Shortly after the United States was founded, the country's third president Thomas Jefferson believed that the new nation needed to develop a language separate from English. In an 1813 letter to friend John Waldo, he argued that 'new circumstances require new words, new phrases, and the transfer of old words to new objects,' and that the rapidly growing population and vast geography would enrich the language.
Noah Webster's Spelling Revolution
Jefferson's words came to life through the work of lexicographer Noah Webster. Webster made radical changes to American English spelling, causing it to diverge from British English. He dropped the 'u' in 'honour' to make 'honor'; changed 'centre' to 'center', and 'travelled' to 'traveled'. He replaced 'draught' with 'draft'. Some suggestions—like changing 'tongue' to 'tung' and 'leather' to 'lether'—did not catch on. But his textbook American Spelling Book sold nearly 100 million copies over a century, rivaling the Bible.
Words from Native Languages and Immigrants
New words were not just about spelling reform. American English took animal names from Native American languages, such as 'skunk,' 'raccoon,' 'chipmunk,' 'moose,' 'opossum,' and 'caribou.' Words from French like 'prairie' and Dutch 'cookie' also became part of the language.
Interestingly, Americans also preserved some old English words that were falling out of use in Britain. The word 'fall' for autumn was used in 16th-century England, but it became permanent in America thanks to the spectacular autumn colors in New England. Archaic grammatical forms like 'gotten' also survived in the US while turning into 'got' in Britain.
Britain's Reaction and Language Debates
This linguistic divergence disturbed the British. As early as 1756, writer Samuel Johnson described the 'American dialect' as 'a trace of corruption in every widely diffused language.' In the 19th century, the American press mocked British words by ridiculing the 'dude' character who imitated British fashion; 'trousers' gave way to 'pants.' Oscar Wilde joked in 1887, 'We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.'
Modern American English and the Digital Age
Language evolution continues today. Linguist Jack Grieve from the University of Birmingham analyzed Twitter data from 2013-2014 to see where in the US new words were most commonly coined. Expressions like 'amirite' (am I right?) emerged on the West Coast, 'boolin' (relaxing) in the Deep South, and 'lituation' (a very positive situation) in the Northeast. The highest creativity was observed in areas with dense African American populations; it is thought that the desire to express social identity may be stronger in these communities.
Technology helps these new words spread across the country and even across the Atlantic. While the complete linguistic separation Jefferson envisioned has not materialized, American English has been charting its own course for over 250 years, enriching global English.
