Colonization and koinéization: On the emergence of North American English
Résumé
Although English spoken in North America derives from English spoken in the British Isles, it has become a separate variety that is easily distinguishable from British English varieties. However, unlike its British counterparts, North American English is relatively uniform, with much less regional variation, despite spanning a larger geographical area. This paper has two aims: firstly, to account for the development of English in North America from a socio-historical perspective, by looking at the complex colonial history of this part of the American continent. Namely, I look at the extent to which other languages (European, as well as non-Indo-European) influenced North American English. Secondly, in examining the development of North American English, I attempt to apply Trudgill’s model of new dialect formation to this part of the continent. In particular, I explore the processes of dialect contact, dialect mixture, and koinéization that took place in the “New World” from the 17th century onwards. The successive waves of settlement that occurred during the four centuries of westward expansion provide interesting illustrations of these phenomena. I argue that the specificities of North American English and its relative lack of geographical variation are direct results of the way North America was settled and the lengthy process of dialect mixture that ensued