- •Contents
- •List of abbreviations
- •Preface
- •Introduction
- •Germanic languages
- •Classification of germanic languages
- •Ancient germanic tribes and their classification
- •Germanic alphabets
- •Some phonetic peculiarities of germanic languages
- •Consonants
- •The First Consonant Shift (Grimm’s Law)
- •Ііі. Act The ie aspirated voiced plosives bh, dh, gh changed in Gc to corresponding unaspirated plosives b, d, g, e.G.
- •Verner`s Law
- •Word – Stress
- •Stressed vowels
- •Germanic Fracture (Breaking)
- •Gradation or Ablaut
- •Unstressed Vowels
- •Grammatical peculiarities of germanic languages
- •The Noun
- •The Adjective
- •The Verb
- •Gothic Strong Verbs
- •Vocabulary
- •Old english
- •2.1. Periods in the History of English
- •2.2. Historical Background
- •2.2.1. The Roman Conquest of Britain
- •2.2.2. The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Britain
- •2.3. Alphabet and Pronunciation
- •Old English Alphabet
- •2.4. Old English Dialects and Written Records
- •2.5. Some Phonetic Changes of the Old English Period
- •2.5.1. Vowels
- •2.5.2. Old English Breaking
- •2.5.3. Palatal Mutation (I-mutation)
- •Monophthongs
- •Diphthongs
- •2.5.4. Back or Velar Mutation (Velarization)
- •2.5.5. Diphthongization of Vowels after Palatal Consonants
- •2.5.6. Lengthening of Short Vowels
- •2.5.7. Unstressed Vowels
- •2.5.8. Consonants
- •2.5.9. Palatalization of Velar Consonants
- •2.5.10. Assimilation, Metathesis, Doubling of Consonants, Loss of Consonants
- •2.6. Old English Morphology
- •2.6.1. Old English Noun: General Characteristics
- •Vowel Stems
- •Consonant Stems
- •2.6.2. Vowel Stems Strong Declension
- •2.6.3. Consonant Stems: Weak Declension, Minor Declensions
- •2.6.4. Root-Stems
- •2.6.5. Pronouns
- •2.6.5.1. Personal Pronouns
- •2.6.5.2. Demonstrative Pronouns
- •Declension of the Demonstrative Pronoun þes
- •2.6.6. Adjectives
- •2.6.6.1. Strong Declension of Adjectives
- •2.6.6.2. Weak Declension of Adjectives
- •2.6.6.3. Degrees of Comparison
- •2.6.7. Adverbs
- •2.6.7.1. Formation of Adverbs
- •2.6.7.2. Comparison of Adverbs
- •2.6.8. The Verb: General Characteristics
- •Conjugation of verbs
- •2.6.8.1. Strong Verbs
- •2.6.8.2. Weak Verbs
- •Conjugation of Weak Verbs
- •2.6.8.3. Preterite-Present Verbs
- •Conjugation of Preterite - Present verbs
- •2.6.8.4. Anomalous verbs
- •Conjugation of the verb dōn
- •Indicative mood
- •2.6.8.5. Suppletive Verbs
- •Conjugation of the verb bēon
- •Indicative mood
- •Conjugation of the verb ʒān
- •Indicative mood
- •2.7. Old English Syntax
- •2.8. The Old English Vocabulary
- •2.8.1. Word-Building
- •Suffixation
- •Prefixation
- •Composition
- •2.8.2. Borrowings
- •Latin borrowings
- •Celtic Borrowings
- •Middle english
- •3.1. Historical Background
- •3.1.1. Scandinavian Invasions
- •3.1.2. The Norman Conquest
- •3.2. Middle English Dialects Rise of the London Dialect
- •3.3. Early Middle English Written Records
- •3.4. Word Stress
- •3.5. Vowels
- •3.5.1. Unstressed Vowels
- •3.5.2. Stressed vowels
- •3.5.2.1. Quantitative Vowel Changes
- •3.5.2.2. Qualitative Vowel Changes
- •Monophthongs
- •3.5.2.3. Monophthongization of Old English Diphthongs
- •3.5.2.4. Rise of New Diphthongs
- •3.6. Evolution of Consonants in Middle English
- •3.7. Spelling Changes in Middle English
- •3.7.1. Changes in the Designation of Vowels
- •3.7.2. Changes in the designation of Consonants
- •3.8. Changes in the Grammatical System
- •3.8.1. Preliminary Remarks
- •3.8.2. The Noun
- •3.8.2.1. Gender
- •3.8.2.2. Number
- •3.8.2.3. Decay of Noun Declensions
- •3.8.3. The Adjective
- •3.8.3.1. Declension of Adjectives in Late Middle English
- •3.8.3.2. Degrees of Comparison
- •3.8.4. Adverbs
- •3.8.4.1. Formation of Adverbs
- •3.8.4.2. Comparison of Adverbs
- •3.8.5. The Pronoun
- •3.8.5.1. Personal Pronouns
- •3.8.5.2. Possessive pronouns
- •3.8.5.3. Demonstrative Pronouns
- •3.8.5.4. Rise of the Articles
- •3.8.6. The Verb: General Characteristics
- •Conjugation of Verbs
- •Conjugation of Verbs Past Indicative
- •3.8.5.1. Changes in the Morphological Classes of Verbs in Middle English and Early New English
- •3.8.6.1. Strong Verbs
- •3.8.6.2. Weak Verbs
- •3.8.6.3. Preterite-present Verbs
