why do americans call there language english?

Question

why do americans call there language english but have so many differnt words and pharases ?like a few examples here,
head teacher =english,principle =american
dustbin trashcan

Answer 1

Read your history. The majoritory of the first imigrants to this country were from England.

Answer 2

The Americans are just giving the English credit for bringing the language to America. Back when America was first being colonized both countries spoke British English, the languages just evolved differently over time. Since the invention of satellite TV and the high volume of American TV programs shown in Britain, both languages are starting to merge again.

I attached a web link to a dictionary that shows more differences in American and British English.

Now if only the British could learn how to spell. :-)

Answer 3

The language spoken in what is now the US has been English since the English settlers arrived, and it is still possible (although sometimes only barely!) for British and American speakers of the language to communicate with each other. Both Britain and the US have added many words to the original language, and some of them have been quite different. But the name has stayed the same.

Answer 4

Because the differences between AE and BE are still minor, as compared to the differences between either form and any other language. If you compare English (in either variety) to any other language (say German, to pick one that still somehow resembles English), you'll find much greater differences (at the levels of grammar, phonetics and lexis or vocabulary) than if you compared BE and AE. In short, differences have to be greater and more basic for the two forms to be called two different languages.

Answer 5

Grammatically it's the same as English. Anyone from England will know exactly what we are saying because we say the same things. We might have a few different phrases here and there but it's basically the same.

Answer 6

Just because some expressions are different doesn't mean it's not english. Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders, just to name three, probably have some different expressions too, but they, like Americans, like British, speak english. It's not french. It's not russian, It's not chinese.

Answer 7

It started out as English, but it evolved, and we just didn't rename it. The main words are still the same, just a few have changed, or when new inventions came along, like gasoline/petrol or elevator/lift, those of us on opposite sides of the Atlantic just picked different names. That doesn't make either of us wrong, just different.

Answer 8

It's kinda like the Mexicans say they speak Spanish, even though it's different to speak proper Spanish and what the average Mexican speaks. We don't speak the Queen's English, but American English. We're lazy, that's all.

Answer 9

the american settlers came from england and brought the english language with them. people from south africa, canada, new zealand, australia also speak english, because of the english explorers who settled in those parts of the world.

because each country evolved individually their language reflects thats, the american spelling is lazier that the english because the american spelt things as they sounded not as they meant.

Answer 10

Personally, I call my language 'American English' because you're correct... it's a little different from British English which is a little different from Australian English, which is a little different from South African English, etc.