01-14-2012, 04:13 PM
That Wild Fact is totally wrong...
Washington had nothing to do with any kind of language adjustments or borrowing. Most "Americans" were either British immigrants or their parents or great-grandparents were; they were already speaking English (and most thought of themselves as British until around the 1760s). If Noah Webster hadn't decided to "simplify" his dictionary around 1800, our English would be mostly the same as British English. He's why we have meter instead of metre and color instead of colour.
Washington had nothing to do with any kind of language adjustments or borrowing. Most "Americans" were either British immigrants or their parents or great-grandparents were; they were already speaking English (and most thought of themselves as British until around the 1760s). If Noah Webster hadn't decided to "simplify" his dictionary around 1800, our English would be mostly the same as British English. He's why we have meter instead of metre and color instead of colour.