Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Lewis Black

2009-10-09T02:22:46Z

AZF: Expansion

{{stub}}
'''Lewis Black''' is a [[Jewish]]-[[American]] [[liberal]] comedian who currently performs on ''[[The Daily Show]] with [[Jon Stewart]].'' His segment, "Back in Black," features self-deprecating and politically biased humor. He has been known to voice hatred of religious values, often deprecating [[creationism]] as when he said "I would love to have the faith to believe that the world was created in six days, but I have thoughts, and that can really f*** with the faith thing. Just ask any Catholic priests," unwittingly distancing himself from God and drawing a few slippery inches closer to the rapacious claws of Satan.

His anti-conservative closed-mindedness was tempered some time ago by an insightful remark as to the connection between [[Harry Potter]] and [[homosexuality]], when he referred to a summer camp with a Harry Potter theme as "pretty gay," a remark prompted by the fact that one of the counselors appeared to have a homosexually-influenced haircut. However, he nonetheless remains an ardent proponent of the gay agenda, a fact most recently illustrated by his advocacy (during his special ''Red, White and Screwed'') of homosexuals breaking into the homes of young American families and engaging in homosexual behavior in front of them.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Lewis}}
[[Category:Comedians]]

Official English

2009-10-07T21:21:39Z

AZF:

'''Official English''' refers to proposals to designate the [[English language]] the official language of the [[United States]]. The United States currently does not have an official language although English is the ''de facto'' common language in the U.S.

The correct name of the movement is Official English. The term, "English-only" is used by opponents of the movement and left-wing academics to denigrate the Official English movement. "English-only" is factually incorrect, because the goal of the movement is to make English the official language for government functions in the United States, not to ban the private use and study of foreign languages. [http://www.proenglish.org/notenglishonly.html An essay on the ProEnglish website explains the distinction] between "Official English" and "English-only", and why Official English is the proper term.

In the United States the three main groups promoting Official English are U.S. English, ProEnglish, and the smaller group English First.

==External links==
* [http://www.englishfirst.org/ English First]
* [http://www.proenglish.org/ ProEnglish - English Language Advocates]
* [http://www.us-english.org/inc/ U.S. English, Inc.]

[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:United States Politics]]

User talk:RJJensen

2009-10-07T21:19:54Z

AZF: /* Dear Dr. Jensen, */

[[/Archive 1]]

Haha, yeah the rain has been murderous all week long! I had the misfortune of planning to drive into Athens today, only to find all the roads underwater! I didn't realize until you messaged me that my talk page has the info intended for my user page, so thank you for your inadvertant help (also, yes, it appears my grammar died while I was writing it!) Are you from the area as well? Always good to meet a fellow southerner who understands the Obama Crisis. There are so many hayseed liberals down here it makes me sick! Don't worry tho, you won't hear me crying out for a confederate south:) Long live a STRONG CONSERVATIVE UNION, with a surplus export of integrity! [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 20:33, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
::thanks for the update. I'm actually a Yankee now living in Montana, but I have had a strong interest in the South since I studiesd with C. Vann Woodward some years back.[[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 20:36, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
:::I can forgive a Yank, I used to be one (Mt. Vernon, Washington)! Unfortunately, that town's Conservative fervor lives solely in the words of one Glenn Beck (that man's done for intelligent conservatism what Sean Penn did for photographers dentistry.) [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 20:45, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
::::Now, what kind of a snide insult is that? Beck is a thoughtful, honest fighter for the conservative cause, and if people are angered at the government by his exposés, all the better for the nation. Both he, and those of us who respect him, are intelligent people. [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 20:59, 21 September 2009 (EDT)
:::::Forgive any intrusion or stamping upon your own loyalties. But surely you must admit that the movement suffers from a lack of Irving Kristol or William Buckley type figures. I long for the days when conservatism nakedly confessed that the intellectuals were the brains of the movement while the power of the people were its fists. OF COURSE a weapon must be weighted properly, with the correct balances, but it is only in retrospect that people might discuss its craftsmanship and the components which constituted it. I would venture to say that anyone slain by Excalibur would comment on anything but the sharpness of its blade, which in this most basic analogy, would comprise the incisive wit of conservatives who have lived and then gone to meet God in heaven. The fires of anger burn with intense heat in the belly of American conservatism, but to stoke these fires, as Beck often does, produces little but flash and smoke. It will be some current or future leader, a Reagan-type, I pray, who shall light his torch with such a flame and bring it to the halls of Congress or to the Obama home and say, "See, this same flame has burned for ages now let it singe you!". God, conservatism, the side of moral right; all are the same, and united they are all consuming. But it must take SOMEONE...a prophet, a politician who does God's work, a priest with God's word in him...someone, SOMEONE must carry that torch. [[User:RoyP|RoyP]] 21:15, 21 September 2009 (EDT)

