The linguistics of literacy Ed. by Pamela Downing, Susan D. Lima, and Michael Noonan (review)

Abstract

602 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 70, NUMBER 3 (1994) search concerning the social consequences of gender differences in speech. [Zdenek Salzmann , Northern Arizona University.] A history of American English. By J. L. Dillard. London & New York: Longman, 1992. Pp. 257. This book, which examines various influences on American English, is important not only for its handling of a variety of English that is often neglected in historical treatments of English , but also for the challenge it presents to a number of more traditionally held assumptions about the development of American English. The book is comprised of eight chapters. In the first chapter, 'On the background of American English' (1-31), Dillard looks at the possible influence of a 'maritime variety' on the type of English spoken by the American Indians in the colonial period, and the influence on American English of then current languages in America, most notably Dutch. Ch. 2, 'Early diversity, levelling and rediversification' (32-59), challenges the view that colonial dialects in American English can be attributed in any simple way to settlement patterns of the people from Great Britain. It speaks of the lack of 'overwhelming evidence that Americans either in the colonial period or in the nineteenth century spoke anything closely resembling British regional dialects ' (49). Ch. 3, The development of Black English' (60-92), discusses the historical use of pidgins and creóles, and their relevance to Black English , mentioning also the possibility that American Indians had an influence on the variety of English spoken by the slaves (62, 77). The development of Southern' is the title of Ch. 4 (93-114), which looks at the issue of the proposed Scotch-Irish influence versus Black English influence on the development of the southern dialect. D concludes that 'continuing and overlapping influences seem more likely than neat chronological compartmentalization' (101). The early history of the Gulf Corridor' is the subject of Ch. 5 (115-36), in which D explores the importance of various influences on the variety of English in that region of the country. The next chapter, 'Westward, not without complication ' (137-73), shows the complexity in the development of the varieties of English in the western part of the United States, challenging the adequacy of a 'simplistic diffusion model' (138). Among the topics discussed are the use ofpidgins on the frontier and directions ofdiffusion by which certain terms have come into the language. 'Regionalization and de-regionalization' is discussed in Ch. 7 (174-205). Here D dismisses the notion that regional varieties of American English originate in the 'transmission of regionalisms from England' (175) or early settlement patterns in America, instead seeing later immigration as a more significant influence. Later in the chapter some attention is given to the levelling that various dialects in the United States have undergone. In Ch. 8, 'Deruralization: The small town, the city and the suburbs' (206-29), D examines the substantial urbanization of the population in the United States and the subsequent movement of people to the suburbs. Included in the chapter are also some more or less related discussions of Black English, vocabulary borrowings from professional sports, and comparisons between British and American English . One weakness of the book may. ironically, be related to its strength of avoiding oversimplistic explanations of American English forms. D employs a dense prose style, and the organization of material is often unclear. While the book is divided into chapters that signal in a general way the material discussed within those chapters, the discussion can become unclear as that material is developed. The chapters also lack subheadings that could otherwise help the readers. Perhaps even more surprising in a book dealing with dialects is the total absence of any maps. The book is valuable, however, as it requires a reexamination of more traditional notions about influences on American English. And it contains numerous examples that should be fascinating to those interested in the history of the English language. [Dallin D. Oaks, Brigham Young University.] The linguistics of literacy. Ed. by Pamela Downing, Susan D. Lima, and Michael ????a?. (Typological studies in language, 21.) Amsterdam : John Benjamins, 1992. Pp. xxi, 334. In reaction to the traditional overemphasis on written (literary) language as the only form...