2020 Foreword INDIES Silver Winner for Anthologies Winner of the Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Yiddish) A momentous and diverse anthology of the influences and inspirations of Yiddish voices in America--radical, dangerous, and seductive, but also sweet, generous, and full of life--edited by award-winning authors and scholars Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert.
This volume presents a people's history of English in the United States, narrated by those who have shaped it: activists, teachers, immigrants, journalists, poets, and many others. It starts with the English of the Plymouth Colony settlers and concludes with John McWhorter's reflections on punctuation. The aim is to explore how English, an imperial language with Germanic roots, evolved into a fundamental part of a major democratic experiment. Edited by Ilan Stavans, a noted cultural commentator and OED consultant, the book is organized chronologically and features a diverse array of letters, poems, essays, and legislative documents that showcase linguistic evolution. Immigrants have been key to these changes, giving rise to hybrid dialects like Yinglish and Spanglish. The text engages with national debates over language, including the education of Native Americans, the classification of Black Vernacular English, and ongoing "English only" mandates. It highlights the relentless evolution of American English, driven by innovators, and its emergence as a global language in business and entertainment. This compendium reflects the rich diversity of the country and helps readers understand how English has become the world's lingua franca.