English is the most common language in the United States.

The use of English in the United States was inherited from British colonization, the first wave of English-speaking settlers arriving in North America in the 17th century. During that time, there were also speakers in North America of Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Finnish, and numerous Native American languages. In these conditions, appeared the Americanisms, which are words, expressions, and constructions specific for America. The notion of "Americanism" belongs to the Scottish priest John Witherspoon (1723 1794) who came in 1769 to America, becoming the president of the Princeton College. He defined the "Americanism" as "an use of phrases or terms, or a construction of sentences, even among people of rank and education, different from the use of the same terms or phrases, or the construction of similar sentences in Great Britain." All speakers of English share a common linguistic system and a basic set of words, but there are many differences among American English and the other varieties of English regarding its pronunciations, words, spellings and grammatical construction. Therefore, American English has many lexical, phonetical, grammatical and orthographical specific characteristics.

LEXICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The Americanisms are divided in the following categories: 1) Borrowings from other languages (Native American, Dutch, Spanish, French etc.); 2) Words or meanings that are archaic or dialectal elements in Great Britain; 3) Words that changed their meaning or received a supplementary meaning in American English; 4) Words formed on the territory of the USA through composition, derivation, conversion, abbreviation etc.

1) Borrowings from other languages

Borrowings from the Native American languages Due to the variety of creatures and vegetation that the colonists found in America, it was necessary to appeal to borrowings from the language of the people with whom they had the most contacts in the beginning the Native Americans. Some of the borrowed words were modified in time because of the important phonological differences between the two languages. Examples: apossoun opossumpossum moosu moose aracoune rarowcun raccoon coon pohickory hickory isquantersquash squantersquash squash Other words borrowed from the Native American language are related to their lifestyle: hominy, pone, mackinaw, wampum, papoose, squaw, sagamore, etc. Sometimes, the Indian word presented a casual resemblance with an English word, which explains a few cases of popular etymology, like the name of the whiskey-John bird ( wisketjan). The meaning of a borrowed Indian word often changed in the American or the British English: a powwow used to be an Indian wizard, but today it means meeting or conference; sachem meant the chief of the tribe, referring nowadays to an important person, etc. Many of these words are used in phrases, which demonstrate the fact that they are completely assimilated: to hunt the same old coon = to do always the same thing to play possum = to pretend to be sick 1

to make the war-kettle boil = to prepare for the war to bury the hatchet = to reconcile Also, the word Indian got into many combinations such as Indian tobacco, Indian file, Indian meal Borrowings from the French language These borrowings appeared due to the contact of the English colonists with the ones came from France especially to Louisiana and Canada. Examples: bureau (governmental institution), calumet (Indian pipe), dime (coin), depot (railway station), prairie, voyageur (Canadian boatman), professor etc. Not all the borrowings kept their meaning. Therefore chowder, depot, have another meaning than chaudire (pot, cistern) and depot (deposit, warehouse). Borrowings from the Dutch language These borrowings result from the contact of the English colonists with those from Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg. The borrowings include words like: boss, bowery, cookie, coleslaw, cruller, dollar, hook, to snoop, spook, waffle, dope, Yankee (some researchers consider it as being of Indian origin) etc. Phrases: to bet a cookie = to bet to play Yankee = to answer to a question with another question straw boss = a person having little responsibility for a job Borrowings from the Spanish language The words having Spanish origin are numerous: alligator, creole, pickaninny (black child), sarsaparilla (tropical plant), bonanza (prosperity), fiesta, plaza, poncho, ranch, tornado, siesta, tortilla, cockroach, etc. These words kept their meaning more or less, or they just received other meanings: the word cinch, which meant girth, has received recently also the meaning of secure thing Phrases: a dead cinch = an absolutely secure thing as busy as a cockroach on a hot stove = very active and agitated Borrowings from the German language Only a few words were borrowed in the XVII and XVIII century, having as source the language named Pennsylvania Dutch (the German spoken in Pennsylvania): beer soup, noodle, pretzel, dumb etc. After the revolution from Germany, many inhabitants of this country took refuge in the USA. Consequently, a large number of German words penetrated the American English: stein, wiener, hamburger, schnitzel, semester, seminar, loafer, bum, cookbook, standpoint etc. Borrowings from the languages of the black slaves These borrowings have a reduced number and include some name of plants and animals (okra, goober, cooter, poor Joe heron, gumbo), words which refer to music and dance (banjo, jazz, juba, jukebox). The word hoodoo with the voodoo variant means as a verb to bring bad luck, and as a noun means reason for bad luck.

