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English in America
T(caps)he first British expedition to America was in 1584, led by Walter Raleigh. The explorers came from the west and east of England and landed in North Carolina, near Roanoke Island. This group of explorers could not settle permanently there due to some conflict with the native Indian population. However, they came back and eventually settled permanently in 1607 at Chesapeake Bay and called their settlement Jamestown (after James 1). The area where they occupied they named Virginia (after the “virgin Queen” Elizabeth). Subsequent settlements followed. In 1620 some missionaries arrived but being unable to reach Virginia, they landed further north and settled at what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, in New England. Both settlements spread rapidly and attracted other immigrants. Because of the different linguistic backgrounds of these people, certain differences in their accents of the English language became glaring. The settlers in Virginia came from the west of England spoke their peculiar accent with its voicing of ‘r’ and ‘s’ after vowels. So that in a word like ‘far’, the ‘r’ sounds. Those that settled in Massachusetts were mainly from the east of England and did not have this accent.
During the 17th century more immigrants, with English backgrounds came to America and settled in places like Pennsylvania and New York, thus people speaking various varieties of English began to live side by side. During this period too, slave trade flourished and slaves were transported from West Africa to the United States and the Caribbean. The Englishes that developed among the slaves were initially pidgin, but with their use as mother tongue following the birth of a new generation, Creole developed. In the 18th century there was a mass migration of people from Ireland to America which started from 1600. Many of them settled in the coastal areas of Philadelphia and southern part of California. By the time of American independence in 1776 about 15% of the population was Scot Irish. The accent that emerged is mostly associated with the present-day American speech.
The Quest for Growth of the American English
The growth of English and literary culture in America was not as rapid as it was in England. America was intellectually dependent on Britain and American presses were said to be printing and publishing mainly British books and magazines. American scholars began to feel that the dearth of books by recognized American writers was responsible for the lack of lexical growth of the American English. Thousands of new words were being created all over America but they were not reaching the wider population through literatures. So the issue of language development which had preoccupied British intellectuals during the 18th century was to engage the attention of American scholars in the 19th century. Noah Webster was one of such scholars. He wrote the Dissertations on the English (1789) and proposed the institution of “American Standard” and argued that as a newly independent nation, America deserved an independent system, including language. Spelling reform was to be a major step in this direction which would mark a distinct American orthography. Webster himself did not implement a radical spelling reform in his A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language (1806) but it was a great achievement which took the development of the American English to a new unique level. A vast variety of innovations began to appear in the emerging literary works of Americans of the 19th century. By 1860’s the American spelling system had become fully established. Not only in spelling, some grammatical forms and vocabulary which could be identified as clearly American began to emerge as well.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
1. Explain the process of the movement of English to the American soil.
2. Discuss the contributions of Noah Webster to the development of the American English.
3.2 Features of the American English
In order to properly see the extent of deviation or difference from the British English, we shall look at the uniqueness of the AmE by comparing it with the BrE. And we shall do this at the levels of spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The list of examples we shall provide is in no wide exhaustive.
