Incorporating American English into the history of English

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter provides some suggestions for the inclusion of the history of American English into the larger context of the History of the English language (HEL). By touching on themes found throughout within the external and internal history of English, for example, language contact and specific morphological and phonological processes, respectively, one can include lessons on American English and its varieties as an extension of the History of English, demonstrating to students that language “evolution” is an ongoing process and that variation within the language is a natural result of historical, linguistic, and social forces. This chapter begins with a (brief) general narrative of the development of American English and then offers a series of possible themes that could be incorporated into a HEL class for special focus, along with assignments and/or additional resources that encourage students to engage with the focus topics more deeply.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationApproaches to Teaching the History of the English Language
Subtitle of host publicationPedagogy in Practice
Pages285-304
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9780190611040
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Oxford University Press 2017. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • African american english
  • American english
  • Chicano english
  • History of english
  • Linguistic atlas project
  • Southern american english

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Incorporating American English into the history of English'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this