2) Archaisms and provincialisms

In the American English are many words and meanings that became obsolete or disappeared from the literary language of England. Also, some words or meanings which are provincialisms in England, are part of the literary language from the USA. The most known Americanisms, which from the point of view of British English are archaisms or provincialisms, are the following: Fall (as season) was replaced by autumn in England but it was preserved in the USA where it can be still heard frequently. Ex: the fall rains, the fall term, the fall elections Baggage (as luggage) appeared often in the English literature from the XV and XVIII century. Nowadays it is rarely used in England, referring to the equipment of a soldier or to a bold girl. In the USA it is still used, becoming a basis for some compound words as baggagemaster, baggagecar, baggageroom etc. Accommodations became obsolete in the British Islands but it can be heard often in the American English. Ex: tourists' accommodations, office accommodations etc. To eat in Shakespeare's time, it meant to dine. This meaning was maintained in the USA, which explains the terms eating club and eating hall (used in the American colleges). The noun eat (food) became obsolete in England, but is used sometimes at the plural in the USA (eats). Pig in British English, it refers to all the kinds of pigs, but in American English, it has kept its initial meaning of farrow. Mad is used frequently in American English but in England, it can be heard only in some dialects or in the colloquial language Slim in England, it does not mean anymore unsubstantial, inconsistent, but thin, slender; however, in the USA still exist phrases like slim arguments, a slim chance, a slim dinner, slim evidence etc. To guess used as to presume, to be sure of something, is a frequently met Americanism, but it is used very rarely in British English Maybe it became almost obsolete in England, being replaced by perhaps but it is still used in the USA. To develop it has more meanings in the American English, like to reveal (when it is transitive) and to bring to light (when it is intransitive.) To quit it is obsolete in England, but is frequently used in the USA, both transitive (to leave) and intransitive (to give up) Sheepman was replaced by shepherd in England, but it was maintained in America with the meaning of sheep owner. Aisle in England, it refers only to the side of the nave, while in the USA, it designates any kind of corridor or gangway. Has-been it is a dialectal word in Great Britain but it can be heard often in the USA, referring to a person who had an important service. To hustle is used in England with the meaning of to push or to jostle and in America it has the meaning of to be fast and dynamic. Shade with the meaning of shutter it is dialectal in England, but used frequently in the USA To be knowing to is used with the meaning of to know, to be aware of, is not used anymore in England, but in the USA is quite frequent.

3) Changes of meaning
There are three main tendencies regarding the changes of the meanings of the words: a) the generalization of meaning

b) the specialization of meaning c) changes of meaning based on euphemisms The first two tendencies proofed to be very prolific in the American English, being combined sometimes with the tendency, which is influenced by the social and economical conditions from USA. The generalization of meaning Examples: To visit somebody in England this verb was replaced by to call on somebody (excepting the situation in which it is about a long visit). In America, it broadened its initial meaning, referring also to a chat with someone (on the street, on the phone). The American newspapers often use the words to visit with and to have a visit with related to interviews or audiences of important persons. Barn in America, it has extended its meaning from granary to stable and depot To figure it also means in American English to compute, to sum, to assess, while in British English it means to represent, to imagine etc.. To extend in America, its meaning enriched with to offer, to present Other examples: to fix (an extremely elastic word, suitable for many phrases), date (meeting), gang (group, team), vacation (holiday), store (shop). Many from the generalizations of meaning on metaphorical base are referred to different illegal practices made for falsifying some elections or to obtain some personal advantages: deal, to knife, to straddle (a neutral attitude, in order to avoid any risk), pussyfoot ( a sly attitude) etc. The specialization of meaning Examples: Corn it does not mean anymore cereals, but maize Sidewalk nowadays, it means pavement Subway underground Marshal sheriff Convention conference, congress Message it designates, in the USA, an official news by the President, the Government or the Mayor, etc. Changes of meaning based on euphemisms A large number of euphemisms are to be found both in British and in American English. Some of the most important euphemisms are related to death: to expire, to succumb, to pass away, to breathe one's last, to go to a better world etc. In the first half of the XIX century were avoided carefully some female names as bitch, sow, mare, and some male names too: boar, buck, stallion, ram, bull etc. Therefore, these words were replaced with others, e.g. bull was replaced with male-cow or even gentleman-cow. There are many euphemisms that refer to different crafts: landscape architect (gardener), shoetrician, sanitary officer, tonsorial artist (hairdresser), caterpillar-engineer (tractor driver), demolition-engineer, mattress-engineer, sanitary engineer, human-engineer, socio-religious engineer etc.

