【单选题】

In 1807 Noah Webster began his greatest work, AnAmericanDictionary of theEnglish Language.In preparing the work, he devoted ten years to the study ofEnglish and its relationship to other languages, and seven more years to the writing itself. Published in two volumes in 1828, AnAmericanDictionary of theEnglish Language has become the recognized authority (权威) for usage in the United States. Webster’s purpose in writing it was to show that theAmerican language was developing distinct meanings, pronunciations, and spellings from those ofBritishEnglish. He is responsible for advancing simplified spelling forms: "develop" instead of theBritish form "develope"; "theater" and "center" instead of "theatre" and "centre"; "color" and "honor" instead of "colour" and "honour".

According to the author, Webster’s purpose in writing AnAmericanDictionary of theEnglish Language was to ______ .
A、respond to the need for new schoolbooks
B、show the distinct development of theEnglish language inAmerica
C、improve spelling forms based uponBritish models
D、influence the pronunciation of theEnglish language