Talk:American English/Untitled

Untitled

A user named Raytelford recently changed all references regarding British English to simply English. This seems to imply that American English is a separate language all together from what this user perceives to be "true" English. I restored the article with references to British English. 98.221.124.80 (talk) 21:57, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

The terms being used to describe English are in fact wrong. English is a language that developed in and around the British Isles, and should always be known as English. Other countries have decided to adopt the English language and use it as its own. If however a county wants to change the name English to suit its self then it must be completely entitled to do so, such as “American English”. In American English words and meanings differ very much and many times cause much confusion. Regarding the description of original English being called “British English” there is no such language. To try and change the language called “English” to another name is wrong and no one has the right to do so. Today although most English and Americans do understand each other, it is a different language as others have changed certain words away from the original meanings. The difference between English and American English is today also confusing, as many other countries take up learning English as a second language. So it is only correct that the word “British” (in the case of British English) should be removed from this article. It should only say “English” thus referring to original English. --Raytelford (talk) 11:02, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

That's merely your opinion, and a quite badly infomed and incorrect one at that. At least you didn't make unilateral changes to the article like you did before. - BilCat (talk) 18:28, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

I agree with Raytelford. There is no such thing as "British English". American English is a derivative of the English spoken in all other countries. America was a new nation comprised of immigrants from all over who are responsible for the speech differences. There are also some statistical errors... Americans do not comprise two thirds of the English speaking population. In fact it's about 55% but that of course depends on how you define your selection, for example not all Americans speak English and for a lot of Americans English is not their first language. If Americans are attempting to claim that their spelling is more correct, then please be reminded that they are only one of the countries in world where English is first language and its widely spoken everywhere else. For example in Turkey new web sites are more often than not published in English. Wallumbase (talk) 07:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

"It should only say “English” thus referring to original English," Raytelford? If you've ever tried to read anything written in Old or Middle English, you'd know that what is spoken today in the UK is in no way "original" English. In fact, the case could be made that modern American English more closely resembles the English spoken in England a few centuries ago than modern British English does, with regard to certain vocabulary (as this article notes, fall (autumn), diaper, wrench, etc.), pronunciation (the rhotic R of most American dialects was widespread in England until relatively recently), and even grammar ("have" vs. "have got"). And American English is not "a derivative of the English spoken in all other countries." The US has always been a nation of immigrants, but the first few generations of immigrants, particularly those with the prestige to determine the course of the language as it would develop in North America, were predominately from England. Commonparlance (talk) 17:36, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Correct. American English is derived straight from Early Modern English, which was still spoken in the early 17th century in England, when the British colonies in North America were first settled from there. The claim that contemporary British English is the only "real and original English" and that American English is derived from it is as nonsensical as it would be to claim that Italian is the only "real and original" Romance language and that all other Romance languages are derived from Italian, and the curious idea that American English is a derivative of the English spoken in all other countries is equivalent to claiming that French, for example, is a derivative of all other Romance languages (whatever that would even mean). --Florian Blaschke (talk) 03:19, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

@Florian Blaschke: As you made the first edit in a while to this discussion, it seems most appropriate that I ask you. Do you object to archiving the section?LakeKayak (talk) 22:29, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

@LakeKayak: Not at all! Archive away! --Florian Blaschke (talk) 13:28, 12 June 2017 (UTC)