1. "Our common, classless language has provided the vernacular for equality in america." Comment?
2. Again please comment on the quote, "America... in the 18th century was a melting pot" (Keep in mind that the term "melting pot" is a term revisionist historians may not subscribe to).
Please read the last paragraph in this chapter very carefully.
27 comments:
1: America was founded on independence from England and therefore another aspect that America is different is that of ourl language. In England there was a great rift from the aristocracy to everyone else made by the language itself. The aristocracy could tell that you were either wealthy and powerful by your manner of speech. In America because there was no speech impediment between cultures it created equality in America, and because American language was not set in stone every culture had its say in creating a unique sort of dialect of England's language.
2: In the 18th century America was still hungry for more people, and because everyone was tecnically an imigrant to America it earned the name of a "melting pot" because there all cultures blended togeather. As Boorstin lists all the influences on America from different countries and from different English counties. America's culture has no one backround because there was such a mix of people who all formed America's cluture and language. America had no uniformity in its language and because of this there was reginal differences in speech from areas where different more of one group of people gathered into a city or area.
The last paragraph in this chapter establishes how America would engulf many different cultures under certain circumstances. For example Boorstin tells of when French Huguenots came to America as refugees and how they absorbed the language and also how in America you were free to speak any language you wished as shown by the Germans who spoke english but also on the side spoke a dialect of German.
1. Because of the distinct foundation of America, the language that evolved in the country became just as unique. America's uniform language is different from almost anywhere else. India, and even England have many different types of language. Noah Webster's prediction did come true, and because of this unusual unification we do have equality in America. The combining of languages allowed the lowest class talk like the highest. Because everyone could communicate, a wall of seperation had vanished. No longer were lower class people thought of as unintelligent when they could hold an understandable conversation. America's uniformity contributed to equality. For example, everyone now had the oppertunity to read what they wanted, go to school where they wanted, and purchase what they wanted, because language was no longer an excuse.
2.It is true that America was virtually a "melting pot" in the 18th century. And it seemed to be especially true in the "melting" part of the statement. The people coming to the New World each brought something unique, and a true melting of culture happened. Language is one example, where the American dialect has words from all over the world, that were incorperated at this time. This combination blended into what is now called America.
The last paragraph of ch. 41 explains the pressure there was in learning the American language. This uniformity was crucial to America, and it was amazing how people really wanted it to happen. The last sentence speaks the whole truth, and shows how much promise of oppertunity the New World had.
1. The fact that the English language in America had no accent or distinctive features, which is the reason it was “classless,” has caused it to become quite uniform throughout the Colonies. Englishmen who visited the Colonies remarked how everyone, regardless of their social status, spoke perfect English, without accent, deviation, or any other change in the dialect, as could be found in the different regions of England. This uniformity in language was one of the factors that blurred the lines between social classes, since it was impossible to distinguish a layman from an educated man by his speech. This common dialect is an example of the elimination of English snobbery that was common in so many of America’s cultural aspects. This uniformity was so widespread, that even isolationist colonies such as Quaker Pennsylvania shared the same English-American dialect. In addition to the cultural effects of uniform language, there were also social effects. This generality of language helped lead to generality of social-status, so that the only thing that separated men was their financial holdings. This led to the American idea of the “self-made-man.”
2. America was a “melting pot” because of its assimilation of people without being affected by their cultures, and instead imposing its culture upon these people. This was largely because of the dispersion of the different English settlers of America, including their original area of residence in England, and their new area of residence in America. The cause of different English dialects in England was the separation of its different regions. For example, the people of London spoke differently than the people of the English countryside. However, these regional accents did not carry over into the Americas. Because of the spontaneous migration of Englishmen to the Colonies, there were no regions of America that had a particular dialect. People of different regions of England were scattered about different parts of America. The result was that the generation after the migrant generation all had the same language and dialect, since they all grew up exposed to the same mix of languages and dialects.
