H.l. mencken biography
F. scott fitzgerald!
H.l. mencken biography
The American Language
book by H.L. Mencken
title page | |
| Author | H. L. Mencken |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Linguistics |
| Publisher | Alfred A.
Knopf |
Publication date | |
| Publication place | United States |
The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States, first published in , is a book written by H.
L. Mencken about the English languageas spoken in the United States.
Origins and concept
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 , 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 o