Americanism

: This page is about the linguistic term. For other uses, see Americanism (disambiguation).

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In linguistics, an Americanism is a particular usage, i.e., it is a word or phrase being used by the native speakers of English in the United States. Every culture develops new words or adds new connotations to existing words. It is a part of the code system that adds distinctiveness to each group, large or small, e.g., the vocabulary of words, dress and attitude will vary significantly between, say, fans of hip hop (including gangsta) and punk rock. These usages are dynamic rather than rule driven, and evolve capriciously according to current fashion trends. Each major group of native speakers has its own "isms", i.e., Britishisms, Australianisms, etc. These are usages that are exported to, and adopted by, the native speakers of English who live in other countries, especially through the popular media of television and movies. Some usages exported from America are coinages, while others are archaisms (e.g., "Fall" in the sense of "Autumn") that may linger in local dialects.

Related Topics:
Linguistics - English - United States - Culture - Connotations - Code - Hip hop - Gangsta - Punk rock - Britishism - Australianism - Coinages - Autumn - Dialect

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