Bonnie Johnson earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition to this volume, she is the author and co-author of nine books that can be found in nearly 4,000 libraries around the world. Dr. Johnson also has written numerous juried journal articles and book chapters; instructional texts for elementary, middle school, high school and adult learners; instructional computer programs; and the monthly newspaper column, Dr. Bonnie Johnson ... on Words. Her research addresses vocabulary acquisition, word origins, and the school accountability movement.Yvonne Pratt-Johnson earned her Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her teaching and research interests, publications, and presentations include first- and second-language acquisition; literacy development for first- and second-language learners; study abroad as it relates to culturally informed pedagogy, and pedagogical issues associated with English-based creoles, a.k.a. teaching “dialect-different” students in a Standard English instructional context. Dr. Pratt-Johnson, who has received five Fulbright-Hays Awards, has devoted much of her recent work to projects that provide U.S. teachers with cultural immersion and language study in key “sender cultures” for students in U.S. classrooms today.

• Acknowledgments - Introduction - Chapter 1 A Brief History of American English - Chapter 2 Figurative Language - Chapter 3 Proverbs in America - Chapter 4 Shades of Meaning in American English - Chapter 5 American Names - Chapter 6 American Catchphrases, Slogans, and Mottoes - Chapter 7 Ambiguities and Easily Confused Words Found in American English - Chapter 8 Words That Are Familiar to Most Americans - Chapter 9 Word Formations - Chapter 10 Vocabulary Development: In-Betweens and Word Associations - About the Authors - Index