Influences Of The Early Immigrants On Evolution Of American English Vocabulary

The United States of America, also called "a melting pot" is a country of immigrants. Throngs upon throngs of immigrants have always been rewriting the history of America. It's the immigrants that created, developed and changed America. It's also the immigrants that created and evolved American English.The evolution of American English is closely related to the history of American immigration. Among the early immigrants from the 17^th to the 19^th century, British settlers were the biggest ethnic group. Their language, culture and their way of life constituted the basis of American society afterwards. Based on English in the 17^th century, borrowing and absorbing the foreign language components and culture essence from the Indians, European emigrants and Blacks, American English evolved into the national language of the American people. The American history is always accompanied by the merge and evolution of its language, and the process is still continuing now. But American English mainly formed and evolved in the colonial and the initial post-independence period. This was also an important period during which immigrants multiplied in America. After referring books and articles both in Chinese and English by the authoritative scholars, in this paper I make an approach into the influences of American immigrants on the formation and evolution of the American English from the social, historical and cultural angle. Language is the important carrier and constitution of a country's national culture, and it's evolution can reflect the growth of a nation. Research and approach into the evolution of American English vocabulary can help us have a better understanding of the origin of American national spirit, and have a deep insight into the features and the value of American society.The paper is divided into five parts. The first part is a brief introduction to the study of American English history. The second part approaches into the influences of early European emigrants on the evolution of American English vocabulary. British colonists brought English to the New Continent in North America, which is the start of American English. British settlers borrowed words from French, German, Spanish and Dutch during contact with these ethnic groups so that American English was greatly enriched. The third part focuses on the influence of Indians to the evolution of American English vocabulary. Indians was the pioneer immigrants in North America. Words borrowed from the Indians are mostly about names of places, especially words related to natural features. After the War of Independence, Indian language and culture began to collapse because of the "assimilation" of British-Americans. In the fourth part, the paper gives an analysis to the influences of the Blacks on the evolution of American English vocabulary. Black people were the only "immigrants" who didn't choose to come to America. Words from Black English and their traditional culture enriched American English. The last part is a conclusion, the devotion of different ethnic groups to American English vocabulary and the revelation of American national spirit are also included in it.