Language in the USA

Language in the USA is a volume of specially commissioned 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. Language in the USA is a work of reference, which gives an accessible account of the very considerable research in this area done by linguists, sociologists, educationalists, and anthropologists.

Preface; The authors; Notes on symbols; Introduction Charles A. Ferguson and Shirley Brice Heath; Part I. American English: Introduction; 1. English in our language heritage Shirley Brice Heath; 2. American English and other Englishes Braj B. Kachru; 3. Varieties of American English Walt Wolfram; 4. Creoles of the USA Patricia C. Nichols; 5. Language among Black Americans Elizabeth Whatley; Part II. Languages before English: Introduction; 6. American Indian languages William L. Leap; 7. Native American writing systems Willard Walker; 8. Indian lingua franca Allan R. Taylor; 9. New World Spanish Jerry R. Craddock; Part III. Languages after English: Introduction; 10. Language variety among Puerto Ricans Ana Celia Zentella; 11. The language of Italian Americans Yole Correa-Zoli; 12. French and German: a comparative study Glenn G. Gilbert; 13. The speech and writing of Jews David L. Gold; 14. Slavic languages in the new environment Vera M. Henzl; 15. The Filipinos: a special case James Beebe and Maria Beebe; 16. Profile of a state: Montana Anthony F. Beltramo; Part IV. Language In Use: Introduction; 17. The language of the law William M. O'Barr; 18. Language and medicine Aaron V. Cicourel; 19. Ethnic differences in communicative style John J. Gumperz and Jenny Cook-Gumperz; 20. Language in education: standardisation versus cultural pluralism Courtney B. Cazden and David K. Dickinson; 21. Bilingualism and education Christina Bratt Paulston; 22. Statistics on language use Dorothy Waggoner; 23. Language policy: past, present, and future Joshua A. Fishman; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.