法是比较保险的。总部位于英国的出版公司（例如，牛津大学出版社）通常喜欢英式拼写。位于加拿大或澳洲的出版商有时会倾向使用自己国家的英语体系。例如，如果你的论文要提交给澳洲大学的，建议最好使用澳洲英文。
如果期刊没有指定拼写系统，我们建议使用美式或英式拼写。
最后一点：母语人士喜欢强调英文变体之间的差异，有人说因为英国是英文的起源地，英式英语才是“真正”的英文，但也有人说由于美国的全球影响力，美式英语是最适合用来学习的。然而，在全球化的世界，很多这样的差异对应的是文化特性，而不是意思表达。明智的作者会超出这种简单化判断，并对每个英文体系进行详尽的了解以达到出版的目的。
Download Tip Here: 
世界英语的变体 - 美式英语与英式英语
Uni-edit English Writing Tip 004: Variants of World English – American and British
Level of difficulty: Easy
Have you heard of the term lingua franca? It's a Latin phrase, but you can use it in English. It comes from Latin, and literally means "French language": it is used nowadays to mean a common language between people who do not speak the same language. In the 18th century, French was the language of international diplomacy: that's the origin of this term.
Nowadays, English is the international lingua franca. What makes English truly unique is that there are more non-native speakers in the world than there are native speakers. How ironic that English has become literally a "French language"! Although it unites the world, there are regional variations of English that persist, and which you should be aware of.
American (US) and British (UK) English are the two most common systems of written and spoken English. American English is the English of the USA; British English is the English of the UK. Many countries of the British Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) originally favored UK English, but have since diverged, with country-specific variations in spelling and style. Australian English is very similar to UK English, with a few words permitting American spelling (e.g., "inquire" instead of "enquire"). Canadian English retains UK spelling for many words, but American spellings are also common because of geographical proximity.
Example 1 (US): We inquired whether participants were taking estrogen supplementation.
Example 2 (UK): We enquired whether participants were taking oestrogen supplementation.
Example 3 (Aus): We inquired whether participants were taking oestrogen supplementation.
Example 4 (Can): We enquired whether participants were taking estrogen supplementation.
The most noticeable variations in written English are punctuation and spelling. A common instruction from academic journals is for authors to use “either US English or UK English, but not a mixture”. Increasingly common is "English in academic style": basically, the author should choose his or her preferred system. Because requirements vary from journal to journal, it is essential that you check a journal's Author Guidelines page to determine an appropriate English system before editing and submitting your manuscript.
Example 1: (Nature publications) Oxford UK English spelling.
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/authors/submit.html
Example 2: (IEEE publications) Change all British spellings to American spellings where applicable.
http://www.ieee.org/about/webteam/styleguide/mainsite_content.html
Example 3: (e.g. Journal of Endocrinology) Manuscripts can be written in either UK or US English.
http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/site/misc/For-Authors.xhtml
US spelling and grammar is a safe choice for the majority of international publications. UK-based publishing companies (e.g., Oxford University Press) usually prefer UK spelling. Local publications in Canada or Australia will sometimes adhere to their version of English. For example, if you are writing your thesis for an Australian university, writing in Australian English is the way to go.
If the journal does not specify the spelling system, we recommend US or UK spelling.
One final note: native speakers like to play up differences between variants of English, saying UK English is the ‘true’ English since it England is the land of its origin, or that US English is the best to learn because of the US's global reach. However, in a globalized world, many of these differences correspond to cultural identity rather than meaning. A wise author will rise above such simplistic judgments and familiarize him or herself with the details of each English system for publishing purposes.
Download Tip Here: Variants of World English — American and British
END OF TIP