- •3.8.6.4. Suppletive verbs
- •Conjugation of the verb bēon in Old English, Middle English and Early New English
- •Conjugation of the verb bēon in Old English, Middle English and Early New English
- •Conjugation of the verb ʒān in Old English, Middle English and Early New English
- •Conjugation of the verb ʒān in Old English, Middle English and Early New English
- •3.8.6.5. Rise of Analytical Forms
- •Future Forms
- •Perfect Forms
- •Passive Forms
- •Continuous Forms
- •3.8.7. Development of the Syntactic System
- •3.9. Middle English Vocabulary Changes
- •3.9.1. Native Derivational Affixes
- •3.9.2. French Derivational Affixes
- •3.9.3. Scandinavian Borrowings
- •3.9.4. French Borrowings
- •New english
- •4.1. The formation of the English National Language
- •4.2. Changes in Pronunciation
- •4.2.1. Development of Unstressed Vowels
- •4.2.1.1. Loss of unstressed –e [ə]
- •4.2.1.2. Loss of Vowels in Intermediate Syllables
- •4.2.2. Stressed Vowels
- •4.2.2.1. The Great Vowel Shift
- •4.2.2.2. Shortening of Long Vowels
- •4.2.2.3. Development of Short Vowels
- •4.2.2.4. The Development of the New Short [л]
- •4.2.2.5. Changes in Diphthongs
- •4.2.2.6. Vowel Changes under the Influence of Consonants
- •4.2.3. Consonants
- •4.2.3.1. Voicing of Voiceless Consonants
- •4.2.3.2. Loss of Consonants Development of [X]
- •Simplification of Consonant Clusters
- •4.2.3.3. Change of [d] to [ð] when Close to [r]
- •4.2.3.4. Development of Sibilants and Affricates in Early New English
- •4.3. Changes in Spelling
- •4.4. Local Dialects in New English
- •4.4.1. Scottish Dialect
- •4.4.2. Northern Dialects
- •4.4.3. Western, Central and Southern Dialects
- •4.5. Some Essential Grammatical Changes of the New English Period: Morphology
- •4.5.1. The Noun
- •4.5.1.1. Number
- •4.5.1.2. Cases
- •4.5.2. The Pronoun
- •4.5.2.1. Personal Pronouns
- •4.5.2.2. Possessive Pronouns
- •4.5.3. The Adjective
- •4.5.4. The Adverb
- •4.5.5. The Verb
- •4.5.5.1. Personal Endings
- •4.5.5.2. Changes in Strong Verbs
- •4.5.5.3. Changes in Weak Verbs
- •4.5.5.4. Rise of Invariable Verbs
- •4.5.5.5. Changes in Preterite-Present Verbs
- •4.5.5.6. Irregular Verbs
- •4.6. New English Syntax
- •4.7. New English Vocabulary Changes
- •4.7.1. Latin Loanwords
- •4.7.2. Latinization of French Loanwords
- •4.7.3. Greek loanwords
- •4.7.4. French Loanwords
- •4.7.5. Mixed vocabulary of New English
- •4.7.6. Italian and Spanish Loanwords
- •4.7.7. Russian Loanwords
- •4.8. The Expansion of English
- •4.9. The English Language in the usa
- •4.9.1. Some peculiarities of American Pronunciation
- •4.9.2. American Spelling
- •4.9.3. Some peculiarities of American Grammar
- •4.9.4. Vocabulary of American English
- •Conclusion
- •Bibliography
4.9. The English Language in the usa
The most important of the English variants is American English.
N.Webster was the first to have described the differences in vocabulary and pronunciation between the American English (AmE) and British English (BrE) in his «Dictionary of the English Language» (1828).
AmE, in his opinion, is a pure uncorrupt descendant of Chaucer and Shakespeare, while BrE has been spoilt by linguistic change. He admitted, though, that the two types of English were basically identical.
As later investigations show, the attempt of the well-known American author and journalist H.L. Mencken (1880-1948) to prove the existence of a separate «American language» has failed. .
4.9.1. Some peculiarities of American Pronunciation
There is a greater uniformity in AmE than in BrE. Though linguists often speak of the three dialectal regions (Eastern, Western and Southern, or Northern, Midland and Southern), they usually recognize the existence of what is called General (or Common) American, based on the Western type and used by the great majority of the population, with some deviations in the South and in the North-Eastern states of New England. It is on this General American that we are mostly going to dwell.
Strange as it may seem, most of the peculiarities of American pronunciation are not innovations, but rather well preserved features of British English of the XVII – XVIII cc. It looks as though the Americans have preserved the speech of the first settlers.
