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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.
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.
American Language Supplement 1 by H.L. Mencken Pdf
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.
Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- CHAPTER 1. What Is Pennsylvania Dutch? -- CHAPTER 2. Early History of Pennsylvania Dutch -- CHAPTER 3. Pennsylvania Dutch, 1800-1860 -- CHAPTER 4. Profiles in Pennsylvania Dutch Literature -- CHAPTER 5. Pennsylvania Dutch in the Public Eye -- CHAPTER 6. Pennsylvania Dutch and the Amish and Mennonites -- CHAPTER 7. An American Story -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z
Author : Paul V. Kroskrity,Margaret C. Field Publisher : University of Arizona Press Page : 363 pages File Size : 48,5 Mb Release : 2009-04-15 Category : Social Science ISBN : 9780816529162
Native American Language Ideologies by Paul V. Kroskrity,Margaret C. Field Pdf
Beliefs and feelings about language vary dramatically within and across Native American cultural groups and are an acknowledged part of the processes of language shift and language death. This volume samples the language ideologies of a wide range of Native American communities--from the Canadian Yukon to Guatemala--to show their role in sociocultural transformation. These studies take up such active issues as "insiderness" in Cherokee language ideologies, contradictions of space-time for the Northern Arapaho, language socialization and Paiute identity, and orthography choices and language renewal among the Kiowa. The authors--including members of indigenous speech communities who participate in language renewal efforts--discuss not only Native Americans' conscious language ideologies but also the often-revealing relationship between these beliefs and other more implicit realizations of language use as embedded in community practice. The chapters discuss the impact of contemporary language issues related to grammar, language use, the relation between language and social identity, and emergent language ideologies themselves in Native American speech communities. And although they portray obvious variation in attitudes toward language across communities, they also reveal commonalities--notably the emergent ideological process of iconization between a language and various national, ethnic, and tribal identities. As fewer Native Americans continue to speak their own language, this timely volume provides valuable grounded studies of language ideologies in action--those indigenous to Native communities as well as those imposed by outside institutions or language researchers. It considers the emergent interaction of indigenous and imported ideologies and the resulting effect on language beliefs, practices, and struggles in today's Indian Country as it demonstrates the practical implications of recognizing a multiplicity of indigenous language ideologies and their impact on heritage language maintenance and renewal.
A Key Into the Language of America by Roger Williams Pdf
A discourse on the languages of Native Americans encountered by the early settlers. This early linguistic treatise gives rare insight into the early contact between Europeans and Native Americans.
How can schools meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of newcomers? Do bilingual programs help children transition into American life, or do they keep them in a linguistic ghetto? Are immigrants who maintain their native language uninterested in being American, or are they committed to changing what it means to be American? In this ambitious book, Rosemary Salomone uses the heated debate over how best to educate immigrant children as a way to explore what national identity means in an age of globalization, transnationalism, and dual citizenship. She demolishes popular myths—that bilingualism impedes academic success, that English is under threat in contemporary America, that immigrants are reluctant to learn English, or that the ancestors of today’s assimilated Americans had all to gain and nothing to lose in abandoning their family language. She lucidly reveals the little-known legislative history of bilingual education, its dizzying range of meanings in different schools, districts, and states, and the difficulty in proving or disproving whether it works—or defining it as a legal right. In eye-opening comparisons, Salomone suggests that the simultaneous spread of English and the push toward multilingualism in western Europe offer economic and political advantages from which the U.S. could learn. She argues eloquently that multilingualism can and should be part of a meaningful education and responsible national citizenship in a globalized world.
The deathwatch over American English has begun again, writes Harvey A. Daniels who, basing his arguments on data from professional linguists and language historians, proves that there is no reason to panic over the fate of the mother tongue, noting that reports of the death of the English language are greatly exaggerated. Critics who zero in on the deteriorating state of the language ignore larger, more basic issues. Further, they threaten to bring back oldor inspire newteaching curricula and techniques which will hinder rather than enhance our children s opportunity to develop their reading and writing and speaking skills. Paradoxically, those critics who claim overreaching importance for the language tend to trivialize the study of language through their steadfast preoccupation with the form of language. These critics encourage us to continue using minor differences in language as ways of identifying, classifying, avoiding, or punishing anyone whom we choose to consider our social or intellectual inferior. Daniels refutes the idea that a literary crisis rages throughout the United States. He discredits the idea of the deterioration of language. In support of his conclusions, he marshalls the forces of history, showing that panics concerning the state of the language have occurred at regular intervals at least since 2400 B.C. Using the data and tools of the linguist, Daniels asserts that language cannot die, that it changes constantly, and that attitudes toward language are social attitudes.Having established this point, he discusses at length our diminished prejudices against certain nonstandard dialects, our befuddled and uncompromising attempts to teach writing, the complex difficulties facing English teachers as the crisis enters its second decade, and the prospects for developing some respect for linguistic pluralism in America."
Divided by a Common Language by Christopher Davies Pdf
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.
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.
Mastering the American Accent with Online Audio by Lisa Mojsin Pdf
Mastering the American Accent is an easy-to-follow approach for reducing the accent of non-native speakers of English. Well-sequenced lessons in the book correspond over eight hours of audio files covering the entire text. The audio program provides clear models (both male and female) to help coach a standard American accent. The program is designed to help users speak Standard American English with clarity, confidence, and accuracy. The many exercises in the book concentrate on topics such as vowel sounds, problematic consonants such as V, W, TH, the American R and T and others. Correct lip and tongue positions for all sounds are discussed in detail. Beyond the production of sounds, the program provides detailed instruction in prosodic elements such as syllable stress, emphasis, intonation, linking words for smoother speech flow, common word contractions, and much more. Additional topics that often confuse ESL students are also discussed and explained. They include distinguishing between casual and formal speech, homophones (e.g., they're and there), recognizing words with silent letters (e.g., comb, receipt), and avoiding embarrassing pronunciation mistakes, such as mixing up "pull" and "pool." Students are familiarized with many irregular English spelling rules and exceptions, and are shown how such irregularities can contribute to pronunciation errors. A native language guide references problematic accent issues for 13 different language backgrounds. Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.
Are we tired of hearing that fall is a season, sick of being offered fries and told about the latest movie? Yeah. Have we noticed the sly interpolation of Americanisms into our everyday speech? You betcha. And are we outraged? Hell, yes. But do we do anything? Too much hassle. Until now. In That's The Way It Crumbles Matthew Engel presents a call to arms against the linguistic impoverishment that happens when one language dominates another. With dismay and wry amusement, he traces the American invasion of our language from the early days of the New World, via the influence of Edison, the dance hall and the talkies, right up to the Apple and Microsoft-dominated present day, and explores the fate of other languages trying to fend off linguistic takeover bids. It is not the Americans' fault, more the result of their talent for innovation and our own indifference. He explains how America's cultural supremacy affects British gestures, celebrations and way of life, and how every paragraph and conversation includes words the British no longer even think of as Americanisms. Part battle cry, part love song, part elegy, this book celebrates the strange, the banal, the precious and the endangered parts of our uncommon common language.
Is British English becoming more like American English? Paul Baker tracks the changes, trends and distinctions of both languages to answer this question.