3 (sorta). In the last paragraph, Boorstin explains how the strong uniformity of language in America meant that any other cultural group, regardless of size of commitment to culture, would be absorbed into American culture and would end up speaking English-American. He provides examples such as the French Huguenots, and the Germans. Even though these people stayed within their own communities, they needed to learn the English language to succeed in America. The result was that by the next generation, these groups of people were fluent in English. They had been absorbed by America.
1. The "American" language was classless, at least in comparison to that of the "English" language. In America, people didn't "emboss their prelection with utternace of the brummagem sort" (fill their speech with flashy words). The simple American's didn't need to show their prowess with words, they needed to work and perform hard labor. Many of the English men didn't farm all day, so they had the time to master the language and confuse everyone with their ritzy speeches. The lack of a mastery of English in America kind of bonded the Americans into one social class: Americans.
2. America was the place where people from across the world were rushing to in order to stake out some land and earn a fortune. The influx of cultures is what the term "metlting pot" refers to, the mixing of the cultures to create one big, mixed up culture known as American. Everyone, from the moment, declared themselves an "American" and nobody truly challenged this, because there wasn't a fixed set of parameters that defined "American." In America, a Chinaman was an Irish quy was a French woman was an American.
3. Boorstin's last paragraph in this chapter tells of how those who wished to become successful usually learned English, the common language, in order to communicate efficiently to the masses. Imigrants were still free to speak whatever language they chose, although making transactions and arrangements would be significantly more difficult if they didn't speak at least one common language with the second party.
1. The English were the main settlers in the American colonies. And since they came from all different regions of England, several dialects of English spread throughout the colonies. However, as time went on, these dialects merged into one uniform language. "Our common classless language has provided the vernacular for equality in America" refers to the fact that since the English language had become uniform in every colony, classes no longer defined a person. It had been in England that only the educated spoke grammatically correct and thus placed them in a higher social class than the uneducated. This was not the case in America; striving for national unity, the Englishmen and even foreigners whose first language was not English quickly learned and established one common language. Through this, America practiced more equality and eventually learned to speak better than the English.
2. It's true that "America... in the 18th century was a melting pot," however this melting pot didn't contain a very diverse population. Unlike in the 19th and 20th centuries, the 18th century immigrants into America were primarily only from regions of England. This does not allow many opportunities for the diffusions of cultures. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Italians, Germans, Chinese, Mexicans, Irish, Jewish, and Polish added more diversity to this American melting pot.
1. Due to social mobility, geographic mobility and public education, America has been able to have everyone equal because we all speak the same language. There is not a social or geographical split in language, but instead there is a uniform language that has kept America together.
2. America is known as a melting pot because it takes a mixture of beliefs, language, and culture and shapes them into a new thing known as America. America takes many different sects of religions and makes new ones and combines old ones. America had many different languages and dialects, and makes a common vernacular language. America is a melting pot for many different things. It combines old with new and makes them unique to our land.
1. Due to the diverse cultures and people that came to America, the language that developed was unique. On page 271, there is this quote about the Englishmen coming to America “They founded a culture which was in many ways more homogeneous in vast America than it had been in little England. A single spoken language soon echoed across the continent, overcoming space as the printed word overcomes time.” Noah Webster predicted that “North America will be peopled with a hundred millions of men, all speaking the same language.” (Also pg 271) India, the Soviet Union, and China all have many different languages, but America has one main language. Noah Webster’s prediction became fact. Because everyone spoke the same language, there was no language barrier or communication barrier between people. Different classes of people could all communicate and interact. This is why America’s common language was classless and capable of equality.
2. America was a “melting pot” because of the rich blend of people and cultures that came over to America. America incorporated many different people, regardless of culture, beliefs, or language. Furthermore, Americans did not force culture upon anyone. America was a unique blend of people who were incorporated into the country. There was no definition of an “American.” Everyone was an immigrant at one time or the next.
