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Since US English retains more historical features of English and has fewer of the newer ones (especially in light of Received Pronunciation, rhoticity, and rand

Since US English retains more historical features of English and has fewer of the newer ones (especially in light of Received Pronunciation, rhoticity, and random u insertion), one could argue that US English is the more traditional one. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180207-how-americans-preserved-british-english https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180207-how-americans-p...

dietr1ch 2y ago
You know it's way more traditional because they democratically pushed themselves into an oligarchy ;)
- lenerdenator 2y ago
  Sounds pretty European to me, honestly.
HeckFeck 2y ago
I live in a region of the UK where rhoticity is alive and well. It actually means I've an easier time understanding some words when Americans speak them, compared to the English. On the broader point I'd agree up until I notice that you'd write 'defense' yet also 'fence', and ponder why the verb 'got' is so overused.
- t-3 2y ago
  I'll just say that I sometimes use defense because the Firefox spellchecker seems to prefer UK spellings even when US English is set in the language settings and the red squiggly lines bother me.
  - HeckFeck 2y ago
    Sssh, you weren’t meant to notice! We have a man on the inside.
dijit 2y ago
Isn't that a myth? Wonder where that idea even came from, the BBC article even says as such "“It is a delightful and attractive myth that Shakespeare’s language got fossilised” in parts of the US, [the dialect anthropologist] says." I mean; we have old runic languages that match northern English pronunciation really well- along with "olde english" spelling which is clearly a rote writing of a southern English accent (likely from somewhere like Gloucestershire). An attractive myth, perhaps, but I'm not sure how much truth there really is. https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/bofu3g/how_did_america_lose_the_british_accent/engwddv/ https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/bofu3g/how_did_ame...
- toolz 2y ago
  > even if Americans do speak more like the Elizabethan English than today’s Brits themselves I get the sense that the article very much believes Americans speak more traditional English.
bbno4 2y ago
The article you linked says it's a myth.
deleted 2y ago
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dietr1ch 2y ago

You know it's way more traditional because they democratically pushed themselves into an oligarchy ;)

lenerdenator 2y ago
Sounds pretty European to me, honestly.

HeckFeck 2y ago

I live in a region of the UK where rhoticity is alive and well. It actually means I've an easier time understanding some words when Americans speak them, compared to the English. On the broader point I'd agree up until I notice that you'd write 'defense' yet also 'fence', and ponder why the verb 'got' is so overused.

t-3 2y ago
I'll just say that I sometimes use defense because the Firefox spellchecker seems to prefer UK spellings even when US English is set in the language settings and the red squiggly lines bother me.
- HeckFeck 2y ago
  Sssh, you weren’t meant to notice! We have a man on the inside.

dijit 2y ago

Isn't that a myth? Wonder where that idea even came from, the BBC article even says as such "“It is a delightful and attractive myth that Shakespeare’s language got fossilised” in parts of the US, [the dialect anthropologist] says." I mean; we have old runic languages that match northern English pronunciation really well- along with "olde english" spelling which is clearly a rote writing of a southern English accent (likely from somewhere like Gloucestershire). An attractive myth, perhaps, but I'm not sure how much truth there really is. https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/bofu3g/how_did_america_lose_the_british_accent/engwddv/ https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/bofu3g/how_did_ame...

toolz 2y ago
> even if Americans do speak more like the Elizabethan English than today’s Brits themselves I get the sense that the article very much believes Americans speak more traditional English.

bbno4 2y ago

The article you linked says it's a myth.

deleted 2y ago

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