The American Language Supplement 1

Alfred A. Knopf, 1945. — 691 p. — ISBN-10: 0394400763. — ISBN-13: 978-0394400761. — 4th editionPerhaps the first truly important book about the divergence of American English from its British roots, this survey of the language as it was spoken-and as it was changing-at the beginning of the 20th century comes via one of its most inveterate watchers, journalist, critic, and editor HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN (1880-1956).In this replica of the 1921 "revised and enlarged" second edition, Mencken turns his keen ear on:
the general character of American English
loan-words and non-English influences
expletives and forbidden words
American slang
the future of the language
and much, much more.
Anyone fascinated by words will find this a thoroughly enthralling look at the most changeable language on the face of the planet.