General characteristics
Economical: tendency to shorten words, e.g. “math”
Regular: preference for regular grammatical patterns, e.g. burn, burned (instead of burn, burnt); only “will” (“shall” rarely used)
Democratic: standard, widely embraced dialect.
Tolerant: no strict observance of traditional usage rules, e.g. the word “hopefully” used to mean “it is to be hoped” or “let us hope” is widely used in America (“Hopefully, I’ll win the lottery”) but is generally rejected by traditional grammarians who accept it only as meaning “with hope” or “in a hopeful manner” (“She spoke hopefully of her dream to become an actress”).
Informal and direct: general avoidance of formalisms and polite expressions common in other languages (e.g. use of first names in conversation); tendency to conciseness, bluntness,
Inventive: dynamic and highly active word formation mechanisms (e.g. nouns becoming verbs: “to interface,” “to impact,” “to access”
Action-oriented: e.g. “take a shower” (instead of “have a shower”), “hit the books,” “grab a sandwich”; widespread influence of sports and business language “make a killing” “play the field” “play hardball” “touch base” “strike out”
Sources and origins:
British English: historical origins in seventeenth-century colonial English; Jamestown (Virginia) settlement (1607), Plymouth Plantation (1620); about 90% of the 4 million inhabitants of the thirteen colonies (around 1790) were of British origin
Contact with other languages: arrival of first African slaves (1619); contacts with Native American languages, Spanish, French, Dutch, German
Cultural, intellectual, and other influences: Puritanism, rationalism, frontier-life conditions, utilitarian/pragmatic/exploitative/expansionist mentality of European immigrants in America
Colonial Period (1607-1789):
Colonial Period begins with settlement at Jamestown (Virginia) (1607); New England settled by British East Anglian Puritans; Mid-Atlantic regions settled first by the Dutch (New York was called “New Amsterdam” till 1664), then by the English; English Quakers in New Jersey; Quakers, Germans, Welsh, Scots, and Irish in Pennsylvania; South Atlantic areas settled by the English, French Protestant; Irish migrations toward the southwest in the 1700’s; end of Colonial Period with ratification of the Constitution in 1789
National Period (1789-1900)
Frontier life and westward expansion; central role of Scots-Irish immigrants in the shaping of the language and culture of the period (e.g. Davy Crockett 1786-1836, Tennessee pioneer, hunter, and politician; quoted as saying, “You can go to hell — I’m going to Texas”); 30 million immigrants between 1840-1900 (mostly Irish and Germans); development of English as the national language; influence of Noah Webster and others in the shaping of the language
International Period (1900-present)
Repeated waves of immigration from many parts of the world: northern Europeans (e.g. Swedes in Minnesota); southern and eastern Europeans (e.g. Italians, Austro-Hungarians, Jews); Hispanics (e.g. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans); Asians (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Philippinos). Growth in the importance and influence of American English all over the world (connected to cultural appeal of American life as well as the economic and political imperialism of US foreign policy since the 19th century)
Linguistics 