Preface
I. By Way of Introduction
1. The Diverging Streams
2. The Academic Attitude
3. The View of Writing Men
4. Foreign Observers
5. The Characters of American
6. The Materials of American
II. The Beginnings of American
1. In Colonial Days
2. Sources of Early Americanisms
3. New Words of English Material
4. Changed Meanings
5. Archaic English Words
6. Colonial Pronunciation
III. The Period of Growth
1. The New Nation
2. The Language in the Making
3. The Expanding Vocabulary
4. Loan-Words
5. Pronunciation
IV. American and English Today
1. The Two Vocabularies
2. Differences in Usage
3. Honorifics
4. Euphemisms and Forbidden Words
V. Tendencies in American
1. International Exchanges
2. Points of Difference
3. Lost Distinctions
4. Foreign Influences Today
5. Processes of Word Formation
6. Pronunciation
VI. The Common Speech
1. Grammarians and Their Ways
2. Spoken American As It Is
3. The Verb
4. The Pronoun
5. The Adverb
6. The Noun and Adjective
7. The Double Negative
8. Pronunciation
VII. Differences in Spelling
1. Typical Forms
2. General Tendencies
3. The Influence of Webster
4. Exchanges
5. Simplified Spelling
6. Minor Differences
VIII. Proper Names in America
1. Surnames
2. Given Names
3. Geographical Names
4. Street Names
IX. Miscellanea
1. Proverb and Platitude
2. American Slang
3. The Future of the Language
List of Words and Phrases
