Borrowings in Informal American English (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781009346870)

What do 'bimbo, ' 'glitch, ' 'savvy, ' and 'shtick' all have in common? They are all expressions used in informal American English that have been taken from other languages. This pioneering book provides a comprehensive description of borrowings in informal American English, based on a large database of citations from thousands of contemporary sources, including the press, film, and TV. It presents the United States as a linguistic 'melting pot, ' with words from a diverse range of languages now frequently appearing in the lexicon. It examines these borrowings from various perspectives, including discussions of terms, donors, types, changes, functions, and themes. It also features an alphabetical glossary of 1,200 representative expressions, defined and illustrated by 5,500 usage examples, providing an insightful and practical resource for readers. Combining scholarship with readability, this book is a fascinating storehouse of information for students and researchers in linguistics as well as anyone interested in lexical variation in contemporary Engl

Author: Malgorzata Kowalczyk
ISBN-10: 1009346873
ISBN-13: 9781009346870
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/14/2023
Pages: 346
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.39lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d