3. The last paragraph, Boorstin speaks of how the American speech was conservative, and people were assimilated into it.. Boorstin uses as examples the French Huguenots that were absorbed after seeking refuge in America in 1685. He also uses for examples the Germans. This uniformity of language caused the vernacular equality in America. Every person, culture, and belief would be assimilated into American culture. They would be absorbed by America
1. In England, the way a person speaks is everything. By the accent an English person has you can tell what county he or she is from and what social class in that county they are from. This is not true in America. In America, it is hard to determine a person’s place of origin and their socioeconomic status. There are some regional accents such as the southern accent, but even this accent is not consistent with in its region. For example, the southern accent is prevalent in the small towns and "back country" areas, but the accent disappears in large cities. There are no class differences in the American accent. A highly paid lawyer could have the same accent of a factory worker. Whereas in England, the cockney lowland man’s accent is highly distinguishable from the Cambridge-educated man’s accent. This "vernacular equality" allows for social mobility, and social mobility is one of America’s most distinguishable features.
2. 18th century America was a "melting pot" because all of the colonists were from different areas. During the 18th century, most of the colonists were from different parts of England. This does not sound like much of a melting pot, but if you know anything about the British, you would know that they were highly regional people, and that each region was separated vernacularly. However, in the New World where you were from did not matter as much as surviving. This need for survival made people not care about where they were from and just focus on building their communities. Later in the 19th and 20th centuries, people from different nations started immigrating to America. This is when the melting pot became international.
1. In England, where you were born into one social class and very rarely changed this class, all people with similar social situations spoke in the same type of way. Therefore, it was easy to determine the poor man from the rich the minute he began to speak. This created another barrier against social mobility, because a man from a poor background would never be able to change the way he spoke to fit in with the higher social class. However, social mobility in the American colonies was much more possible due to the fact that hard work could secure a tract of land for virtually anybody. It was also more common to move from colony to colony, especially in search of uncultivated land. This created a situation in which people born into all different types of social classes and different parts of the country spoke to each other frequently, and eventually combined all the different subtleties of the British English language into American English. A person speaking this new American English could come from any background and one would be hard-pressed to figure out which background this was. This made discrimination based on the way one spoke almost nonexistent in the colonies, building the basis for American equality.
2. At first, melting pot calls to mind images of people from all different countries and ethnic groups, but in this quote, people from all different regions of Britain make up this melting pot. This British melting pot from the 18th century had already established American English as the native language of the colonies before the influx of immigrants from different countries and regions of the world began in the 19th and 20th centuries. So instead of a hybrid of different languages, the official language of America remained English throughout the years, albeit with borrowed words and phrases from other languages.
1. English English (not a typo) was divided by class, one had to know the upper classes' way of speaking British, and their mannerisms. Otherwise, someone's language could "betray" their background. American English was classless because everyone was needed with their short supply of people. Everyone was needed and equal, and so almost everyone spoke a common language. Even those that didn't tried to teach their kids how to, in order to give them a better chance since American English was the main language (and still is). "By speaking 'broken English' the parents expressed their own aspirations for the common language and the hope that their children might rise in the world" (pg 277)
2. America was a melting pot because there were so many various cultures and races coming to stake out a claim in the New World. Everyone was considered an American because there were no limits on what an American was; it could be a French person, German person, etc. American speech was still mostly a uniform standard which helped incorporate all the different cultures coming into America.
The last paragraph in chapter 41 shows some specific examples of cultures and peoples that were incorporated , yet how American English still remained barely changed from them.
~Chris Sogge~
1. In comparison to the English language, the American language was "classless" simply due to the fact that there was a uniformity in the way people spoke. In England, the accent you possessed meant where you lived, what social class you were a part of, and your occupation. In America however there were no language barriers, and since the lower class could speak like upper-class men there were no longer any barriers. There was more self-confidence due to the fact you didn't have to go by an assigned dialect, and as a result there was a higher rate of social mobility. In England this could pose to be a problem because in order to move up a class you would have to learn and master a whole new language.
2. 18th Century Colonial America was considered a "melting pot" due to the number of different cultures and different people living there. Whenever someone new came to America they brought something new. Like a new type of food or even a new disease or two. This is mostly true for the languages. For example, when black slaves were brought to America for use on the plantations, the white people started to pick up on some of the new words.
