English Goes Abroad
The History of the English Language
Course 1 · Chapter 9 · English Goes Abroad
For most of its history English was spoken on one island. From the 17th century it crossed the Atlantic, and over the next centuries it was carried to every continent. This chapter covers the colonial beginnings of American English, Noah Webster and his dictionary, and the idea of "world Englishes", with a model that sorts them into three circles.
The first English in America
Wikipedia's American English article describes English in the United States as the result of British colonisation. My look at the Colonial history of the United States article, which I could read only from the start, gives the colonial era as 1607 to 1776 in its infobox and says the Pilgrims reached Plymouth Plantation in 1620. It did not name Jamestown in the part I saw, and it gave no colonist counts.
- Mixing: dialects from many regions of England and the British Isles coexisted in every colony, which led to "extensive dialect leveling and mixing". The article says this made English across the Thirteen Colonies more uniform than that of the British Isles.
- Dominance: English was dominant in the colonies by the end of the 17th century, even after immigration from Western Europe and the slave trade from Africa began.
- A distinct variety: firsthand descriptions of a fairly uniform American English became common after the mid-18th century, and speakers' identification with it grew.
- Later varieties: since the 18th century American English has produced new varieties. The article names Appalachian English, helped by 18th-century Ulster Scots immigrants, and African-American Vernacular English, brought to Great Lakes cities by the 20th-century Great Migration.
The article's History section does not describe divergence from British English as such, and it covers specific differences, such as rhoticity and vowel mergers, in the Phonology section, which I did not read. It also has a Vocabulary section with Dutch, Spanish and German loanwords, which I also did not read.
Noah Webster
Wikipedia's Noah Webster article gives his life as born 16 October 1758 and died 28 May 1843.
| Item | What the article says |
|---|---|
| The dictionary | He began in 1807, and it took about 26 years; the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language had about 70,000 words, roughly 12,000 not in any earlier published dictionary |
| Reception | Poor at first; Federalists found it too inclusive, Republicans mocked the project; a second edition came in 1840 and his estate sold the rights to the Merriam brothers in 1843 |
| Spellings that stuck | center, color, check, defense, traveler |
| One that did not | tung for tongue |
| His aim | A distinct American English to separate the nation culturally from Britain, which he saw as intellectual independence, and as supporting republican values and social order |
The article stresses that he did not invent most of these spellings: many already existed as alternatives, and he popularised them through his speller and dictionary. It also records criticism: Charlton Laird and Thomas Pyles are cited as critical of his grasp of Anglo-Saxon grammar and German; his first dictionary reportedly sold only 2,500 copies; and the article contains an inconsistency, with one passage referring to "Webster's 1844 dictionary" while 1828 is used elsewhere. It also relies in places on popular or journalistic sources, so I treat its details with care.
World Englishes
Wikipedia's World Englishes article defines them as localised or indigenised varieties of English, especially in territories influenced by the UK or the US. It distinguishes this from "World English", meaning English as a lingua franca in business and diplomacy. It describes two diasporas:
- First: migration of English speakers to North America, the Caribbean, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where dialects diverged and contact with indigenous populations shaped them.
- Second: colonisation of Asia and Africa, producing "New Englishes" as second-language varieties. The 19th-century British Empire and global trade spread English further.
The article also describes Kachru's three circles:
| Circle | What it is | Examples (per the article) |
|---|---|---|
| Inner | English is a primary language; "norm-providing" | UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, anglophone Canada |
| Outer | Former colonies where English is a lingua franca and often official; "norm-developing" | India, Nigeria, Kenya, Singapore, the Philippines, Jamaica |
| Expanding | No historical or governmental role but used internationally; "norm-dependent" | China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, much of Europe and the Middle East |
The article's caveats: the total number of Englishes is hard to establish because new varieties keep emerging; estimates for the Expanding Circle range from 100 million to one billion, and it calls this the hardest to estimate; Singapore may be shifting toward the Inner Circle; and critics say McArthur's model conflates three kinds of English use while Görlach's leaves one out. It also describes Schneider's five-phase model, developed partly to avoid the purely geographic approach of the circles. The internet-language figures it cites from Crystal are from 2001, so I do not use them.
Words to know
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dialect leveling | Differences between dialects shrinking when speakers mix |
| Diaspora | A spread of a people or language from its homeland |
| Lingua franca | A language used between speakers of different languages |
| Indigenised | Adapted to a local setting |
| Norm-providing | Setting the standards others follow (Kachru's term) |
| New English | A second-language variety that developed in a former colony |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Think of the answer first, then click to check.
1. When did the first English-speaking settlers arrive in North America, according to the article?
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In the early 17th century; the colonial era is given as 1607 to 1776, and the Pilgrims reached Plymouth in 1620.
2. What is "dialect leveling", and why did it matter in the colonies?
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Mixing that reduces differences between dialects; the article says it made English across the Thirteen Colonies more uniform than that of the British Isles.
3. When did descriptions of a fairly uniform American English become common?
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After the mid-18th century.
4. What was Webster's 1828 dictionary, and how was it received?
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The American Dictionary of the English Language, with about 70,000 words; it was poorly received at first.
5. Name two spellings that stuck and one that did not.
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For example color and center stuck; tung for tongue did not.
6. Why is "Webster invented American spelling" too simple?
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The article says he did not invent most of them: many already existed as alternatives, and he popularised them.
7. Name Kachru's three circles with one example country each.
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Inner (for example the UK), Outer (for example India) and Expanding (for example China).
8. Give one weakness of the circles model the article mentions.
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For example the categories are not fixed (Singapore may be shifting toward the Inner Circle), or Expanding Circle numbers are hard to estimate (100 million to one billion).