§6. Conservatisms and Radicalisms; American Pronunciation. XXX. The English Language in America. Vol. 18. Later National Literature, Part III. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes. 1907

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21).
VOLUME XVIII. Later National Literature, Part III.

XXX. The English Language in America.

§ 6. Conservatisms and Radicalisms; American Pronunciation.

American English is in some respects archaic. It has never developed, for example, the swooping diphthongs that, since the end of the eighteenth century at least, have characterized the British pronunciation of ē, ī, ō, ū, 3

Note 3. The real objection to such expressions as guess and right away, as to quite so and I mean to say, lies not in themselves but in their monotonous employment as catch-words. [ back ]