Race and the Rise of Standard American

Bonfiglio's (U. of Richmond) study centers on phonemes with high cultural visibility, which can be focused upon as diagnostic markers of the migration and legitimation of accent. The author deconstructs some of the major explanations as to why the (mid)western speech patterns rose to be perceived as the preferred American norm. He argues that, while it can be viewed as a largely unconscious evolution of pronunciation, the adoption of the western accent as standard was influenced by openly xenophobic and antisemitic movements of the early 20th century. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR