RC Macaulay wrote: >You may become aware as others that the English language is evolving into a >"hunchbabe" style communication > medium. These evolving forms no longer concern proper spelling and diction. > Those old forms of English are left > to the Brits.
On the contrary, American Engish is older than most British dialects, and black American dialects are among the oldest. This is typical of language cut off from the mainstream in a sparsely populated area, as American English was for 300 years. Japanese and Chinese dialects S.E. Asia, S. America and even Los Angeles show the same pattern. In the late 18th century, many British visitors described language used by George Washington and others as quaint and absurdly formal. That is the impression some Americans now get from British English, but Americans are wrong -- we never dropped our "r"s. Custom period dramas with Americans speaking pseudo British accents have it backwards. The U.S. did reform spelling somewhat more than the British have done, starting in the early 19th century. > Perhaps the most change is occurring in the communities where a new > combination of ebonics, rap, > and latino is melding into a "jungle " mumbo-jumb. Such combinations rarely survive, which is a darn shame. Regional variations of American English have been largely squashed by television and radio. Black American Gullah dialects on the East Coast are probably the oldest form of spoken English on earth. Practically Elizebethan. If you think they are "degraded" or "easy" try studying them. They should be declared a national treasure, but alas they are close to extinction. (Seriously, it would not be fair to force people to speak ancient and rare dialects, but it breaks my heart to see them disappear.) Needless to say, Spanish was spoken in North America 150 years before English become common. It is a little odd to say they are invading us. Who started the Mexican-American War? >The amazing product resulting from the discovery of this new form of English . >. . You mean old. - Jed
