Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is
there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to
linguistic variations?
These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert
MacNeil and William Cran--the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the
language classic "The Story of English--across the country in
search of the answers. "Do You Speak American? is the tale of their
discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American
English--if a standard exists--is changing quickly and
dramatically.
On a journey that takes them from the Northeast, through Appalachia
and the Deep South, and west to California, the authors observe
everyday verbal interactions and in a host of interviews with
native speakers glean the linguistic quirks and traditions
characteristic of each area. While examining the histories and
controversies surrounding both written and spoken American English,
they address anxieties and assumptions that, when explored, are
highly emotional, such as the growing influence of Spanish as a
threat to American English and the special treatment of
African-American vernacular English. And, challenging the purists
who think grammatical standards are in serious deterioration and
that media saturation of our culture is homogenizing our speech,
they surprise us with unpredictable responses.
With insight and wit, MacNeil and Cran bring us a compelling book
that is at once a celebration and a potent study of our singular
language.
Each wave of immigration has brought new words to enrich the
American language. Do you recognize the origin of
1. blunderbuss, sleigh, stoop, coleslaw, boss, waffle?
Or
2. dumb, ouch, shyster, check, kaput, scram, bummer?
Or
3. phooey, pastrami, glitch, kibbitz, schnozzle?
Or
4. broccoli, espresso, pizza, pasta, macaroni, radio?
Or
5. smithereens, lollapalooza, speakeasy, hooligan?
Or
6. vamoose, chaps, stampede, mustang, ranch, corral?
1. Dutch 2. German 3. Yiddish 4. Italian 5. Irish 6. Spanish
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