An American Language

An American Language PDF Author: Rosina Lozano
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520969588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
An American Language is a tour de force that revolutionizes our understanding of U.S. history. It reveals the origins of Spanish as a language binding residents of the Southwest to the politics and culture of an expanding nation in the 1840s. As the West increasingly integrated into the United States over the following century, struggles over power, identity, and citizenship transformed the place of the Spanish language in the nation. An American Language is a history that reimagines what it means to be an American—with profound implications for our own time.

An American Language

An American Language PDF Author: Rosina Lozano
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520969588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
An American Language is a tour de force that revolutionizes our understanding of U.S. history. It reveals the origins of Spanish as a language binding residents of the Southwest to the politics and culture of an expanding nation in the 1840s. As the West increasingly integrated into the United States over the following century, struggles over power, identity, and citizenship transformed the place of the Spanish language in the nation. An American Language is a history that reimagines what it means to be an American—with profound implications for our own time.

American Language Supplement 1

American Language Supplement 1 PDF Author: H.L. Mencken
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0307808785
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 798

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Book Description
Perhaps the first truly important book about the divergence of American English from its British roots, this survey of the language as it was spoken-and as it was changing-at the beginning of the 20th century comes via one of its most inveterate watchers, journalist, critic, and editor HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN (1880-1956).In this replica of the 1921 "revised and enlarged" second edition, Mencken turns his keen ear on: • the general character of American English • loan-words and non-English influences • expletives and forbidden words • American slang • the future of the language • and much, much more. Anyone fascinated by words will find this a thoroughly enthralling look at the most changeable language on the face of the planet.

Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words PDF Author: Harvey Daniels
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Daniels refutes the contention that a literary crisis is raging through the United States and that the English language is deteriorating. By showing that panics concerning the state of language have occured at regular intervals since 2400 B.C., he asserts that language cannot die, that it changes constantly and that attitudes toward language are social attitudes. He identifies several classes of language critics including journalistic critics like Edwin Newman, William Safire and John Simon; educational critics who employ techniques that preclude a student from communicating effectively; and a group of critics he identifies as "the higher authorities" - authors of English handbooks and usage panelists of dictionaries. Also demonstrates the futility of "back-to-basics" literacy programs that drill grammar but ignore actual writing and offers a program for teacher training in writing instruction. ISBN 0-8093-8093-7 (pbk.) : $10.95.

Divided by a Common Language

Divided by a Common Language PDF Author: Christopher Davies
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547350288
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This guide to the language differences between the United States and United Kingdom is “a fascinating collection full of all kinds of surprises” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Taxi rank . . . toad in the hole . . . dustman . . . fancy dress . . . American visitors to London (or viewers of British TV shows) might be confused by these terms. But most Britons would be equally puzzled by words like caboose, bleachers, and busboy. In Divided by a Common Language, Christopher Davies explains these expressions and discusses the many differences in pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary between British and American English. He compares the customs, manners, and practical details of daily life in the United Kingdom and the United States, and American readers will enjoy his account of American culture as seen through an Englishman’s eyes. Davies tops it off with an amusing list of expressions that sound innocent enough in one country but make quite the opposite impression in the other. Two large glossaries help travelers translate from one variety of English to the other, and additional lists explain the distinctive words of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This delightful book is the ideal companion for travelers—or anyone who enjoys the many nuances of language.

The Language of the American South

The Language of the American South PDF Author: Cleanth Brooks
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820331236
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
In this volume Cleanth Brooks pays tribute to the language and literature of the American South. He writes of the language's unique syntax and its celebrated languorous rhythms; of the classical allusions and Addisonian locutions once favored by the gentry; and of the more earthbound eloquence, rooted in the dialect of England's southern lowlands, that is still heard in the speech of the region's plain folk. It is this rich spoken language, Brooks suggests, that has always been the life blood of southern writing. The strong tradition of storytelling in the South is reflected in the tales told by Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus and in the obsessive retellings that structure William Faulkner's novels and stories. But even more crucially, the language of the South--firmly rooted in the land but with a tendency to reach for the heavens above--has shaped the literary concerns and molded the complex visions to be found in the poetry of Robert Penn Warren and John Crowe Ransom; the stories of Flannery O'Connor, Peter Taylor, and Eudora Welty; and the novels of Warren, Allen Tate, and Walker Percy.

The American Language

The American Language PDF Author: H. L. Mencken
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781434103260
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
This groundbreaking study clarifies the differences between British and American English and defines the distinguishing characteristics of American English. Cigar-chomping newspaperman H. L. Mencken succeeds not only in providing a lucid description of the American language but also in making his readers laugh, wince, and nod in agreement. It's a readable and fascinating study on why you say "tomayto" and I say "tomahto." A must read for anyone who loves words.

Spanglish

Spanglish PDF Author: Ilan Stavans
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313348057
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Spanglish-a hybrid of Spanish and English-is intricately interwoven with the history and culture of Latinos, the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. With deep roots that trace back to the U.S. annexation of Mexican territories in the early to mid-19th century, Spanglish can today be heard in as far-flung places as urban cities and rural communities, on playgrounds and in classrooms around the country. This volume features the most significant articles including peer-review essays, interviews, and reviews to bring together the best scholarship on the topic. Learn about the historical and cultural contexts of the slang as well as its permeation into the pop culture vernacular. Ten signed articles, essays, and interviews are included in the volume. Spanglish-a hybrid of Spanish and English-is intricately interwoven with the history and culture of Latinos, the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. With deep roots that trace back to the U.S. annexation of Mexican territories in the early to mid-19th century, Spanglish can today be heard in as far-flung places as urban cities and rural communities, on playgrounds and in classrooms around the country. This volume features the most significant articles including peer-review essays, interviews, and reviews to bring together the best scholarship on the topic. Learn about the historical and cultural contexts of the slang as well as its permeation into the pop culture vernacular. Over 10 signed articles, essays, and interviews are included in the volume. Also featured is an introduction by Ilan Stavans, one of the foremost authorities on Latino culture, to provide historical background and cultural context; a chronology of events; and suggestions for further reading to aid students in their research.

The American Language

The American Language PDF Author: H. L. Mencken
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
'The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States', is H. L. Mencken's book about the English language as spoken in the United States. The book discusses the beginnings of "American" variations from "English", the spread of these variations, American names and slang over the course of its 374 pages. According to Mencken, American English was more colorful, vivid, and creative than its British counterpart.

American and British English

American and British English PDF Author: Paul Baker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107088860
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Is British English becoming more like American English? Paul Baker tracks the changes, trends and distinctions of both languages to answer this question.

African American Language

African American Language PDF Author: Mary Kohn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108876749
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
From birth to early adulthood, all aspects of a child's life undergo enormous development and change, and language is no exception. This book documents the results of a pioneering longitudinal linguistic survey, which followed a cohort of sixty-seven African American children over the first twenty years of life, to examine language development through childhood. It offers the first opportunity to hear what it sounds like to grow up linguistically for a cohort of African American speakers, and provides fascinating insights into key linguistics issues, such as how physical growth influences pronunciation, how social factors influence language change, and the extent to which individuals modify their language use over time. By providing a lens into some of the most foundational questions about coming of age in African American Language, this study has implications for a wide range of disciplines, from speech pathology and education, to research on language acquisition and sociolinguistics.