2006-10-12 16:38:17 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
People, you are wrong by saying they speak "dialects of English" in Scotland and Wales! These parts of Great Britain have their own, completely different languages! Conquered by English, they had to assimilate and learn the English language, but they still preserve their own unique languages and belive me, knowing English you will never understand somebody speaking Scottish or Welsh. As for American English, I would say it is English language distorted over centirues till it became unrecognizable (sometimes).
2006-10-12 20:55:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't called "American" English for the same reason the English spoken in Australia is not called "Australian" English.
That reason is 'Britian colonized those countries' therefore they adopted the same language as the "mother" country.
Same thing happened when Spain colonized Mexico and most of the Central and South American countries. Excluding Brazil. The pope decided he was going to divide South America in 2 and give the west side to Spain and the east side to Portugal, that is the reason why Brazilians speak Portuguese as supposed to Spanish.
Now Canada is a different story. People from France were not liking the way the French language in France was evolving, so they decided to keep their old French and move to Canada to be able to speak it freely. Canadians speak Canadian French, yes that is an official language.
I hope that helps.
2006-10-12 16:54:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
American English is just a dialect of English. By calling it American you are considering it an entirely different language. If we do that what about all of the other types of dialects. Chinese English is called Chinese? We all speak English, the only difference is our minute differences in pronouciation and the slang we use. If so then there would be thousands of more "non-English" languages. Also, American English came from England and only developed. Plus... its still ENGLISH!
Definition of American language may refer to:
-American English, the English language as spoken in the United States OR
-Indigenous languages of the Americas
2006-10-12 16:46:46 · answer #3 · answered by Derrec 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The English language is an evolving one. American English is just a dialect which contains dialects within it just as there are several dialects in England. Sometimes it is hard to believe that they are all the same language. I know of several ways that an American can say the plural word "you" for example. It can be "you", "y'all", "youns", "yous", or my least favorite "you guys".
Check out whoohoo.co.uk for a fun English dialect translator. It has Cockney, Scouse, Yorkshire,and others.
I remember reading somewhere that English is just bastardized High German. I guess our language originally was a German dialect that evolved so much that now English and German are separate languages, but both are evolving. I feel sorry for the French. They are so worried about the purity of their language that it is in danger of stagnating. Stagnant languages can become dead languages like Latin.
2006-10-12 20:53:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"American" is not a language per se, it still is "English". It's more of a "American accent" or "American variation", whereas the "English" you mean would be a "British accent" or a "British variation".
It's just like Austrian - German. Austrians (that would include me) speak German. It's the same language. But we do have some Austrian-only words and idioms, just as the Germans have German-only words and idioms. But it still *is* German, no matter what.
There's no need for an American or Austrian dictionary. At least for German, I know the Austrian-only stuff is listed and marked as derived from Austria in the German dictionary.
The cultures might be slightly different as well as the languages have characteristic trades but that doesn't make it a different language.
2006-10-12 21:27:11 · answer #5 · answered by nik 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Americans speak a dialect of English, but it is still English. Just like people from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc. all speak their own dialects of English.
English was named so because of the country it originated in, that does not mean former English colonist should change the name of their language because they are no longer ruled by England. Our traditions, culture, and language are still mostly based off England's traditions, culture, and language.
2006-10-12 17:14:21 · answer #6 · answered by terrahsims 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Are you able to understand what I've written? Yes? Have you taken courses in American? No? Well, that's because American English is a collection of dialects of English. I'm sure there are variations of the English language in England... Which one of those is English, then? It certainly can't be all of them, so which one?
2006-10-12 16:48:30 · answer #7 · answered by K-Rex 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, it should be called English. It is in no way a separate language, and it isn't even technically a separate dialect. Dialects are more distinct than standard English English is from standard American English. For example, Geordie is more distinct from Cockney than the Queen's English is from someone like Tom Hanks's English.
2006-10-12 20:49:43 · answer #8 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
English is called English and not American because it is still the same language. Just like in Canada they speak French not Canadian.
2006-10-12 16:42:20 · answer #9 · answered by walkerhound03 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Fine but what about Canadian English should it be called Canadian or Australian English, Australian! It's all the same language we can all more or less understand each other and it all originated in England. Don't wipe out history keep English English.
2006-10-12 22:33:26 · answer #10 · answered by Kaela 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