The United States of English: The American Language from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century Rosemarie Ostler

The United States of English: The American Language from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9780197647295,0197647294

Product details:

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0197647294
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0197647295
• Author(s): Rosemarie Ostler

By the time of the Revolution, the English that Americans spoke was recognizably different from the British variety. Americans added dozens of new words to the language, either borrowed from Native Americans (raccoon, persimmon, caucus) or created from repurposed English (backwoods, cane brake, salt lick). Americans had their own pronunciations (bath rhymed with hat, not hot) and their own spelling (honor, not honour), not to mention a host of new expressions that grew out of the American landscape and culture (blaze a trail, back track, pull up stakes). Americans even invented their own slang, like stiff as a ringbolt to mean drunk. American English has continued to grow and change ever since.

The United States of English tells the engrossing tale of how the American language evolved over four hundred years, explaining both how and why it changed and which parts of the “mother tongue” it preserved (I guess was heard in the British countryside long before it became a typical Americanism). Rosemarie Ostler approaches American English as part of the larger story of American history and culture, starting with what we know about the first colonists and their speech.

Table contents:

1. The Beginnings of American English
2. Early Regional Dialects
3. Building the Vocabulary
4. American Grammar and Usage
5. The Spread of Regional Speech
6. Ethnic Dialects
7. Language Innovation outside the Mainstream
8. The Social Life of American English
9. American English Today
Afterword: American English Tomorrow
Appendix: American Vowels
Notes

People also search:

is english the official language of the united states

should english be the official language of the united states

english speaking union of the united states

why isn’t english the official language of the united states

different dialects of english in the united states

dialects of english in the united states