Episode 47: The Origins of “American” English

[00:00:00] Welcome to English, please, the podcast where we explore interesting topics in under 10 minutes in clear intermediate English. I’m your host, Christopher. I live in New York City, and I’ve always been passionate about languages and how we learn them. Whether you’re listening on your way to work or while cooking dinner at home, this show is designed to help you with your English listening and comprehension skills.

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In this episode, I’m going to talk about where “American” English comes from. English is mostly the same around the world, but the English, you hear me speak, is American English, which is the kind used in the United States.

American English began when English speakers came to North America in the 1600s. The settlers from England brought the kind of English spoken in Britain at that time, which was the English of Shakespeare’s time. Over the years, this language changed and developed in the new country. It slowly [00:02:00] became different from the English spoken in Britain. And today, American English has its own spellings, words, and pronunciation.

In the early colonies, people often gave simple English names to new plants and animals. They used words that described what they saw. For example, they called one bird, a “bluebird,” and another a “hummingbird.” They also made names like “redbird” and “groundhog” for animals they had never seen in England. This shows how many Americans use their language creatively to describe the world around them.

American English also grew by taking words from other languages. In the 1600s and 1700s, the colonies included people from many countries, English speakers learned and borrowed words from [00:03:00] Dutch, French, Spanish, and other languages.

The Dutch in what is now New York gave English words like “yacht” and “spook” (meaning “ghost”). French speakers gave words like “cafe” and “gopher.” In the American South, Spanish speakers gave words like “alligator” from “el lagarto,” meaning “the lizard” and “canyon,” meaning “a deep valley.” Each time, English speakers changed these words a little bit to make them fit into English.

Native Americans also influenced English. They shared words for local plants, animals, and foods. Some of their words were difficult for English speakers to pronounce, so they were changed. For example, “squash” and “woodchuck” came from native languages. People [00:04:00] from Africa, brought to America as slaves, also added words from their languages. For example, “banjo,” which is a sort of guitar, and “jazz” have African roots and even the common word, “okay” likely comes from African influence. These words became part of American English.

In the 1800s, more immigrants arrived from Europe. People came from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Jewish communities, bringing new words with them. For example, “cookie” came from Dutch, “bagel” from Yiddish, and “vigilante” from Spanish. Because so many groups lived together, English in America continued to change and grow.

At the same time, Americans began to create their own version of English. After the United States became independent, they wanted a [00:05:00] language that showed their new identity. One important person associated with this was Noah Webster, who wrote the first major American dictionary in 1828. He believed spelling should be simpler and more logical. For example, he promoted spellings like C-O-L-O-R for “color” instead of C-O-L-O-U-R. His dictionary and spelling books were used in schools across the United States, so these forms became standard. It’s largely because of his work that American English looks and sounds different from British English.

Pronunciation also changed in some interesting ways. Early settlers from Britain pronounce the letter “R” clearly as in “car” or “hard” [00:06:00] Americans kept this pronunciation. But in Britain, people later started to drop the “R” sound in some areas, especially London. So “car” became “car.” That is why most Americans still pronounce every “R,” while many British speakers do not. In some ways, American English kept older forms of English that disappeared in Britain.

By the 1800s, American and British English had become clearly different from each other. Some words were used mostly in America. For example, Americans said, “fall” instead of “autumn” to describe the season when leaves dropped from the trees. “Fall” became an old English phrase, But it stayed popular in America while it disappeared, mostly, in Britain. Over time, these small [00:07:00] differences became part of the American identity.

Today, English learners around the world can hear these differences. American English has special spellings, pronunciation, and vocabulary that reflect its long history. It was shaped by people from many countries and many cultures.

American English is the result of hundreds of years of change. It began with settlers from Britain, then grew through contact with Native Americans, Africans, and immigrants from many regions. Writers and teachers like Noah Webster helped make American spelling and grammar consistent. The language has continued to grow ever since the history of English in the United States. Shows that a language really is never fixed. It changes with the people who speak it and the places where they live.

And American English really is a [00:08:00] great choice to learn because it’s widely used in movies, music, business, and travel, so it helps you communicate with people all over the world. And remember, no matter which type of English you learn, the most important thing is being able to understand, and being able to be understood, wherever you go.

Again, I’m Christopher and I want to invite you to join me in future episodes of English, please to hear about a variety of topics all focused on helping you with your English. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts, and let’s continue this adventure together in clear, understandable English.

And please, if you enjoy this podcast and would like to support it, visit coff.ee/englishplease. It’s just a simple way to help me cover the costs of making the podcast. I appreciate anything no matter how [00:09:00] small.

Sincere thanks, as always, for listening.

See you soon!