Home > The American Language Summary & Study Guide

The American Language | Introduction

As a journalist, Henry Louis (H. L.) Mencken had little work during World War I because of his pro-German sympathies. To stay busy, he explored a subject that fascinated him: the evolution of American English from British English. The result, The American Language, was published in 1919. Mencken began working on the book in 1910, while still working for the Baltimore Sun. After the book's publication, Mencken received additional material from people all over the country. As a result, revised editions of the book were published in 1922, 1923, and 1936, and supplements were released in 1945 and 1948. These additions included more examples and explanations of regional expressions, dialects, and other speech developments and characteristics. Mencken's interest in identifying uniquely American cultural features is evident in his work in The American Language. He sought to discover traditions native to the United States, and his exploration of American English turned up many such traditions.

To Mencken's—and his publisher's—surprise, the lengthy volume was an immediate bestseller. With an initial release of only fifteen hundred copies, the book sold out rapidly. Its popularity is attributed to the logical, easy-to-follow presentation of research and theories couched in Mencken's characteristically witty, spirited prose. Today, it is read mainly by students, as it has retained its value as a seminal work in American linguistic study.

The American Language Summary

Chapter 1: The Two Streams of English
Americanisms began with the early settlers' need to describe their new land. Increasing awareness of changes happening to English resulted in two camps, one supporting the development of Americanisms, and the other staunchly protective of British English. With the American Revolution came a "national conceit'' that led Americans to reject anything British and embrace anything uniquely American. As America grew, new words and new pronunciations of existing words emerged. British critics were suspicious, resentful, and hostile, resulting in a great rivalry.

Americanisms first made their way into literature by way of humorists such as Benjamin Franklin and Washington Irving. Later, dialect writers such as Mark Twain introduced regional humor.

Chapter 2: The Materials of the Inquiry
In this chapter, Mencken reviews the ways that scholars have defined and recorded American English. He explains that American English is characterized by its consistency across the country, its disregard for precedents and rules, its inclusion of words and phrases from outside influences, and its inclusion of new words and phrases.

Mencken devotes a section to reviewing the earliest attempts at defining and recording Americanisms in dictionaries, glossaries, and articles.

Chapter 3: The Beginnings of American
In this chapter, Mencken provides a historical context for American English. He discusses "loanwords" taken from Native-American languages and explains that colonists from other countries brought new words with them. Americans also invented words for new foods and for innovations in architecture, agriculture, and hunting.

Other words were assigned new meanings, and obsolete words were revived. American colonists, lacking current literature, adopted many archaic words from the Bible and from commentaries on the Bible.

Chapter 4: The Period of Growth
In chapter four, Mencken describes how the language changed as America became more settled. After the Revolutionary War, Americans were determined to define themselves and their new country on their own terms. American literature was beginning to take shape, and because of anti-British sentiment, many writers looked to other European influences, such as Spain, Germany, and the classical writers.

Mencken discusses the different types of new words in detail. He writes about verbs, adjectives, and then nouns, noting differences between British English and American English. Among the areas in which American English and British English possess very different vocabularies are politics, drinking, and religion.

Certain areas of the country were more impacted by non-English influences than others. Increased immigration resulted in Irish, Jewish, Slavic, and Chinese cultures introducing words into American English.

Chapter 5: The Language Today
Despite efforts to direct the evolution of American English, it has its own direction and momentum. Suffixes and prefixes are one way in which words evolve. Back-formation is another method; an example of this is forming ‘‘to resurrect’’ from the existing noun "resurrection." Mencken observes that the press, in the interest of being concise and conforming to space... » Complete The American Language Summary