== Quakerism category ==
Thanks for setting it up! I'll try to contribute a few more new articles to insert. --[[User:MarkGall|MarkGall]] 14:20, 22 September 2009 (EDT)

== "Revert vandalism" on the Chavez article ==

Does [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hugo_Chavez&curid=5224&diff=703420&oldid=703401 this edit] really count as "vandalism"? Or would it be more fair of you to qualify it as a different point of view? A point of view that may be criticized, perhaps, one that may or may not be backed up by whatever evidence is cited--but where is the "vandalism"? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 08:44, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
::it's vandalism--it was designed to attack and denigrate and damage a CP article. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 10:10, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::Introducing a different point of view--with a citation, no less--is denigrating and damaging to the article? Is the article that fragile? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 10:25, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::that was his goal. to sabotage the article by making it contradictory. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 10:38, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
::::Would it not add to the credibility of the article and the site as a whole to engage with the ideas that the editor brought to the table on their own merits--or lack thereof-- as opposed to dismissing them as vandalism? [[User:Wayne|Wayne]] 12:16, 25 September 2009 (EDT)
:::::vandals seeking to weaken or ruin articles are not welcome here. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 12:20, 25 September 2009 (EDT)

== speedy delete? ==

[[Nonlineardog]]

== Dear Dr. Jensen, ==

i think your edits are far above the average quality here. I am quite liberal (and not American), so i don't always agree with your opinions, however i enjoy to read your articles, since they are written in a quite concise and interesting manner from the right distance of view and i usually learn something about topics i don't know much about.

Regards, --[[User:Stitch75|Stitch75]] 12:45, 5 October 2009 (EDT)
::thanks! :) [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 13:22, 5 October 2009 (EDT)

Why did you revert my edit calling for a citation? [[User:AZF|AZF]] 17:11, 7 October 2009 (EDT)
::you're making work for other people; if you want to add a citation please do so. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 17:14, 7 October 2009 (EDT)
:::The person who made the initial assertion was making work for other people. [[User:AZF|AZF]] 17:19, 7 October 2009 (EDT)

User talk:RJJensen

2009-10-07T21:11:58Z

AZF:

Official English

2009-10-07T19:06:00Z

AZF:

'''Official English''' refers to proposals to designate the [[English language]] the official language of the [[United States]]. The United States currently does not have an official language although English is the ''de facto'' common language in the U.S. Proposals to designate English as the official language have come about because of the threat to our common culture and language posed by [[multilingualism]] and [[multiculturalism]]{{fact}}.

The correct name of the movement is Official English. The term, "English-only" is used by opponents of the movement and left-wing academics to denigrate the Official English movement. "English-only" is factually incorrect, because the goal of the movement is to make English the official language for government functions in the United States, not to ban the private use and study of foreign languages. [http://www.proenglish.org/notenglishonly.html An essay on the ProEnglish website explains the distinction] between "Official English" and "English-only", and why Official English is the proper term.

In the United States the three main groups promoting Official English are U.S. English, ProEnglish, and the smaller group English First.

==External links==
* [http://www.englishfirst.org/ English First]
* [http://www.proenglish.org/ ProEnglish - English Language Advocates]
* [http://www.us-english.org/inc/ U.S. English, Inc.]

[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:United States Politics]]

Devolution of language

2009-10-07T18:37:21Z

AZF:

The '''devolution of language''' is the often-corrosive affect that culture, primarily entertainment, [[computer]]s, [[public school]]s, sports, games, literature, and [[politics]], have on the meaning of words. Words can enter popular usage either as a term once snobbishly seen as over-demotic gains acceptance, or as a jargon or specialized term becomes popularized.

