Historical variations of American English

Historical variations of American EnglishColonial America The establishment in 1607 of the settlement which the explorers called Jamestown marked the beginning of British colonization in America. By 1732 the original thirteen English colonies had been set up. The language of the early immigrants brought with them was Elizabethan English, the language spoken by Shakespeare, Milton and Bunyan, which belonged to the early stage of Modern English.

Historical variations of American English

Teacher : M.A Nimfa

Student : Le Thu Ha - River

Colonial America

 The establishment in 1607 of the settlement

which the explorers called Jamestown marked the beginning of British colonization in America.

 By 1732 the original thirteen English colonies

had been set up The language of the early

immigrants brought with them was Elizabethan English , the language spoken by Shakespeare, Milton and Bunyan, which belonged to the early stage of Modern English.

The independence led to the emergence a

sense of nationality In the field of

language, this patriotic feeling was

expressed by the argument for the

recognition of the American variety or

standard of English.

In 1806, Noah Webster first used

“American English” Webster stated that his countrymen had not only the right to adopt new words but were obliged to

modify the language to suit the new

circumstances, geographical and political.

Many great writers, such as Washington Irving, Mark Twain, and O Henry… helped

to promote the development of the

American English.

American English has developed a

character of its own, reflecting the life and the physical and social

environment of the American people.

The Americans invented large

numbers of new words to meet their various needs.

 The future of American English

 Since World War II, American English has

been developing and changing There is no doubt that American English will enrich the English language greatly.

 With the rapid development of modern mass media and the common needs of economic, cultural and political exchanges, American English will be more widely used in the world than British English.

1 Historical Americanisms :

- In American usage ,some words

still retain their old meanings while British English their meanings have changed or fell out of use.

to guess - ‘to think’

sick - ‘ill, unwell’

2 Proper Americanisms

- were not discovered in British

vocabulary:

Eg : redbud - ‘an American tree

having small budlike pink flowers’

blue-grass - ‘a sort of grass peculiar

to North America’.

3.American borrowings

- reflect the historical contacts of the Americans with other nations on the American continent:

Eg :- ranch, sombrero (Spanish

borrowings),

- toboggan , caribou (Indian

borrowings).

4 American shortenings:

dorm – dormitory

mo – moment

cert – certainly

Differences between BrE and AmE

 Differences in grammar

 Differences in spelling

 Differences in pronunciation

 Differences in vocabulary

English lexicology (III) 12

 On the whole BrE and AmE use the same

grammar system Differences in grammar are

few in number and trifling in nature However, it

is important for non-native speakers to

understand these distinctions.

 prepositions

different from… different than…

at college in college

late for work late to work

the key of the door the key to the door five minutes past six five minutes after six

 Differences in spelling

BrE AmE

-ise -ize Realise, modernize Realize,

modernize -ce -se Defence, practice Defense, practise

e- i- Enquire, enclose Inquire, inclose

 Difference in vocabulary

BrE AmE

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