3. The last paragraph in chapter 41 states that "American speech remained conservative, clinging to an increasingly uniform standard, during the entire colonial period." This uniformity made it easier for immigrants such as the French Huguenots to adapt and be "absorbed" into the community.
1. The amazing benefits of “our common, classless language” are still prominent in American society today. In Europe, the linguistic distinctions not only amongst countries, but the vernacular inequality amongst the classes within each country had devastating social effects. Among countries the lack of argot unity resulted in political fractures due to mistranslations as well as insularity as people from different countries could rarely converse. Within countries, the manner of speech between classes ensured limited social mobility as a peasant could not hope to move upward in status if he could not even speak in the same way as his would-be peers. In America, linguistic unity was a necessity. If the entirety of the communities hoped to survive, they could not be troubled with petty differences in mannerisms of speech. The spoken word (and soon to be written word) was essential in the colonies, and the unified language between communities and among classes kept them afloat. Discrimination in speech was not present, and thus, equality abounded.
2. In comparison to the melting pot of America today, colonial America was more of a melting cup. Immigrants mostly hailed from different counties of England, rather than from all over the world. However, this combination of various London, Norfolk, and Essex immigrants still resulted in a blending of cultures. Because no common dialect could be reached, a general unity of speech and pronunciation was born. It can also be presumed that some individual characteristics of the respective counties were brought and melted while in America.
3. The final paragraph provides a glimpse into part of the reason as to why American English is widely spoken around the world today. As immigrants from other countries sought settlement or refuge in America, the standard spoken language was quickly absorbed and became a calling card to social mobility. Foreign parents impressing “broken English” upon their children were expressing a “hope that their children might rise in the world.”
1. Because of the common language people weren't able to separate themselves into classes by language. In England, the varied dialects caused some social segregation. People could tell a lot about you by the way you spoke, However, in America, there was no way to determine your wealth or position in life by your manner of speaking. I wonder though if that's really true, at least now. To an extent it is, but with the different accents that have developed in America, people have begun to stereotype through how people speak, or sound when they do. Just a thought.
2. America was a "melting pot" because there were so many people coming from all over to one place and had to learn to form a culture that was a mix of all the ones that came in. People had to learn to speak in about the same way so that they could understand each other, even those living in close proximity.
1.)Because of the common language in america, there were very few social distinctions due to language. Many other countries, like England, had multiple dialects, which often led to some social seperation. In America, you couldn't be classified by your language or dialect. Our common language eliminated social barriers, and made an almost "classless" society, at least as far as language goes. From language, it was impossible to differentiate between the rich or poor, and this blurring of social lines due to similar dialects helped America resist the formation of a social heirarchy which was all to common in other countries.
2.) America was described as a melting pot due to its massive assortment of cultures from around the world. Every culture brought unique characteristics, all eventually mixing and forming one massive country full of diversity. Despite all the differences, america was still bound together, as stated in question 1, by its common language, which even began incorporating words from all of the different cultures.
3.) The last paragraph in the chapter shows why English is the massive and worlwide language that it is today. Learning english was a potential way to rise in social rank. If you learned English, you could potentially rise through the ranks in America and become rich, where as no other language could provide such an opportunity.
1. WHen America was being founded, it was attempting to be as different as it could from its mother country, england. Therefore, the lax way that Americans spell and speak was another way that we were different from England. Therefore, Everyone realized that their language connected them to one another. So, everyone felt equal due to the laziness of the American Language.
2. In the 18th centurry, America was considered a melting pot due to the many ethnic groups that participated in the new country. There were Italians, Irish and any other ethnic groups that heped influence the new idea of America.
1) But of course it’s provided equality! The shedding of the sophisticated culture from England was of great importance, especially in language. Pick up a copy of any novel from the Victorian era, and it’s easy to see that there was a great difference between English and American language. What colonial America did was stick more to the essential in language. This would lead the way for democracy, when even the average farmer could have a say in who took the high positions. The lack of a class language barrier allowed those of aristocracy to communicate with even the lowest of peasants without too much embarrassment on the lower side. This characteristic was essential to American culture, and still is today.
