American English: An Introduction

Zoltan Kovecses

Sep 2000 · Broadview Press

About this ebook

This book is a cultural-historical (rather than purely linguistic) introduction to American English. The first part consists of a general account of variation in American English. It offers concise but comprehensive coverage of such topics as the history of American English; regional, social and ethnic variation; variation in style (including slang); and British and American differences.

The second part of the book puts forward an account of how American English has developed into a dominant variety of the English language. It focuses on the ways in which intellectual traditions such as puritanism and republicanism, in shaping the American world view, have also contributed to the distinctiveness of American English.

About the author

Zoltán Kövecses is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of American Studies at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; his other books include Metaphor and Emotion (Cambridge University Press) and The Language of Love (Bucknell University Press).