O Brave New Words: Native American Loanwords in Current English

by Charles L. Cutler

Book Overview

Native American loanwords are a crucial, though little acknowledged, part of the English language. This book shows how the more than one-thousand current loanwords were adopted and demonstrates how the changing relationships between Indians and European settlers can be traced in the rate of loanword borrowing and the kinds of words adopted. Appalachian: from the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, from the Muskogean name of the Apalachee...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806132469
• ISBN13: 9780806132464
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent survey

This book provides an excellent survey of linguistic interaction between European and North American languages over the last 450 years, as evidenced mainly by loanwords. Accessibly written and historically aware; focuses mainly on English words borrowed from northern tribes, with a secondary emphasis on Spanish and Mesoamerican languages. An excellent read for anyone interested in words for their own sake.