Speaking American

Speaking American. A History of English in the United States, del lingista Richard W. Bailey (Oxford University Press), è un libro da tener presente. "The history of American English has been presented in more detailed and precise fashion elsewhere - by J. L. Dillard, and even, for the 19th century, by Bailey himself, in his under­read ­Nineteenth-Century English. Still, his handy tour is useful in imprinting a lesson sadly obscure to too many: as Bailey puts it, 'Those who seek stability in English seldom find it; those who wish for uniformity become laughingstocks.'" nyt.