History

the colonial (1607-1776)
the national (1776-1898)
and the international (1898-present)

periods

During nearly four hundred years of use in North America, the English language changed in small ways in pronunciation and grammar but extensively in vocabulary and in the attitude of its speakers. English settlements along the Atlantic Coast during the seventeenth century provided the foundation for English as a permanent language in the New World. But the English of the American colonies was bound to become distinct from that of the motherland. When people do not talk with one another, they begin to talk differently. The Atlantic Ocean served as an effective barrier to oral communication between the colonists and those who stayed in England, ensuring that their speech would evolve in different directions.

the North American continent in the early 1600's. By the

mid-1800's, 3.5 million immigrants left the British Isles for the United States. The American English language is characterized by archaisms (words that changed meaning in Britain, but remained in the colonies) and innovations in vocabulary (borrowing from the French and Spanish who were also settling in North America). Noah Webster was the most vocal about the need for an American national identity with regards to the American English language. He wrote an American spelling book, The Blueback Speller, in 1788 and changed several spellings from British English.

several linguistic stocks, as well as French and Dutch speakers.

They had to talk in new ways to communicate with their new neighbors. Moreover, the settlers had come from various districts and social groups of England, so there was a homogenizing effect: those in a given colony came to talk more like one another and less like any particular community in England. All these influences combined to make American English a distinct variety of the language.
Dialects in the United States resulted from different waves of immigration of English speakers, contact with other languages, and the slave trade, which had a profound impact on African American English.

came from the US, there is little difference in the

American and Canadian dialects of English. Similarly, Australian and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English. [31]
Despite such changes, the norm of usage in the colonies remained that of the motherland until the American Revolution. Thereafter American English was no longer a colonial variety of the English of London but had entered its national period. Political independence was soon followed by cultural independence, of which a notable Founding Father was Noah Webster. As a schoolmaster, Webster recognized that the new nation needed a sense of linguistic identity. Accordingly he set out to provide dictionaries and textbooks for recording and teaching American English with American models.

Too close – so far

English
"The audience is very quiet" - American English
The Brits tend

to treat collective nouns as plural whereas Americans treat them as singular which is technically correct.

In British English, many past simple verbs can end in 'ed' or in 't', but in American English the ending of 'ed' is normally preferred.
"She learnt to play the piano" - British English
She learned to play the piano" - American English

In British English, the present perfect tense is used a lot more than in American English. Present perfect tense is used to describe a past event that has present consequences, but in American English, the simple past tense is normally used. For example: "Robert feels sick, he has eaten too much" - British English
"Robert feels sick, he ate too much" - American English

like my ________ done on the side And you can hear

it in my _________ when I talk I'm an Englishman in New York See me walking down Fifth Avenue A walking ________ here at my side I take it everywhere I walk I'm an Englishman in New York I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York
 


 
If ‘manners make the man’ as someone said Then he's the _______ of the day It takes a man to suffer ___________ and smile Be yourself no matter what they say I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You could end up as the only one Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society At night a candle's brighter than the sun
 

  Takes more than combat gear to make a man Takes more than a license for a gun Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can A gentleman will walk but never run If ‘manners make the man’ as someone said Then he's the _______ of the day It takes a man to suffer _________ and smile Be yourself no matter what they say I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York

to ‘R’

do you think so?

American Bar chart – script