The Development of American English - Annotated Bibliography Example

The Development of American English

Introduction

In the recent decades, English as a language has become something omnipresent whatever the society and country across the globe. In some countries, English is being taught as the first language but as one evolves and begins to embrace English as a language you start to realize that there is a difference between the British English and the American English. Thanks to the new media that even people who have not visited any of these countries are pretty much aware of the clear difference that exists in the two versions of English and even the clear pronunciation difference between a Native British speaker and a Native American speaker. On the basics, we all know that they are all English at the core, and somewhat the English that was being spoken ages ago in America was heavily influenced by the British English, but somehow through years, the American English has been morphing and acquiring its form that is somewhat different through the ages. The paper will analyze the development of the American English and how the mixed culture and the Natives have highly influenced the American English to what it is today by analyzing different publications through the years.

Literature Analysis

Amusements – The New York Times, January 7, 1861

This is an article that was describing the different theatrical events that would happen that week. The English used in this article is pure and free from any deviation from the British English, which was still a major influence in the American journalism in this age. Though the publication is talking about entertainment, we would expect the language to be gay and bashing, but the language is limited to what can be termed as dull. As one can note from a sentence like “Mr. FORREST continues his fine performance of Spartacus and each time tries the capacity of the Garden, so steadily oppressive is the crowd at his tri-weekly representations” (Amusement, New York Times, 1861), the language is free from influence of any culture and therefore the American English at this time was still under the influence of the first settlers. This can be owed to the fact that during this age, the newspapers were still being mainly published for the elite society and nothing colorful was to be included in the language of publication. Newspapers were luxuries and not a form of entertainment.

Leaving Augusta – A Short Stay in Beaufort – The New York Times, January 2, 1880

The first thing that ushers you into this article is the difference in the language used compared to the previous article. The article is not gay and bashful, no, but it has a different dialect which can be owed to the Southerners. Though the article tries to maintain the elite English that is used in the previous article, you find that in several circumstances, there is a change in the construction of sentences. Like for instance, the continuous usage of persons instead of people in the article. When Gen Grant speaks, you can also note that his way of speaking is still under the influence t from the British English, Elizabethan English. He begins, “it affords me great pleasure…” it is easy also still to see that the English he uses and the one that the publication is using somewhat differs. Language of English at this time was still used to show the difference in classes. Most of the Southerners at this time were still of the African origins and therefore this is also shown in the way the publication communicates to them as this was a newspaper that was aimed at the southern community. The other thing to note in the language is that people were still classified according to color and what is now referred to as Black Americans in this article they are referred to as colored people.

In the World of Music – The New York Times, January 1, 1899

In this article that talks about music in different places and how they were being carried and appreciated in the different regions of America, slowly shows how the English and the music culture is changing across America in the machinery of language. The grammatical structure and the syntax are still the same with the English of the early settlers, but there are a few changes that can be noted in the morphology of words. For example in this article, the author uses the world lift when referring to what was previously known as an elevator. It was in this time and period that the American English began to take shape since the different cultures were beginning to socialize and other languages also were getting introduced to America. This is shown by the mentioning of musicians from different cultures being represented in the newspaper. Another change is when the author mentions artists when referring to musicians; this would be because the publication or the author needed accent leveling because of the diversity of cultures in America while still maintaining its standardization that was gotten from the British English.

Social Life in Washington and Why It Sometimes Fails to be What It Claims – Cosmopolitan – The New York Times, January 02, 1910

At the beginning of the 1900s, we can finally note that the English that was only cut out for the upper and middle class was fading out and opening the door. This can be owed to the fact that industrialization finally connected both the southerners and the northerners in America. This therefore meant that the British elite had much less cultural and linguistic influence in these places (Soniak, 2012). This is visible in this article where the author is maintaining realism while embracing what can be termed as dualism, embracing the culture that is developing and the basics of literature. This is because media finally takes another turn and focuses on mass publication rather than just being a medium of entertainment and communication for the elite. For example, he uses words like ‘frumpy’ when describing the senator’s wife. Sentence structure is also altered in this article, and one can note that the English is losing its original touch. He states, “Can it be that these good women were caught too young, or not young enough?” instead of saying old, the sentence is reconstructed for more descriptive value and entertaining. In this account, cultural distinction and the change in the dominating culture plays a part in the grammar development in America.

