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 the mother tongue and means for everyday communication, it did not receive official status.
Why is English so popular in the USA?
In America, the popularity of the English language began with the resettlement of the first migrants from Europe to the New World in the 17-18 centuries. Among the immigrants 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 English and American language - in the second there are no complex grammatical constructions, a large number of tenses are not used and pronunciation and spelling of most words differ. But knowing the basics of British English to learn American is not difficult.
It can be said that thanks to English, America has such a developed culture and a special national character, because the immigrants left Europe in search of a new and better life than at home, and they brought not only European culture to the new country, but also a strong desire to be independent and prove that they will be able to achieve better results in the economic, military and social spheres. And today, despite the fact that English is not the state language of the United States, it remains a leader among other languages, as in the time of the first settlers.
What languages are spoken in the USA?
In the United States, the English Language Foundation is involved in language policy . This is a non-governmental organization, which is the most influential in the field of linguistic issues of the country. According to him, in America there are at least 377 languages in active use, among which are both popular English and Spanish, as well as rare pampangan, munda and fulani. The most multilingual state is California, which speaks 207 languages, and the least multilingual state, Wyoming, has 56 languages in use.
Separately, it should be said about Russian, which is one of the ten most used in the United States. For over 3 million American citizens , this is their native language. Russian in the country is the American Council of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature.
Why hasn't English become the official language of the United States?
From time to time, the English Language Foundation submits a petition to Congress to recognize English as an official language, but it does not gain the required number of votes.
The history of the United States knows many attempts by linguists to give official status to any of the widely used languages, among which, in addition to English, 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. Recognition of any one language as a state language will lead to a violation of the rights of immigrants who are full citizens of the United States, but do not speak English or other common dialects in full. For this reason, the US official language does not exist.
What are the differences between British and American English?
American English is different from British :
vocabulary - after the relocation, new words appeared (teenager, hitchhike), some British words were replaced (elk with moose) or changed their original meaning (pavement in the British - pavement, and in American - pavement).
spelling - simplified spelling of a number of words - British color, labor, favorite, canceled, travelled, catalog, dialogue, center, theater, meter, maths, gray for 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 American, in addition to this time, Past Simple Tense can also be used. The British use Future Simple Tense to express future actions, and the Americans use the turn to be going to.
phonetics - the same words can be pronounced differently - British addrEss, English - Adress.
Which English should I learn?
Today, people studying English 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 great influence on the global language. This was facilitated by the situation after World War II, when the United States became one of the main players in the international arena in politics, economics, and modern technology.
This fact has led to the fact that the number of speakers of British English has decreased many times over, compared with speakers of American.
The American media and economy have a greater influence on the international scene 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 the language is needed just to know, then the British version is suitable, especially since it is classic.