{"product_id":"splendiferous-speech-rosemarie-ostler-9780912777054","title":"Splendiferous Speech: How Early Americans Pioneered Their Own Brand of English","description":"What does it mean to talk like an American? According to John Russell Bartlett's 1848 \u003ci\u003eDictionary of Americanisms, \u003c\/i\u003e it means indulging in outlandish slang--\u003ci\u003esplendiferous, scrumptious, higgeldy piggedly\u003c\/i\u003e--and free-and-easy word creation--\u003ci\u003edemoralize, lengthy, gerrymander.\u003c\/i\u003e American English is more than just vocabulary, though. It's a picturesque way of talking that includes expressions like \u003ci\u003ego the whole hog\u003c\/i\u003e, and the wild boasts of frontiersman Davy Crockett, who claimed to be \"half horse, half alligator, and a touch of the airthquake.\" \u003ci\u003eSplendiferous Speech \u003c\/i\u003eexplores the main sources of the American vernacular--the expanding western frontier, the bumptious world of politics, and the sensation-filled pages of popular nineteenth-century newspapers. It's a process that started with the earliest English colonists (first word adoption--the Algonquian \u003ci\u003eraccoon\u003c\/i\u003e) and is still going strong today. Author Rosemarie Ostler takes readers along on the journey as Americans learn to declare linguistic independence and embrace their own brand of speech. For anyone who wonders how we got from the English of King James to the slang of the Internet, it's an exhilarating ride.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rosemarie Ostler\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0912777052\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780912777054\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Chicago Review Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/06\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.40w x 0.50d","brand":"Rosemarie Ostler","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44063491227903,"sku":"9780912777054","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_39b82673-100f-4a96-b9ee-6baf79b5cf92.jpg?v=1685389870","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/splendiferous-speech-rosemarie-ostler-9780912777054","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}