A Guide to the Study of the United States of America - Supplement

Contents:

B. Grammars and General Studies

1115. Francis, Winthrop N. The structure of American English. With a chapter on American English dialects by Raven I. McDavid, Jr. New York, Ronald Press Co. [1958] 614 p. illus. 58–5647 PE2811.F67. Bibliography: p. 598–602.

A textbook for a graduate or undergraduate introductory course in the structure of English, particularly American English. Although Francis presents some original material, his stated purpose is to synthesize the work of many other structural linguists in order to bring it together in one volume. An introductory chapter entitled "Language, Languages, and Linguistic Science" is followed by others on phonetics, phonemics, morphemics, grammar, graphics, and the use of linguistics by teachers of English. McDavid contributes a chapter summarizing the work on a projected linguistic atlas of the United States and Canada, to be composed of several regional atlases (see the annotation for no. 1123 in this Supplement). Henry A. Gleason’s Linguistics and English Grammar (New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston [1965] 519 p.) is designed to interpret linguistics to teachers of English.

1116. Marckwardt, Albert H. American English. New York, Oxford University Press, 1958. 194 p. illus. 58–5374 PE2808.M3

A popular historical account of the development of English in the United States. The first English-speaking colonists tended to preserve words, meanings, and pronunciations long after they had dropped out of use in England. American English moved even further away from British English as it was supplemented by words borrowed from the American Indians, the early explorers, and immigrant groups. In addition, Marckwardt suggests, the vigor, the disregard for convention, and the ingenuity of the frontiersmen were among the factors contributing to the creation of many compound formations ("carpetbagger," "land office") and "mouth-filling" terms ("rambunctious," "catawampus"). The author also discusses the American tendency to glorify the commonplace ("saloon," "opera house"), to extend indiscriminately the use of honorifics ("doctor," "professor," and "honorable"), and to find euphemisms for delicate topics ("comfort station," "unmentionables," and "mortician").

1117. Mencken, Henry L. The American language; an inquiry into the development of English in the United States. The 4th ed. and the two supplements, abridged, with annotations and new materials, by Raven I. McDavid, Jr., with the assistance of David W. Maurer. New York, Knopf, 1963. xxv, 777,cxxiv p. 63–13628 PE2808.M43

Bibliographical footnotes.

A one-volume abridgement, condensation, and updating of Mencken’s three volumes (no. 2248 in the 1960 Guide). Most of the editorial commentary and new material is enclosed in brackets. Aspects of American English (New York, Harcourt, Brace & World [1963] 272 p. Harbrace sourcebooks), compiled by Elizabeth M. Kerr and Ralph M. Aderman, is a collection of essays on the historical, regional, literary, colloquial, and social aspects of American English by authorities in these fields.

1118. Myers, Louis M. Guide to American English. 3d ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1962. 446 p. 63–9823 PE1111.M954 1962

A thoroughly updated edition of no. 2249 in the 1960 Guide. Themajor revisions were made in the second edition, published in 1959.

1119. Roberts, Paul. Understanding English. New York, Harper [1958] xvii, 508 p. illus. 58–5110 PE1111.R736

Offered as a college text for freshman composition, this book also serves as an introduction to the analysis of American English. Roberts’ point of view is that of linguistic science, and his writing is informal and frequently humorous. Among the various topics discussed are phonetics, the idiosyncrasies of English spelling, the approach of traditional grammarians, sentence patterns, punctuation, speech communities, disputed usage, slang, and etymology.

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Chicago: "B. Grammars and General Studies," A Guide to the Study of the United States of America - Supplement in Oliver H. Orr, Jr. And Roy P. Basler, Eds. A Guide to the Study of the United States of America—Supplement, 1956-1965 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1975), Pp.67-68 68. Original Sources, accessed March 28, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=1GYLIJ88YTM1B22.

MLA: . "B. Grammars and General Studies." A Guide to the Study of the United States of America - Supplement, in Oliver H. Orr, Jr. And Roy P. Basler, Eds. A Guide to the Study of the United States of America—Supplement, 1956-1965 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1975), Pp.67-68, page 68. Original Sources. 28 Mar. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=1GYLIJ88YTM1B22.

Harvard: , 'B. Grammars and General Studies' in A Guide to the Study of the United States of America - Supplement. cited in , Oliver H. Orr, Jr. And Roy P. Basler, Eds. A Guide to the Study of the United States of America—Supplement, 1956-1965 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1975), Pp.67-68, pp.68. Original Sources, retrieved 28 March 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=1GYLIJ88YTM1B22.