1. Why does Boorstin refer to Noah Webster as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" and "Spelling-Master to America"?
2. What specifically makes American speech more conservative than the English way of speaking (and thank the gods for spell-check B-Kauze I kant spel worth a darn)?
31 comments:
1: Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as a saint of American Nationalism and Spelling-master because Noah Webster was the first person in America to want to purify the American English and keep track of what the American English standard was. Webster came out with his first publication in 1828 with his American Dictionary of the english Language which drew speculation because only few words were found in America and not in England and that did not make this dictionary purely American. Though there was some small controversy most people agreed that there should be an American standard should be kept track of. The naming of Webster as "a patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" brings into account that before Webster standardized the language people spelled and spoke how he pleased. With this standardization brought more sense of nationalism to the people because they were all brought together under one linguistic roof without any changes from one social class to another.
2: Anerucan speech was considered as being more conservative that the English speech mostly because there was only one spelling, and speech standard that was set by Webster which in turn created a great sense of uniformity. Since there was only one language standard everyone was free to speak like an aristrocrat where as in England there was a difference. The spelling books Webster created spured on the creation of spelling bees which made it a competition to be the most learned in the American english language.
american* (first word of question 2)
1. Boorstin is recognized by these two names because he was recognized as a pioneer in both areas. He is referred to as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" because he wanted to go back to natural English and "purify" American language. He did not want Americans to be corrupted by the 18th century English of the time. He tried to have a standard for the American language, that would allow anyone to talk "American." He is called the "Spelling-Master to America", because it was the publication of his "spellers" that helped to lead America into standard spelling, and even a love of it. Webster also helped Americans to practice spelling-pronounciation, a practice different than in England, but definately productive.
2. While English speaking tended to shorten words for a better and more efficient sound, American speech was more conservative because of the insistance of pronouncing every syllable of a word. For instance, an American would pronounce ce-me-ta-ry rather than ce-me-try. Spelling Bees definately helped to keep correct pronunciation alive in America, because syllables in words were extremely important clues about how to spell them.
1. Noah Webster’s intent with his works, such as Dissertations on the American Language and American Spelling Book, was to preserve the English of England. He didn’t have much work to do, however, as he observed that there were only about fifty words used in America and not in England. These words were called “Americanisms.” He specifically wanted to fix the English language of America to that of England between the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, and of King George II. He saw this period as the “height” of the English language in England. This was his assertion based on his theory that all cultures reach a peak in their language, after which the language becomes corrupted by slang and idioms. He is considered the “patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” because, even though he wanted to bring the English language to America, he wanted to do so uniformly, in the American way. He wanted to create a standard American way of rendering the English language. This idea of a standard of speech was contrary to England’s multiple, class-based English dialects. In this way, Noah Webster contributed to the American idea of equality.
2. American speech was more conservative in its literal pronunciation of words based on their spelling. The example Boorstin provides is the English tendency to drop the second-to-last syllable of a word, such as pronouncing “secretary,” “secret’ry.” American speech, however, pronounces every single syllable, to fit with the spelling. His other example is that nowhere in the country was there ever a dialect that dropped its h’s (‘ello mother, ‘ave you ‘idden my ‘atchet?). If the letter is written in the word, then Americans pronounced the letter in the word. Boorstin attributes this conservatism to many different factors. One of these factors was what he calls “cultural insecurity,” but the more appropriate phrase seems to be “cultural instability.” Boorstin suggests that since America was a brand new culture, and thus there was no cultural dialect upon which to base their English language, the Americans just followed the fundamentals. This could contribute to why there are so few vulgarities in English-American dialect. Another factor Boorstin suggests is the plan Webster proposed for the regulation of a uniform American speech; everybody spoke the speech most comfortable for them, and an American dialect developed on its own.
1. Noah Webster’s intent with his works, such as Dissertations on the American Language and American Spelling Book, was to preserve the English of England. He didn’t have much work to do, however, as he observed that there were only about fifty words used in America and not in England. These words were called “Americanisms.” He specifically wanted to fix the English language of America to that of England between the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, and of King George II. He saw this period as the “height” of the English language in England. This was his assertion based on his theory that all cultures reach a peak in their language, after which the language becomes corrupted by slang and idioms. He is considered the “patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” because, even though he wanted to bring the English language to America, he wanted to do so uniformly, in the American way. He wanted to create a standard American way of rendering the English language. This idea of a standard of speech was contrary to England’s multiple, class-based English dialects. In this way, Noah Webster contributed to the American idea of equality.
