18th Century American English according to Noah Webster

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25
Author(s):  
Herbert Penzl
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
American English ◽  
Noah Webster

Predicting the past

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Trudgill ◽  
Elizabeth Gordon
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
English Language ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
American English ◽  
Canadian English ◽  
The Past ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
English Canadian

The division of the world’s Englishes into rhotic and non-rhotic types is clearly due to the fact that the former are conservative in not having undergone loss of non-prevocalic /r/, whereas the latter have. The beginnings of the loss of non-prevocalic /r/ in English have generally been dated by historians of the language to the 18th century. It is therefore obvious, and has been widely accepted, that Irish English, Canadian English, and American English are predominantly rhotic because the English language was exported to these colonial areas before the loss of rhoticity in England began; and that the Southern Hemisphere Englishes are non-rhotic because English was exported to these areas in the 19th century after the loss of rhoticity. Analysing newly-discovered data from Australia, we present some surprising evidence that shows that this obvious conclusion is incorrect.

James Fenimore Cooper on the Languages of the Americans: A Note on the Author's Footnotes

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lance Schachterle
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
New World ◽  
American English ◽  
James Fenimore Cooper ◽  
Charles Brockden Brown ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
John Adams ◽  
Noah Webster

Lance Schachterle, "James Fenimore Cooper on the Languages of the Americans: A Note on the Author's Footnotes" (pp. 37–68) James Fenimore Cooper scattered observations about the formation of a distinctive American language throughout such social analyses as Notions of the Americans (1828), Gleanings from Europe: England (1837) and The American Democrat (1838), arguing the need for Americans to establish mental independence from England in matters of language as well as politics and social structure. And many of the footnotes he added to his novels reinforce this message. "Twenty millions of people not only can make a word, but they can make a language, if it be needed," Cooper wrote in a burst of enthusiasm at the end of a footnote justifying Americanisms in his novel Satanstoe (1845). In this essay I investigate these authorial footnotes for evidence of words that Cooper defended as Americanisms necessary to comprehend the new topography and life-forms that Europeans were finding in the New World. Cooper found such words not only among older usages in English, but also in French, Dutch, and especially Native American adoptions—and even in some neologisms of his own. Unlike Charles Brockden Brown and John Adams, Cooper never advocated for a select elite like an academy to oversee the formation of the American language. The best practices among people like himself, "educated gentlemen of the middle states"—not the nasal tones and artificial rules of New Englanders like Noah Webster—would regulate the amelioration of American english. But he realized in the end that "the twenty millions…can make a language"; as he observed in Notions of the Americans, "when words once get fairly into use, their triumph affords a sufficient evidence of merit to entitle them to patronage."

From Franklin to Lowell

PMLA ◽  
1899 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-239
Author(s):  
C. H. Grandgent
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Benjamin Franklin ◽  
Phonetic Transcription ◽  
Noah Webster

This passage from Addison, reproduced, in a slightly modified version of the American Dialect Society's alphabet, from a phonetic transcription by Benjamin Franklin himself, may be taken as a sample of Franklin's pronunciation. Angel was more commonly ændgel in the 18th century, and chamber, danger had the same vowel; êndƌel, tʃêmbǝr, dêudƌǝr, according to Noah Webster, were less elegant. The use of ði before consonants as well as vowels is noteworthy, and may be due to carelessness. For tû = to, Franklin also said tō. Bɐzǝm was perfectly good in his day.

Issues in Early American English: Using evidence from the journal of Madam Knight

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-210
Author(s):  
Daniel Brink
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
American English ◽  
Early American

ABSTRACTA much underused resource in the study of Early American English is the anecdotal commentaries provided by the rather large number of contemporary journals which often provide evidence about an important issue in Early American English. This paper addresses the question of “leveling” in Colonial American English: did it take place, and, if so, when, where, and in what form, and shows how at least one contemporary journal provides rather impressive indications of the presence of strong, entrenched dialect differences at the turn ot the 18th century, suggesting that leveling, at least on the scale sometimes assumed by modern commentators, had not occurred by Madam Knight's day.

African American English in the diaspora: Evidence from old-line Nova Scotians

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shana Poplack ◽  
Sali Tagliamonte
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
Common Precursor ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Important Time ◽  
New Research

ABSTRACTIn this article, we describe a new research project on African Nova Scotian English (ANSE), a variety spoken by descendants of African American slaves who immigrated to Nova Scotia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Subsequent segregation from surrounding populations has created a situation favoring retention of the vernacular, in conjunction with Standard English. In addition to providing the first systematic linguistic documentation of ANSE, we detail the characteristics of the Canadian scenario that make it an ideal test of the creole-origins and divergence hypotheses: in particular, that, more clearly than other African American English varieties that evolved independently in the diaspora, the Canadian situation has featured no creole influence. This fact can effectively date the occurrence of any creole-like features in contemporary ANSE (and, by extension, other varieties of African American Vernacular English [AAVE]) to (at least) the late 18th century, an important time-depth characterization. We then present the results of a series of quantitative analyses of linguistically diagnostic features and compare them to those obtained for (1) another transplanted variety of African American English (Samaná English) and (2) a prototype variety (the Ex-slave Recordings), and note the striking similarities among them. The results militate in favor of a genetic relationship among ANSE and its counterparts as a common precursor of contemporary varieties, thereby providing the first methodologically consistent cross-linguistic comparison of three distinct vestiges of “early” African American English, and contributing missing links in the history and development of AAVE.