There are several modes of semantic change
* words acquire a more literal meaning and lose their more abstract connotations (narrowing)
* words acquire a more abstract meaning and lose their literal one (broadening) - so (to take an apposite example for this website) "conservative" used to mean "opposed to any change", and now describes a system of political philosophy.

These changes can take place via metaphor, metonymy, and similar processes.

Some examples include:

* "clue" now means a signifier or a piece of evidence, rather than a ball of thread or yarn.
* "word" was once a more figurative term, as in "speech", but now has a more literal connotation partly due to its common usage in the familiar "word processor" product
* "message" now means something very brief, and usually non-substantive, due to the influence of [[instant messaging]]
* "link" now means a clickable reference to another website, as well as a substantive connection, or as originally, one of the metal elements that makes up a chain.
* "liberal" once met generous or enlightened, or committed to constitutional government and individual liberty, but, in the United States, now means demanding funding for [[abortion]] and censoring [[prayer]] in school
* "media" now means ''the press'', rather than modes of transferring information. The singular "medium" has largely been lost
** by the same token, ''the press'' now signifies the entire news industry, rather than merely the machine for transferring ink from movable type onto paper.
* "civil rights" used to refer to ensuring equality between the races, but now, to organizations like the [[ACLU]], it involves ridiculous causes like promotion of the [[gay agenda]] and pro-abortion rights
* "gay" once meant "noble, good", then "carefree and happy", and has taken on the meanings of dissolute, promiscuous; frivolous, hedonistic (16th century), as "homosexual" as of the 1920s, and "Foolish, stupid, socially inappropriate or disapproved of" as of the 1970s. <ref>OED</ref>
* Several terms meaning "weak", "weak-willed", or "[[effeminate]] male", including the word "faggot", are now proclaimed "offensive" by practitioners of the [[homosexual agenda]].
* "nice" once meant "foolish, silly, simple", and then later "exact, pedantic" rather than its current meaning of "pleasant"
* "condescend" originally meant to forgo the privileges of rank and meet one's lessers on their level. It has been corrupted to mean "act arrogantly."
* "Pretty" used to mean nothing but "handsome, pleasant, beautiful," but has since taken on the added meaning of "moderately" or "fairly," suggesting a psychological inability to handle precision
* "Average" originally referred to a financial loss incurred due to damage to goods while being shipped between ports or cities. The word took on its modern meaning of "typical" in the late 18th century, suggesting a rise in the tolerance of mediocrity.
* "Pathetic" originally meant "moving, capable of stirring up powerful emotions." The meaning of "so piteous as to be laughable" only appeared in the early 20th century at a time when language was being emasculated by liberals.
* "Anal" originally was an adjective referring to the rectal area. Since the lunacies of Freudian terminology penetrated American English in the late 1950's, this word has come to mean "overly fussy."

Devolution of language also applies to [[vocabulary]] in general. Low [[literacy]] levels fostered by liberal education systems reduce readers' ability to comprehend words commonly found in [[literature]] but not used in unintellectual entertainment and media. One report stated that the average 14-year-old's vocabulary has decreased 60% since 1945, roughly coinciding with the dominance of liberal [[public school|public schooling]].<ref>Decline from 25,000 to 10,000. ''Utne Reader'' (July-August 2000), 28-9.</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Bible Retranslation Project]]
*[[Homosexuality and language]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:linguistics]]

American English

2009-10-07T18:16:11Z

AZF: /* Today */

'''American English''' is the [[English]] language as written in the United States. American English tends to be more concise and economical than in the English used in monarchies.<ref>"Color," "labor", "defense" and bank "check" are standard in the U.S.; "colour," "labour," "defence" and bank "cheque" are standard in Britain and the former [[British Empire]].</ref>

Slang varies a great deal between the U.S. and Britain, and there are noticeable differences in pronunciation and accent. Inside the U.S. spelling and grammar are highly standardized, but pronunciation varies by region and social factors (such as race and education). American English derived from British English, but since independence in 1776 has diverged in various relatively small ways. All the major dictionaries published in the U.S. feature American English, often with a note on British differences.

