The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States (1919) is considered H.L. Mencken's groundbreaking work. For the convenience of students and teachers, we have excerpted as an essay from this book, American Slang
Chapter I - By Way of Introduction
Chapter II - The Beginnings of American
Chapter III - The Period of Growth
Chapter IV - American and English Today
Chapter V - Tendencies in American
Chapter VI - The Common Speech
Chapter VII - Differences in Spelling
Chapter VIII - Proper Names in America
Return to the H.L. Mencken library.