American English by Walt Wolfram

American English by Walt Wolfram

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free UK delivery over £5
  • 10% off preloved books when you join +Plus
  • Buying preloved emits 46% less CO2 than new
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

American English by Walt Wolfram

This book provides a very readable, up-to-date description of language variation in American English, covering regional, ethnic, and gender-based differences. It contains new chapters on social and ethnic dialects, including a separate chapter on African American English and more comprehensive discussions of Latino, Native American, Cajun English, and other varieties. It includes samples from a wider array of US regions. It features updated chapters as well as pedagogy such as new exercises, a phonetic symbols key, and a section on the notion of speech community. It was accessibly written for the wide variety of students that enrol in a course on dialects, ranging from students with no background in linguistics to those who may wish to specialize in sociolinguistics.
"This book has become a staple in the study and instruction of American English.. The second edition provides the same balance of detail, clarity, breadth and sophistication offered by the first edition, but with an improved organization and up-to-date information. It is clear that the authors took seriously the task of revising and updating this new edition so that its users could enjoy the maximum benefits of its structure and contents. They will be pleased to know that their efforts were not in vain. The book will undoubtedly continue to be used as one of the key texts in the instruction of American dialects for many years to come." Journal of Sociolinguistics "This is an indispensable book, not just for students but for anyone who wants to know how the English language varies in the United States and how this variation has been studied... It is comprehensive, comprehensible and dense with detail." Language in Society (of the previous edition) "The strengths of the book include its style and the authors' consideration of how the book might actually be used as a text... the chapters are divided into subsections with helpful headings; exercises calling for creative responses by students are scattered throughout... each chapter ends with a short annotated bibliography for further readings." Language (of the previous edition)
Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University, and author or co-author of 17 books and over 250 articles, including The Development of African American English (with Erik Thomas, Blackwell 2002) and American Voices (edited with Ben Ward, Blackwell 2006). Natalie Schilling-Estes is Associate Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University. She is co-author of Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue (with Walt Wolfram, 1997) and co-editor of The Handbook of Language Variation and Change (with J. K. Chambers and Peter Trudgill, Blackwell 2002).
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781405112666
ISBN 10 1405112662
Title American English
Author Walt Wolfram
Series Language In Society
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Year published 2005-07-07
Number of pages 472
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.