Since 1945 Hollywood has overwhelmed the much smaller film industries in Britain and Canada, familiarizing the British with American English.

In spoken form, American English consists of a number of different dialects. Distinctive dialects of American English include those spoken in the South, New England, and the Midwest, as well as local areas such as New York City, to name only a few. Even these dialects can be broken down further into distinctive dialects, such as the English spoken in Brooklyn, or that spoken in Boston. African American English is itself a dialect.

The Internet has largely erased regional variations, so that the many blogs, twitters and facebooks seem to all reflect one standard language.

==History==
The use of English in [[Colonial America]] was established as a result of British settlement of the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. The first large wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in Virginia and New England in the 1607-1660 period. Other waves followed--and indeed immigrants from many other English-speaking countries are still arriving.

In the South the colonists came mostly from the western part of England, and the distinctive accents and dialects of that region shaped the southern accent.

By contrast the migrants to New England (now called [[Yankees]]) came from the east of England, and brought along different accents and dialects.

In the 18th century the Scots arrived, from Scotland and Ulster (Northern Ireland), bringing yet another dialect and a distinctive accent.<ref> Michael Montgomery, "Voices of My Ancestors: a Personal Search for the Language of the Scotch-Irish," ''American Speech'' 2005 80(4): 341-365 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

During the colonial era, there were also some speakers in North America of [[Dutch]], [[French]], [[German]], [[Spanish]], and [[Swedish]], as well as numerous [[Native American]] languages. To a small extent, they affected American English, chiefly in the addition of some words and place names

By 1800 there were three main dialect areas, with slightly different pronunciations and much the same vocabulary: Northern (New England, New York and due west), Southern (Virginia to Georgia, and due west), and Midland (Pennsylvania and the lower Midwest). As the map shows, the same basic geographical patterns continue into the 21st century.<ref> See [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html#Heading2 "A National Map of the Regional Dialects of American English'' (1997)] and [http://www.geocities.com/yvain.geo/dialects.html "Dialect Map of American English
"]</ref>

[[File:Dialect2.jpg|thumb|550px|1997 regional patterns]]

With the arrival of radio in the 1920s, the Midland version became standard American pronunciation.

===Webster===
[[Noah Webster]] not only compiled the first and most influential American dictionary, he also wrote a "Blue Backed Speller" that sold millions of copies and was used by most school children in the U.S. from the 1780s to the 1840s.<ref> See full text at [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZkRAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, ''The American spelling book: containing the rudiments of the English language'' (1827) 168 pages] </ref>
Webster's goal was to provide a uniquely American approach to training children. His most important improvement, he claimed, was to rescue of "our native tongue" from "the clamor of pedantry" that surrounded English grammar and pronunciation. He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy, which set its own standard for proper spelling and pronunciation. Webster rejected the long-standing notion that the study of Greek and Latin must precede the study of English grammar. The appropriate standard for the American language, argued Webster, was "the same [[republicanism|republican]] principles as American civil and ecclesiastical constitutions," which meant that the people-at-large must control the language; popular sovereignty in government must be accompanied by popular usage in language. "The truth is general custom is the rule of speaking—and every deviation from this must be wrong." <ref>Joseph Ellis, ''After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture'' (1979) p 172.</ref>

In some ways, compared to British English, American English differs in its grammar, phonology and vocabulary. Many of these differences were amplified by separate attempts in both Britain and the United States to standardize English usage. For example, Webster, and his Webster's dictionary,<ref> Full text online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=0UM-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, '' An American dictionary of the English language‎'' (1846), 1079 pages] </ref> was influential in firmly establishing many of the American spellings now in use today. Webster's dictionaries redefined Americanism within the context of an emergent and unstable American cultural identity. Webster's identification of his project as a "federal language" shows his competing impulses towards conservatism or regularity and innovation. The contradictions of Webster's project comprised part of a larger dialectical play between liberty and order within Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary political debates.

===Roosevelt===
[[File:TRSpelling.jpg|thumb|370px|Roosevelt shoots holes in the dictionary as the spirits of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dr Johnson moan.]]

