The American Language
- From: J Flenner <varney@[redacted]>
- Subject: The American Language
- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:01:25 -0400
[Moderator: This is the last of the submissions that came in while
we were away on holiday. - JMO]
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.
http://scout.wisc.edu/
The American Language
http://www.bartleby.com/185/
H.L. Mencken, a journalist who was one of the most celebrated American
writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was often referred to as
"The Sage of Baltimore". Writing in a number of Baltimore's daily papers,
Mencken developed an acerbic wit and a penchant for syllogisms that would
serve him well for decades. As a defender and scholar of American English,
Mencken wrote "The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of
English in the United States" in 1921. The work was very well received, and
continues to serve as a helpful resource today. Bartleby.com has placed the
entire work online here, and visitors are free to wander through its nine
chapters, bibliography, and handful of appendices at their leisure. Visitors
can also search the contents of the work from the homepage, or just move
their way to such sections as "Americanisms in England" and "The Influence
of Webster". [KMG]