Many people think that the official language of the United States is English. But few people know that the United States is a country that does not have a state language. Despite the fact that for more than 80% of the population English is their native language and a means of everyday communication, it has not received official status.
Why is English so popular in the US?
In America, the popularity of the English language began with the resettlement of the first migrants from Europe to the New World in the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the settlers were representatives of different nations, religions and races, and in order to understand each other, they needed one common language, which became English. Most of the migrants were peasants and representatives of the bourgeoisie. This fact explains the main difference between the English and American languages - in the second there are no complex grammatical constructions, a large number of tenses are not used, and the pronunciation and spelling of most words differ. But if you know the basics of British English, learning American English will not be difficult.
It can be said that thanks to English, America has such a developed culture and a special national character, because the settlers left Europe insearching for a new and better life than at home, and brought to the new country not only European culture, but also a strong desire to be independent and prove that they could achieve better results in the economic, military and social spheres. And today, despite the fact that English is not the official language of the United States, it remains the leader among other languages, as it was in the days of the first settlers.
What languages are spoken in the US?
In the US, language policy is handled by the English Language Foundation. This is a non-governmental organization, which is the most influential in the field of linguistic issues in the country. According to him, at least 377 languages are in active use in America, including popular English and Spanish, as well as rare Pampangan, Munda and Fulani. The most multilingual state is California with 207 languages, while the least spoken state is Wyoming with 56 languages in use.
Separately, it is worth mentioning Russian, which is among the ten most commonly used in the United States. For more than 3 million American citizens, this is their native language. Russian in the country is handled by the American Council of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature.
Why didn't English become the official language of the US?
From time to time, the English Language Foundation petitions Congress to have English recognized as an official language, but it does not get the required number of votes.
US history knows many attempts by linguists to give official status to any of the widely used languages, among which,besides English, there were German, French, Japanese, Spanish. But these attempts were unsuccessful. Why? The United States positions itself as a democratic state, providing its citizens with many freedoms. The recognition of any one language as the state language will lead to infringement of the rights of immigrants who are full US citizens, but do not fully speak English or other common dialects. For this reason, the official language of the United States does not exist.
What are the differences between British and American English?
American English is different from British:
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vocabulary - after the resettlement, new words appeared (teenager, hitchhike), some British words were replaced (elk with moose) or changed their original meaning (pavement in British - pavement, and in American - pavement).
- spelling - simplified spelling of a number of words - British color, labor, favour, cancelled, travelled, catalogue, dialogue, centre, theater, metre, maths, gray to American color, labor, favor, canceled, traveled, catalog, dialog, center, theater, meter, math, gray.
- grammar - in the British version, Present Perfect Tense is used to express recent events, in the American version, in addition to this time, Past Simple Tense can also be used. To express future actions, the British use the Future Simple Tense, and the Americans use the turnover to be going to.
- phonetics are the samethe same words can be pronounced differently - British addrEss, English - Adress.
What English should I learn?
Today, English learners are thinking about which version of English to learn, and often the choice falls on the American version. There are several reasons for this:
- American English has had a major impact on the global variant of the language. This was facilitated by the situation after the Second World War, when the United States became one of the main players in the international arena in politics, economics and modern technologies
- This fact has led to the fact that the number of British English speakers has decreased many times, compared to those who speak American.
- The American media and the economy have more influence on the international stage than the British.
Despite the fact that the official language of the United States is not English, it is worth learning with a native speaker if the student is going to live in America. And if you just need a language to know, then the British version will do, especially since it is classic.