During his presidency, 1901-1909, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] failed in efforts to simplify the spelling of 300 common words. He (and other spelling reformers) wanted to replace "dropped" and "chased" with "dropt" and "chast", and replace "through" with "thru" and "thoroughly" with "thoroly." He tried to force the federal government to adopt the system by ordering the Public Printer to use the system in all public documents. The reform annoyed the public, forcing him to rescind the order. Roosevelt explained, "I could not by fighting have kept the new spelling in, and it was evidently worse than useless to go into an undignified contest when I was beaten. Do you know that the one word as to which I thought the new spelling was wrong — thru — was more responsible than anything else for our discomfiture?" Next summer Roosevelt was watching a naval review when a launch marked "Pres Bot" chugged ostentatiously by. The President waved and laughed with delight.<ref> Henry F. Pringle, ''Theodore Roosevelt'' (1932), pp 465-7; H.W. Brands, ''T.R.: The Last Romantic'' (1998) pp555ff</ref>

The [[Chicago Tribune]] also embarked on its own effort to simplify spelling and make it more phonetic.

==Today==
Today American English is simpler{{fact}} and more phonetic than British English. Sometimes as an expression of [[anti-American]] sentiment, however, non-Americans will insist that use of British English is exclusively proper English{{fact}}, the implication being that American English is somehow "non-standard," a position which modern linguists reject. Both British and American variants are considered standard.

Americans have a more open, less formal society{{fact}} that has enabled them to coin and invent tens of thousands of new words and phrases; linguists and lexicographers have a herculean job to keep up, as shown the great compilations by Mathews (1951) and Cassidy (1985- ongoing) demonstrate.

The North American Regional Vocabulary Survey collected lexical data from the 1990s to 2004 from regions throughout the U.S. and Canada.<ref> Charles Boberg, "The North American Regional Vocabulary Survey: New Variables and Methods in the Study of North American English," ''American Speech'' 2005 80(1): 22-60 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

==Further reading==
* American English and British English" in ''Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language'' ed. by Tom McArthur. (1998) [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/entry.html?subview=main&entry=t29.e61 online at many libraries]
* Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, and Joan Houston Hall, eds ''Dictionary of American Regional English'' (4 vol 1985- ), A through Sk; final vol 5 is awaited; monumental coverage of the spoken and written language [http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-American-Regional-English-Introduction/dp/0674205111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254425344&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search vol 1]
* Dillard, Joey Lee. ''Toward a Social History of American English'' (1985) [http://www.amazon.com/History-American-Contributions-Sociology-Language/dp/3110105845/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254397753&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Garner, Bryan A. ''Garner's Modern American Usage '' (2nd ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Garners-Modern-American-Usage-Garner/dp/0195382757/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254410304&sr=1-3# excerpt and text search]
* Mathews, Mitford McLeod. ''A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles'' (1951), 1960pp; monumental dictionary of new words added by Americans
* Mencken, H. L. ''The American Language'' (1936) [http://www.amazon.com/American-Language-H-L-Mencken/dp/1605206237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254397959&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search of abridged edition]

====references====
<references/>
[[Category:English language]]
[[Category:United States]]

Spanish language

2009-10-07T18:11:09Z

AZF:

The '''Spanish language''' is a member of the [[Romance language]] family, the group of languages descending from [[Vulgar Latin]], the dialect spoken by the soldiers and provincial officials of the [[Roman Empire]]. Originally spoken in the northern regions of what is now [[Spain]], Spanish also draws some influence from the regional languages of its area. Spanish also draws heavy influence from [[Arabic]], due to the [[Moorish]] [[Umayyad|occupation]] of Spain lasting from 711 to 1492.

Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-native speakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]], as well as the second-most natively spoken language in the world, after [[Mandarin Chinese]].

It is more difficult for native Spanish speakers to learn [[English]] than it is for native English speakers to learn Spanish{{fact}}, due to the complexity and inconsistency of English [[grammar]] and pronunciation compared to Spanish.