Planning the American Language

1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-250
Author(s):  
Dennis E. Baron
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Standard American English ◽  
English Expression ◽  
Noah Webster ◽  
Nouveau Monde

SOMMAIRE La Planification de la langue américaine: l'anglais fédéral Bien qu'on essaie depuis plusieurs siècles la planification de la langue anglaise, on ne considère que rarement l'anglais comme objet de planification parce que tous les projets pour diriger ou corriger la langue ont toujours fait faillite. Fréquemment les anglophones craignent que l'anglais ne dégénère ou qu'il ne meure s'il lui manque un règlement suffisant. Ils résistent cependant les réformes dans l'orthographe, la syntaxe, et le lexique de leur langue. Le nouveau monde a offert aux planificateurs de la langue l'opportunité de perfectionner l'anglais. A la fin du 18éme siècle on a observé les variations dans les prononciations et les usages régionaux des treize colonies, et ces variations ont fourni le matériau d'un comique littéraire et théâtral aussi que pour la déscription linguistique plus sérieuse. En même temps, le ferment politique qui accompagnait la Révolution américaine et l'établissement d'un système de gouvernement fédéral ont fait de la langue une question politique. On rapprochait ou éloignait l'anglais américain du britannique. Le Congrès et les écoles entraient dans les efforts de planification linguistique, et les réformateurs bourgeois aussi bien que les patriotes essayaient de perfectionner leur langue autant que possible. Noah Webster conçut le système d'anglais fédéral, un dialecte américain uniforme, produit d'une réforme orthographique. Webster croyait que l'anglais fédéral encouragerait la littérature américaine et assurerait l'indépendance culturelle et politique des Etats-Unis. L'Anglais fédéral, cette forme de la langue qui porte l'empreinte de la démocratie et de la révolution, est devenu au 20ème siècle Standard American English, expression qui, comme Yanglais fédéral, est un terme politisé: ce terme n'a changé ni les idées populaires ni les idées officielles sur l'état réel de la langue ou sur son état idéal. RESUMO La Planado de Usona Lingvo: la Federacia Angla Kvankam oni klopodas, ekde jarcentoj, konscie plani la anglan lingvon, ni kutimas pensi pri la lingvoplanado rilate al aliaj lingvoj krom la angla, car la planoj direkti aŭ ĝustigi la fluon de la angla ĉiam forvelkis. Uzantoj de la lingvo ofte esprimas timon, ke la angla putriĝu kaj mortu sen sufiĉa regulado, sed ili daŭre oponas sin al klopodoj plani la literumadon, la gramatikon kaj la vortaron de la lingvo. La Nova Mondo malfermis al la lingvoplanantoj eblecon pliperfektigi la formon de la angla. Jam fine de la 18-a jarcento la laŭregiona variado de la prononco kaj la lingvouzado ene de la dek tri kolonioj estis evidenta kaj instigis al la humoro kaj al serioza lingva priskribo. Sam-tempe, la politika bolo kadre de la Revolucio kaj la starigo de federacia sistemo de regado igis la lingvon politika demando. Oni klopodis direkti la usonan anglan lingvon, ĉu al la brita normo, ĉu for de ĝi. Kuniĝis al la politikaj batalantoj jenaj pli pacaj reformistoj, kiuj celis laŭeble perfektigi la lingvon. Noah Webster disvolvis kaj ellaboris la koncepton de Federacia Angla, unueca usona dialekto, kiu kresku el reformita sistemo de literumado. Webster pensis, ke la Federacia Angla kuraĝigus al la litera-turverkado kaj certigu la kulturan kaj politikan sendependecon de Usono. La Federacia Angla, tiu formo de la lingvo, kiu portis la stampon de la demokratio kaj la revolucio, iĝis en la nuna jarcento la Norma Usona Lingvo, simile vaga, esprimoplena koncepto kaj de la vera kaj de la ideala statoj de la usona lingvo, lingvo, kies nuancoj neniam estis fiksitaj. Samkiel la Federacia Angla, la termino Norma Angla estas uzata kiel politika kaj socia slogano, kaj gi ne multe ŝanĝis la popolan aŭ oficialan normon de tio, kio la usona lingvo estas aŭ devus esti.

Addressing African American English in Early Literacy Assessment and Instruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Patton Terry
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
American English ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
African American English ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Early Literacy Assessment

Abstract Determining how best to address young children's African American English use in formal literacy assessment and instruction is a challenge. Evidence is not yet available to discern which theory best accounts for the relation between AAE use and literacy skills or to delineate which dialect-informed educational practices are most effective for children in preschool and the primary grades. Nonetheless, consistent observations of an educationally significant relation between AAE use and various early literacy skills suggest that dialect variation should be considered in assessment and instruction practices involving children who are learning to read and write. The speech-language pathologist can play a critical role in instituting such practices in schools.

Zero Marking of Past Tense in Child African American English

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Lee ◽  
Janna B. Oetting
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Grammatical Function

Zero marking of the simple past is often listed as a common feature of child African American English (AAE). In the current paper, we review the literature and present new data to help clinicians better understand zero marking of the simple past in child AAE. Specifically, we provide information to support the following statements: (a) By six years of age, the simple past is infrequently zero marked by typically developing AAE-speaking children; (b) There are important differences between the simple past and participle morphemes that affect AAE-speaking children's marking options; and (c) In addition to a verb's grammatical function, its phonetic properties help determine whether an AAE-speaking child will produce a zero marked form.

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