ME [a] > NE [æ > ǣ > α׃] before fricatives [f, s, θ]. In BrE the final stage of this process was reached in the middle of the XVIII c. In General American and in the Southern type, stage [æ] or [æ:] has been preserved in words like after [΄æftər] – [΄æ:ftər], ask [æsk] – [æ:sk], path [pæθ] – [pæ:θ], etc. In the region of New England (the Eastern type) [α׃] is common, which agrees with London English.
Note The only exception is the word father, which is always pronounced [′fα׃ðə].
In General American [æ] or [æ:] is also used in French loanwords before [n], e.g. aunt [ænt] – [æ:nt], dance[dæns] – [dæ:ns], plant [plænt] – [plæ:nt].
In ME [o] was first delabialized to [a] in the XVII c., but later on, the rounding was partly restored to [ɔ] in BrE. In General American and in the Southern type, stage [a] has been preserved, especially before stops [p, t, k] and the sibilant [s], in words like not [nat], clock [klak], stop [stap], lot [lat], pot [pat], possible [΄pasibəl]. In New England (the Eastern type), in a closed syllable before a stop, [ɔ] is common. This, again, agrees with London English.
The process of development of the ME [u > o > л] took place in the XVII c. In General American the final stage does not seem to have been fully reached. In words like «us, up, but» the vowel is closer than in BrE and slightly rounded.
(4) In BrE the consonant [r] underwent a series of changes. It lost its vibration, became liquid and was finally vocalized after vowels in final position or before consonants. In General American the last stage has not been completely achieved. The sound [r] is still heard in the combinations -ar, -er, -ir, -ur, -or, in words like star [stα׃ r], dark [dα׃ rk], her [hə:r], girl [gə:rl], first [fə: rst], hurt [hə:rt], port [pɔrt], etc.
The consonant [r] is dropped in New England (Eastern type) and in the Southern type, as in London English, e.g. first [fə:st], farm [fα׃m], etc.
(5) In general American after a dental consonant, in the words like tune [tju:n], duty [΄dju:ti], stupid [΄stju:pid], student [΄stju:dənt], etc. there is often [u:] instead of [ju:]: [tu:n], [΄du:ti], [΄stu:pid], [΄stu:dənt]. In fact, both variants are found equally. In New England [u:] is used.
Note The above features should be regarded as typical of AmE, but not exclusive of other varieties, e.g. in some regions of England (Great Britain), especially in the West Country, the [r] after vowels is pronounced, whereas in New England the Americans do not pronounce it. Similarly, in some Northern dialects of England (Great Britain) there is [æ] in ask, past, etc. and [u] has not become [л] in cup, sun, etc. whereas in the states of New England the vowels of these words are [α׃] and [л] respectively.
Other peculiarities of American pronunciation are as follows:
(6) In the words «long, strong, song», etc. the vowel is long.
(7) Nasalization of vowels (the so-called «nasal twang») is also a chracteristic feature of AmE. It is used not only before nasal sounds but also with the diphthongs [ai], [au]. Nasal twang is considered to be the peculiarity of New England, but, in fact, it covers larger territories.
(8) In manysyllabled words (mostly foursyllabled) the second syllable from the end gets a secondary stress. Here belong words with the suffixes -ary, -ory, -ery, e.g.
necessary [′nesə`sεəri], monastery [′manəs`tεəri], laboratory [′læbərə`tɔri], preparatory [pri′pεərə`tɔri]
In New England (a) o, ou before r denote the sound [ɔ:], e.g. port [pɔ:t], court [kɔ:t] as in London English.
(b) In words, like «stone, home, whole» a short non-labialized vowel is pronounced. This pronunciation is represented by spellings like stun, hum, hull.
(c) Words ending in [ə] have an [i]-like sound at the end. This is represented by spellings like idear for idea, Hanner for Hannah.
Within the Southern type there occur local peculiarities of pronunciation, such as [æu] for [au] in words like down, town, and occasionally [εə] for [iə] in words like hear, deer, dear, ear.
According to G.Ph. Krapp, it is much easier to imagine the Eastern or Southern type of pronunciation than the Western, which appears like a generalized national language, devoid of specific local features. The origin of this lies, in Krapp’s view, somewhere between the Aleghanies and the Rocky mountains.
There are also numerous differences
(a) in the pronunciation of individual words:
Common Spelling |
Different Pronunciation |
|
British English |
American English |
|
clerk |
klα׃ k |
klə:k |
depot |
′depou |
′di:po(u) |
either |
′aiðə |
i: ðər ( No change of i: > ai according to the Great Vowel Shift) |
garage |
′gærα׃ʒ |
gə′ra:ʒ |
lieutenant |
lef′tenənt |
lu(:)′tenənt |
nephew |
′nevju: |
′nefju: |
schedule |
′∫edju:l |
′skedju:l |
suggest |
sə′dʒest |
səg ′dʒest |
tomato |
tə′mα׃tou |
tə′meito(u) |
(b) in the position of the stress:
Common Spelling (nouns) |
Different Stress |
|
British English |
American English |
|
address |
ə′dres |
′ædres |
excess |
ik′ses |
′ekses |
inquiry |
ink′waiəri |
′inkwiri |
recess |
ri′ses |
′rises |