==Distribution==
*[[Spain]]
*Former Spanish colonies in the [[Caribbean]] - ([[Dominican Republic]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Cuba]])
*[[Latin America]] (with the exceptions of [[Portuguese]]-speaking [[Brazil]], [[French]]-speaking [[French Guiana]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking [[Suriname]], and English-speaking [[Guyana]])
*[[Hispanic]] populations in the [[United States]]
*former Spanish colonies in [[Africa]], eg Equatorial Guinea
*a distinct dialect is spoken in the [[Philippines]]

[[Category:Romance languages]]

American English

2009-10-07T18:10:30Z

AZF: /* Today */

'''American English''' is the [[English]] language as written in the United States. American English tends to be more concise and economical than in the English used in monarchies.<ref>"Color," "labor", "defense" and bank "check" are standard in the U.S.; "colour," "labour," "defence" and bank "cheque" are standard in Britain and the former [[British Empire]].</ref>

Slang varies a great deal between the U.S. and Britain, and there are noticeable differences in pronunciation and accent. Inside the U.S. spelling and grammar are highly standardized, but pronunciation varies by region and social factors (such as race and education). American English derived from British English, but since independence in 1776 has diverged in various relatively small ways. All the major dictionaries published in the U.S. feature American English, often with a note on British differences.

Since 1945 Hollywood has overwhelmed the much smaller film industries in Britain and Canada, familiarizing the British with American English.

In spoken form, American English consists of a number of different dialects. Distinctive dialects of American English include those spoken in the South, New England, and the Midwest, as well as local areas such as New York City, to name only a few. Even these dialects can be broken down further into distinctive dialects, such as the English spoken in Brooklyn, or that spoken in Boston. African American English is itself a dialect.

The Internet has largely erased regional variations, so that the many blogs, twitters and facebooks seem to all reflect one standard language.

==History==
The use of English in [[Colonial America]] was established as a result of British settlement of the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. The first large wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in Virginia and New England in the 1607-1660 period. Other waves followed--and indeed immigrants from many other English-speaking countries are still arriving.

In the South the colonists came mostly from the western part of England, and the distinctive accents and dialects of that region shaped the southern accent.

By contrast the migrants to New England (now called [[Yankees]]) came from the east of England, and brought along different accents and dialects.

In the 18th century the Scots arrived, from Scotland and Ulster (Northern Ireland), bringing yet another dialect and a distinctive accent.<ref> Michael Montgomery, "Voices of My Ancestors: a Personal Search for the Language of the Scotch-Irish," ''American Speech'' 2005 80(4): 341-365 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

During the colonial era, there were also some speakers in North America of [[Dutch]], [[French]], [[German]], [[Spanish]], and [[Swedish]], as well as numerous [[Native American]] languages. To a small extent, they affected American English, chiefly in the addition of some words and place names

By 1800 there were three main dialect areas, with slightly different pronunciations and much the same vocabulary: Northern (New England, New York and due west), Southern (Virginia to Georgia, and due west), and Midland (Pennsylvania and the lower Midwest). As the map shows, the same basic geographical patterns continue into the 21st century.<ref> See [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html#Heading2 "A National Map of the Regional Dialects of American English'' (1997)] and [http://www.geocities.com/yvain.geo/dialects.html "Dialect Map of American English
"]</ref>

[[File:Dialect2.jpg|thumb|550px|1997 regional patterns]]

With the arrival of radio in the 1920s, the Midland version became standard American pronunciation.

===Webster===
[[Noah Webster]] not only compiled the first and most influential American dictionary, he also wrote a "Blue Backed Speller" that sold millions of copies and was used by most school children in the U.S. from the 1780s to the 1840s.<ref> See full text at [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZkRAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, ''The American spelling book: containing the rudiments of the English language'' (1827) 168 pages] </ref>
Webster's goal was to provide a uniquely American approach to training children. His most important improvement, he claimed, was to rescue of "our native tongue" from "the clamor of pedantry" that surrounded English grammar and pronunciation. He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy, which set its own standard for proper spelling and pronunciation. Webster rejected the long-standing notion that the study of Greek and Latin must precede the study of English grammar. The appropriate standard for the American language, argued Webster, was "the same [[republicanism|republican]] principles as American civil and ecclesiastical constitutions," which meant that the people-at-large must control the language; popular sovereignty in government must be accompanied by popular usage in language. "The truth is general custom is the rule of speaking—and every deviation from this must be wrong." <ref>Joseph Ellis, ''After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture'' (1979) p 172.</ref>