2. American speech was more conservative in its literal pronunciation of words based on their spelling. The example Boorstin provides is the English tendency to drop the second-to-last syllable of a word, such as pronouncing “secretary,” “secret’ry.” American speech, however, pronounces every single syllable, to fit with the spelling. His other example is that nowhere in the country was there ever a dialect that dropped its h’s (‘ello mother, ‘ave you ‘idden my ‘atchet?). If the letter is written in the word, then Americans pronounced the letter in the word. Boorstin attributes this conservatism to many different factors. One of these factors was what he calls “cultural insecurity,” but the more appropriate phrase seems to be “cultural instability.” Boorstin suggests that since America was a brand new culture, and thus there was no cultural dialect upon which to base their English language, the Americans just followed the fundamentals. This could contribute to why there are so few vulgarities in English-American dialect. Another factor Boorstin suggests is the plan Webster proposed for the regulation of a uniform American speech; everybody spoke the speech most comfortable for them, and an American dialect developed on its own.
Sorry about the double comment, my browser froze up.
1. Boorstin dictates that Noah Webster is "The Patron saint..." and "the Spelling-master..." because of Webster's intent and interest in refining the English vocabulary accepted in the American Colonies. There wasn't uniformity in the dialects of English mixed with other languages, which distressed him and caused him to want to standardize a certain amount of words which would be defined as "English words." He pubslished his first dictionary in 1828, but, initially, it wasn't flying off the shelves because most peolpe didn't really care what was technically "English" as opposed to slang composed from a combination of English and other languages. Soon, though, people saw his point and consented with his view that there should be some sort of purely "American English" standards which the people should recognize and accept as the standard language.
2. American English is more conservitive than English English because of American's pronunciation of words phonetically and with dictation of every sylable of the word. English (in England) tended to have more slurred words and words missing a sylables. (My mom hates how the English pronounce "schedule.") (Mr. Bono says that America uses and older English accent that the one the Engish uses. Idk if that's right, but that's what he told 1st period.)
1. Noah Webster was considered the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" since he was one of the leaders trying to restore the English language. In search for national identity, Webster was intent on recovering the purity of English so that it would not spiral into corruption in America. Webster was also the "spelling-master to America" because it was he that set America off into a grammar and spelling craze. His "American Spelling Book" gained wide popularity and the Americans became very much concerned with proper spelling and pronunciation. With this craze also came the introduction of the Spelling Bee which became a symbol of the New World culture.
2. American speech was considered more conservative because the Americans "kept alive ways of speech which soon died in England" (pg. 285). Since Webster had introduced the spelling and pronunciation "fetish," the Americans took pride in preserving syllables in certain words that the English had dropped. For example, to the English it was "cemet'ry," but in America it was meticulously "cemetery," and it was not "laborat'ry," but "laboratory." The Americans became careful, deliberate, and liberal when it came to creating a standard for pronunciation.
2. American speech is more conservative then the English way because there was a proper pronunciation for every word. This proper language developed as a child grew older, and he was taught by his mother and father.
1. Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as the “patron saint of American linguistic nationalism and spelling-master to America” because he was the first person that, as Franklin said, “preserved the purity of the English language, both in expressions and pronunciation, and correcting the popular errors several of the states had continually fallen into” (pg 278). He wanted the language to remain uncorrupted. Webster led the way in both American linguistic nationalism and being a spelling-master. His want to purify the English language and do so correctly, earned him these titles from Boorstin and praise from Franklin. His first dictionary, published in 1828, and his guidance with pronunciation helped America attain these standards as well.
2. American speech is more conservative than that of England because English speakers shortened words and a different pronunciation. English speakers shortened the words to attain efficiency, but American speech pronounces every syllable of a word, thus making it more conservative. AN example of this would be with the word secretary. American’s pronounce every syllable in the word secretary, while the English pronounce it “secret’ry.”
1. Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as a "saint of American Nationalism" because he was the first to truly have the desire to "purify" the American language. He wanted it to be true to the English language. That is true to the natural English form, but he didn't want the Americans to use the eighteenth century form of English. He was called the "Spelling master" because he publicized the book "The Sellers". The Sellers was written to help the American people with their spelling and pronunciation of different words. At first this was bot a productive way of dealing with the poor spelling in America, because the colonists could care less how to spell correctly. The idea did eventually catch on rather quickly.
2. In England, there were different speaking standards for the different classes. This was different for America however because everyone was taught the same language standard. There was no class distinction and everyone was taught with a certain "proper" pronunciation, so everyone walked around sounding like an aristocrat.
