The American Language

A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States

This edition features a linked Table of Contents, Footnotes, and Index.

CONTENTS

I. By Way of Introduction,

1. The Diverging Streams,


2. The Academic Attitude,


3. The View of Writing Men,


4. Foreign Observers,


5. The Characters of American,


6. The Materials of American

II. The Beginnings of American,

1. In Colonial Days,


2. Sources of Early Americanisms,


3. New Words of English Material,


4. Changed Meanings,


5. Archaic English Words,


6. Colonial Pronunciation

III. The Period of Growth,

1. The New Nation,


2. The Language in the Making,


3. The Expanding Vocabulary,


4. Loan-Words,


5. Pronunciation

IV. American and English Today,

1. The Two Vocabularies,


2. Differences in Usage,


3. Honorifics,


4. Euphemisms and Forbidden Words

V. Tendencies in American,

1. International Exchanges,


2. Points of Difference,


3. Lost Distinctions,


4. Foreign Influences Today,


5. Processes of Word Formation,


6. Pronunciation

VI. The Common Speech,

1. Grammarians and Their Ways,


2. Spoken American As It Is,


3. The Verb,


4. The Pronoun,


5. The Adverb,


6. The Noun and Adjective,


7. The Double Negative,


8. Pronunciation

VII. Differences in Spelling,

1. Typical Forms,


2. General Tendencies,


3. The Influence of Webster,


4. Exchanges,


5. Simplified Spelling,


6. Minor Differences

VIII. Proper Names in America,

1. Surnames,


2. Given Names,


3. Geographical Names,


4. Street Names

IX. Miscellanea,

1. Proverb and Platitude,


2. American Slang,


3. The Future of the Language

Bibliography

List of Words and Phrases

General Index

About the Author

"Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, critic of American life and culture, and scholar of American English.[1] Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the twentieth century. Many of his books remain in print." --Wikipedia