Oh, I was going to mention that Anna, but thought I'd talked to much. But since you've bought it up.... :p
There is a very strong sense of identity related to language. That's evident anywhere, for instance it's how in the UK, even today with all our mass media, you can travel 20 miles and hear people talking in a completely different dialect.
So yes, I think places that have taken/adopted English as one of their languages have their own variations partly to support their own identity.
There is an argument that American English is similar to Shakespearean English. This stems from the idea that the first settlers to America held onto the language they bought with them, whereas in the UK the language changed. I'm not so sure about that, mostly because I don't think languages can be held static for 400 years.
OK, I'm going now. Can you tell this is one of my favourite subjects <g>
Helga
(Wondering why she's not a linguist)