(i) Differences in Spelling
AmE:
- color (or)
- favor
- honor
- acknowledgment (dgment)
- judgment
- mold (o)
- smolder (er)
- center
- liter
- theater
BrE:
- colour (our)
- favour
- honour
- acknowledgement (dgement)
- judgement
- mould (ou)
- smoulder
- centre (re)
- litre
- theatre
- fetus (e)
- foetus (ae/oe)
- medieval
- mediaeval
- maneuver
- manoeuvre
- defense (se)
- defence (ce)
- license
- licence
- offense
- offence
- indorse (in)
- endorse
- insure
- ensure
- counselor (single consonant)
- counsellor (double consonants)
- libelous
- libellous
- quarreling
- quarelling
- fulfillment (double consonants)
- fulfilment (single consonant)
- installment
- instalment
- skillful
- skilful
Others Spelling Differences:
- Check (AmE), cheque (BrE)
- Draft (AmE), draught (BrE)
- Gage (AmE), gauge (BrE)
- Mustache (AmE), moustache (BrE)
- Plow (AmE), plough (BrE)
- Program (AmE), programme (BrE)
- Story (AmE), storey (BrE)
- Sulfur (AmE), sulphur (BrE)
- Tire (AmE), tyre (BrE)
- Whisky (AmE), whiskey (BrE)
Differences in Vocabulary
AmE:
- Faucet
- Muffler
- Candy
- Driver’s license
- Generator
- Zero
- Line
- To ring
- Game
- Soccer
- Gas
- Airplane
- Casket
- Cookie
- Corn
- Diaper
- Drapes
- Bookstore
- Living room
- Smock
- Bill
- Flashlight
- Headlamp
- Candidature
- Centennial
- Cook
- Racist, racism
- Transportation
BrE:
- Tap
- Silencer
- Sweets
- Driving license
- Dynamo
- Nought, nil
- Queue
- To call
- Match
- Football
- Petrol
- Aeroplane
- Coffin
- Biscuit
- Maize
- Nappy
- Curtains
- Bookshop
- Sitting room
- Overall
- Bank note
- Torchlight
- Headlight
- Candidacy
- Centenary
- Cookery
- Racialist, racialism
- Transport
Differences in Grammar
AmE:
- I’ll see you at the weekend
- It’s twenty after four
- I haven’t seen her in ages
- Monday through Friday
- Sundays we go to church
- I looked out the window
- Half the cash goes for clothes
- They live on Broad street
- I moved toward the car
- Do you have the time?
BrE:
- I’ll see you during the weekend
- It’s twenty past four
- I haven’t seen her for ages
- Monday to Friday inclusive
- On Sundays we go to church
- I looked out of the window
- Half the cash goes on clothes
- They live in Broad street
- I moved towards the car
- Have you got the time?
- The house was burned down (AmE)
- The house was burnt down (BrE)
- It’s a half hour (AmE)
- It’s half an hour (BrE)
- We shall see in the future (AmE)
- We shall see in future (BrE)
- She is still in the hospital (AmE)
- She is still in hospital (BrE)
- The government is democratic (AmE)
- The government are democratic (BrE)
- I’ll go momentarily (AmE)
- I’ll go in a moment (BrE)
- I feel real good (AmE)
- I feel really good (BrE)
Differences in Pronunciation
Item:
- Asthma (AmE: ‘azma, BrE: ‘asma)
- Chassis (AmE: tȓ asi:s, BrE: ‘ȓ asi:s)
- Clerk (AmE: klзrk, BrE: kla:k)
- Clique (AmE: klik, BrE: kli:k)
- Data (AmE: deitə, BrE: da:tə)
- Leisure (AmE: ‘lizə, BrE: ‘lezə)
- Medicine (AmE: ‘medisin, BrE: ‘medsin)
- Erase (AmE: i’reis, BrE: i’reiz)
- Missile (AmE: ‘misəl, BrE: ‘misail)
- Lieutenant (AmE: lu:’tenənt, BrE: lef’tenənt)
- Schedule (AmE: ‘skedzuəl, BrE: ‘ȓ edju:l)
- Z (AmE: zi:, BrE: zed)
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
1. Describe some features of American grammar.
2. Differentiate between AmE spelling from BrE spelling.
CONCLUSION
The Americans have established for themselves a language culture and uniqueness that is peculiar to their environment. It is one mother tongue variety of English that has influenced other varieties including the Canadian and British English itself. Today, AmE is noticeable in many new Englishes in Asia and Africa.
SUMMARY
English came to America in the 17th century following the first British settlement in Virginia in 1620. Some later groups landed in Massachusetts, Philadelphia, New York, and some other parts of the United States. English was then established as the colonial language of administration and social communication. Different settlers with different linguistic backgrounds also meant distinct varieties and accents of English. Pidgin and Creole developed in the Caribbean following the transportation of black slaves to the new world. This was the beginning of new Englishes in the United States. Concern for linguistic and literary development was rather slow in America. With the scholarly efforts and writings of American scholars like Noah Webster, a new awakening for purely American linguistic identity was born. America had obtained its political independence in 1776, and this new feeling and hunger for a new nation aided the emergence of what is today known as American English. The uniqueness of the American variety can be seen in its distinct spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
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