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Beyond American Shores
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This paper has addressed the relative roles of pedagogy and technology in the changing relationship
between spoken and written American English over the past one hundred and twenty years. What relevance
does this discussion have for other times, other varieties of English, other languages? Why should
anyone other than Americans care?
The answer comes in two parts. First, the characteristics of written language are always shaped by social
economic, educational, legal, religious or technological variables at work in a particular society, on a
particular language, at a particular time. The history and future, for example, of Japanžs tripartite
writing system (kanji, two kinds of kana and romaji) is inseparable from the political, religious and
social history of the country since Buddhist monks first introduced Chinese characters nearly two
millenia ago. Similarly, while neither spoken nor written registers have ever been standardized in the
United States, England has a commonly acknowledged written language standard, though a far more restricted
student body continues on to higher education to learn its intricacies. As a result, computer technology
might have quite different effects on writing in England than in America.
The second part of the answer requires us to reflect on the international reach of American English and
of American computer technology. Long before computers seriously arrived on the scene, English in general
and (some would argue) American English in particular had become the closest modern contender for the
title "international language," thanks, in part, to American GIs, movies and television programming.
And while Americans may no longer make their own televisions or baseballs, they have a dominant world
presence in networked computing. Arguments of national pride aside, the language of the Internet is
overwhelmingly English, and heavily American English at that. Patterns of written American English
on web pages, in chat rooms and in emails bombard an international readership. It seems likely that
American writing styles, as represented by computer mediated communication, are destined to influence
written norms both in other English-speaking and in non-English-speaking countries as well.
The remaining question, of course, is whether the directions in which written American English are moving
are to be commended, condoned or condemned, but thereby hangs another tale for another time.
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Writing in the Age of Email
IV: Beyond American Shores
