American English

Question 1

Phases

Answer 1

Phase 1: Foundation Phase / “Assembled in America from various quarters” (1587-1670)
Phase 2: “English with great classical purity” (1670-1773)
Phase 3: “That torrent of barbarous phraseology” (1773-1828/48)
Phase 4: “Our honor requires us to have a system of our own” (1828/48 - 1898)
Phase 5: “We know just who we are by our language” (1898-)

Question 2

Phase 1: Foundation Phase / “Assembled in America from various quarters” (1587-1670)

Answer 2

• Beginning of colonization (1587)
• 1st settlement: Jamestown (1607)
• weak IDG strand, no extensive ethnic communications; borrowing of Native American toponyms
• koinézation

Question 3

Phase 2: “English with great classical purity” (1670-1773)

Answer 3

1. strong political and social ties with the mother Country
2. Tension between settlers and indigenous strand
3. British standard had high influence on Colonial English; spread of bilingualism among the native Americans; early AAE emerged
4. Linguistic homogeneity; lexical innovations (Americanisms)

Question 4

Phase 3: “That torrent of barbarous phraseology” (1773-1828/48)

Answer 4

1. westwards expansion, second wave of English
2. cultural independence
3. notion of AE tied to nationalism; linguistic independence matter of public educated discourse

Question 5

Phase 4: “Our honor requires us to have a system of our own” (1828/48 - 1898)

Answer 5

1. New self awareness and American pride
2. Discourse against English superiority,
3. Positive attitudes towards American ways of speaking; Beginning of standardisation

Question 6

Phase 5: “We know just who we are by our language” (1898-)

Answer 6

1. Diversification of AmE
2. Most Americans see themselves as members of sub-national groups
3. Examples of dialect diversification
   - Native AmE
   - African-AmE
   - Chicano English

Question 7

American dialects based on Labov et al (2006)

Answer 7

• Atlas of North American English (ANAE)
• Southern; Midland region; Northern area
• dialect boundaries intensifying rather than weakening

Question 8

Regional Variation in US Englishes - Phonology

Answer 8

• Rhotic r
• not long a: start, not start
• strut vowel: love

Question 9

Regional Variation in US Englishes - Lexical

Answer 9

• AmE → BE: gas → petrol, restroom → toilet, check → bill, elevator → lift

Question 10

Language prestige - Overt

Answer 10

speech of high-status speakers, speakers are able to talk about it in terms of “standardness” and
“aesthetics”

Question 11

Language prestige - Covert

Answer 11

non-standard varieties → a norm a small group of speakers has a positive attitude towards and orients to without being aware of it

Question 12

language prestige

Answer 12

denoting the degree of social acceptance of a variety

Question 13

style & style shifting

Answer 13

style = level of formality based on a speaker’s attention to speech
acts

style shifting = the ability to switch between different
levels of formality