Colin Coulson About Me Page at Helium

Arts & Humanities > Internet Writing & Blogging Citizen journalism: English language or American English?: 2 of 8

Today, English youngsters are accused of adopting too many 'Americanisms'. It isn't fair, for Europeans began to adopt New World words from the moment they landed there. The Caribs of Cuba and Haiti showed us boats made out of a single log. They called them 'canoo', and Englishmen spelt it canoe. Gujaratl-speaking 'Indians' trapped water in small 'artificial lakes'. They called them tankh. Most Englishmen have hot water tankhs nowadays, though few are aware of the Americanism. The Taino 'Indians rolled leaves into sticks and smoked them. They called this habit 'tabaco'. Europeans favoured ...
More..