Blog Entry One

Chapter thirteen of Made in America, an informal history of the English Language in the United States, by Bill Bryson, traces changes in the English language during the late 1800’s through mid-1900’s. British influence on language in America soon gave way as American dominance in the invention of civilizing comforts mounted. The rapid technological advances and industrialization brought a level of prosperity and innovation to America that remained unsurpassed for fifty years. Bryson discusses the emergence of new vocabulary as a result of these inventions, and how the words for these new devices evolved over time. Words were added to American English as a result of innovations related to the comforts of the home. The discovery of electricity led to a host of new words and altered the vocabulary of the American public.  Bryson says, "As electricity became more widely available, electrical products began to come onto the market. Singer produced the first electric sewing machine in 1889. The electric fan appeared in 1891, the electric iron in 1893, the electric vacuum cleaner in 1901, the electric stove-sometimes called a fireless cooker-in 1902, the electric washing machine in 1909, the electric toaster in 1910, and the electric dishwasher in 1918." Names for these devices soon became household terms as Americans embraced consumerism. Interestingly, slang terms also emerged. An example is the term, juice, used in 1886 to describe electricity, but persisting to this day.
Bryson also traces the evolution of several familiar product names. Television was invented nearly as early as radio, but was referred to by a variety of names. “In the early days it went by a variety of alternative names – electric eye, iconoscope, image dissector, electric telescope, televisor, picture radio, visual wireless, electric vision, and radio vision,” says Bryson. As the television became more widespread, its name also became standardized. Another example was the Radarrange, later renamed the microwave oven. Its name did not become familiar until the product itself became common in households. As technology evolved, Americans embraced not only the products, but also the language that described them.