The Beginnings of American English

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 1 explores early sources of American vocabulary, including Native American languages, contributions from other European languages, and repurposed English, as well as expressions that grew out of the land, such as blaze a trail and pull up stakes. It describes the Early Modern English spoken by the seventeenth-century colonists, and traces the changes that took place in the language between the earliest colonial settlements and the Revolutionary War. These affected not only vocabulary, but also pronunciation and grammar. The chapter also discusses the beginnings of awareness that American English was identifiably different from the English of Great Britain.

Cite this

Rosemarie Whitney Ostler (2023). The Beginnings of American English. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197647295.003.0002

@article{whitney2023the,
  title  = {The Beginnings of American English},
  author = {Ostler, Rosemarie Whitney},
  year   = {2023},
  doi    = {10.1093/oso/9780197647295.003.0002}
}

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