European View of American English

I wonder how Europeans view English speaking Americans. A majority of us (Americans) do not have British heritage, so English is not our heritage language. Where as Germans have German as their heritage language, the English have English and the Polish have Polish as their heritage languages.

Do Europeans view us as being a people without a heritage language?

The American "heritage language(s)" are those of the real native Americans...the various Indian tribes. With the influx of "invaders" from Europe these TRUE native Americans were literally consigned to obscurity in much the same way as were the Aborigine peoples in Australia, the Maoris in New Zealand and the indigenous peoples in other parts of the world who were displaced by Europeans.

As for America, it has always been called "the Great Melting Pot" as you know so you are really a country which has absorbed so many different cultures and languages over the centuries since the 17th century...the day before yesterday by Eurpoean standards :-) It just so happens that English became the adopted official language.

Maybe it would be wrong to call English your "heritage language" as your heritage is so complex I guess. As far as I know all the different national communities in the USA still very much regard their various origins as being very important and are proud of them. I've met a number of American students here at uni and they all know about their ancestors and where they came from, almost all from Europe, including the UK, and with the latter they are always keen to tell you they are of English or Welsh or Scottish or Irish extraction. Some consist of quite a mix of nationalities.

Yet you are now all part of one American society with a separate culture that has developed. The only problem as far as the European viewpoint is concerned is that the Americans, in spite of this apparent awareness of their origins, are by and large amazingly ignorant of anything outside their own borders. This was splendidly illustrated by a President who could not immediately locate the British Isles on the world map when he (sort of) came into office or referred to Spain as a Republic.... hee hee

The American "heritage language(s)" are those of the real native Americans...the various Indian tribes. With the influx of "invaders" from Europe these TRUE native Americans were literally consigned to obscurity in much the same way as were the Aborigine peoples in Australia, the Maoris in New Zealand and the indigenous peoples in other parts of the world who were displaced by Europeans.

As for America, it has always been called "the Great Melting Pot" as you know so you are really a country which has absorbed so many different cultures and languages over the centuries since the 17th century...the day before yesterday by Eurpoean standards :-) It just so happens that English became the adopted official language.

Maybe it would be wrong to call English your "heritage language" as your heritage is so complex I guess. As far as I know all the different national communities in the USA still very much regard their various origins as being very important and are proud of them. I've met a number of American students here at uni and they all know about their ancestors and where they came from, almost all from Europe, including the UK, and with the latter they are always keen to tell you they are of English or Welsh or Scottish or Irish extraction. Some consist of quite a mix of nationalities.

Yet you are now all part of one American society with a separate culture that has developed. The only problem as far as the European viewpoint is concerned is that the Americans, in spite of this apparent awareness of their origins, are by and large amazingly ignorant of anything outside their own borders. This was splendidly illustrated by a President who could not immediately locate the British Isles on the world map when he (sort of) came into office and referred to Spain as a Republic.... hee hee

oops! Like New York New York...so good I posted twice! :-)

Nice post (both times). But I'd like to point out that English is not an official language of the U.S. The U.S. government hasn't declared any language as official, despite a stong push by English-only lobbyists to do so. Some say that it's only a matter of time...

Nice post (both times). But I'd like to point out that English is not an official language of the U.S. The U.S. government hasn't declared any language as official, despite a stong push by English-only lobbyists to do so. Some say that it's only a matter of time...>>>

Is this true? I am amazed. The government has never declared any language as official?

Could you please tell me where you got this information? "Trust...but verify" =)

There are a number of websites devoted to making English the official language of the U.S. Many of them are very one-sided, so I will post a link to one that is neutral:

http://www.uwm.edu/Course/350-192/lcarson.html

It looks like Spanish might become an official language alongside English. (if they ever decide to declare an official language or languages in the US)

The vast majority already speak English. It's not like that's going to change over night.. And if you don't speak English you are at a disadvantage so it is in your best interest to be able to speak English.

"Where as Germans have German as their heritage language, the English have English and the Polish have Polish as their heritage languages."

It all depends how far you go back in time. Before the English of England and the rest of Britain, there were the Celtic languages. This was the same with much of Western Europe. The Celtic language of France was Gaulish before the Romans conquered it with Latin. (and the Franks with their Germanic dialect)

Likewise in the region of present day Spain which had its own Celtic language too.

Juan,
I was thinking in terms of the growth of Spanish spoken and specifically in those regions concentrated with Spanish sweakers

Spain is an interesting country linguistically....how different, for instance, is Catalan from official Spanish?

Meant to say this in my last post ....I worked the summer in Spain last year (unbearable 40C heat every day!) but it was with a UK company dealing in the sale of properties to UK people moving to Spain. It was a sort of hotel/business complex and I did table waiting and bar work and general rubbish jobs but it was fun).

I hardly ever left the complex and was with British people all the time which meant I didn't really have the chance to go and hear Spanish people except for trips to the supermarket. The only words of Spanish I know are "hola" "hasta luego" and "gracias". How sad is that?

Hi! I know this will make a lot of Americans happy, because I've read a lot of opinions on the Net from Americans who claim that an American language exists. Well, I'm from Europe (Macedonia, small country north of Greece) and here nobody sais American English or English, they say American. Sure, they don't say "People in England speak American", they say "People in England speak English, but people in America speak American". Just to make it weirder, no one here thinks people in Australia speak Australian. Anyway, I have to agree with Damian with this one: "as far as the European viewpoint is concerned is that the Americans are by and large amazingly ignorant of anything outside their own borders". Sad, but true!

I have the rest of the day free and only have ONE exam left to face now yay! What cooler way on a hot day to chill out than come on this site. I'm getting addicted...is that sad or not? :-)

Goran: nice post. I was having some lunch just now and watched tennis from London...Goran Ivanisevic on court but hear now he lost. I hope he makes Wimbledon. As he is Croatian I guess Goran is a name from your part of Europe?

American English.... one American word I don't like too much is yard...they mean what we call in the UK a garden.

To me garden sounds nicer...a vision of a green lawn, flower beds, leafy shrubs and shady trees with birds singing and perhaps a pond with lily pads and frog spawn!

A yard in the UK generally means a concrete based or paved space at the back of a building where all sorts of things are stored in heaps!

It would cool to know what British word the Americans dislike and what word they use instead.