1. Noah Webster "purified" the American version of English. His "purification" was presented to the masses as a dictionary. This dictionary had new forms of words and even changed the spellings of some words. Webster stripped all of the superfluous letters off words. He even changed some words to have new meaning. For example, he received criticism from Benjamin Franklin for making "progress" into a verb. Instead of progress being only a noun, as in "we are making progress," to a verb, as in "I am progressing through these assignment." Webster helped make English the same through out the colonies. Without his dictionary, each state might have developed its own vernacular. Webster’s dictionary allowed America to remain unified through language if not through anything else.
1. Noah Webster is referred to as the “patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” because he was at the forefront of writers who wanted to purify the way in which Americans spoke by bringing the English language back to its golden age within America, which he considered to be between the rules of Queen Elizabeth and George II. He published such works as the American Dictionary of the English Language and the American Spelling Book and his spellers had before the end of the 1800s reportedly sold over sixty million copies. He was therefore called “Spelling-Master to America,” because of the influence his widely bought spellers had. In fact, his dictionaries are still used today; I use his Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary.
2. One specific way in which American speech is more conservative than English speech is the emphasis put on what is known as “spelling-pronunciation.” Americans learned how to spell by pronouncing each individual syllable in a word and then combining them; therefore, Americans believe that each syllable in a word should be fully pronounced. This has caused confusion over some purely English words such as: Worcester (pronounced Wooster), and thus Worcestershire (Woostershir), and Gloucester, when Americans want to pronounce each syllable of the word.
1. Noah Webster is, according to Boorstin, the "patron saint" and "spelling-master" because of how he refined the English in the colonies to make it more American English. He had much interest in this topic and was the first to try and keep track of the standards for American English, and to help purify it. His first dictionary came out in 1828, and before that writers had spelled how they had wanted (like "diir" for "dear") but after this the standard was set.
2. American English is more conservative because they pronounce eveery syllable, compared to English English that would sometimes drop off some letters but still get the general gist of the word.
~Chris Sogge~
1. As a man dedicated to defining the purity of the English language and staunch in his belief that “the people of America speak the most pure English now known in the world”, Noah Webster can truly be defined as “the patron saint of American linguistic nationalism.” Webster dedicated his life to purifying the English language in a return to the height of speech during the period of Queen Elizabeth to George II and believed that Americans exemplified the best in the world. Boorstin also refers to Webster as “Spelling-Master to America” due to his attempts at spelling reforms in order to simplify the written language. His “rejection of innovations” in fact makes sense, such as the spelling of “feather and leather” as “fether and lether.” Webster’s passion for the pure English language resulted in his writing of the American Dictionary of the English Language and his successful selling of other works on linguistics. Webster’s legacy lives on today as Webster is the most trusted industry of spelling and dictionaries to this day.
2. American speech is more conservative than our English counterpart due to our insistence on syllable pronunciation. In America, we cling to the full value of each syllable, whereas the English tend to drop the next-to-last syllable. Our conservative manner of speech is preserved by the long tradition of the spelling bee which emphasizes the pronunciation of each word by the ability to spell it.
1. Noah Webster was extremely focused on making American English the most "English English." he thought that the form of English that Englishmen were speaking was not the purest form of the language. Other colonists developed the same fascination for language and its purity. Noah Webster's spelling book was used around America, which is why Boorstin refers to him as the "spelling-master to America"
2. Americans kept a more conservative form of English in a few ways. They didn't like to incorporate foreign words into their language, which is funny because so many "English" words stem from other languages to begin with, who can say what is an "English" word and what is just an incorporated foreign word? They also rejected the new patterns in language that developed in 18th century England. They looked to the spelling of words for the pronunciation and pronounced every syllable. They disliked the English pronunciations of words such as Birmingham (according to Merriam Webster, it's pronounced ˈbər-miŋ-ˌham by Americans, British usually pronounce it bər-miŋ-əm\ Spelling and spelling bees became very popular as colonial Americans tried to purify the language and make it the most English-English there was.
2.) American speech is more conservative than that of England because of American english's emphasis on proper pronunciation of words. In England, on the other hand, people often slurred their words. Words were often shortened or syllables were skipped. An example of this English tendency to slur and shorten words is the word extraordinary. while we pronounce the end of the word or-di-nar-y, England english removes a syllable, thus or-di-nry.
