I. By Way of Introduction, 1

1. The Diverging Streams, 1
2. The Academic Attitude, 4
3. The View of Writing Men, 12
4. Foreign Observers, 18
5. The Characters of American, 19
6. The Materials of American, 29

II. The Beginnings of American, 36

1. In Colonial Days, 36
2. Sources of Early Americanisms, 40
3. New Words of English Material, 44
4. Changed Meanings, 51
5. Archaic English Words, 54
6. Colonial Pronunciation, 58

III. The Period of Growth, 63

1. The New Nation, 63
2. The Language in the Making, 72
3. The Expanding Vocabulary, 76
4. Loan-Words, 86
5. Pronunciation, 94

IV. American and English Today, 97

1. The Two Vocabularies, 97
2. Differences in Usage, 102
3. Honorifics, 117
4. Euphemisms and Forbidden Words, 124

V. Tendencies in American, 131

1. International Exchanges, 131
2. Points of Difference, 138
3. Lost Distinctions, 143
4. Foreign Influences Today, 149
5. Processes of Word Formation, 159
6. Pronunciation, 166

VI. The Common Speech, 177

1. Grammarians and Their Ways, 177
2. Spoken American As It Is, 184
3. The Verb, 192
4. The Pronoun, 212
5. The Adverb, 226
6. The Noun and Adjective, 229
7. The Double Negative, 231
8. Pronunciation, 234

VII. Differences in Spelling, 242

1. Typical Forms, 242
2. General Tendencies, 245
3. The Influence of Webster, 247
4. Exchanges, 255
5. Simplified Spelling, 261
6. Minor Differences, 264

VIII. Proper Names in America, 268.

1. Surnames, 268
2. Given Names, 283
3. Geographical Names, 286
4. Street Names, 298

IX. Miscellanea, 301

1. Proverb and Platitude, 301
2. American Slang, 304
3. The Future of the Language, 312

Bibliography, 323

List of Words and Phrases, 340