I've been asking myself this question for years. American English has become so casual, so sloppy, so filled with "trash talk," slang, rap references, 'ebonics,' and verbal shortcuts and the like, that it's a wonder anyone can get a point across, period.
Add to that the decline of American schools overall, lack of real/true knowledge in school books, children raised by disinterested parents, who are then disinterested and disinclined to learn, teachers being nothing more than mere babysitters, and possible new teachers going into other professions in droves, and you have the makings of an abysmally sad state of language affairs.
Add to that the fact that the history of our language, culture, and country is so far removed from the eloquent richness and greatness of our British forefathers, we seem to have nothing from which to build. Our language is fluid, but only 'fluid' in the sense of sand slipping through one's fingers.
The contrast between the language used by the British and that used by Americans is stunning in the extreme. British knowledge and use of language is so much more rich, with so much more depth and meaning, and is full of words, idioms, thoughts and references that we Americans don't even know exist. A tragedy. Read anything by C. S. Lewis, P. G. Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Keats, Kipling, or any of the myriad of other British writers - even those from not all that long ago - and you will notice an overall richness of tone, depth and content that you do not find in American literature.
America is all too fast becoming the society in the movie 'Idiocracy.' We are destroying ourselves from within, and our very language is a major part of that.
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