1. Boorstin talks about Noah Webster being the spelling master of America because he was the first person to try and make sure everyone was spelling correctly. Webster published his first dictionary which brought on a bit of speculation seeing as England held most of the words. Therefore, this dictionary wasn't American. However, everyone agreed that the english language needed to be written down and kept track of. Webster took control and made sure everyone was speaking correctly, which is why he is refferred to as the Patron saint of americna linguistic nationalism.
2. American speech was more conservative due to the very standard nature of it. You could only spell one word one way, and Webster made sure that everyone was spelling it that way. This way, Americans could use the same words as the english, but still call them american.
1) Noah Webster was referred to as “the patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” for his theories and work on purifying and simplifying the English language in America. He believed that the English language had already reached a point of “purity” and could not be further improved. All America had to do was work on their language to come close to that standard. He already believed that Americans spoke some of the best English in the world. Another one of Webster’s achievements was simplifying spelling. He supported the rejection of innovation when it came to spelling, and tried to return words to their purest form. He implemented this by creating the American Dictionary of the English Language, which supposedly, had nothing American about it except for about 50 words.
2) Because the English language in America was developed to use spelling as a guide to pronunciation, in a way Americans preserved the way English was spoken in Britain in the time by spelling it and recording it in the 18th and 19th centuries. In Britain, it was a long time before a standardized way of spelling was adopted, thus causing Britain to have a less conservative language. Americans preserved an older style, while the British recorded a newer style later.
1. Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as the “patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” because of his dedication to purifying the American language and his passion for linguistic legislation. Webster wanted to recreate the language to mimic the “best” period of English language because he believed that eventually every language reached its peak. Basically Webster saw great opportunity to restore “the English language in its purity.” And while he started to base spelling off of the original orthography of words and corrected the pronunciation, the American language became all the more unified. America started to grow a sense of nationalism because now they were beginning to create a standard language of their own, that would offer new opportunities to all classes to rise up in this new world. The nationalism also sparked off of the fact that for once Webster had created books to show an actual standard of spelling (whereas before it was just what the writer felt like) which played into a “proper” pronunciation. There were a new number of “American” words and now pronunciation was written down and standardized which set America apart from its English counterpart.
2. The main fact that makes American speech more conservative than English speech is because set rules were created and written down dealing with pronunciation and spelling. In American speech the word is pronounced by the syllables in the word, so for example “ordinary” would be “o, r---or; d, i---di; n, a---na; r, y---ry,” whereas the English way of speaking leaves off some of the syllables so instead of laboratory they say “laborat’ry.” According to H. L. Mencken, the United States “have policed the general speech to such effect that even on its most pretentious levels it is virtually free from the silly affectation which still mark Standard English,” which plays into Boorstin’s fact that our speech is more conservative. The “King’s English” became a “People’s English” in America and everyone was allowed and did speak what was once a language of only the ruling aristocrats.
Chapter 42 & 43
1. Noah Webster was titled “Patron saint of American linguistic nationalism” and “Spelling-Master of America” for obvious reasons due to his brilliance. Webster wished to purify the English language and restore it to perfection with clarity for all Americans. When he was only 31 he published books on his ideas of the theory of English. He also wrote spelling books and Webster’s dictionary. Through all of his work however, he was not just making stuff up. He could prove his theories and methods of English and truly got back to effective simplicity in his publishings. Due to Webster, English remained a key to the country’s nationalism.
2. Speech in America was more conservative than speech in England because it strived to remain consistent. Webster played a large part this in making English uniform and creating a national bond through English. Also, the American focus on every syllable being pronounced correctly helped our country to not change English too much. We relied on our language for equality and a national connection and pride.
Taylor Oster 2009
1. Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" and "Spelling-Master to America" because Webster was the first to 'purify' American English and put it to a standard. He wanted it to restore American English to the state of the "'best' language of the 'best' period in England". He altered and standardized spelling (thank God because reading those quotes was awful), pronounciation, and even tried to set up an institution dedicated to American language, the like of which did not exist in England.
2. The conservativeness of American speech is based heavily on pronounciation and the insistence of Americans to pronounce every letter and syllable. After all, why standardize spelling if you didn't say a word the exact way the word was perfectly spelled? Because America was a newly formed country, with no prior cultural basis to adapt their language to, they went with the basics: if you write it down, Americans will pronounce it (perhaps why so many are poor at French). This trait was also used backwards: if you prounounced it, it would be in the word, aiding in spelling. The American language facets of spelling and pronounciation came hand-in-hand.
1. The two titles bestowed upon Webster were quite intertwined. Due to his wish to purify the English language, he compiled words into books which would instruct in usage, meaning and pronunciation. Similarly, he endeavored to keep the language pure, though for him it seemed to mean that of English spoken in Britain, also going into that before his present day.
