Mencken was inspired by "the argot of the colored waiters" in Washington, as well as one of his favorite authors, Mark Twain, and his experiences on the streets of Baltimore. In 1902, Mencken remarked on the "queer words which go into the making of 'United States.'" The book was preceded by several columns in The Evening Sun. Mencken eventually asked "Why doesn't some painstaking pundit attempt a grammar of the American language... English, that is, as spoken by the great masses of the plain people of this fair land?"
In the tradition of Noah Webster, who wrote the first American dictionary, Mencken wanted to defend "Americanisms" against a steady stream of English critics, who usually isolated Americanisms as borderline "perversions" of the "mother tongue". Mencken assaulted the prescriptive grammar of these critics and American "schoolmarms", arguing, like Samuel Johnson in the preface to his dictionary, that language evolves independently of textbooks.
The book discusses the beginnings of "American" variations from "English", the spread of these variations, American names and slang over the course of its 374 pages. According to Mencken, American English was more colourful, vivid, and creative than its British counterpart.
The book sold exceptionally well for a reference book — 1500 books, the entire first printing, in less than 2 years.[1] The book was an early title published by Alfred A. Knopf and was revised three times in the author's lifetime.[1] Reviews of the book praised it lavishly, with the exception of one by Mencken's old nemeses, Stuart Sherman.
Many of the sources and research material associated with the book are in the Mencken collection at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland.
Editionsedit
The first edition of 1919 was revised in 1921 and 1923; the fourth "corrected, revised, and enlarged" edition was published in 1936. Mencken released two full-sized Supplements to the main volume, in 1945 and 1948, based on the boom in linguistics articles. An abridged single-volume compilation of the original volume and supplements was edited by Raven I. McDavid Jr. and published in 1963.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1919). The American Language; A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (1st ed.). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
Mencken, Henry Louis (2000) [1921]. The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (2nd ed.). Bartleby.com. ISBN1-58734-087-9. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1923). The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (3rd ed.). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. OCLC 551316331.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1949) [1936]. The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (4th ed.). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1960) [1945]. The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States; Supplement I. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1962) [1948]. The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States; Supplement II. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1963). McDavid, Raven I. (ed.). The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (abridged ed.). New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. OCLC 301277059.
Audiobooksedit
An audiobook version was released in 2021 by Spoken Realms, read by Rebecca H. Lee[2]
Sourcesedit
Hobson, Fred. Mencken. Random House, New York, 1994.
Referencesedit
^ abClaridge, Laura (2016). The lady with the Borzoi : Blanche Knopf, literary tastemaker extraordinaire (First ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 53. ISBN9780374114251. OCLC 908176194.
Mencken, Henry Louis (1921). The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States. Knopf.
January 01, 1970
american, language, inquiry, into, development, english, united, states, first, published, 1919, book, written, mencken, about, english, language, spoken, united, states, 1921, title, page, contents, origins, concept, editions, audiobooks, sources, references,. The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States first published in 1919 is a book written by H L Mencken about the English language as spoken in the United States 1921 title page Contents 1 Origins and concept 2 Editions 3 Audiobooks 4 Sources 5 References 6 External linksOrigins and concept editMencken was inspired by the argot of the colored waiters in Washington as well as one of his favorite authors Mark Twain and his experiences on the streets of Baltimore In 1902 Mencken remarked on the queer words which go into the making of United States The book was preceded by several columns in The Evening Sun Mencken eventually asked Why doesn t some painstaking pundit attempt a grammar of the American language English that is as spoken by the great masses of the plain people of this fair land In the tradition of Noah Webster who wrote the first American dictionary Mencken wanted to defend Americanisms against a steady stream of English critics who usually isolated Americanisms as borderline perversions of the mother tongue Mencken assaulted the prescriptive grammar of these critics and American schoolmarms arguing like Samuel Johnson in the preface to his dictionary that language evolves independently of textbooks The book discusses the beginnings of American variations from English the spread of these variations American names and slang over the course of its 374 pages According to Mencken American English was more colourful vivid and creative than its British counterpart The book sold exceptionally well for a reference book 1500 books the entire first printing in less than 2 years 1 The book was an early title published by Alfred A Knopf and was revised three times in the author s lifetime 1 Reviews of the book praised it lavishly with the exception of one by Mencken s old nemeses Stuart Sherman Many of the sources and research material associated with the book are in the Mencken collection at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore Maryland Editions editThe first edition of 1919 was revised in 1921 and 1923 the fourth corrected revised and enlarged edition was published in 1936 Mencken released two full sized Supplements to the main volume in 1945 and 1948 based on the boom in linguistics articles An abridged single volume compilation of the original volume and supplements was edited by Raven I McDavid Jr and published in 1963 Mencken Henry Louis 1919 The American Language A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States 1st ed New York City Alfred A Knopf Retrieved 1 March 2018 Mencken Henry Louis 2000 1921 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States 2nd ed Bartleby com ISBN 1 58734 087 9 Retrieved 1 March 2018 Mencken Henry Louis 1923 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States 3rd ed New York City Alfred A Knopf OCLC 551316331 Mencken Henry Louis 1949 1936 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States 4th ed New York City Alfred A Knopf Retrieved 1 March 2018 Mencken Henry Louis 1960 1945 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States Supplement I New York City Alfred A Knopf Retrieved 28 February 2018 Mencken Henry Louis 1962 1948 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States Supplement II New York City Alfred A Knopf Retrieved 1 March 2018 Mencken Henry Louis 1963 McDavid Raven I ed The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States abridged ed New York City Alfred A Knopf OCLC 301277059 Audiobooks editAn audiobook version was released in 2021 by Spoken Realms read by Rebecca H Lee 2 Sources editHobson Fred Mencken Random House New York 1994 References edit a b Claridge Laura 2016 The lady with the Borzoi Blanche Knopf literary tastemaker extraordinaire First ed New York Farrar Straus and Giroux p 53 ISBN 9780374114251 OCLC 908176194 The American Language External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The American Language 1919 The American Language at Project Gutenberg nbsp Mencken Henry Louis 1921 The American Language An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States Knopf nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The American Language amp oldid 1218235514, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
