Notes on The American Language

THE latest edition of Mr. Mencken's book The American Language has been greeted with most exceptional popular approval and critical praise. This reception, in the opinion of the present writer, the solid merits of the work thoroughly deserve. Nevertheless, it may be worth while to point out that the book is not quite the flawless masterpiece that some of the more enthusiastic reviewers have proclaimed it to be. The following comments do not attempt to appraise the larger aspects of Mr. Mencken's magnum opus; they are merely the casual impressions of one reader who has noted, in his pleasant journey through its pages, occasional minor errors or questionable assertions. That these flaws (or dubious points) are not more numerous or more important will, it is hoped, indicate that the commentator heartily admires The American Language. He believes, moreover, that Mr. Mencken is entirely sincere in the desire expressed in his preface for corrections and additions of detail, and that he will not be displeased to have comments of this kind put before the readers of American Speech, who comprise perhaps his most discriminating audience. With the general thesis of the book we are not here concerned. Perhaps, however, it may be noticed in passing that, as has been more than once remarked by reviewers, it is a more defensible one than that of the earlier editions. Nor does Mr. Mencken's own command of the language he discusses (whether he prefers to call it American or English) need any fresh tribute. The present commentator has noted very few lapses indeed from that high standard of incisive, clear-cut, and eminently readable style that is peculiarly Mr. Mencken's own. Exaggeration and eccentricity are far less in evidence than in the earlier editions of the work, but the tempering of these qualities has not made the writing any the less characteristic or forceful

Art · Art history · Casual · Linguistics · Literature · Magnum opus · Point (geometry · Political science · Praise · Reading (process · Tribute · Lexicography and Language Studies · Psychology · History · Law · Philosophy