ISBN-13: 9780143131106 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 368 str.
An American linguist living and working across the pond explores the age-old sibling rivalry between British and American English
How do social structures, national mythologies, and deeply held values affect the language that we speak? Lynne Murphy explores those elements in The Prodigal Tongue, where she delves into the sibling rivalry between British and American English. Providing ample evidence against the popularly held belief that American English is newer (and morally inferior to) the British English spoken today, she considers how stereotypes and social class affect how Americans and Brits view each other--and each other's language. At the same time, she looks at where our English has been and where it's going. Will the differences we've nurtured become similarities?