2. Teh mian ting wich mde amurican spech mre cnserv@tive thn tht ‘f E’gland wsa teh cencontration upn “Pronunciation-spelling.” Nmly, ti wsa mre emprtant 2 hve wrds soundn liken thyre splled by da dictionardy.
The main thing which made American speech more conservative than that of England was the concentration upon “Pronunciation-spelling.” Namely, it was more important to have words sound like they were spelled by the dictionary. /*I apologize for the terrible spelling of my previous post. The second half, my sister absconded with my laptop (excepting my flash drive upon which I stored my file,) and I was forced to attempt to get an eMac working enough to type a simple paragraph. Suffice it to say, I failed. This however, must not be put down to my inadequacy, more that of the follies of an inadequate system, designed by an inadequate company. After minutes of fumbling with a spell check which refused to work properly, and in fact messed every spelling I did correctly up, I gave up and posted it. Moments later, my sister gave back my computer. Again, I apologize, don’t blame me, blame Apple Corp.*/
Very funny, Shane.
1. Noah Webster was an influential figure in American culture because his spelling books and dictionaries made it possible for Americans, who were extremely enthusiastic about forming their own cultural identity, to be linguistically similar. Also, his help in standardizing the English language, as it was used in America, helped break down social barriers between classes, and make upward mobility possible.
2. American pronunciation was much more conservative than English pronunciation in that it reflected the spelling of words, rather than region- or class-based idiosyncracies. This literal spelling let anyone be able to pronounce words properly, and did not have to be born into the “correct” class in order to be able to speak correctly.
1. Why does Boorstin refer to Noah Webster as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" and "Spelling-Master to America"?
Noah Webster was the first man in the Americas to produce a definitive and widely used English dictionary, which would unify the American people not on a basis of race or religion or ideology but rather on the basis of a common language.
2. What specifically makes American speech more conservative than the English way of speaking?
What specifically makes American speech more conservative is merely the fact that we prefer to pronounce every syllable in a word whereas the English would simply cut off the last one or two syllables in especially long words.
1. Why does Boorstin refer to Noah Webster as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" and "Spelling-Master to America"?
Webster was the first to recognize American English as a separate entity than English. Webster also catalogued the American form of speech (obviously this legacy lives on in the form of the Webster Dictionary) in order to standardize the language of the new country.
2. What specifically makes American speech more conservative than the English way of speaking)?
Boorstin’s argument is that American speech holds more true to a literal pronunciation of words. He says that American words, in general, are pronounced how they sound, and are therefore more conservative. I disagree—American English and English in general has always been known as a language without much literal pronunciation, as opposed to a language like Spanish which has almost no pronunciation exceptions and holds true to its rules all the time.
1. Boorstin refers to Noah Webster as this because he really did in a way impact the whole nation. This quotes shows how much Webster and his linguistics effected america, "The colonial frame of mind bred and attitude toward language which still efeects the lifes of every American school boy, and shapes the American accent to this day." (277) Webster wanted to make the English language pure, by reverting back to traditional, "original" language.
Shane maybe your problem could be that you were using outdated technology. For I know that even you cannot say that your trusty PC was perfect 4 years ago. And you better wath out for Mr. Elder is a mac, I bet he poested thse questions right from his macbook :)
1. Why does Boorstin refer to Noah Webster as the "patron saint of American linguistic nationalism" and "Spelling-Master to America"?
Boorstin refers to Noah Webster like this because Webster organized and improved on the American English. This united the language also. Then in 1828 his very first Dictionary was published. This dictionary in many ways told people how to spell words and use them properly. So it defines the use of the American language and grammer.
2. What specifically makes American speech more conservative than the English way of speaking (and thank the gods for spell-check B-Kauze I kant spel worth a darn)?
Americans were more conservative than the English in a few ways. First of the English had several variations of there language, while the Americans were mostly taught the same variation after the first dictionary came out in America. In the American versioon of ennglish not as many syllables were dropped in the pronuciation as in the Enhlish form of english.
Sean dont bring up that argument in the blog. Shane will go on forever if he was to see this. (sorry Mr. Elder about being off topic)
2. What specifically makes American speech more conservative than the English way of speaking?
American speech is more conservative than English speech because of its insistence on the pronunciation of every syllable of a word. The importance of spelling, which came around in America in the 18th century, also gave the pronunciation of words a certain uniformity.
Mira Schlosberg
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