Other interesting euphemisms are the following: condition (disease), faucet (tap), mucilage (gum), to make a reservation (to book a room), locomotive (engine), stenographer (short-hand writer), elevator (lift) etc. 4) Words formed on the territory of the USA Composition The most words formed in America in the XVII and XVIII century have a concrete nature and name plants and animals: basswood, butternut, eggplant, peanut, bullfrog, catfish, rattlesnake, mud hen, copperhead etc. In the XIX century were formed more abstract words whose meanings could not be always deduced from the senses of the component elements: tenderfoot (poor man), self-made man, selfculture, dead-beat (lazy), poppycock (nonsense), stag party (party for men), hard-boiled (tough person), spread eagle, whole-souled (honest), etc. In the XX century, many words continued to appear in different domains: skyscraper, filling station, taperecorder, baby sitter, playboy, striptease, to hitchhike, highbrow, go-getter, disk jockey, taxi dancer, depth bomb, soap opera etc. Derivation (affixation) The most common prefixes used in American English are the following: Anti- the most words belong to the political domain: anti-secession, anti-suffragist, antibraintruster, anti-ferderalist; Super- superfilm, superproduction, superlove, supermarket, superhighways, super-American, superduper; Semi- it is more often used in America than in England: semi-annual, semi-centennial, semi-wild, semi-national, semi-occasionally; De- to degerm, to deflea, to debamboozle, to debunk; Re-, Up- were used to form new words especially in the XVIII and XIX century: to revamp, to update, uplift; Near- became a prefix that designates resemblance or imitation: near-leather, near-silk, nearantique, near-silver etc. The suffixes were extremely productive in America, especially in the XIX century. Examples: -ize: it is the most prolific suffix, e.g. to accessorize, to Americanize, to comfortize, to concretize, to finalize, to glamorize, to personalize, to tenderize, to vitalize, to slenderize; -ate, -ify, -acy,- ment : to aggravate, to missionate, to predicate, to citify, to happify, candidacy, retiracy, releasement (most of the words formed with these suffixes, due to their artificiality, did not survive) -ee: contestee, divorcee, trainee, liberee, evacuee, draftee, rejectee; -ery: drapery, bakery, grocery, cakery, lunchery, eatery, breadery; -teria: cafeteria, buffeteria, chocolateria, fruiteria, smoketeria; -ist, -ician, -or, -tor, -ogist, -torium: many words formed with these suffixes have a euphemistic nature e.g. trapezist, feminist, bootician, insuror, avigator, clockologist, barberatorium, etc. -ite: indicates the appurtenance e.g. Camdenite, New Jerseyite, laborite, socialite; -ism: behaviorism, pragmatism, bossism, rowdyism, know-nothingism; -ette: kitchenette, dinette, luncheonette;

Many words are formed with a double affixation: antifederalist, blackmarketeering, gangsterdom, etc. Sometimes, derivation is combined with conversion or composition e.g. derat, car-washery, antibraintruster, know-nothingism etc. There are words used so often to form some compound words, that they became a kind of suffixes: crazy (girl-crazy), happy (fighthappy, stripe-happy), struck (boy-struck, movie-struck). Conversion In American English, the most cases of conversion were for a long time the transitions from nouns to verbs e.g. to scalp, to tomahawk, to room, to shin, to muscle, to package, to vacation, to park, to program, to moon, to date. Nowadays, are frequent the cases of composed nouns that acquire the function of a verb, too: to lobby-display, to press-agent, to steamroller, to weekend; The opposed type of conversion, from verb to noun, is less frequent, probably due to the large number of nouns acquired by the American English, or formed by other means e.g. drive, divide, combine, brushoff, frame-up, probe, breakdown, comeback, hangover, pickup, pin-up, smashup etc. Some adjectives acquired the function of a noun e.g. alternate, centennial, dry, wet, local, sociable, tough, spiritual. The adverbs some, any, mighty, awful, are often used as adverbs in colloquial language e.g. If you can't sleep any, this pill will help you some, it's real good. Abbreviation The aphaeresis appears more rarely than the apocope; the first cases of aphaeresis that appeared in American English are squash, possum and coon. More recent examples of aphaeresis: cute (acute), most (almost), phone, quake (earthquake) etc. Apocope: ad, auto, co-ed, gas, jet (jet-propelled plane), photo, quotes, vamp etc. A special type of abbreviations is constituted from the words formed by their initials: CARE (Co-operative for American Remittances to Europe), asdic (anti-submarine detection investigation committee), NASA, radar (radio detecting and ranging), ACE (adrenal cortex extract), V.I.P., U.S.A.F. (United States Air Force), Wasp (Women's Air-force Service Pilots), TB (tuberculosis) L.C. (landing craft/local committee), HFDF (high frequency direction finder), AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organizations) etc. Another type of abbreviations refers to the combination of a part from a word with the other part from another word: cinerama (cinematographic+panorama), motel (motorist+hotel), cablegram (cable+telegram), travelogue (travel+monologue) etc. Special categories of Americanisms are the artificial words: rambunctious, splendiferous, angeliferous, to hornswoggle, cahoots, to honeyfogle, etc.

