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English is the main language of the USA and is spoken by the great majority of US residents. However ,nearly 32 million residents aged five or older speak a language other than English at home.
There was not much purity in the English language brought by the Pilgrim group to America .There were more varieties of English than one before the language was brought to the New World. On the other hand, there is a historical fact that the “Mayflower” passengers who are often chosen as the illustrative example went from England not directly to America but to Holland.
"Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor," by William Halsall, 1882
The great majority of American immigrants came from the southeast of England, and, perhaps by sheer bulk of numbers , they dominated the speakers of any other dialects present.Although the emigrant groups from England came chiefly from relatively low social strata,they did not transplant the British class relationship.
The first english speakers to arrive met Native Americans who spoke many different languages. To trade with them , the Europeans learned words from the local languages , and some of these words became part of American English.
The primary users of auxiliary contact languages are called pidgins. In early America these were the groups which had not been speaking English at all - primarily blacks and American Indians. The later joined the basic migratory pattern in formation of the current American population by being moved against their will and thrown into the cultural and linguistic relationships.
American English is very flexible and has absorbed many words from the languages of immigrants. From Native Americans though Spanish came new terms for exotic foods: tomatoes, avocado , barbecue , chili. Other Indian terms soon became part of the vernacular : to go on the war path , to bury hatchet , pipe of peace , snake dance. At least half of the states have Native American names , as do countless cities , counties , rivers, lakes and other placenames:
African borrowings include "gumbo", "banjo" , "zombie", "voodoo".The languages of other colonizing nations also contributed to the English of the New Word. Thus from Dutch it received cherry "pit", "boss" , "snoop" , "cookie", "sugar bush" and "waffle". Even "Santa Claus" is attributable to the Dutch settlers of the NY region. Spanish did not have an extensive influence on the American English vocabulary until the 19th century.
Such words as "mosquito" , "stevedore" and " Negro" were borrowed in early colonial days. The westward movement , the Gold Rush , the Spanish-American War , and the popularization of the Western in movies have brought "lasso", "siesta" , "corral" , "mustang" into American English.
American English has borrowed less activity from other languages. When word is borrowed , it is usually a term for which there in no English equivalent .Consequently , American English has borrowed many names for foreign foods and eating customs from Italian("spaghetti", "pizza" ,"macaroni"), Chinese("chow mein"), Yiddish("gefilte fish", "bagel" , “blintz" ) and Swedish( "smorgasbord", "lefse").
Spread by films, books , television, Americanisms- especially American slang-have in large numbers found their way to Great Britain , more and more blurring the distinctions between the two forms of the English language. Although non-standard phrases such as 'met up with' or 'try out' , may still encounter objections from purists the very force of their objections shows how influential such words have been on everyday British English speech.
How Americans speak
Today, there are some difference in vocabulary ,pronunciation , and spelling between American and British English.Sometimes , the difference in spelling is because Americans wanted to make things simpler , so that a word would be spelled the way it is pronounced.
Despite the great distances separating American Englishspeaking community from rhe British Isles and the great social and cultural differences between them , the forms of English which they use remain mutually intelligible to a remarkable degree.
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