English isn't a language, (I've got my Pedant hat on now [should have said "I have", not "I've got"!]) it's a Creole: it's a bastard child of Old English and Old French. American (Pedant: US) English is what happened to West Country English English when it got isolated for three or four hundred years; it's only since the advent of the radio and the talkies that it's become obvious to us Brits. So anyone who says Americans don't speak correct English is talking out of their (Pedant: his) donkey.

Hat off again ... I often say "I heard" because I think it's good to give provenance to "facts" when possible, but I can never remember where I heard/read/was told. And anyway, you don't have to believe anything I post here! As for the first para, Icant prove it,but you'l find plenty of support for it if you need it.

Steve