American English

Nearly 265 million people live in the USA and speak English. There are more native speakers of English there than any other country.

American English is very flexible and has absorbed many words from the languages of immigrants. Words like liaison and rendezvous (from French), and rodeo and tornado (from Spanish) came into the language because France and Spain once controlled parts of North America. Dutch and German settlers gave words such as waffle and cookies, and hamburger and noodles to American English.

The first English speakers to arrive met Native Americans who spoke many different languages. To trade with them, the Europeans learned words from the local languages, and some of these words became part of American English. Native Americans also worked as guides, leading the European traders around the country. The Europeans learned the Native American names for the places they were passing through. Over half the states now have Native American names.

American English has different dialects. People in the southern states speak with a drawl – they tend to speak slowly and lengthen the last sound of each word. They use expressions like “Howdy, y'all” for “Hello, everybody”. Ex-president Clinton, from Arkansas, has a southern accent.

In New York City, especially in the boroughs outside Manhattan, many people have a way of speaking English that is called New Yorkese. Speakers of New Yorkese often speak very fast. They tend not to pronounce the "r" in words that end in “er”. A word like “water” sounds like “wata”.

Teenagers often like to use a lot of slang, along with expressions such as “like” and “you know”, which can make their way of talking seem vague. The words they choose are strongly influenced by popular music and fashion.

Today, there are some differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling between American and British English. Sometimes, the difference in spelling is because Americans wanted to make things simpler, so that a word would be spelled the way it is pronounced. As far back as the 1780s, Noah Webster, founder of one of the most famous American English dictionaries, decided to eliminate from a word any letters that were not pronounced.

Unit 11

TAPESCRIPT 11A

Position of the city

Washington, D. C., is one of the few capitals in the world that was simply ordered to exist to house the nation's government. President George Washington, in whose honour the city was named, picked out the spot that included the old tobacco-trading Potomac River port of Georgetown, not far from George Washington's own home of Mount Vernon. The Congress approved the choice. The city belongs neither to the North nor to the South. It is too far north to escape the snows and too far south ever to be prepared for them, a neutral, in-between place of mixed styles and uncertain tastes, where the magnolias bloom in the slush.

Washington is humid year round because it sits between two rivers, the Potomac and Anacostia. During summer hot spells, the combination of heat and humidity can occasionally be almost overpowering. By contrast, Washington's winters are not severe, although they can be damply chill. Washington shares the sweaty summers of Louisiana and the windy cold of the Northwest.

One season, however, has to be seen is Washington’s cherry-blossom time. Several thousand of these cherry-trees were given to Washington in 1912 by the City of Tokyo. When they flower in early April, the whole city draws its breath and drinks them in for almost exactly 12 days. It is indeed Washington's wonderful season, possibly because it is the one occasion in the natural cycle of this city that has nothing to do with its politics and politicians.

TAPESCRIPT 11B