| American English | |
|---|---|
| Region | United States |
Native speakers | 225 million, all varieties of English in the United States (2010 census) 25.6 million L2 speakers of English in the United States (2003) |
Early forms | |
| Latin (English alphabet) Unified English Braille | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | United States (32 US states, 5 non-state US territories) (see article) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | en-US |
American English, or US English, is the dialect of English that is spoken in the United States. It is different from other types of English like British English. Most types of American English came from local dialects in England. During the 18th and 19th centuries, pronunciation changed less in America than in England.
Many people today know about American English even if they live in a country that speaks another type of English. They hear and read American English through the media, such as movies, television, and the Internet, where the most common form of English is American English.
Because people all over the world use English, many new words are used. English has been changing that way for hundreds of years. For example, the millions who speak Indian English frequently add American English words to go along with its British English base and many other words from the various Indian languages.
Some people learn American English as it is spoken in the United States. For example, in telephone call centers in India and other places, people often learn American English to sound more like their customers who call from America. Those people often keep using American English in everyday life.
There are many words that sound the same in both American and British English but have different spellings. British English often has more traditional ways of spelling words than American English.
There are also some words in American English that are a bit different from British English.:
General American English is the kind most spoken in mass media. It more vigorously pronounces the letter "r" than some other kinds do. Non-rhoticity ("R"-dropping) is frequent in certain places in which "r" is not pronounced after a vowel such as in the words "car" and "card," which sound like "cah" and "cahd" in places like the Boston area. Here are some regional accents of American English: