The way Americans speak pre-dates the way English speak. This is because “rhotic speech” spoken in America originally came from England, later the wealthy in order to be different adopted a soft “r”, “win-tuh” instead of “win-terr”. It was “posh” to sound like that so everyone else copied them.
English Language
The ‘Worst book ever written’ called ‘English as She…
The ‘Worst book ever written’ called ‘English as She Is spoke’ was a Portuguese-English phrasebook written by a man who did not speak English, Instead relying on a Portuguese–French phrasebook and a French–English dictionary.
A 1992 Japanese TV show combined English…
A 1992 Japanese TV show combined English lessons with gymnastic exercise programs. On the show, three gymnasts would perform synchronized exercises while chanting phrases like, “Hasta la vista, baby,” “Spare me my life!”, “I was robbed by two men!”, and “I have a bad case of diarrhea.”
Before 1762, there was no influential…
Before 1762, there was no influential prescribed English grammar rules, but a desire within the middle class to teach their children to speak like the upperclass prompted Bishop Robert Lowth to publish the prescriptive grammar book which has been the foundation of current English grammar.
The “Pirate speak” from movies and books was an actual…
The “Pirate speak” from movies and books was an actual distinct dialect of English which was spoken until the 19th century in the west country. It became associated with pirates due to the strong seafaring tradition from the area.
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns…
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns: ze, zir, zir, hir, hirs, and xe, xem, and xyr. The University of Tennessee is encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronouns to help students feel more welcome.
Mastering just 3,000 words in English will make you able to understand…
Mastering just 3,000 words in English will make you able to understand around 95% of common texts.
Many words used to be spelled phonetically (e.g. debt was ‘det’) until some…
Many words used to be spelled phonetically (e.g. debt was ‘det’) until some scholars purposely added silent letters to make them look more like Greek or Latin words, sometimes erroneously.
There is a completely unique English dia …
There is a completely unique English dialect spoken only on Tangier Island, Virginia. It is said to be almost the same as when the island was settled in 1686 and can be unintelligible even to native English speakers.
There are up to 24 dialects of American …
There are up to 24 dialects of American English.