Overview

American English has a rich, multicultural history. It is full of contributions from Native American, Spanish, and African languages. Some of the languages added individual words to American English, but some, like African languages, slowly blended in with the existing lexicon to create hybrid languages such as pidgin and Creole.
Immigrants to the United States contributed further to American English. One great contribution came from 1820 to 1850 when millions of people fleeing poverty and famine came to America from Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and China. Many settled in different areas of the United States. As a result, these different speech areas, which consist of North, Midland, and South, speak different dialects of English. Each speech area can be further divided into subgroups. Some are distinguished by region. Some are distinguished by socioeconomic factors.