2) Obviously, colonial America was a melting pot. But it is important to define the melting pot before making assumptions. There were many ethnicities immigrating to America during the colonial period, mostly Europeans, but also other groups such as Africans, who were mostly forced to immigrate. But upon arriving, the melting process began. Instead of being residents of foreign countries, new colonists came together for one cause, to build and survive in a colony. With one common goal the people of American colonies essential developed an American culture, one that incorporated many different cultures, but was distinctive as well.
1. When Boorstin stated that, “Our common, classless language has provided the vernacular for equality in America,” he was referring to the fact that a country that spread over three million square miles had been created where everyone spoke the same language. America was a promise of eliminating the language barrier and the dialects from society to in turn eliminate the social caste/class as well. Coming over to America meant a more unified community and culture because if everyone spoke the same language mass advertising, television, radio, and the ability to move from area to area and avoid language confusion were all possible. As well incentive was increased as time went on for people coming over to America to at the very least teach their kids English because it would open more possibilities for their future.
2. By the 18th century America had already started turning into a melting pot and continued to grow in that way well into the 20th century. Because American held so many opportunities several different types of people and culture diffused into the community and soon elements of Irish, German, Polish, Jewish, Italian, Mexican, and Chinese started to flow into our country.
Chapter 41
1. The beauty of the English language in America was its difference from England. In England your language and speech would define you. The way you spoke automatically gave away your class. Major distinctions were made between the aristocracies and lower classes. However in America these classes disappeared from the American language. It helped to encourage equality between all the people in the New World. Over three million square miles there was one language form. This was a monumental uniformity.
2. America became a real New World to many people. It was not just the English. People of all sorts came such as the Irish, German, Polish, Jewish and Italian. Due to this massive immigration it is no surprise that things in America blended to create a unique and dynamic culture. It was truly a “melting pot”. The customs of so many people were put together and also words from other cultures became a part of the American English language.
Taylor Oster 2009
1. Difference in language is an issue in equality. Outside a uniform language, a foreign one cannot hope to communicate fully their thoughts and needs. Think of today: those we see as socially inferior are the ones who speak a language different from ours. The American language is thought of as "classless" because of the lack of distinguishable accents evident between classes---for example, in England, the quintessential British accent of a gentleman versus the 'cruder' cockney accent. A uniform, "classless" language allows for less social stratification. It is impossible, in America, to determine someone's social station just by listening to them talk, because there is no language distinction between an aristocrat and a merchant. The closest one could get would be determination of someone's racial origins. If everyone spoke the same language the same way, disregarding local accents and slang, everyone is on equal footing.
2. America is a great melting-pot of many diverse cultures, races and religions. The country's population is composted of, as Boorstin states, "Irish, German, Polish, Jewish, Italian, Mexican, Chinese", and even just looking at England, "[from] Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, London, Kent, Hampshire, and other English places of origin". America is thought of as one of the most diverse countries in the world solely by racial origin. Every area of immigration brought something different to the stew of what is now American culture, brought paint for the blank slate of the New World. But also instead of grouping off into their own subcultures, everybody assimilated into a single culture they all created together, somewhat metaphorically like wanting a patchwork quilt instead of a plain blanket.
The last paragraph of the chapter shows how important that uniform American language was, how people strove to be part of it because it meant they would be part of America. Even those who retained their native language on the side sought to adopt English. Being able to speak American English seemed to these settlers to mean opportunity, inclusion and many other things embodied by America.
1. Not really.
2. It was known to be a “melting pot” because of the mix of cultures, languages, ethnicities and personages who flooded into the US, without “American culture” being forced upon them. This created a great conglomerate of cultures, languages and rituals, which together melded into that which is American culture today.
