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Artwork for In Pursuit of Happiness with Judy Woodruff
In Pursuit of Happiness with Judy Woodruff · August 6 · 40 min

American English and how it's evolving

How did American English become distinctly American? In this episode of "In Pursuit of Happiness," Judy Woodruff explores the 250-year evolution of the language we speak with linguists Anne Curzan and Valerie Fridland. From revolutionary-era spelling changes and regional expressions to the many accents and dialects that shape the country today, they examine how American English has been transformed by history and culture and what the way we speak tells us about our identity as a nation. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

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show notes

How did American English become distinctly American? In this episode of "In Pursuit of Happiness," Judy Woodruff explores the 250-year evolution of the language we speak with linguists Anne Curzan and Valerie Fridland. From revolutionary-era spelling changes and regional expressions to the many accents and dialects that shape the country today, they examine how American English has been transformed by history and culture and what the way we speak tells us about our identity as a nation.
PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy