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由韦伯斯特花费后半生心血编写的《美国英语词典》,开辟美国英语编纂之先河并一直被后人看成是美国英语形成的重要标志。随着美国经济、政治、军事等各方面的高速发展,美国成为首屈一指的世界强国。但是美国英语最终还是英国英语的变体,它的历史和美国的移民史有着密切的关系。这是因为美国英语是17世纪英国英语在美洲的发展,它保留了17世纪和18世纪早期英国英语某些特点,而这些特点却在18世纪后期以后的标准英国英语里消失了。尽管美国英语具有显著的古老性,但与此同时它也表现出了高度的创造性。随着英语成为国际交流的共同语言,美国英语和英国英语之间的距离也日益缩短,对相互交流思想并不构成任何障碍或导致任何误解。美国英语和英国英语在它们的历史发展过程中,使英语成长为表达力非常丰富、非常准确的语言,为人类的进步和发展做出了重要的贡献。
The “American English Dictionary” written by Webster in the second half of his life spans the forefront of American English editing and has been considered by descendants as an important symbol of the formation of American English. With the rapid development of U.S. economy, politics, and military affairs, the United States has become the premier world power. However, American English eventually became a variant of British English. Its history is closely related to that of American immigrants. This is because American English was the development of British English in the 17th century in the Americas. It retains certain features of British English in the early 17th and early 18th centuries that disappeared in standard British English after the late 18th century. Although American English is remarkably ancient, it is also highly creative. As English becomes the common language of international exchange, the distance between American English and British English has also been shortened. It does not pose any obstacle or lead to any misunderstanding about the exchange of ideas. In their historical development, American English and British English have made English a very rich and very accurate language, making an important contribution to the progress and development of mankind.