America In So Many Words PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download America In So Many Words PDF full book. Access full book title America In So Many Words by Allan Metcalf. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Allan Metcalf
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780547563299
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book presents a unique historical view of American English. It chronicles year by year the contributions Americans have made to the vocabulary of English and the words Americans have embraced through the evolution of the nation. For important years from the settlement of Jamestown until 1750, and for every year from 1750 through 1998, a prominent word is analyzed and discussed in its historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of American linguistic culture through past centuries. The authors -- both lifelong students of American English -- bring great depth of understanding to these key words that have made America, and American English, what they are today.
Author: Allan Metcalf
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780547563299
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book presents a unique historical view of American English. It chronicles year by year the contributions Americans have made to the vocabulary of English and the words Americans have embraced through the evolution of the nation. For important years from the settlement of Jamestown until 1750, and for every year from 1750 through 1998, a prominent word is analyzed and discussed in its historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of American linguistic culture through past centuries. The authors -- both lifelong students of American English -- bring great depth of understanding to these key words that have made America, and American English, what they are today.
Author: David K. Barnhart
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618002702
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Get Book Here
Book Description
Offers a chronological history of famous American words and expressions, such as hot dog, bayou, bogus, and cafeteria
Author: Akhil Reed Amar
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096360
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 816
Get Book Here
Book Description
A history of the American Constitution's formative decades from a preeminent legal scholar When the US Constitution won popular approval in 1788, it was the culmination of thirty years of passionate argument over the nature of government. But ratification hardly ended the conversation. For the next half century, ordinary Americans and statesmen alike continued to wrestle with weighty questions in the halls of government and in the pages of newspapers. Should the nation's borders be expanded? Should America allow slavery to spread westward? What rights should Indian nations hold? What was the proper role of the judicial branch? In The Words that Made Us, Akhil Reed Amar unites history and law in a vivid narrative of the biggest constitutional questions early Americans confronted, and he expertly assesses the answers they offered. His account of the document's origins and consolidation is a guide for anyone seeking to properly understand America's Constitution today.
Author: Stuart Berg Flexner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9780671248956
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 596
Get Book Here
Book Description
An illustrated survey of the origins, evolutions, and meanings of thousands of phrases, and expressions unique to American English adds up to an entertaining, reliable history of modern American idioms and speech.
Author: David Colbert
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 067976724X
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 722
Get Book Here
Book Description
Thomas Jefferson complains about haggling over the Declaration of Independence ... Jack London guides us through the rubble of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake ... Langston Hughes visits the Scottsboro Boys on death row ... Andy Warhol paints the scene at Studio 54 ... John Seabrook receives e-mail from Bill Gates. Three hundred eyewitnesses -- some famous, some anonymous -- give their personal accounts of the great moments that make up our past, from Columbus to cyberspace, and infuse them with a freshness and urgency no historian can duplicate. David Colbert has brought together a multitude of voices to create a singularly rich American narrative. Here are the vivid impressions of men and women who were witnesses to and participants in these and other dramatic moments: the first colony in Virginia, the Salem witch trials, the Boston Tea Party, the Oklahoma land rush, the Scopes Trial, the bombing of Nagasaki, the lunch-counter sit-ins at the outset of the civil rights movement, New York City's Stonewall Riot, the fall of Saigon, and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. With unparalleled and thrilling immediacy, these excerpts from diaries, private letters, memoirs, and newspapers paint a fascinating picture of the evolving drama of American life.
Author: Allan Metcalf
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199752524
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Get Book Here
Book Description
It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"--the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK--how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839--used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for "oll korrect" (ie, "all correct")--but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called "Old Kinderhook"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the "I'm OK, You're OK" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd "Okeley Dokeley!" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful global exports. "An appealing and informative history of OK." --Washington Post Book World "After reading Metcalf's book, it's easy to accept his claim that OK is 'America's greatest word.'" --Erin McKean, Boston Globe "Entertaininga treat for logophiles." --Kirkus Reviews "Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how ubiquitous and vital the word has become." --Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek
Author: Marilyn Miller
Publisher: Rodale
ISBN: 1635651883
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Get Book Here
Book Description
When originally published in 1999, Words That Built a Nation was hailed for bringing together the United States’ most important historical essays, speeches, and documents into one accessible collection for kids. Now, this history lovers’ must-have is back, and it’s been revised, revamped, and expanded for the 21st century. From the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, the updated collection preserves the documents of the first edition and introduces the landmark statements that are impacting our nation today. With all new illustrations, a refreshed design, and complementary background information behind each of the documents, Words That Built a Nation is the ultimate tour of United States history, created to engage, inspire, and equip kids with the knowledge they need to change and shape their world. “This book is attractive and the presentation engaging.”—School Library Journal
Author: Stuart Berg Flexner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9780671249946
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 532
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Paul Dickson
Publisher: Courier Dover Publications
ISBN: 048683722X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 211
Get Book Here
Book Description
Entertaining, eminently readable volume compiles words and phrases coined or popularized by American presidents. Alphabetical listings feature a definition and (usually) a brief discussion that places them in historical context.
Author: Nancy Dickmann
Publisher: words & pictures
ISBN: 9780711242432
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
How do you sum up a whole country in just 100 words? This striking book takes on the challenge! From amendment to Vegas, each of the carefully chosen 100 words has its own 100-word-long description and beautiful illustration, providing a snapshot of what the USA means to people today: its roots, its values, its culture, and customs. Basically, everything you need to know in a nut shell. Along with some expected words, such as liberty and constitution, you'll also find less predictable words that will give you a fresh perspective. With speech, learn about the right to freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment. Through Rosa, learn about the civil rights movement and the African American woman who became one its icons by refusing to give up her bus seat. With words like hamburger, Manhattan, blues, freedom, Hollywood, immigrant, protest, superhero, Moon, Texas, and Washington, gain perspective on the many facets of American culture. Finally, you'll be asked, “If you were to choose the 100 words, which would you pick?”
