History of American English

【Abstract】American English has had over four hundred-year history. American English has gone through the developmental process — from small to big， from weak to strong and now is becoming a world language with greater influence. American English， as the carrier of American culture， has the unique charm of American culture.

【Key words】English of Elizabeth Age; Independence of American English; widespread usage of American English

【作者簡介】张朦（1990.01.14-），女，吉林长春人，吉林外国语大学英语学院大学英语部，助教，研究生，研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。

1. The Formation and Development of American English

American English is usually referred to English which serves as standard language in America. It is usually called “General American English” in the linguistic study and mainly used in the U.S. and Canada.

In 1607， the first English Puritans came to North America and brought their belief， culture and language of Elizabeth Age here. During the next two centuries， large numbers of immigrants flowed here， too. Among them， the British Puritans were the largest ethnic group which arrived earliest and dominated in the total population in this colony. Therefore， English of Elizabeth Age and its culture laid foundation for American English. At the same time， British Puritans integrated English with useful essence of foreign languages in order to give expression to emerging things， concepts and ideas. In the early period of development of American English， through interaction and national fusion， the U.S. absorbed a large number of typical expressions from Indian， Dutch， French， German and Spanish， for example， words about mountains， rivers， lakes and gulfs from Indian; navigational words from Dutch and words about daily life from German.

America s War of Independence of 1789 put an end to the colonial rule of British government in North America and the United States was founded. However， the early national leaders and nationalists of the U.S. realized that in spite of having gotten rid of British colonial control， the U.S. was still affected and controlled by Britain in terms of language and culture. At that time， many American people still held that English used by Shakespeare， Milton and other great writers was decent and superior.

During the great process of language independence， Mark Twain was one of famous pioneers of this movement. First， Mark Twain， as American language and culture pioneer， hated British arrogance and exclusiveness in terms of language and proposed that American language was the product of independence and innovation of the U.S.. As a result， in pursuit of language independence， Mark Twain worked to create literary works in American native language.

Another pioneer was Henry Mencken，famous writer and journalist. Henry Mencken put forward with the definition of American English and wrote his great work The American Language， which had accumulated bountiful materials of American English. It was reputed as “Declaration of Independence of American English”， though some linguists showed disapprovals of his proposal.

Noah Webster， American linguist and lexicographer， made contributions to language reform and regulating language usage. Noah Webster thought that with the U.S. having gained the independence， it should add new words and grammars， and rearrange the system of American English in line with unique American political， economic and cultural situations as well as the development of national language. With all those efforts， Noah Webster believed that American English could completely get rid of British control and become an independent language. The American Dictionary by Noah Webster embodied nationalist spirit of independence and innovation， marking the formation of American English.

2. The Rising of American English

Since the 20th century， especially the decades after the WWII， American English developed at an unprecedentedly high speed and ushered an rising era. During the WWII， the U.S. channeled great efforts to developing economy， science and technology， arms trade and so forth. As a result， comprehensive national strength of the U.S. took the lead in the globe. All of these benefits above have accelarated American Englishs spreading to the whole world.

At the same time， diplomatic policies and announcements from American White House and Congress， speeches given by important figures spread American English to the world. The significant literary achievements of Earnest Hemingway， Fitzgerald etc. showed the beauty of American English to readers around the world. Hollywood popular stars， films， televisions and music swept the world. Mcdonalds， KFC were run in almost every corner of the world. Children were deeply obsessed with many popular cartoon figures such as Micky Mouse， Donald Duck， Elsa etc.. American English has become a way of American cultural output.

The more important role the U.S. plays in the international politics， economy， trade， culture and other aspects， the more rapidly American English is spread and popularized. At present， the number of American English users has outpaced that of British English users all over the world. The bountiful words， simple grammar and clearness make American English more and more popular.

參考文献：

[1]蔡昌卓.美国英语史[M].北京大学出版社，2002.

[2]侯维瑞.英国英语与美国英语[M].上海外语教育出版社，1992.