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.
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About H.L. Mencken
Henry L. Mencken was born in Baltimore in 1880 and died there in 1956. He began his long career as a journalist, critic, and philologist on the Baltimore Morning Herald in 1899. In 1906 he joined the staff of the… More about H.L. Mencken
Published by Knopf Feb 08, 2012| 739 Pages| ISBN 9780307808783