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Originally Posted by Harry Smith  I had to start driving Russian cars, after them I also find driving to be the easiest exercise I have ever done. And I agrre with Tdol that a driving mistake can be the last. We all make grammar mistakes and very often find out something new in English. I think all the differences between American and British English are the result of grammar mistakes mainly.  |
Your last point is an interesting statement. Mistakes by whom? It can be said that in 1600 there was no American English. By 1700, because of the separation from the homeland, American settlers started on a path that was slightly different from England. But one has to remember, that the English language wasn't very mature in the 15th or 16th centuries. The first real dictionary wasn't published until the mid 1700s. Grammars were uncommon until the late 18th century. It is not terribly surprising that these two varieties developed somewhat differently. If you look at it as a biological organism, this is similar to what happens when a single species is divided by a geological phenomenon. After many generations, the two populations will have developed differences.