A Corpus Analysis of the Spelling Reform Movement in the Creation of American English and Americanism(alias A Corpus Analisis of the Speling Riform Moovment in the Criasion of American English and Americanizm)

Abstract

Synchronic variation between British English and American English ranges from pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar to spelling. Since synchronic variation results from language change, diachronic observations of the language are necessary for a meaningful account of linguistic variation. This study traces the origin of the difference in spelling between the two varieties of English, American and British, by putting a special focus on the attempts at spelling reform that intensified in America after its independence. The attempts, also collectively called the simplified spelling movement, can be characterized as one of the pursuits of Americanism as well as American English. The movement stemmed from the connection of linguistic nationalism with linguistic demands for a correspondence of orthography with actual pronunciation. This paper aims to identify spelling reform proposals made in the latter half of the 18th century by Noah Webster, one of the most influential reformers, and by the Filology [sic] Committee of the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century. Their attempts are described from a corpus linguistic perspective that identifies in an empirical manner failed proposals as well as successful innovations introduced in the creation of American English.