Audiobook11 hours
The United States of English: The American Language from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century
Written by Rosemarie Ostler
Narrated by Christa Lewis
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this audiobook
The story of how English became American-and how it became Southern, Bostonian, Californian, African American, Chicano, elite, working-class, urban, rural, and everything in between
By the time of the Revolution, the English that Americans spoke was recognizably different from the British variety. Americans added dozens of new words to the language, either borrowed from Native Americans (raccoon, persimmon, caucus) or created from repurposed English (backwoods, cane brake, salt lick). Americans had their own pronunciations (bath rhymed with hat, not hot) and their own spelling (honor, not honour), not to mention a host of new expressions that grew out of the American landscape and culture (blaze a trail, back track, pull up stakes). Americans even invented their own slang, like stiff as a ringbolt to mean drunk. American English has continued to grow and change ever since.
The United States of English tells the engrossing tale of how the American language evolved over four hundred years, explaining both how and why it changed and which parts of the "mother tongue" it preserved (I guess was heard in the British countryside long before it became a typical Americanism). Plentiful examples of the American vernacular, past and present, bring the language to life and make for an engaging as well as enlightening listen.
By the time of the Revolution, the English that Americans spoke was recognizably different from the British variety. Americans added dozens of new words to the language, either borrowed from Native Americans (raccoon, persimmon, caucus) or created from repurposed English (backwoods, cane brake, salt lick). Americans had their own pronunciations (bath rhymed with hat, not hot) and their own spelling (honor, not honour), not to mention a host of new expressions that grew out of the American landscape and culture (blaze a trail, back track, pull up stakes). Americans even invented their own slang, like stiff as a ringbolt to mean drunk. American English has continued to grow and change ever since.
The United States of English tells the engrossing tale of how the American language evolved over four hundred years, explaining both how and why it changed and which parts of the "mother tongue" it preserved (I guess was heard in the British countryside long before it became a typical Americanism). Plentiful examples of the American vernacular, past and present, bring the language to life and make for an engaging as well as enlightening listen.
Related to The United States of English
Related audiobooks
The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Rick Steves's Rick Steves Portugal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFarthest North, Volume I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSudden Rain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Insect Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDr. B.: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cloistered Lady Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReturning Light: Thirty Years on the Island of Skellig Michael Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Man Most Driven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Pilots: The Spectacular Rise and Scandalous Fall of Aviation's Golden Couple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to COVID-19 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSealand: The True Story of the World's Most Stubborn Micronation and Its Eccentric Royal Family Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTempest: The Royal Navy and the Age of Revolutions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Volcano: A Man, a Romance, and the Quest to Understand Nature's Most Magnificent Fury Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Priscilla: The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrench History: The French Revolution and Napoleon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man in the Red Coat Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Old Man and the Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Souls of Leningrad: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe King's Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Truth Like the Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Main Street (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarooned Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDutch Courage and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuernica: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera: An Insider's History of the Florida-Alabama Coast Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Voices in Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Language Arts & Discipline For You
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secrets of Successful Public Speakers: How to Improve Confidence and Credibility in Your Communication Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Writing Well Audio Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Six Cs of Effective Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The First Complete, Unexpurgated Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer (A 6-Week Artist's Way Program) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speed Reading: Learn to Read a 200+ Page Book in 1 Hour Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Quiet by Susan Cain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The United States of English
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews