That's The Way It Crumbles
eBook - ePub

That's The Way It Crumbles

The American Conquest of the English Language

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eBook - ePub

That's The Way It Crumbles

The American Conquest of the English Language

Book details
Table of contents
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About This Book

Are we tired of hearing that fall is a season, sick of being offered fries and told about the latest movie? Yeah. Have we noticed the sly interpolation of Americanisms into our everyday speech? You betcha. And are we outraged? Hell, yes. But do we do anything? Too much hassle. Until now.In That's The Way It Crumbles Matthew Engel presents a call to arms against the linguistic impoverishment that happens when one language dominates another. With dismay and wry amusement, he traces the American invasion of our language from the early days of the New World, via the influence of Edison, the dance hall and the talkies, right up to the Apple and Microsoft-dominated present day, and explores the fate of other languages trying to fend off linguistic takeover bids. It is not the Americans' fault, more the result of their talent for innovation and our own indifference.He explains how America's cultural supremacy affects British gestures, celebrations and way of life, and how every paragraph and conversation includes words the British no longer even think of as Americanisms. Part battle cry, part love song, part elegy, this book celebrates the strange, the banal, the precious and the endangered parts of our uncommon common language.

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Information

Publisher
Profile Books
Year
2017
ISBN
9781782832621
Topic
Languages & Linguistics
Subtopic
Linguistics
Index
Languages & Linguistics

Table of contents

  1. Copyright Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. A note on the text
  5. Introduction: There’ll be Bluebirds
  6. Chapter 1. For shame, Mr Jefferson!
  7. Chapter 2. Ahoy there!
  8. Chapter 3. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet
  9. Chapter 4. One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock rock
  10. Chapter 5. Stepping up to the plate
  11. Chapter 6. Let’s wake up and have a cuppa instead
  12. Chapter 7. Nous sommes tous Américains, innit
  13. Chapter 8. From abrasive to zing
  14. Chapter 9. What is to be done?
  15. Endnotes
  16. Bibliography
  17. Acknowledgements
  18. Index of names
  19. Index of Americanisms