American English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Fredbauder (talk | contribs) at 05:42, 24 July 2002. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

American English is a form of the English language used in the United States of America. It is the main language used in the United States.

American English has both spelling and grammatical differences from British English, some of which were made as part of an attempt to rationalize the English spelling used by British English at the time. Unlike many 20th century language reforms (e.g., Turkey's alphabet shift, Norway's spelling reform) the American spelling changes were not driven by government, but by textbook writers and dictionary makers.

The first American dictionary was written by Noah Webster. At the time America was a relatively new country and Webster's particular contribution was to show that the region spoke a different dialect from Britain, and so wrote a dictionary with many spellings differing from the standard. Many of these changes were initiated unilaterally by Webster.

Webster also argued for many "simplifications" to the idiomatic spelling of the period. Somewhat ironically many, although not all, of his simplifications fell into common usage alongside the original versions, resulting in a situation even more confused than before.

Many words are shortened and differ from other versions of English. Words such as center are used instead of centre in other versions of English. And there are many, many other variations.

American English has further changed due to the influx of non-English speakers whose words sometimes enter American vernacular. Many words have entered American English from Spanish, etc.

Examples of common American English borrowed words, probably not common in British English (except for kosher, patio, pronto, incommunicado, etc.):

From Yiddish

kvetchcomplain
schlepto carry or to travel
schmucka fool
klutza clumsy person
schmutzdirt
shlemiela fool
loxcured salmon
koshercorrect, proper, ("That's not kosher" is similar to "That's not cricket".)

From Native American languages

squashvegetable, similar to English vegetable marrow?
succotashmixture of corn and other vegetables like peas, beans
chinooka strong wind blowing down off the mountains
bayouswamp

From Spanish

patioan outdoor paved area of a house
desperadocriminal
burrodonkey
hacienda particular style of house
mesaflat topped mountain
arroyogulch, often dry except when it has rained recently
hombreman
prontoimmediately
fiestaparty
incommunicadolack of communication
adobea mud-based construction material
frijolesrefried beans
barrioshantytown or historically poverty-afflicted area of a city

From Dutch

kill creek
cookiebaked sweet, never called a biscuit, digestive; sometimes called shortbread
yachtsmall sailing ship

From French

chowdera thick seafood stew
jambalayaa spicy fish stew

From African languages

gumboa thick stew with okra

Origin Unknown

OK'yes' or 'you are correct'. A word now used by many languages.
Its origin is not clear - for more information, read the "Ask Oxford" article at http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=4&q=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwordorigins/ok&e=42.

For detailed (and now mostly correct) differences in British English and American English see American and British English Differences.

Further Reading

  • The American Language 4th Edition, Corrected and Enlarged, H. L. Menchen, Random House, 1948, hardcover, ISBN: 0394400755
  • 1st and 2nd supplements of above.

/Talk