PHONETICAL CHARACTERISTICS
There are certain differences of pronunciation between British English and American English. Most of the words do not regard a large number of phonemes, but the extremely different intonation. The specific American intonation consists of a slow intonation, without too many variations of tone, which leads to an equal rhythm. A few differences occurred between the American sounds and the British ones, one of the most important being the fact that the pronunciation of [r] in a word has not disappeared e.g. fur, work, card, earth etc. Other differences:

*[] instead of [] before [f, , s] and before [s, f] + consonant or [m, n] + consonant e.g. class, grass, fast, after, example, aunt, dance etc. *[] instead of [] e.g. crop, stop, lot, not, conflict, novel *[u:] instead of [ju:] e.g. duty, student, tube, new, nuclear, during etc. *[] instead of [e], [i], [] in words like squirrel, hurry, very etc. *the voiced t e.g. better, butter, matter, pity, water

ORTHOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The orthographical characteristics of American English consist of substitutions and simplifications: 1) or instead of our: ardor, harbor, humor 2) er instead of re: center, fiber, liter, meter 3) ize (-yze) instead of ise: civilize, organize, analyze 4) se instead of ce: practise 5) ense instead of ence: defense, offense, pretense 6) sk instead of sc: skeptic, mollusk 7) i instead of e in the prefixes en- and em- : to inclose, to indorse, to inquiry 8) y instead of i: gayety, gypsy, dryly 9) l instead of ll: councilor, traveler, woolen, marvelous; p instead of pp: kidnaped, worshiped; s instead of ss: focused; 10) e, -ue, -me are eliminated at the ending of some words as envelop (the noun), catalog, dialog, prolog, gram; Other words that are not written in the same way: ax (Br. E. axe), check (cheque), cozy (cosy), gray (grey), story (storey), brier (briar), judgment (judgement), whiskey (whisky), etc.

GRAMATICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Regarding the parts of speech, certain differences were recorded: The article: the articles do not appear in certain adverbial phrases or in those ones which contain the adjective all: the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday, all morning, all week. The indefinite article precedes half before the words hour, minute, dozen, million e.g. a half-dozen policemen The noun: Many words are used in American English only at their plural: accommodations, candies, foods, cramps etc. others only at their singular: coal, inning etc. The synthetic genitive is used more frequently in situations in which the analytic genitive is used in British English: the agreement's application, Senate's committee etc. The implicit genitive is frequently used in America. Generally, it replaces the synthetic genitive: employee morale, pupil cooperation, teacher effort etc. The adjective: The degrees of comparison are realized more in a synthetic form: honester, solider, wonderfullest etc. Older and oldest appear sometimes in situations in which the English say elder and eldest e.g. older brother; Many adjectives receive the function of an adverb: careful, strange, wrong etc. The pronoun: The Americans have the tendency to maintain the form whom in the situations in which the English have replaced it with who e.g. Who are you with? Before a relative clause, the

one(s) is more frequent than that (which), that (who). The demonstrative pronouns this and that and the indefinite pronouns some, any and none are used more adverbially than in England. The numeral: There is a tendency to use forms as nineteen hundred not only for years but also for objects and people. The verb: The synthetic conjunctive is used in a greater extent in the USA: I'm only asking you do your duty! Sometimes would corresponds to should (especially in rhetorical questions: How would I know?) The auxiliary to do is used with the verb to have even if the latter means to possess e.g. Your daughter doesn't have any childrendoes she? To have gotten is frequently met instead of to have got when it has other meanings than to have e.g. She has gotten back in the car. The verb to quit quitted quitted is often used as to quit quit quit. The adverb: It is used to intensify or form some new verbs: to beat up, to shut down, to figure out, to offer up, to strip down, to call down, to lay off, to stop by, to turn down. The preposition: Sometimes, the preposition of is omitted, especially after out. Many prepositions are used different than in British English: around the corner, aside from, back of, different than, aside of, on the train etc. The conjunction: The omission of some conjunctions occur sometimes: after the verb to go followed by and + another verb, the conjunction and is omitted in some cases e.g. Go take care of him. That is omitted frequently in situations like except that or so that.