Sources & browser storage

Courses come from MIT OpenCourseWare, The Open University (OpenLearn) and TU Delft OpenCourseWare; each course page credits its source and license. Books in the reader come from Project Gutenberg, audiobooks from LibriVox.

RedLectern is independent of MIT, The Open University and TU Delft and is not endorsed by them. Self-study only: no grades, certificates, or credit.

Progress and notes are saved in this browser. Export a backup; clearing browser data can remove them. YouTube embeds may process usage data.

American Language

Name: American Language
Author: H. L. Mencken

H. L. Mencken

Read by DrPGould, Mike Pelton, tommack, Bruce Pirie, Devorah Allen, Joseph Tabler, ToddHW, realisticspeakers, Linda Johnson, Austin Lim and Larry Wilson · LibriVox · public domain · Archive.org recording · License

Chapters

Open a chapter to play its MP3 recording.

Preface (8:58)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 1The Diverging Streams (9:52)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 2 The Academic Attitude (19:30)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 3 The View of Writing Men (16:11)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 4 Foreign Observers (4:37)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 5 The Characters of American (22:13)
Ch1 By Way of Introduction Pt 6 The Materials of American (15:47)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 1 In Colonial Days (11:02)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 2 Sources of Early Americanisms (11:29)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 3 New Words of English Material (17:36)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 4 Changed Meanings (7:23)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 5 Archaic English Words (7:40)
Ch2 The Beginnings of American Pt 6 Colonial Pronunciation (11:32)
Ch3 The Period of Growth Pt 1 The New Nation (21:57)
Ch3 The Period of Growth Pt 2 The Language in the Making (9:44)
Ch3 The Period of Growth Pt 3 The Expanding Vocabulary (34:16)
Ch3 The Period of Growth Pt 4 Loan-Words (29:23)
Ch3 The Period of Growth Pt 5 Pronunciation (6:52)
Ch4 American and English Today Pt 1 The Two Vocabularies (18:29)
Ch4 American and English Today Pt 2 Differences in Usage (40:53)
Ch4 American and English Today Pt 3 Honorifics (16:45)
Ch4 American and English Today Pt 4 Euphemisms and Forbidden Words (20:51)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 1 International Exchanges (20:35)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 2 Points of Difference (13:36)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 3 Lost Distinctions (19:01)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 4 Foreign Influences Today (24:26)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 5 Processes of Word Formation (22:49)
Ch5 Tendencies in American Pt 6 Pronunciation (28:38)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 1 Grammarians and Their Ways (21:44)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 2 Spoken American As It Is (21:55)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 3 The Verb (56:25)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 4 The Pronoun (36:40)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 5 The Adverb (10:09)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 6 The Noun and Adjective (6:37)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 7 The Double Negative (8:23)
Ch6 The Common Speech Pt 8 Pronunciation (21:56)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 1 Typical Forms (21:43)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 2 General Tendencies (8:14)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 3 The Influence of Webster (28:30)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 4 Exchanges (21:49)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 5 Simplified spelling (11:06)
Ch 7 Differences in Spelling Pt 6 Minor Differences (10:23)
Ch8 Proper Names in America Pt 1 Surnames (49:47)
Ch8 Proper Names in America Pt 2 Given Names (10:09)
Ch8 Proper Names in America Pt 3 Geographical Names (41:07)
Ch8 Proper Names in America Pt 4 Street Names (6:56)
Ch9 Miscellanea Pt 1 Proverb and Platitude (7:13)
Ch9 Miscellanea Pt 2 American Slang (23:47)
Ch9 Miscellanea Pt 3 The Future of the Language (24:36)