In some ways, compared to British English, American English differs in its grammar, phonology and vocabulary. Many of these differences were amplified by separate attempts in both Britain and the United States to standardize English usage. For example, Webster, and his Webster's dictionary,<ref> Full text online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=0UM-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, '' An American dictionary of the English language‎'' (1846), 1079 pages] </ref> was influential in firmly establishing many of the American spellings now in use today. Webster's dictionaries redefined Americanism within the context of an emergent and unstable American cultural identity. Webster's identification of his project as a "federal language" shows his competing impulses towards conservatism or regularity and innovation. The contradictions of Webster's project comprised part of a larger dialectical play between liberty and order within Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary political debates.

===Roosevelt===
[[File:TRSpelling.jpg|thumb|370px|Roosevelt shoots holes in the dictionary as the spirits of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dr Johnson moan.]]

During his presidency, 1901-1909, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] failed in efforts to simplify the spelling of 300 common words. He (and other spelling reformers) wanted to replace "dropped" and "chased" with "dropt" and "chast", and replace "through" with "thru" and "thoroughly" with "thoroly." He tried to force the federal government to adopt the system by ordering the Public Printer to use the system in all public documents. The reform annoyed the public, forcing him to rescind the order. Roosevelt explained, "I could not by fighting have kept the new spelling in, and it was evidently worse than useless to go into an undignified contest when I was beaten. Do you know that the one word as to which I thought the new spelling was wrong — thru — was more responsible than anything else for our discomfiture?" Next summer Roosevelt was watching a naval review when a launch marked "Pres Bot" chugged ostentatiously by. The President waved and laughed with delight.<ref> Henry F. Pringle, ''Theodore Roosevelt'' (1932), pp 465-7; H.W. Brands, ''T.R.: The Last Romantic'' (1998) pp555ff</ref>

The [[Chicago Tribune]] also embarked on its own effort to simplify spelling and make it more phonetic.

==Today==
Today American English is simpler{{fact}} and more phonetic than British English. Sometimes as an expression of [[anti-American]] sentiment, however, non-Americans will insist that use of British English is exclusively proper English, the implication being that American English is somehow "non-standard," a position which modern linguists reject. Both British and American variants are considered standard.

Americans have a more open, less formal society{{fact}} that has enabled them to coin and invent tens of thousands of new words and phrases; linguists and lexicographers have a herculean job to keep up, as shown the great compilations by Mathews (1951) and Cassidy (1985- ongoing) demonstrate.

The North American Regional Vocabulary Survey collected lexical data from the 1990s to 2004 from regions throughout the U.S. and Canada.<ref> Charles Boberg, "The North American Regional Vocabulary Survey: New Variables and Methods in the Study of North American English," ''American Speech'' 2005 80(1): 22-60 in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

==Further reading==
* American English and British English" in ''Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language'' ed. by Tom McArthur. (1998) [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/entry.html?subview=main&entry=t29.e61 online at many libraries]
* Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, and Joan Houston Hall, eds ''Dictionary of American Regional English'' (4 vol 1985- ), A through Sk; final vol 5 is awaited; monumental coverage of the spoken and written language [http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-American-Regional-English-Introduction/dp/0674205111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254425344&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search vol 1]
* Dillard, Joey Lee. ''Toward a Social History of American English'' (1985) [http://www.amazon.com/History-American-Contributions-Sociology-Language/dp/3110105845/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254397753&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Garner, Bryan A. ''Garner's Modern American Usage '' (2nd ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Garners-Modern-American-Usage-Garner/dp/0195382757/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254410304&sr=1-3# excerpt and text search]
* Mathews, Mitford McLeod. ''A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles'' (1951), 1960pp; monumental dictionary of new words added by Americans
* Mencken, H. L. ''The American Language'' (1936) [http://www.amazon.com/American-Language-H-L-Mencken/dp/1605206237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254397959&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search of abridged edition]

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[[Category:English language]]
[[Category:United States]]