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Do You Speak American?

by Robert MacNeil and William Cran

Book Review and Lecture

by Angela Reed

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About Me:

American!

(ya think?)

Married 10/4/03 Christian

Teacher

Student Graduate school

http://localhost/Users/angelareed/Desktop/Graduate%20Work/Thesis/Text%20in%20Progress/ABSTRACT%20OF%20THESIS.doc

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What does it mean to

speak American? At a news conference in London a few years ago,

Prince Charles commented on American English,which, he said, tends to invent all sorts of new nouns

and verbs and makes words that shouldnt be. Hewent on: We must act now, to ensure that English--and that to my way of thinking means EnglishEnglish--maintains its position as the worldlanguage.

Linguists would challenge Prince Charles on twogrounds:

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Problems with Charles Reasoning

First: words that shouldnt be

This concept is alien to the freedom inherent in English.Some people may not like some words, but no one has the

authority to forbid their use. We do make verbs out of nouns: prioritize(ugly), go

commando(TV), to be 401kd(news), to guiltsomeone(psychology)

But the British do this too! It is simply in the nature of

English speakers to be creative with the language Estimated one fifth of all English verbs began as nouns

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Problems with Charles Reasoning

Second: EnglishEnglish as the world language American, not British, English is the engine driving the language

globally (3)

Spoken by 4 times as many people as British English Reflects Americas superpower status (love it or hate it) in virtually

every field: literature, fine arts, popular culture, movies, music,

television, science, medicine, space exploration, technology, industrialefficiency and productivity, the power of Wall Street, and Americanmilitary and political might (4).

As a result, says the Oxford Guide to World English, AmericanEnglish has a global role at the beginning of the 21st centurycomparable to that of British English at the start of the 20th--but ona scale larger than any previous languagein recorded history

(MacArthur, Oxford Guide, p.165).

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A Sign of British Surrender?

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) now

has to maintain a New York office to keep itsdatabases and publications current withAmerican usage!

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American Language Reflects

American Society1. Revolutionary

History - Colonies broke away from Britain

Present day - rapid acceptance of new lifestyles,manners, morals, and (albeit with somebacksliding) leadership in recent decades inpromoting equality for women and blacks;environmental protection; health, fitness, anddieting; and the reduction of smoking.

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American Language Reflects

American Society2. Democratic (ruled by the people)

Bill of Rights includes freedom of speech

No Royalty, hierarchy, or caste systems

Informal culture

Clothing, eating, and personal relations

You guyshas become a generic form of address: it is gender-,age-, and class-neutral

Capitalist economy promotes

The American Dream, which, in turn, fuels Competition

keeping up with the Joneses

Even in language, having the verbal edge

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Our language isconstantly changing

Metaphor: river

America unceasingly reinvents itself, and it

must create language to express thatreinvention (1)

in our social behaviors, science and technology,in religion, politics, the arts, etc.

Key word: innovative

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Speaking American:An Example

Hear the one about the fashionista

and his arm candywho live in paralleluniverses, prefer chat roomsand IMingto snailmail, suffer sticker shockat the

cost of HumVeesand like chick litorairport novels?

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What?!?

Newer Americanisms

Mostly pop culture expressions

Some may quickly disappear from use

Like fashion, certain new words becometrendy for a short while then vanish from

the language

Some never enter mainstream use

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But wait! Bill Whartondoesnt speak like that!

Cajun

Chicano

Spanglish Surfer Dude

Valley Girl

Redneck Urban Black

Ethnic dialects

Regional dialects

Literary English Broadcast English

KJV English

Faux-British English

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Two Questions: What IS American English today, when

Americans may speak any of these dialects?

Is there a better, or best American English? To the Americans: Do you consider the American

you speak superior or inferior to the speech ofother Americans from other regions, social

classes, or ethnic groups?

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Split Infinitive

We ran toeagerly seethe futbol game.

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Want to Learn More?

The language debate

Dialects

Southern, Hispanic, and Black influences

State peculiarities (Texas, California)

Can computers speak American? the future of American English

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For further information:

MacNeil, Robert and William Cran. Do You SpeakAmerican?New York: Doubleday, 2005.