ABSTRACT
The previous chapter showed how the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries made efforts to systematise, shape and control English into a monolithic standard version generally used and accepted. But English was now beginning to spread round the world, and this saw the emergence of new varieties of the language which diverged from that ‘monolithic standard version.’ The new varieties generally had to fight hard to gain status. The process typically involved a stage of strong criticism, where people highlighted the new variety’s shortcomings. It was up to key individuals to lift its status, and the appearance of an authoritative dictionary helped a lot in this process. This chapter looks the emergence of American English and relates how it became a distinctive and accepted variety. The focus of attention is on the work of Noah Webster.
