We've got 3 shorthands »

Acronyms that contain the term North American English 

What does North American English mean? This page is about the various possible meanings of the acronym, abbreviation, shorthand or slang term: North American English.

Possible matching categories:

Filter by: Sort by:PopularityAlphabeticallyCategory
TermDefinitionRating
ANAE

Atlas of North American English

International » English

Rate it:
CONASE

Corpus Of North American Spoken English

International » English

Rate it:
NAEFR

North American English Ford Registry

Miscellaneous » Automotive

Rate it:

What does North American English mean?

North American English
North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures and the similarities between the pronunciation, vocabulary, and accent of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken varieties are often grouped together under a single category. Due to historical and cultural factors, Canadian English and American English can be distinguished from each other, with the differences being most noticeable in the two languages' written forms. Canadian spellings are primarily based on British usage as a result of Canada's longer-standing connections with the United Kingdom. Canadians are generally tolerant of both British and American spellings, with British spellings being favored in more formal settings and in Canadian print media. Spellings in American English have been highly influenced by lexicographers like Noah Webster, who sought to create a standardized form of English that was independent of British English. Despite these differences, the dialects of both Canada and the United States are similar. The United Empire Loyalists who fled the American Revolution (1765–1783) have had a large influence on Canadian English from its early roots.Some terms in North American English are used almost exclusively in Canada and the United States (for example, the terms diaper and gasoline are widely used instead of nappy and petrol). Although many English speakers from outside North America regard such terms as distinct Americanisms, they are often just as common in Canada, mainly due to the effects of heavy cross-border trade and cultural penetration by the American mass media. The list of divergent words becomes longer if considering regional Canadian dialects, especially as spoken in the Atlantic provinces and parts of Vancouver Island where significant pockets of British culture still remain. There are a considerable number of different accents within the regions of both the United States and Canada, originally deriving from the accents prevalent in different English, Scottish and Irish regions of the British Isles and corresponding to settlement patterns of these peoples in the colonies. These were developed and built upon as new waves of immigration, and migration across the North American continent, brought new accents and dialects to new areas, and as these ways of speaking merged and assimilated with the population. It is claimed that despite the centuries of linguistic changes there is still a resemblance between the English East Anglia accents which would have been used by early English settlers in New England (including the Pilgrims), and modern Northeastern United States accents. Similarly, the accents of Newfoundland have some similarities to the accents of Scotland and Ireland.

see more »

Discuss these North American English abbreviations with the community:

0 Comments

    Know what is North American English? Got another good explanation for North American English? Don't keep it to yourself!

    Still can't find the acronym definition you were looking for? Use our Power Search technology to look for more unique definitions from across the web!

    Citation

    Use the citation options below to add these abbreviations to your bibliography.

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "North American English." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.abbreviations.com/North%20American%20English>.

    Browse Abbreviations.com

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant explanation for any acronym or abbreviation that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant explanation for any acronym or abbreviation that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    The ultimate acronym test

    »
    BTW
    A By The Way
    B Better Than Words
    C Bit The Waffle
    D Burn the Witch

    Embed

    Share an image of North American English

    »