In short, the last paragraph spoke of the necessity of American-English to get higher into the social order. Though certain groups kept their own dialects, they made little sway on society, as the predominant base was that of “broken English” furthermore, parents, in the wish to further their children’s wellbeing, would teach them the American dialect (or the inferior dialect, in my opinion) of English. [No insult meant by my prior comment, however it is my personal opinion that whoever created something, usually should hold rights to it. For an example, if a product was created, and then produced by someone else, wouldn’t it be a terrible wrong upon the maker not to give them credit?]
1. This quote describes how America, unlike Europe, had no language barrier to prohibit equality between classes, and there were no differences in language that might deter anyone from rising in social status.
2. Boorstin describes America as a “melting pot” because of all the different ethnic groups, dialects, and social classes that were all coming to America and lived in the same area. This diversity meant that it was difficult for any group to remain isolated from anyone else, and thereby difficult to retain an accent. This contributed to America having one standard English dialect that made it easy for people from differing backgrounds to understand one another.
This last paragraph describes how there were many opportunities for America’s overall language schema to change from the influence of immigrants from countries besides England. Instead of the colonists’ language changing, the immigrants changed to fit with the new colonial method of speech. This universality was undoubtedly useful in the ease of communication it provided, but it is also regrettable that these immigrants essentially had to give up part of their culture and heritage in coming to America.
1. "Our common, classless language has provided the vernacular for equality in america." Comment?
Since the English primarily founded the American colonies, most of the colonists spoke English as their vernacular. This coupled with the fact that dozens if not hundreds of languages populated the small area of Europe, and since only a few languages dominated the European colonies of the Americas, there was less room for exclusion/persecution based off of vernacular language. And since the English in the Americas were primarily protestant (as opposed to Catholic dominated Europe) a non-vernacular language was not required for church services, which, otherwise, would have separated those who spoke Latin and those who did not.
2. Again please comment on the quote, "America... in the 18th century was a melting pot" (Keep in mind that the term "melting pot" is a term revisionist historians may not subscribe to).
What with the disparaging poverty many people faced in Europe and what with an entire “New World” opened up for exploration and material exploitation, many flocked to the Americas in the hope of making their fortunes on the frontiers of the European empires. What with all these peoples coming together; bring with them their languages their cultures their customs; and all of them having to be funneled through a few dozen port cities and having to deal with one another on a business level, cultural diffusion inevitably took place.
1. "Our common, classless language has provided the vernacular for equality in America." Comment?
While America retains regional accents (i.e. southern), these accents are not class specific. A rich man in Alabama is likely to have the same accent as a poor backwater farmer. This contrasts to England (at the time) where it was easy to tell someone’s economic status from their accent. Therefore, vernacular equality in America is completely possible because of the lack of language-specific class distinctions.
2. Again please comment on the quote, "America... in the 18th century was a melting pot" (Keep in mind that the term "melting pot" is a term revisionist historians may not subscribe to).
The term “melting pot” (when used in a historical sense, not to refer to an American line of fondue restaurants) means an area which is a conglomeration of cultures. This was true of America in the 1700s, although it is even more proper today. The colonists had come from many areas, therefore creating the conglomerate. With the rise of immigration to the US, this increased dramatically.
2. America duing the 18'th century was a melting pot of cultures. Picture a chef making a large veggie soup, First he throws in onions,and then carrots, and then celery, and some noodles, and lots of other scrumptious items. This was America, with people from all over, all sorts of different places and cultures, coming to the new world. The cultures all met here in America, and what resulted was not one great soup but rather a melting pot of cultures. An example of this would be our modern music, which all roots back to african music.
1. What this quote means is that Each class in America speechs the same language but sometimes in a different way. For example, people in britain speak the same langiage as us but we have different accents.
2. Again please comment on the quote, "America... in the 18th century was a melting pot" (Keep in mind that the term "melting pot" is a term revisionist historians may not subscribe to).
With so many immigrants coming to America in the 18th century, the term "melting pot" describes the way they all came together. All sorts of cultures became integrated into American society, "melting" into something new.
Mira Schlosberg
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