NEGRO MUSICAL BENEFIT; Native Africans Appear to Aid Washington Conservatory – The New York Times, April 25, 1921

The American culture is seen to be changing during this period, and what was once a commercial society driven by the upper class is slowly changing to an illuminated society that allowed language also to be embraced by the historical change. Americans are slowly embracing their identity away from the British, and this distinction comes with conspicuousness. There is a mass production of communication and even the lesser identities like the blacks who were once noted to be mentioned as the colored are gaining identity in the mainstream life. This leads to the new American English lexicon. In this article, you can note that the Black Americans are no longer referred to as the Colored but as Negroes. The vocabulary also morphs from its originality where terms like ‘anywhere’ are changed to ‘anyplace’. In the previous articles, styles of English used was presumed to be a perfect compatibility between parties but at this point, the English language was based on the power of personal reason and judgment. This is why this article does not feel in any way out of place by not only communicating about Negroes but using simple terms compared to the English that was highly influenced by the British settlers who were considered as the elite community.

SUMMER DANCE ACTIVITIES; Interesting Events for New York and Chicago – New York Times, May 28, 1933

This is an article that delves into the various musicians and how the airplay was only restricted to only American music. The article seems to take a new change and media has shifted from being a media for communicating the commercial ideas to understanding the community and communicating the voice of the society as a whole. This therefore led to shifting even in the language used in most articles during this period as they embraced the language of the general public. This is a language that had come up with a new phonological system from the various cultures blended and co-existing. Like in this article the author seems to be using some verbs as nouns, which is quite not what the English for the elite used to be. For example, he uses the word ‘transition’ to refer to the time when the previously transition would refer to the process of change. This was the effect of the association of the literature culture and art. The aim of language in this period was to present rather than just communicate like in the previous age.

He Was the Critic in Wagner's Day – New York Times, January 07, 1951

The article begins by stating, “EVERYONE knows for ought to know” (Jacob, pg 173). From the first sentence, we can easily tell even how the media has embraced the historical change in the American English, from the structure of the sentence and even the morphing of words. In this era newspapers are shifting from creating public aware to entertainment, and just like in this article the British English has stepped outside the boundaries, and the American English has taken the center stage. In the previous years, newspaper and media had only to use the right and correct English, which was the British English in their publication. This is because, British English was considered as the National language used across the nation, but it is 1951, and a new breed of English has crawled in America and to stay updated with the culture that is rising, newspapers too are forced to loosen their hinges. The need to acquire wider understanding, the Americans had to break down the original English in a manner that can be understood by basically every culture and this led to this new formation of words and reconstruction of sentences that anyone at anyplace could relate to.

Blankets and Baskets for a Summer Night – New York Times, July 21, 1991

This is the era that the American English has fully been embraced throughout the country since America is barely viewed as a segregated nation but as a multi-cultural community that finally learns how to live together. Most of the countries have grown literate and the America English language also somewhat alters. The new culture embraces the British English but alters a few things and there especially the wordings, and this is influenced by the immigrants from non-English speaking countries. Like in this article, the author states, “Forty-four youngsters from 15 towns in the Hartford area will be following the yellow-brick road next weekend…” (Sherman, 1991), note the usage of youngsters and the yellow-brick road which are words that lacked in the original British English but are coined into the American English. The structure of the sentence has been still relating to its origins, but there are more and more words getting included in the dictionary of the American English.

Conclusion

Though slight or a little difference can be noted from afar between the American English and the British English, understanding the history of how the American English has evolved over time can help understand the difference that currently exists in the versions of English. From the articles discussed above, media and publications played major roles in this change. This is because the aim of publications is to communicate to everybody about what is happening in the certain region, and by doing this they kept on picking and spreading the different grammatical structure and syntax. This change has so far been owed to technology and the social-cultural aspects of America especially the vocabulary (Finegan & Rickford, pg 136). America being a country hosting a variety of cultures, for long there has been the need to have a common language that could be understood across social classes, races, and ages, this is why through time, and the American English has been changing to accommodate both the elite and non-elite. This has been achieved through technology and media that keep people from different areas connected.