Description - Language in the USA by Charles A. Ferguson
Language in the USA is a volume of specially commisioned studies on the language situation in America, how it came to be the way it is, and the forces of changes within it. The USA has its own unique pattern of languages: American English, the principal language, different in structure and use from other kinds of English in the world; two hundred American Indian languages, some of them flourishing as never before; Spanish, spoken in North America before English and now the second most important language in the country; a cost of immigrant languages, each with a different history of accommodation to the American scene. The book explains the place of these various languages and how they are used in education, the professions, and general communication. One objective of the editors was to provide background information on such issues as legalese, Black English, bilingual education, Indian alphabets, correct English. Another objective was to stimulate interests in the facts of language use in local communities and in the nation.
Language in the USA is a work of reference, which gives an accessible account of the very considerable research in this area done in the last twenty years or so by linguists, sociologists, educationalists, and anthropologists. There is no comparable published source, and it should prove of great value to all those who are professionally involved in these issues or who wish to take a responsible interest in them.
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