Historical variations of American 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.
3

After independence

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.
Eg: fall - ‘autumn’
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


Major differences

Differences in grammar

Differences in spelling

Differences in pronunciation

Differences in vocabulary
English lexicology (III) 12

Differences in grammar

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
BrE AmE
different from… different than…
talk to… talk with…
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
-re -er Centre, theatre Center, theater
-ise -ize Realise, modernize Realize,
modernize
-ce -se Defence, practice Defense, practise
-our -or Favour, labour Favor, labor
e- i- Enquire, enclose Inquire, inclose

Difference in vocabulary
BrE AmE
flat apartment
lift elevator
torch flashlight
Tin can
note bill
Thanks
for your
listening!