| Noah Webster called for an American Language, which would facilitate the process of learning how to read and write by simplifying spellings. In addition, it would meet the peculiar needs of those living in the United States and take into account the "mixture of different languages" and dialects spoken in the country. To that end, he published his "Blue-Back Speller," the 1806 Compendious Dictionary of the English Language and his later two-volume An American Dictionary of the English Language. These works helped eliminate the British elements in American English. Although all of Webster's suggestions for simplifying spelling were not widely accepted (e.g., hed instead of head, frend instead of friend, and masheen instead of machine), many were adopted. This is largely why Americans today spell many words differently from the British. |
