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Publisher:
Perennial / Harper Collins |
Release
Date: 10/23/2001 - Reprint |
ISBN:
0-380-71381-0 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Paperback |
Buy
it at Amazon |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Non-fiction / language |
Reviewed:
2004 |
Reviewer:
Carisa Weeaks |
Reviewer
Notes: |
Copyright
MyShelf.com |
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Made
In America
An Informal
History of the English Language in the United States
By Bill Bryson
You
speak it. I speak it. We all speak some form of it. The English
language is the most common language in the United States. Although
languages like Spanish are slowly making a rise in the U.S., English
is still the most used in basic public interactions. It’s
hard to think that the words and phrases that are constantly used
everyday came about years and years before in someplace where they
meant something completely different. Bryson’s book, Made
In America, gives us an unceremonious look at the history of
the English language and how it morphed into the dialect of English
currently spoken in the U.S. today.
Being
an English major, 95% of my basic thinking revolves around the English
language. Whether it be writing a review or talking to a customer
through the drive-thru window at work, I use it without considering
just how much it changes on a daily basis. Bryson explains the change
of meanings of words that end up becoming an intricate part of modern-day
slang (i.e. “cool” from being a reference to the temperature
to “cool” as in something that is accepted and admired
by one’s peers). It was slow going at first, but the interesting
information that I have to admit is sometimes unexpected kept me
glued to the pages. A definite must-have for anyone who is interested
in where the strange slang the people around us speak, without even
noticing how its changes come from.
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