Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to linguistic variations?
These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert MacNeil and William Cran - the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the language classic The Story of English - across the country in search of the answers. Do You Speak American? is the tale of their discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American English - if a standard exists - is changing quickly and dramatically.