ABSTRACT
English came to North America and what eventually became the United States as a part of the general movement of European languages and their speakers not only to the one ‘new’ continent but to almost all parts of the world. The type of English spoken during the period of exploration and colonization was important to the history of American English. So were the languages spoken by other groups – immigrants and native Americans. The first point has received recognition from the beginning of the study of American English. The second has tended to be overlooked.
